11)
Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we
have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12)
If I have told you earthly
things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly
things?
13)
And no man hath ascended
up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is
in heaven.
14)
And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15)
That whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16)
For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17)
For God sent not his Son
into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved.
|
P |
articularly
at this time of year, the sole focus of many is to see what and how much they
can "get." This is not necessarily all bad妖epending, of course, upon
what one is seeking.
According
to the Word, the hope of salvation is what men need above all else. Obtaining
it can mean the end of all of man's strife because the Lord promises the
"addition" of "all (other) things when we first apply ourselves
to His business. Too often, even after salvation, we look to "gain,"
first葉hen, "try Jesus."
We
also err in going to the Lord for things to benefit us. Unfortunately, many may
never understand that we are granted salvation and all of its benefits that we
might become equipped for our "mission" in Christ葉o draw souls to
Himself. The Lord is looking for us to fulfill the role of a "P.R."
person葉hat is, to promote the
By
now, we are all quite familiar with the fact that left on our own, we will always tend to do that which most greatly
benefits us. This is even true about our coming to salvation. Often, man comes looking to "right" some
"wrong" in his life. Well, we find that we have "come to the right
place," we get what we want and then, conveniently forget not only the
deed, but the Doer, as well.
We
must ask ourselves, then, of what real
use has the granting of salvation been to us? The life of salvation is a life
granted for the purpose of action.
If, after obtaining it we fail to live
the life, of what actual effectiveness are we? The answer is that a life
destined for greatness will likely end in the same manner it was destined before salvation擁n mediocrity.
What
was true in ancient days is true of the modern age: the Lord Jesus Christ was
not welcomed by all, partly because there were so many "impostors"
claiming to be a "messiah." It is as unlikely now, as it was then,
that one will be able to be "delivered" but by hearing His voice. In
order to do this, the mind must be "uncluttered" by the cares and
concerns of this life.
It
is the requirement of all who are saved to bring others to the One Who shed His
blood for us. No one has been granted this "privilege" just to better
his situation. We have "existed" absolutely too long being concerned
with how we are going to get what we want and need from Jesus. In many lives,
very little time has been spent considering what the Lord "wants" and
"needs" from us.
Particularly
at this time of year, in this season, we are very conscious of gift-giving. We
take time to get just the right gift, in just the right size and color. We go
to great pains just to find that hard-to-find gift. But how often do we stop to
think about the priceless gift that we have already been given? Too often, the
fact that we have the Holy Ghost becomes more of a nuisance than a cause for
rejoicing. He is Someone with whom we must struggle,
rather than One whom we should share.
We
can never afford to forget that in this world of ever dwindling hope, we have
the hope of salvation and that hope is "the gift that keeps on
giving." With all of the "fuss" that we put into finding a
material gift for loved ones, how often do we ever stop to ask ourselves of
what help we are really being to others? What do friends and family gain from
being with us?
The
message that we must be proclaiming is that there is that worth searching for
which is free. There is that which surpasses all gifts in both worth and
usefulness. There is a "gift" available which will never need to be
returned because it "fits" everyone and is complementary to all
colors. Scripture tells us that "...when that which is perfect is come,
that which is in part shall be done away." That which is perfect came to
us in the form of Jesus Christ and from that day to this,
He has remained a "Giver." He keeps
giving man the desire of his heart葉hrough the Holy Ghost.
The
people of God, along with a lack of knowledge, are perishing with knowledge and a lack of acceptance.
You see, though each one of us has been given the power to be "more than
conquerors," if we don't believe
it, it is the same as if we did not possess it. In these last days, the Lord is
calling for greatness; in fact, the times demand spiritual greatness, but if we do not believe that the Spirit
enables us to get to where we need to be in Him, we will never get there. Do we
not realize that a child of God need never "slow down" in his
progress in Him? On the contrary, it has become time that we must do everything that the Lord instructs us to
do葉he sooner, the better.
Until
and unless we begin to deal exclusively with the Spirit within us, we
will never be able to receive what the Lord has put into that spirit.
Therefore, we will neither be able to receive, nor walk in the greatness that
He has planted.
The
most popular rendition of Jesus that we are shown during the Christmas season
is the Christ child. This is
understandable in that we are celebrating His birth. This is, however, tragic
in light of the fact that this is as far as the relationship of some with
Jesus, gets. The Jesus that God sent to this world is the Man Jesus, Who grew
from that baby to become the Savior of the world. He was, indeed, a Man
"... of sorrows and acquainted with grief." God, in His infinite
wisdom, orchestrated all of this so that the creation would never be able to accuse the Creator of
not understanding what it is like to be housed in a body of flesh. He was
tortured and shed blood in order to make this a lie.
Our
daily lives of "business as usual" must become "business anew." One has never been able to
encounter Jesus Christ and remain unchanged. No doubt, the three wise men,
the shepherds and anyone else who was privileged to experience the birth of
Jesus was given a life-changing gift. The Gift of God then, as now, gave and
keeps giving "...life and liberty to all who believe."