Today's Reading:O.T. - Isaiah 43 - 45
N.T. - Philippians 2:1-11
Focus Verses:
Isaiah 43:11; 45:18, 22-24
43:11I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.
45:18For this is what the LORD says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other. - - - 22"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. 23By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. 24They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.' All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame."
Insight:
Only God is God. Only God can save. God created the heavens and the earth and created humanity to inhabit it. He calls out to everyone, "Turn to me and be saved. I'm the only one who can save." To reject God's invitation is to reject the only hope of salvation. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me." This is not narrow-mindedness; it is simply reality. There is only one God, and only he can save. God has offered us salvation through his only Son.
Response and Action:
I recognize my need for God's grace and salvation. My faith in God gives me a real view of life and the world. I need God's guidance and strength to live. By faith, I see God's grace and salvation in Jesus. I will commit myself to know and follow Jesus. I will give thanks to God for the hope and life I have through Christ.
O God, only you are God and only you can save. Thank you for the great salvation you have offered to all people through your only son, Jesus. Help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help me to fix my eyes on Jesus, who loves me and gave himself for me. Help me to live for you and through you. You alone are worthy of my praise, my honor, my life, and my all. Amen.
Proverbs: 23:17-18
"Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off."
Resources:
No God but God/Breaking With the Idols of Our Age
by Os Guinness and John Seel
