Wednesday 3 May 2017

May 3: John 3:14-18

Key Verse: John 3:15
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Devotion:
How do we make sure that we are prepared for His return? How do we know we are prepared? The answer is surprisingly simple and is put forward in many places within the bible, none quite as clearly as in these verses. Christ simply wants us to believe in Him, to believe He is the Son of God, to believe He came to pay for our sins because we cannot live up to the requirements to be sure we are ready by ourselves! To bring our sins before Him and ask for His forgiveness. Nothing more.

If we try to prepare for an exam or test, we would want to make sure we do get up in time the morning of that test to make sure we have as much time to complete the test as possible. Before that, you would also make sure you did your fair share of studying for the test too; without that you may not be able to answer any of the questions! But the real idea behind the test would probably be to see if you understand the subject rather than to just be able to answer a bunch of questions about the subject! For that, you have to understand the subject, or believe in it.

Back in the days of the exodus from Egypt God allowed poisonous snakes to come into the camp because of the way the people were acting against Him. His task for Moses was a simple one. Make a brass snake and hold it up on a pole. If anyone believes that God would heal them, let them simply look at the snake. Through that simple act of belief, God healed them. Now that Christ has gone to the cross and has redeemed us from our sins, we have but one simple idea to get into our heads to pass the test. To simply believe what He has done for us and to act upon that belief. Christ came to make sure we all would have a path to redemption, not to clean out the dross. His arms are open for everyone who is willing to take that step of faith. Our course-work throughout the year may have been to gain an understanding of Christ. Our test is simply to believe.

Points to Ponder:
Are you preparing for exams and tests?

Have you passed your heavenly entrance test yet?