Tag: eternal life
Day 3–Serpent on the Pole
Scripture reading for May 20: Numbers 21: 5-9 “And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loath this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”
As God’s people wandered in the wilderness for forty years, they became grumpy and complained about the journey and God’s food supply and water supply. They blamed leadership for their issues and by implication blamed God in a deadly fit of unbelief. As a consequence, God allowed fiery serpents of the desert to bite these people and their poison venom brought death. This consequence caused the people to confess their sin of unbelief and ask Moses to ask God for deliverance from the snakes and death. As Moses was faithful to intercede for the people, God told him what to do. He was to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. It was lifted over the camp of God’s people. All who in faith would look upon that serpent with sincere repentance would be healed.
As first responders in the medical field look at this story, something should come to mind. The symbol for the medical field is two snakes coiled around a pole. This ancient remedy, according to Jesus Christ, was a symbol of His own crucifixion on the cross where He took the curse of our sins, sickness, and disease in His own body for our healing. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15) All who bear the sentence of death from Satan’s poisonous lies can find healing and eternal life by looking at Jesus crucified and resurrected.
Prayer: Father God, What amazing mercy You show to us who are sinners bitten by sin’s poison! We look thankfully to Jesus Christ for healing and mercy. Use us to lift His healing banner. Amen.
Day 5–Blessed Assurance of Eternal Life
Scripture reading for February 6: 1 John 5: 11-13 “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”
When you work in a dangerous field like most first responders, there is always uncertainty of whether or not this day will be your last on earth. Each incident has the potential to threaten your life or your ability to continue doing your job. But responders have learned to face each incident with courage and optimism. We are realistic about the dangers, but chose to live fearlessly trusting that everything will work out. We respond with hope and courage that keeps us calmly rendering assistance.
But our Chief Responder, Jesus Christ, doesn’t want any of His followers wondering or worrying about their lives or fearful to give their lives as they serve. When we put our trust in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is given as a Gift from the Father to each believer. The Spirit testifies with our human spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:15-16) The Spirit testifies that God gave us eternal life in His Son. (1 John 5:6-10) The Spirit moved on John to write down these words for one purpose: “I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God that you may now that you have eternal life.” The Spirit testifies we belong to God. The Word of God proclaims that as we believe in Jesus, we have eternal life.
Prayer: Father, thank You for the blessed assurance of Your Word and the Holy Spirit Who testifies that I am in God’s family. Because of these assurances, I can face any incident or difficult circumstance and respond in faith that You are in me and will guide me through. Give my brothers and sisters who are fearful this assurance of eternal life. I am available to share Your gift of life. Amen.
Day 4–Believing in God’s Son
Scripture reading for February 5: John 3:16-18“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.”
To become a person of faith, we must believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. We respond to God the Father’s great love for all mankind demonstrated by sending His only Son to provide escape from eternal damnation as the penalty for our sins. Our sin is recorded in heaven and would be used to determine our eternal punishment if not paid for. Jesus’ stated mission was to seek out and save the lost. (Luke 19:10) Scripture plainly teaches that all have sinned, there is no one who is without sin and we are under guilt and condemnation that we cannot remove ourselves. We have no sacrifice or good works we can do to pay the penalty of sin which is death and eternal separation from God.
Believing is more than just acknowledging Who Jesus is. We must admit our sins, confessing them and then turning away from them to Jesus as our only hope of payment. Faith works by love. Love of God is a choice we make when we change our minds about who is in charge of our life. We move the central focus of our thinking from ourselves, me and I, to Jesus Christ, Son of God Who loved me and gave His life for me and the whole world. Faith rests in Who Jesus is and what He said; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes on Him should not perish but have eternal life.” All we can do is say ‘amen.’ If we chose not to believe in Jesus Christ and His Word, we are under condemnation still. Truly believing in Jesus is the only way to become a Faith responder.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for sending Your only Beloved Son to seek and save lost people, of which I was one. I confessed my sins to You and asked for Your mercy and cleansing from guilt and shame. I now have Your assurance that I will not perish but have eternal life! Praise Jesus! Amen!
Day 2–Our Lord God Responds First!
Scripture for January 2nd: Genesis 1-3
Genesis 3:9 “But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:21 “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”
As we begin our year’s devotions, we start out with basic truths of Scripture. My aim is to keep these daily readings as simple as possible, yet to let God’s Word bring hope and inspiration to those sent to help hurting people. God our Father is full of compassion and is loving towards all mankind.
In Genesis 1 through 3 we have the record of creation and man’s fall into sin. God created the world and everything in it. The last act of creation was man made in His image and likeness. Adam and Eve were given rulership and care of creation as their assignment. This was to be under God’s authority and direction. They were warned not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would die. They walked and talked with God the Father regularly in His garden before temptation and disobedience.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s simple command, eating of the forbidden tree, and instantly felt guilt and shame, hiding from God and making coverings of fig leaves. God responded first–coming to the Garden and calling out, “Adam, where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) God loved Adam and Eve, but sin had caused separation and would bring death. God acted to intervene by seeking Adam’s confession and then Eve’s. Instead, they blamed others and God. He then killed an innocent animal and clothed them with the bloody skins. He sent them out of the garden under the curse they had brought upon their own lives through disobeying.
