Day 136: 2 Kings 15-17; John 16:1-21; Day 38 Prayer Journey
John's sign #4 is today's Gospel reading (John 6:1-21 - we looked into the 1st on Sunday, water to wine; the 2nd was the healing of the Gentile officials son; the 3rd was the healing at the pool). One of our challenges in life is to want to be comfortable more than anything...you know, we are living in a material world and we like our creature comforts. When this becomes our sole focus, we are in serious danger of losing out eternally. As soon as Jesus performed the sign/miracle of feeding the 5000, they were ready to make Him king...free food for life was their creature comfort desire. You and I know the sign spoke of the Bread of Life. He is our only Hope of eternal life. Amen? Amen!
Yes, this crowd wanted only material comfort provided at Jesus' expense. That's so much of the world we live in. But, what about comfortable religion that numbs us to eternity? That the final comment about the Kingdom of Israel is that 'they feared (performed the rituals the law required) the LORD but still worshiped idols' (2 Kings 17:40) speaks to their downfall and the downfall of our world today. Mix up religions until you find something that makes you feel good and excuses sinful behavior, or rewrite the Scripture to satisfy culture...sound familiar? You and I know that Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life. He is our only Hope for eternity. Amen? Amen!
While God made us to enjoy the material things with which He has blessed us, living with eternity in view always must inform our life-choices. God made us for Himself, and we only find joy and meaning in surrender to His will and way. You are reading this, so I am quite certain you are in agreement. So, here comes the challenge from our Prayer Journal (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are the carriers of God's great Good News, Ambassadors of God's will, to the materially focused, religiously confused world. Every day we encounter people who are desperate to change because their lives are empty, confused and broken. When you and I have divine appointments with these, let's be Holy Spirit bold. It is no accident that God has crossed our paths with them, and we are the ones who can share the Way, Truth and Life with them. Amen? Amen!
Yes, this crowd wanted only material comfort provided at Jesus' expense. That's so much of the world we live in. But, what about comfortable religion that numbs us to eternity? That the final comment about the Kingdom of Israel is that 'they feared (performed the rituals the law required) the LORD but still worshiped idols' (2 Kings 17:40) speaks to their downfall and the downfall of our world today. Mix up religions until you find something that makes you feel good and excuses sinful behavior, or rewrite the Scripture to satisfy culture...sound familiar? You and I know that Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life. He is our only Hope for eternity. Amen? Amen!
While God made us to enjoy the material things with which He has blessed us, living with eternity in view always must inform our life-choices. God made us for Himself, and we only find joy and meaning in surrender to His will and way. You are reading this, so I am quite certain you are in agreement. So, here comes the challenge from our Prayer Journal (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are the carriers of God's great Good News, Ambassadors of God's will, to the materially focused, religiously confused world. Every day we encounter people who are desperate to change because their lives are empty, confused and broken. When you and I have divine appointments with these, let's be Holy Spirit bold. It is no accident that God has crossed our paths with them, and we are the ones who can share the Way, Truth and Life with them. Amen? Amen!
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