“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

Devotion based on Malachi 3:1

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Imagine that a popular band is taking a world tour. They’re playing in all the biggest cities in the world, preparing to perform in the largest stadiums in London, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Cairo, and Buenos Aires. But as they plan this worldwide tour, they don’t let anyone know. They don’t promote it. They show up in each city unannounced, don’t give any advance notice to the stadiums they want to play in. They just hope their fans will be there when they arrive. How is that tour going to go? Not very well!

There is a reason that touring bands will spend money to promote, advertise, and get the word out. They want to prepare the places they’re playing in to be ready for them. They need a good schedule and good promoters to make their tour a success. They’ve got to get the word out!

John the Baptist was basically the promoter of Jesus’ ministry on this earth. He was getting people ready to receive the promised Savior. John was part of God’s plan to prepare people for the day they’d been anticipating for centuries: the Son of Man was coming into the world to destroy the devil’s work. John wanted to make sure the people didn’t miss it!

Did you know we have something in common with John? We are the promoters of Jesus in our day and age. We don’t know exactly when Jesus is returning. But our job is t to get things ready. We prepare our hearts to receive Jesus in his Word, day after day. We help the people we know and love to receive Jesus when he does return. We get the word out, near and far, to make sure people know who’s coming and why. Jesus is coming, and he is coming to save. Prepare the way for him!

Jesus, our Savior, prepare our hearts every day for your coming. Then make us good promoters of your world tour—help us get the word out so that more and more people look forward to your arrival! Amen.

The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.

Questions for Younger Children

Questions for Elementary Age Children

Questions for Middle School and Above