"I give eternal life to then, and they shall never
perish; and no one shall snatch them out of my
hand."
JOHN 10:28
There is a simple wood carving that beautifully
depicts the hope of Christianity. It portrays Jesus'
hand, upright and cupped, with a person nestled
in His palm. The carving reminds us of our
security in Christ and His previous promise: let
is read (Luke 13:1-17).
Imagine, though, what life would be like without
Christ to hold us. Without His assurance of
heaven. Without His comforting hand around our
lives.
Suppose you've just had a tumor removed and
the doctor is reading you the biopsy report. The
news isn't good. The most vicious type of cancer
has invaded your body. As the doctor describes
the tortuous road ahead for you, fear grips your
soul. Without Christ, who will soothe your inner
pain and walk with you through this cold dark
valley?
Or let's say that, after twenty-five years of
marriage, your spouse announces, "I've been
seeing someone else. I don't love you anymore.
I want a divorce."An emotional hailstorm of
confusion, anger, grief, guilt crashes around you.
Who can run to for comfort during the long and
anguished nights to come? Without Christ, there
is no one.
What a difference Jesus makes! It's not that He
shields our hearts from pain sorrow strikes
everyone. It's that gives us Himself through the
pain. And as we'll see in our passage, He brings
us three priceless treasures: His perspective
when tragedy strikes, His patience when we fail,
and His freedom when we're in bondage.
The Difference Jesus Makes
perish; and no one shall snatch them out of my
hand."
JOHN 10:28
There is a simple wood carving that beautifully
depicts the hope of Christianity. It portrays Jesus'
hand, upright and cupped, with a person nestled
in His palm. The carving reminds us of our
security in Christ and His previous promise: let
is read (Luke 13:1-17).
Imagine, though, what life would be like without
Christ to hold us. Without His assurance of
heaven. Without His comforting hand around our
lives.
Suppose you've just had a tumor removed and
the doctor is reading you the biopsy report. The
news isn't good. The most vicious type of cancer
has invaded your body. As the doctor describes
the tortuous road ahead for you, fear grips your
soul. Without Christ, who will soothe your inner
pain and walk with you through this cold dark
valley?
Or let's say that, after twenty-five years of
marriage, your spouse announces, "I've been
seeing someone else. I don't love you anymore.
I want a divorce."An emotional hailstorm of
confusion, anger, grief, guilt crashes around you.
Who can run to for comfort during the long and
anguished nights to come? Without Christ, there
is no one.
What a difference Jesus makes! It's not that He
shields our hearts from pain sorrow strikes
everyone. It's that gives us Himself through the
pain. And as we'll see in our passage, He brings
us three priceless treasures: His perspective
when tragedy strikes, His patience when we fail,
and His freedom when we're in bondage.
The Difference Jesus Makes
First, Jesus show us His unique perspective on
life's tragedies.
life's tragedies.
In His Teaching
The finest teacher who ever lived, Jesus clips
two tragic stories from the local newspaper and
uses them as illustrations to drive home an
important point about repentance.
No other historian but Luke record the two
events Jesus describes here. Both stories
according to William Barclay, may be related to
well-documented.
In His Timing
Of course, many claim to have repented,
belong to Christ. But those who have genuinely
repented should, as John Baptizer said "bear
fruit in keeping with repentance (Luke3:8).
Yet even in this issue Christ offers us grace upon
grace.(13:6-9).
In His Touch
The touch of Christ makes a difference in our
lives. (Luke 13:10-11). Jesus freeing a woman
from a crippling evil spirit. He called her over
and said to her, "Wonan, you are freed from
your sickness." And He laid His hands upon her.
And began glorifying God.
No other historian but Luke record the two
events Jesus describes here. Both stories
according to William Barclay, may be related to
well-documented.
In His Timing
Of course, many claim to have repented,
belong to Christ. But those who have genuinely
repented should, as John Baptizer said "bear
fruit in keeping with repentance (Luke3:8).
Yet even in this issue Christ offers us grace upon
grace.(13:6-9).
In His Touch
The touch of Christ makes a difference in our
lives. (Luke 13:10-11). Jesus freeing a woman
from a crippling evil spirit. He called her over
and said to her, "Wonan, you are freed from
your sickness." And He laid His hands upon her.
And began glorifying God.
No comments:
Post a Comment