Good day, Everyone. I hope you’re keeping well. I’d like to share a special devotion with you today. You can watch this devotion online at the following link: https://vimeo.com/476330198
There’s a story in the Bible in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Acts where the great missionaries Paul and Silas end up in prison. During the night, an earthquake occurs and all of the jail doors suddenly open. It’s a great opportunity for all of the prisoners to escape and when jailer sees this, he tries to kill himself because he knows he will be held accountable and his family publicly shamed for allowing prisoners to escape. But Paul and Silas stop him from committing suicide and tell him all is well. In verses 29-31, we read these amazing words of response:
Acts 16:29-31 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the LOrd Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (NIV)
At the heart of Christianity, there is one important issue that we all have to remind ourselves constantly: we need to be saved. We all do things that offend God – there is not one of us exempt from that, no matter how good, faithful, or religious we may be. Those offenses pile up throughout our lives, so unless we find a remedy to forgive us of those sins, we will be separated from God forever. We cannot rescue ourselves from this predicament; we need someone else to save us and there is only one person in history who can do that: Jesus.
At the moment, we’re looking for someone to rescue us from the plight of this pandemic. Or we need someone to boldly lead us through this unparalleled time. But even if someone discovers a cure or a leader emerges in a time of crisis, it still leaves us separated from God. No matter what happens in the world, there is still a gap between us and God. If we ignore it, we doom ourselves. If we currently set it aside and promise to get back to it, we run the risk of doing too little, too late.
In this age of uncertainty, the right time to get right with God is now – as you are reading or viewing this message. And God, who is always gracious, makes it easy for us – all we have to do is to confess to Him in prayer that we’ve messed up, made mistakes, and selfishly sinned. After that, we can ask Jesus to forgive us of our past and place our lives, hearts, and souls into His hands. If we simply do that, then we are showing God that we believe Jesus is our Savior and instantly the gap will be bridged and the breach between us will be closed.
It sounds too good to be true and too simple to be effective and yet here’s the reality: it works.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to close the gap between ourselves and God. Save us from being separated forever and restore us to God’s gracious love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
Thank you for viewing and reading this message. May God bless all of your hopes and dreams. Bye for now. 😊