SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/6/2017
8:54 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 Christian Witness Is About the Son
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: John 15:26b
Message of the
verses: “He will testify about Me.”
As a believer when I am talking to someone about their
need for salvation I have to first of all understand what the Bible says about
salvation, and what the Bible has to say about salvation has to do with Jesus
Christ: “"And there is salvation in
no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among
men by which we must be
saved’ (Acts 4:12)”
Not only do I need to talk to them about how they can be
saved through Jesus Christ but why they need to be saved which of course is
also seen in the Word of God “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God (Rom. 3:23).” Now that they
realize that they are a sinner the next step is to repent, which means that
they have to agree with what God says about them being a sinner and also agree
that the only way they can be saved is through what Christ did for them on the
cross where He paid for their sins through His death. Repentance was the heart of John the Baptist’s
ministry along with the ministry of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament we have the story of
Jonah who finally got to Nineveh to tell those people that God was going to
destroy their city, but after hearing this they all repented and so God did not
destroy their city at that time, only after they again fell into gross sin some
years later did He destroy their city.
Repentance is a key theme in the Word of God and surely necessary for
salvation as people tell others about salvation as led by the Holy Spirit of
God.
There is a pretty shocking story in the book of Luke 13:1-5
when Jesus actually shocked those who told Him of Pilate’s massacre of some
Galileans: “1 Now on the same occasion
there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood
Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you
suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans
because they suffered this fate? 3 “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise
perish. 4 “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in
Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in
Jerusalem? 5 “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."” Jesus is saying that death is going to happen
to all and so all are in need of repentance.
What happens when someone is saved, that is what happens
in heaven: “"I tell you that in the
same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than
over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in
the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents’ (Luke 15:7, 10).”
One of the problems with the church today is that in many
cases the truth about the need of repentance is not stressed, and if that is
the case then the gospel is so watered down that it is useless. I am learning a lot from the book “Reckless
Faith” which talks about the church in our culture today and how much of the
time that the full truth of the gospel is not preached from the pulpit
today. I once heard a story from a “so
called” preacher that we had when I was growing up, and after he died and wrote
a book I find it hard to believe that he was even a true believer, but that is
not up to me, but up to the Lord. He
told the story of people going to a party and all who were going had to bring a
bottle of wine, now I suppose that it all had to be the same kind of wine as
they were to pour it into a large container and then people could get wine from
it when they wanted some. There was one
man who decided that if he brought water and poured it into the container that it
would not make much difference. As the
party got going the head person went to the container to get some wine and
nothing but water came out. This
illustrates what is going on in our churches today as compromise begins to
creep in and when the preacher goes up to preach the truth of the gospel
nothing comes out of his mouth but lies about the gospel.
I have to say at this point that the church that I go to
is a church where if you would compare it to the story that all wine would come
out as the truth of the gospel is preached every Sunday along with sermons that
challenge the hearts of believers with the truth.
As we conclude this section we have to understand that
one of the works of the Holy Spirit is to teach believers the truth of Jesus
Christ, what He has done for sinners so that believers can then give out the
uncompromised truth of the gospel.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: When telling
others about Jesus Christ and the salvation He has provided may I always tell
the whole truth of the gospel which includes the need of repentance.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Be more discerning in my life.
Memory verse for the week: (Romans 6:11) “Even so consider yourselves dead
to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “A Roman Penny” or “A denarius.”
Today’s Bible
question: “How did some men get a man
with the palsy to Jesus?”
Answer in our next SD.
1/6/2017 9:30 AM
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