SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/29/2021 9:51 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “Faith”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
11:28a
Message of the verse: “Come to Me,”
In this short SD we will begin a verse that has
caused me to think about for a long time, not fully understanding exactly what
our Lord is really saying, and so I am eager to begin looking at this verse and
we begin with our Lord’s Word “Come to Me.”
One of the things that I struggled with in the early
years of my walk with the Lord is how was it that I became saved. As I look back on when I became a born-again
believer I was really sure that I had something to do with it, although at the
time I did not really know exactly what it was that I did. I know that this seems strange, but it is
true. There are people who believe that
God chooses who are going to become believers before the world was even made,
and then there are people who believe that it is all up to the person to become
a believer. I was on one side of this
argument for a while and then on the other side of this argument for a while,
and the truth is that I now believe both sides.
I believe that God called me before the foundation of the earth, which
is the Father’s part of my salvation. I
also believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins as He paid for them while on
the cross. I also believe that the Holy
Spirit of God gave me an effectual call for salvation back on the 26th
of January, 1974, a call that I could not say no to, and thus said yes to, and
that was my part as I said yes to this effectual call that January day in
1974. This all makes perfect sense to me
and I am thankful that after years of studying the Bible that this is what I
truly believe God has taught me, and I am thankful.
John MacArthur writes “Just as a man’s part in salvation
is to come humbly, it is also to ‘come’ in faith. Although finite minds cannot fully comprehend
the truth, divine grace and human faith are inseparable in salvation. God sovereignly provides salvation, which
includes the fact that man must give himself to the Lord Jesus Christ in
commitment before it becomes effective.
Jesus said, ‘All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me,’ and then
immediately added, ‘and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out’
(John 6:37).” Now you can see from this
quotation that I totally agree with what MacArthur writes here.
Exactly what is salvation? Well salvation does not come through a creed,
a church, a ritual, a pastor, a priest, or any other human means, it comes
through Jesus Christ as we see in this short portion of verse 28 “Come to Me.” What does that mean? To come is to believe to the point of
submitting to His Lordship. John 6:35
says “Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of
life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never
thirst.” MacArthur adds “Comes and believes are parallel just as are hunger and thirst. Coming to Christ is believing in Him, which
results in no longer hungering and thirsting.
Other biblical synonyms for believing in Christ include confessing Him
receiving Him, eating and drinking Him, and hearing Him.” Now I want to make a very short comment on “The
Lordship Of Jesus Christ,” and this has become an issue with those who have a
problem with it, and that is one of the major issues that people have with John
MacArthur. I truly don’t have a problem
with this as I believe that every true believer will recognize that Jesus
Christ is their Lord. One verse I wish
to quote here: “Ro
10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as
Lord, and believe in your
heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Peter tells us in Acts 10:43 “"Of Him all the
prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him
receives forgiveness of sins.’” (The Him
is speaking of Jesus Christ.) Jesus
tells us the following in John 3:14-16 “14 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in
Him have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal
life.” I believe that we are getting the idea
of what Matthew 11:28 is all about as it is about salvation. Lord willing we will continue this verse in
our next SD.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am thankful that God called me in eternity
past, that Jesus Christ came to earth and took my place on the cross, and that
the Holy Spirit gave me an effectual call to salvation.
My Steps of Faith For Today: I trust the Lord to be a great comfort to our
friends wife as he went to be with the Lord early Tuesday morning.
12/29/2021 10:26 AM
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