But God did not leave Adam and Eve and their children without a remedy. His response was a plan to show His love and mercy through sending His own Son as the second Adam, only without sin. He demonstrated that love by His Son laying down His life blood on behalf of sinners. The greatest love, God’s Son given, made available the greatest deliverance from death to eternal life by greatest number of people who would simply believe on Jesus Christ. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Prayer: Father God, Thank You for responding to my great need of deliverance from sin and death. I respond to Your great Love by believing Your Word and receiving Your Son. Teach me to respond to Jesus each day in humble obedience. Amen.
Confidence in Christ
Scripture reading for November 25: 1 John 5
“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.” 1 John 5:11-15
John’s readers struggled to really know if they had received eternal life. Satan loves to use doubt and deception to keep people in fear and darkness. Nothing has really changed in our culture today. But God is light and in Him is no darkness. God has revealed through His Word that He has provided eternal life for all who will receive His Son, Jesus Christ. If you have the Son, you have eternal life. If you reject the Son, you are without eternal life and God’s wrath rests on you. (John 3:36)
John wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to bring clarity to believers in Jesus. God the Father wants His children to know that they are a part of His forever family. The Holy Spirit indwelling us testifies that we are God’s children by crying “Abba, Father”. (Galatians 4:6) Jesus gave His followers the promise of asking in His Name for anything we have need of and it would be granted. (John 16:23-24) By faith this means that if we asked for forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life, God has heard us and granted us what we asked. Faith in God’s Word brings confidence and deliverance from all fears of future punishment. (1 John 4:18) Eternal life is found only in a relationship with God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Have you struggled with fear or uncertainty about your future after leaving this earth? How does John’s letter help you to regain confidence and begin to live by faith? Have you asked God for His forgiveness in Jesus’ Name?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for this assurance of eternal life found in Jesus Christ, Your Son. Thank You for the privilege of prayer in the Name of Jesus and the assurance of my needs being taken care of because You hear and answer. Use me to share these truths with those You place in my path. Amen.
Salvation to earth’s end!
Scripture reading for May 22: Acts 13
“The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the Word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the Word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the Word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” Acts 13:44-48
Paul and his companions had been sent out on a mission by the Holy Spirit and the Church at Antioch. (Acts 13:1-3) As they went, they preached the Gospel message, and usually began with the Jews in each city they visited. There were great crowds that gathered to hear the message and many who heard were being saved. But the leaders of the Jews became jealous and spoke harshly against Paul and the mission team, contradicting them. But Paul understood the mission that they had been sent on by the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. Their purpose was to preach the Good News to all people, Gentiles included.
Paul quoted a Scripture to them taken from Isaiah 45:22 and 49:6 to show them God’s intended plan that all men and women from all nations would come to the Light of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ had been raised in ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’ and done many miracles there. He had healed both Jew and Gentile and preached to the Samaritans. When the Gentiles heard Paul’s declaration, they began rejoicing an glorifying God’s Word! God is always seeking to enlarge our world view with His stated Word of Truth!
Have you ever gotten upset or jealous when your view of life or religious understanding has been threatened? Does the Word of the Lord, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, sometimes bring division and contention? Do you ever think that some people should not have eternal life?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for expanding my world view and addressing my limited understanding of Your will with those preaching Your Word. Forgive me when I have judged some as not worthy of hearing the Good News. Send me to those in need of hearing the Good News in my end of the earth! Amen!
The Father’s Will!
Scripture reading for April 14: John 6
“Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him Who sent Me. And this is the will of Him Who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”” John 6:35-40
Sin gives each person a sense of guilt and a deeper and often hidden fear of standing judgment. We often seek to suppress this fear through religion or good works or adopting lifestyles of self indulgence. But when we use good works, we can never be sure when we have done enough. Jesus told His followers several interesting things about His own will and that of His Father concerning rejection and God’s will and care. These are truths that set us free if we will believe them and act in obedience.
First of all, Jesus declared, after feeding five thousand from the loaves and fish, that He was the true ‘Bread of Life.” If anyone will come to Jesus, they will never hunger or thirst again. Whoever comes to Jesus will never be cast out or rejected. The Father gives this promise to those who believe in His Son. God’s will is that none of these will be lost, even though all but those raptured will die, they will be resurrected. Jesus assured His followers that He would raise them up on that last day. Sadly, many of those who saw Jesus and heard His Word and saw the miracles and signs never believed in Him.
When you read these amazing promises about eternal life and satisfaction of hunger and thirst, are they comforting to you or troubling? If the Father desires that all who come to Jesus, His Son, have eternal life, are you living in that assurance today? Do you fear death or look forward to the promised resurrection?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your divine and precious promises revealing Your will and love for us. I believe and rest in assurance that Your Word is eternal truth. I trust You to keep me safe, even from myself, and the schemes of Satan. You are the Bread of Life and satisfy my soul completely! Amen.
