My Hope is Built on Nothing Less
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Going straight to the Cross
A question of being and doing and building your
hope.
My Hope is Built on Nothing Else
by Oran Burt
We can be reasonably sure that the image of Jesus
is tarnished beyond recognition in most people,
but we would hope not beyond recovery. God loves
us and wants to save us. Most of us have deep
sensitivities concerning our sins, failures, and
inadequacies. We never feel totally worthy of
being saved.
Jules Pfeifer wrote: "I felt like a fraud so I
learned to fly an airplane. At 50,000 feet I
thought, 'A fraud is flying an airplane.' So I
crossed the Atlantic in a rowboat. I docked at
Cherbourg and I thought, 'A fraud has crossed the
Atlantic in a rowboat.' So, I took a space shot to
the moon. On the way home, I thought, 'A fraud has
circled the moon.' So, I took out a full-page ad
in the newspaper. And I confessed to the world
that I was a fraud. I read the ad and thought, 'A
fraud is pretending to be honest.'"
Can you identify with that feeling?
In one of Ruth Calkins books, she writes this
prayer: "Father, I have sinned and Im not worthy
to be called your child." And the answer came
back; "I know, but my Son is worthy to be called
your Savior."
How can we BE more like Jesus without doing the
things that He did? But even in our doing, we
cannot secure our salvation by works. In the song,
"Rock of Ages," it is expressed, "Not the labor of
my hands, can fulfill the law's demands."
So, our faith is dead without works, but our hope
is not in our deeds alone. Our hope is built on
nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
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