TODAY‘S DEVOTION IS WRITTEN BY CINDY HESS KASPER (FOR: Our Daily Bread; 4/22/12)
I studied the map as my husband and I drove up the east coast of Virginia. We were looking for any road that would take us to the seashore. Finally, I found one and we turned toward the sun.
In only a few minutes, we were laughing in delight when—just before the seashore—we happened upon a national wildlife refuge. All around us were dunes and marsh and beach grasses and an abundance of gulls, egrets, and blue herons. It was active and loud and wonderful! We had arrived at Chincoteague and Assateague Islands—famous for the annual pony swim from one island to the other. Others had realized its value and beauty long before, but to us it was undiscovered country.
The Scriptures are like “undiscovered country” to many. They have never discovered the valuable treasures found in the eternal words of the Bible. The Bible is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, exposing our innermost thoughts and desires (Heb. 4:12). It is like a lamp to illuminate our path (Ps. 119:105), and it has been given to equip us for God’s purposes (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
Open the Bible and read it so you can find these treasures. It’s time . . . to discover!
Exhaustless store of treasured gems
Within this Book I hold;
And as I read, it comes alive,
New treasures to unfold. —Mortenson
Rich treasures of God’s truth
are waiting to be discovered by you.
READ: 2 Timothy 3:14-17
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
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thank you michael….
dave buls: thk you much…
Amen Mychal, We must cherish the Word of God as the bread on our table for we surely would not have survived without it.
The LIVING Word of God
LOVES GOOD NEWS…. A GUIDE FOR OUR JOURNEY
We Christians are so fortunate to have been given the blessing of the gospels. Not only did God come into our world to redeem us but He provided those who were not present during our Lord’s redemptive lifetime a way to “see” and “witness” His act of salvation for mankind through these inspired accounts and testimonies.
These divinely ordained chapters captured God’s plan of redemption and allow us a deep insight into the spiritual life of “the people of god” and their interaction with the creator as Jesus moved among them gathering His “disciples” and establishing His “church” on earth.
The painful history along with jubilant triumphs and hopeful anticipations of the people of the Old Testament are combined, enriched, and bought forth into the life and light of Jesus Christ in these revealing gospel narratives. These, along with the other books of the New Testament, literally gave us the building blocks for the foundation of our Christian faith. For his people the Creator’s true and loving nature along with our path to him is now clarified and openly revealed when with and by the Holy Spirit His “Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. We believe and accept Jesus as The truth, The light, and The way for man’s salvation and eternal life with our triune God.
The Father has graciously given us, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as divinely portrayed in the gospels, our spiritual passport and lifeline compass to eternal bliss with Him. As promised by Jesus himself, guided by the Holy Spirit, Christ’s church with paternal love and care presents this gift of faith to everyone who will acknowledge His beloved Son.
It is only by the grace of god that any of us are allowed the free will to hear the word, see the light, or discover the way available to us. But to those of us who with our free will are privileged to witness these an awesome immortal choice is placed before us. For to follow in the footsteps of Christ is to surrender to the cross, accept our baptismal passport, and to hold fast the course portrayed in the gospels…our Christian compass.
God in His infinite wisdom allows each of us to go our own way as any good father would do for his child in the name of freedom. His divine wisdom however contains divine love, a love we humans can only imagine or barely grasp when absorbing the gospel message. For here we see a love far beyond our mortal capacity. A love so deep that even the heavenly angels are in awe……..so much so that Lucifer himself refused to believe it!
Christ’s journey of love was a lifetime of humbly surrendering to humanity, our humanity. He willingly accepted the Father’s mission of salvation for mankind through His ultimate “personal” human sacrifice. In spite of its brutal consequence He held fast the course, praying thusly in the garden “Father, if it be thy holy will…” and finally on the cross “Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit”. The gospels lead us to an understanding that God is love; God defines love, as evidenced in His saying to us His people “What greater love is there that one lay down his life for his friends?”
We can clearly see in the Holy Scriptures this heavenly love triangle. The Trinity’s mystery begs understanding as the Holy Spirit, assisted by our blessed mother, offering the Fathers heavenly love divinely “personified” in Christ our savior… “For He so loved the world…..” Deserved or not, this is our Father, this is Love, this is our Hope. How blessed are.
Thank you, Bill. What a wonderful and inspiring post. God Bless You.
jennie: agreed…
bill sr: very eloquently said…