A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Thursday,
October
7,
2021
These team horses are relaxing in the barn after a hard day of field work.
"Close
Is Not Enough!"
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
“You are
not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). “That if
you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe
in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and
are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess
and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts
in Him will never be put to shame’. For there is no
difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord
of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for,
everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”
(Romans 10:9-13).
I don't like
the way football and many other sports have become "woke",
pandering to the cultural craziness of our age. But I still like to watch sports and the other
night Ester and I watched the highly touted return of Tom
Brady to face his former team, the New England Patriots. The
game was close and came down to an opportunity for the
Patriots to win with a field goal at the end.
However the
kick was unsuccessful, but oh so close, hitting the goal
post in a colorfully described "doink", which is an onomatopoeia. (I remember being
fascinated with that term when I learned it in grade school
and it's great to occasionally use it in a sentence!)
The effort was
close but not close enough. In sports the margin between
victory and defeat is often very slight. But whether the
score was 52-0 or 19-17 or whether the field goal hit the
goal post with a doink or missed by 50 feet the Patriots
still lost. Being close is not enough!
Today let us
consider being close to the Kingdom of God. In the first
daily text Jesus is addressing a scribe who approached Him
and asked, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”
In this exchange of dialogue Jesus answered the scribe’s
question and he in turn essentially rephrased in agreement
to Jesus’ answer. (Mark 8:28-34)
Jesus then responded, “You are not far from the kingdom of God”. It was as though he stood at the door of the kingdom; he was close but not yet there. This account is not explained further (allowing for various interpretations), but one can only hope that in time this particular scribe did take the step of faith necessary to enter the Kingdom of God.
I recall a gospel tract from many years ago titled, “Missing Heaven by 18 inches”. The basic premise was an emphasis on believing with the heart, which summarizes our response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet it is more than just head knowledge but also heart knowledge that is essential to enter the kingdom of God (thus the “18 inches” from the head to the heart).
Both head (mouth) and heart are involved in the salvation process: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Consider that the Almighty God of the universe has called you to be His child and paid a tremendous price to adopt you. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Jesus then responded, “You are not far from the kingdom of God”. It was as though he stood at the door of the kingdom; he was close but not yet there. This account is not explained further (allowing for various interpretations), but one can only hope that in time this particular scribe did take the step of faith necessary to enter the Kingdom of God.
I recall a gospel tract from many years ago titled, “Missing Heaven by 18 inches”. The basic premise was an emphasis on believing with the heart, which summarizes our response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet it is more than just head knowledge but also heart knowledge that is essential to enter the kingdom of God (thus the “18 inches” from the head to the heart).
Both head (mouth) and heart are involved in the salvation process: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Consider that the Almighty God of the universe has called you to be His child and paid a tremendous price to adopt you. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Today let us
rejoice in the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ and praise
Him who richly blesses us! Let’s not just stand outside the
door close to the Kingdom of God but let us walk in and take
up residency so we can experience all that God has in store
for us!
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we are “richly blessed” when
we call upon You to save us from our sins because
You share richly with the redeemed. Far too many
play around with the idea of surrendering their
hearts. They get close but don't enter in. We pray
that they would not stand outside the door of the
kingdom, but take the necessary step of faith to
step inside the kingdom of God by confessing with
their mouths and believing in their hearts that
Jesus Christ is raised from the dead. When we truly
believe and boldly confess our faith in Christ our
convictions are changed from within and our actions
from without. That’s the mark of the true believer.
May our lives give evidence of Your redemptive work
and boundless blessings. In the name of Jesus we
pray. Amen.Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Children playing ball during recess at their one room school house in rural Lancaster County
"Come
To Jesus" Video The Brooklyn
Tabernacle Choir If you're close we appeal
to you please go ahead and make the decision to
come to Jesus!!! As one comment stated, "JUST
COME TO JESUS, JUST AS YOU ARE. FOR THERE IS NO
CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS!
AMEN
"Christ
Is Enough" Video The Worship
Initiative and Shane & Shane
Video (37 seconds) of
missed New England game winning field goal. You
can even hear the doink!
Last night we went to the Lancaster
Barnstormers baseball game with Jesse and six
of the Lapp children, including Sara Beth and
Stephen who watched their first "big league"
baseball game*. The highlight was a visit from
Cylo, the team mascot.
Do you remember your first big
league baseball game? I remember my dad taking
us to the old Municipal Stadium in Kansas City
to see the Kansas City Athletics play the New
York Yankees. Just stepping out and looking
down at the colorful green field was a sight
for little eyes to behold. Since that time
I've been to several big league stadiums but
my favorite is Fenway Park in Boston!
The last time we went to a game was
in 2016 and the Red Sox won 6-4!
* Of course the Lancaster
Barnstormers wasn't actually a big league game
but we don't need to tell Stephen and Sara
Beth that little detail! Compared to the
baseball field in their Amish school yard it's
quite massive.
Children playing ball during recess at their one room school house in rural Lancaster County
Click on photo to enlarge
Finally today:
Early this morning these carpenters
were preparing material for a home improvement
project. Lamar, the older man with the saw is
mentoring Luke, the young man in the
background. We are so thankful for people who
work!
Send
a message to Stephen
& Brooksyne
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Weber".Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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