The Word of God for wisdom:
Proverbs 15:28 (NLT)
28 The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking; the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.
The Word of God for inspiration:
Psalm 118:27-29 (NLT)
27 The LORD is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you!
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
The Word of God for encouragement:
John 12:37-43 (NLT)
37 But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him.
38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: "LORD, who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?"
39 But the people couldn't believe, for as Isaiah also said,
40 "The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts— so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them."
41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah's glory.
42 Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn't admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue.
43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
My observation:
The case for unbelief reported in the passage from John is not because of lack of evidence. Rather, it is a case of lack of will. They refused to believe despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done. Like many today, they "would not" believe; that was the choice of a person created by God with a free will.
However, beware; there is a danger in unbelief. The prophet of God, Isaiah, looking ahead with divine insight, warned that "would not" could become "could not".
John 12:39-40 (NLT)
39 But the people couldn't believe, for as Isaiah also said,
40 "The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts— so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them."
Notice that in spite of most people who didn't believe that there were many who did believe in Jesus including some of the Jewish leaders.
John 12:42 (NLT)
42 Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn't admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue.
What about you? Do you believe in Jesus? If so, are you willing to tell others? If you have a testimony, don't be afraid or ashamed to share it.
My prayer:
Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank you that Jesus finished the work for which he became a man and lived upon the earth for a brief period of time. What a demonstration of divine love by the creator for his created beings.
Father God, I pray for the Holy Spirit of God to do his office work in binding Satan who blinds the eyes and hardens the heart to keep people from believing in Jesus.
Father God, help those who have been willing to open their hearts, and have believed in, and received Jesus into their hearts. Father, help them, to not be ashamed to tell others about Jesus, and what he has done for them. Amen.
Romans 1:16 (NLT)
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
--
John 20:30-31 (ESV)
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment