Devotional Guide For the week of April 20, 2008
GETTING THROUGH
About Jesus substituting himself
To read the Bible in one year, today read Psalms 64-66
To Know:
³For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich,
yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become
rich.² (2 Cor. 8:9)
In the USA money talks. In England a personıs title opens doors. The
retired
head of Johnson and Johnsonıs European Division belonged to the Royal
Barnton Golf Club in Edinburgh. Royal was added to the name of British
golf
clubs once a member of the royal family played the course. This retired
gentleman and I played many rounds of golf together in 1976. One day I
asked
my friend if he had played Muirfield, the course that Jack Nicklaus
considered the best in the world. Muirfield lies along the shore of the
Firth of Forth, twenty miles east of Edinburgh, and inspired Nicklaus to
call his course in Columbus, Ohio by the same name. ³No,² he replied,
³Iıve
never been able to get on that course.² Astonished, I asked him, ³Why
not?²
By that time I had played Muirfield at least ten times. He explained that
my
title, Reverend, welcomed me onto the course. His money meant nothing,
while
my title meant everything.
Paul says of Jesus Christ that he was rich. Our Lord was not rich in
money;
he was rich in glory. He was the radiance of God. The author of Hebrews
writes, ³He reflects the glory of God.² (1:3) Every Christmas we sing,
³Mild
he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die.² True riches are
uninterrupted fellow****p with God. When Christ became poor he suffered
broken fellow****p on the cross. The cry of dereliction, ³My God, my God,
why
has thou forsaken me?² signaled his substituting of himself for our
salvation. We, who are bereft of Godıs glory by nature, receive glory of
the
Son of God by faith.
04228$-04228
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