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Jesus alone has the words of life
Scripture: John 60: 66-69 (ERV)
66: After Jesus said
these things, many of his followers left and stopped following him.
67: Jesus asked the twelve
apostles, “Do you want to leave too?”
68 Simon Peter answered
him, “Lord, where would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.
69 We believe in you. We
know that you are the Holy One from God.”
When I was younger, I began my quest for spiritual
in libraries. I spent a lot of my free time reading, and I looked up books on
all sorts of topics: world religions, philosophy, esoteric teachings, you name
it. What was clear to me then, was that not all of them could be right. They
could not all be true. Somebody had to be wrong.
At the time, I can’t recall reading about the
Gospel of Jesus Christ in a relevant sense, and I had only one person that ever
mentioned the personal Jesus to me. Kenneth Waters, a fellow student, wrote
about Jesus in my senior year high school yearbook dedications. Up until then,
no one else had approached me to tell me about Jesus or to suggest that I read
the Bible. I remained in total spiritual darkness.
Finally, years later, a young Christian by the name
of Charles “Buddy” Headley, asked me if I knew Jesus. He was a co-worker and wanted
to know if I had ever asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and be my Lord
and Savior. The question was direct, like an arrow to my heart it reached me
directly. I said no, nothing quite like that. I was raised Roman Catholic, but
I knew that I did not have a personal relationship with the Lord. I did not
realize that was possible.
Like many others, I was a “cultural” Christian.
We are born into families that profess a form of Christianity, and we identify ourselves
as Christians (in this case as a Catholic) due to family ties, customs and traditions.
“Buddy” told me how simple it was to ask Jesus to come into my heart and be
saved. We were in the middle of work, so the conversation ended there.
Yet, something in me had stirred, and I was
eager to get home that day and say the prayer that “Buddy” taught me. I rode
off on my bicycle, a white 10-speed Huffy, and stopped on the sidewalk in front
of a church near my house. I got on my knees and asked the Lord to forgive me my
sins and to come into my heart.
Later that night, as I lay in bed, I heard a
siren as an emergency vehicle zipped by the house. I shot up sitting, to pray
for whoever may have been involved in a vehicle wreck or had suffered serious
illness. I said, ‘Lord, don’t let that be anything serious.’ I knew then that
something in me had changed. I felt at peace with God.
It was strange because I had not realized before
that He actually existed (I had an abstract idea that He did), and much less
that I was at war with Him. In a unique way, I also felt disconnected from the
world around me. The Bible tells us that we are like pilgrims; we are in the
world but not a part of it, an interesting dichotomy.
Christianity is comprised
of two parts: it is based on faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus
Christ, and it is something that we experience and live out daily. In summary, it
is an experiential faith. God loved us and reached out to us first, and then it
is up to us to respond.
Decades later, I know that He is real, and I
know this not only intellectually but also experientially. In the interim, I experienced
many ups and downs, waded through dangerous ventures, suffered severe illnesses
and accidents, encountered personal attacks, endured depression and sorrow.
That’s the negative part. I once jested that if it were true that we had
guardian angels assigned to us, then mine must have worked overtime.
The other part: Thanks to God’s great mercy and
grace, I experienced healings, deliverances, the Lord’s constant provision for
my material needs, lasting friendships, employment, the joy of the Lord, and on
and on. When I think of the Lord’s goodness toward me, I have to express my
debt of gratitude to Him. I also am profoundly thankful to “Buddy” for getting
me started on the path that Jesus laid out for me and for each one of us.
Like the Israelites who wandered in the desert
for years before crossing into the promised land, and due to a lack of
discipleship in my early Christian walk, it took me a while to develop the emotional
maturity and stability required of me to take the next leap in this walk of
faith.
Peter the apostle was right. Jesus alone has the words of life. There is
no one and nothing else to turn to that matters: He made us sons and daughters
of the most High God. That is more than enough.
Other scriptures
“And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will
be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to
those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
I Corinthians 1:18 (NIV)
“They are not of
the world, even as I am not of the world.” John: 17:16 (KJV)
“He brought them out of darkness and the shadow
of death. And broke their bands apart.” Psalm 107:14
“They are not of
the world, even as I am not of the world.” John: 17:16 (KJV)
"I have come as Light into the world, so
that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. John 4:26.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word
and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be
judged but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24 (NIV)
See also Facebook.com/FaithTodayPage1
See also Facebook.com/FaithTodayPage1
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