Devotional Guide For the week of April 13, 2008
ETERNAL LIFE IS REALLY REAL
How to believe Jesus
To read the Bible in one year, today read Psalms 46-48
To Know:
³When they heard these words, some of the people said, ŒThis is really the
prophet.¹ Others said, ŒThis is the Christ.¹ But some said, ŒIs the Christ
to come from Galilee? Has not the scripture said that Christ descended
from
David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?¹ So there
was
a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him,
but
no one laid hands on him.² (Jn. 7:40-44)
All the Bible study in the world will not substitute for faith. John, in
his
gospel, shows the power of faith in action. At the word of Jesus Christ, a
man paralyzed for thirty-eight years instantly returned to health. Later,
the same apostle testifies to having seen Jesus resurrect a dead man.
The Puritans planted the American Way. These people broke free from the
Medieval mindset. They discovered that the Christian faith was personal
and
not institutional. The Lord, not the church, saves people from the wrath
of
God. Salvation does not come to sinners through the sacramental system.
Neither baptism nor communion possess saving power. The Puritans
rediscovered that Christ, not the church, saves souls.
John directs his readers to Jesus. Apart from him we will perish. Christ
is
able to save to the uttermost everyone willing to trust him. The Bible
will
lead us to him, but it can never take his place.
To Do:
Self-examination is vital for every serious Christian. It is easy to
substitute what we think for what we do. It is possible to believe every
word regarding who Jesus is, what he did, and what he can do without
actually trusting ourselves to him. True faith obeys. When we do not do
what
the Lord tells us to do, we do not believe him.
To Ask:
Father, let me not be numbered with those who believe all that your Son
taught but refuse to do what he did.
04168$-04168
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