Wednesday, August 5, 2009
"He was in the world, and the world was made by him,
and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and
his own received him not. But as many as received him, to
them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but
of God." John 1:10-13 It is an amazing thing that God the Son, Creator of the world,
was in the world and the world did not recognize Him! Jesus
Christ, God Himself in human flesh, came into this world and the
people of this world did not know or acknowledge Him for who He
truly is.
Of course, nothing is different today. People still do not know or
recognize Jesus for who He is. He made us; and yet we, by nature,
do not acknowledge Him as our Creator or our Redeemer.
Jesus, the promised Messiah and Savior, came to His own peo
ple - to those who had the promises and looked for His coming -
but they did not receive Him. And today as well, He comes through
His Word to those who have known and heard the promises, but
people are still unwilling to receive Him.
But to those who do receive Him - trusting that in Him and for
the sake of His blood shed upon the cross for all mankind God is
gracious to us and forgives us - God has given the right and priv
ilege to be His children.
As the Scripture says, "For ye are all the children of God by
faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized
into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:26-27).
However, our receiving of Jesus as Messiah and Savior is not the
result of our natural birth or bloodline. It is not because we were
born to Christian parents or were raised up in a church. It's not
even the result of our own will or decision. Rather, it is the gra
cious working of God the Spirit in our lives. Through His Word,
God reveals Himself to us and reveals Jesus to us as the Son and
our Savior, bringing us to trust in Him for forgiveness and life.
It is as God's Word says: "But as many as received Him, to them
gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that be
lieve on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." We give You thanks, O Lord Jesus Christ, for graciously re
vealing to us that You are both our Creator and our Redeemer. We
thank You for paying in full upon the cross for the sins of the world
that we might have forgiveness of sins and everlasting life through
faith in Your name. Thank You for bringing us to trust in Your name
and giving us the right and privilege to be called children of God.
Amen.
[Scripture Quotations from the King James Version]
For The Record, Pages 4 on 08/05/2009