Topic: “All Things Are Ready” [Thursday November 5, 2015]
Text: John 5:17-24
Key Verse: “But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17).
The potentate of an Arabian kingdom was stunned by a group of Western missionaries he had invited to a feast. The sultan wanted to know why these believers in Jesus Christ had abandoned their prosperous society back home to come to the desert. They were building missionary schools, roads and health centers for his people. In the process, these Christians exposed themselves to infections that sometimes proved fatal. He asked if they did all these in order to secure a place in heaven. “No,” was the answer that jolted the Arabian ruler. “We are doing all these to show our appreciation to our Lord Jesus Christ who died for our salvation.
He has earned heaven for us through His sacrificial death on the cross at Calvary. And He says we must go and preach to all creatures about the salvation He has brought, so that no one would perish in sin. We obey that commandment as His faithful servants…. Our works can’t earn us heaven; only faith in Him, repentance from sin and obedience to what He says”. This is a thorough understanding of the salvation plan of God. Everything we need to enter into the Kingdom of heaven hereafter was provided by Jesus Christ when He was crucified. No act of man could do it. It is for him to submit to the conditions needed for the appropriation of the benefits of Calvary. We appreciate God for Calvary when we obey and have faith in Him.
We honour Him when we resist temptation and shun sin. We put Satan and his agents to shame when we preach Christ to sinners who are under the yoke of the powers of darkness. The genuine Christian knows that Jesus has made all “things …ready” for him in heaven. So, like the missionaries in Arabia, today’s believer must appreciate God for making heaven ready for Him by going to the uttermost parts of the world to preach Jesus.
Thought for the day: There is ‘a woe’ awaiting believers who refuse to preach the gospel.
Bible Reading in one Year: 1 Kings 9-10
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
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