Escaping death and judgment
Scripture reading for April 11: John 5
““Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My Word and believes Him Who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”” John 5:24-29
Our world view concerning death and the after-life is determined by many things. We all have eternity in our hearts, given by God. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) We have a conscience that gives us basic knowledge of God’s laws, acting like a stop light inside of our souls. Various religions teach different ideas about the afterlife and judgment and like a consumer, we can pick and choose what we think is best for us. So the prevailing world view is that there are many paths all leading to the same goal–peace and joy in the afterlife. If that is true, there is no need to repent of any belief we currently hold.
Jesus came to proclaim the Good News of eternal life through faith in Himself. He boldly proclaimed the Father’s Word that whoever would hear His Word and believe in the Father Who sent Him, would not come into judgment but have eternal life. They would actually pass from death through God’s wrath under His righteous judgment to eternal life. They would participate in the resurrection of life in that final hour when in their graves, they would hear God’s voice and arise to eternal life. This offer was to ‘whoever’ would hear His voice now and believe in the Father! Those who refused Jesus’ call now would be judged by Him and hear His voice calling them forth from the grave to stand judgment.
Have you heard the voice of the Son of God calling you to repentance and eternal life? When would you prefer to hear the voice of Jesus: Now or at the hour of His judgment? Does it shock you to learn that the One Who offers you salvation through His Word will also be your judge if you don’t listen to Him?
Prayer: Thank You Father, for sending Your Son and giving Him as a sacrifice for our sins. I have heard His voice through God’s Word and believed Him receiving eternal life. I look forward to hearing His voice call me into His eternal kingdom when He comes again. Use me to encourage others to believe. Amen.
World view from above!
Scripture reading for April 9: John 3
“He Who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what He has seen and heard, yet no one receives His testimony. Whoever receives His testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For He Whom God has sent utters the Words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” John 3:31-36
John’s Gospel describes Jesus as the Son of God Who came from above. Jesus came to bear witness of the Father and God’s Word. He is the ‘Word made flesh” (John 1:14) Who came to dwell among His people. Jesus, as God’s Son, was loved by His Father and given authority and dominion over all things. He was given the Father’s Gift, the Holy Spirit, without measure! Therefore, it is imperative that anyone wanting to understand God the Father and His truth would come to Jesus Christ. Those that are of the earth can only speak and know in an earthly way from earth’s low view point.
In this passage, John declares that believing in the Son, Jesus, brings eternal life. Believing involves obeying the Son and His Word which is the definition of faith. Anyone who refuses to believe the Son of God and obey His Word will never see eternal life. Not only that, but that person will remain under God’s wrath that is eternally set against sin and those clinging to it. All born of woman on this earth, except the Son of God, are born in sin and under God’s wrath. This world view is very simple and very clear, enabling all to understand God’s truth and declaration of how to obtain eternal life. Repentance is a choice to exchange our earthly world view for heaven’s eternal truth.
Have you come to consider Jesus’ world view from above and chosen to believe? Do you have the assurance of eternal life promised to those who believe? Have you considered that to do nothing with Jesus is to be under the wrath (eternal anger) of God?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for revealing to us Your great love through Your Son. Thank You for bearing witness to me that I might repent and be saved from Your eternal wrath. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I might declare this Good News with power from above! Amen!
Fishing for men?
Scripture reading for January 6: Matthew 4
“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” While walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men,” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” Matthew 4:17-20
Jesus loved to challenge the world-views of those He came in contact with. His preaching message was a call to change minds, hearts, and actions: “Repent!” This was not something in the future Jesus was speaking about. In His own Life was the immediate presence of the kingdom of heaven and He was the King! Matthew, who himself had repented and followed Jesus, recorded Jesus’ call to follow given to two ordinary fishermen who were busy casting a net in a family fishing business. These young men heard the call of Jesus and had to adjust their thinking from catching fish to catching men with a Gospel net! I am sure that they did not understand all that would be required of them. But child-like faith to fearlessly respond to Jesus’ new challenge to their calling brought them into a new life and eternal rewards!
I had this call in my life as well. I was a successful farmer raising crops, cattle and pigs when Jesus reaffirmed His call to me to preach His Word. I chose to ‘repent’ and follow, not knowing all that would be required. My ‘immediate’ response took several years, but following Jesus Christ has totally expanded my world and enriched my life beyond measure! I am thankful for His patience and gentleness!
Have you heard the call of Jesus to repent and follow? What response have you given Him? How does your present world-view help or hinder you from responding immediately?
Prayer: Father, thank You for expanding my world-view from my own selfish interests to see Your plan tor reach all people with the Good News of a Savior Jesus Christ and eternal life. Teach me how to fish for men and guide me each day to the best fishing spots. Amen.