Good Morning!
Yesterday, I wrote that I didn’t know why I was led to the passage I started off with. If you recall, I had two that described the stark contrast between heaven and hell. I then wrapped it up with Romans 9 in which Paul was in anguish over the thought of someone perishing. So much so that he was willing to give up his salvation for the sake of the others. It was a call for each of us to have that same kind of compassion for the lost.
Well, I had a reader, a friend, respond and said that he knew why. It was for him. He was in the midst of a very difficult situation, and he needed to see things through the eyes of Jesus. It gave him a new perspective. My guess is that his situation will improve considerably.
Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not taking any credit for this. Jesus works his way through our lives in ways we can’t even imagine. Most of the time I write these, the message is directed at me. And, to be honest, this one was, too. Why the message yesterday? Who knows. I simply let my bible open itself, and there it was. Custom designed for my friend. I think all this is pretty cool.
Today, I celebrate my 11th Anniversary as a Christian. It is also the same anniversary of my sobriety. In one split second, both happened. I’ve told that story many times before and will do so probably until the day I die. For now, suffice it to say that I was on my second near-fatal bout with booze. With nowhere else to turn, I purchased the AA Big Book and read it in the parking lot of the St. Cloud Barnes and Noble. It was there that the Holy Spirit cornered me and made be bow. Willingly.
It was then that He put the idea in my mind (and I agreed) that I would do whatever he wanted me to do, even if it was to tell other people about Him. The more I think about all this stuff, the more I am convinced that I had nothing to do with any of this except commit the sin that would have certainly killed me apart from God’s intervention.
So, I am grateful and humble to tell you all what Jesus has done for me. I feel I can relate to the demon-possessed man.
Mark 5:18-20 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
Lest anyone wonder, I do believe salvation is at God’s initiation. There is a component, too, that must be completed on our end. Without the work of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, nothing happens. And…we must respond. Here’s my life verse:
Romans 10:13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Glory alone be to my God the Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Copyright © 2018 Scott Powers