Word for Today, Fri, 12 Mar 2004: Do We Respond to Messiah?

#1 · March 12, 2004, 4:04 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on March 12, 2004, 4:04 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Fri, 12 Mar 2004: Do We Respond to Messiah?

Dear friends,

Today's message is from the Harvest Daily Devotional, one of many
daily devotionals that are available, either directly from the
Web pages, or by Email subscription to Crosswalk.com devotional
messages.

I have to wonder about today's message. My guess is that most of
you who are reading today's message have at least some
familiarity with Jesus Christ, the Messiah, even if you do not
fully believe that He came to seek and save people - God's very
own provision for His people.

Yet I have to wonder how many of us really pay all that much
attention to the Messiah, what He said, what He did, and the
difference it can make in our lives, even at this very moment.

I say these things, not in a condemning sort of a way, but
hopefully in a convicting sort of a way. I know from my own
personal experiences that believing in something and acting on
what I believe do not always follow immediately, and sometimes,
they don't follow at all.

I've been raised in a moral, Christian based home all my life.
Even so, there have been many times during the course of my life
(some of which came even after I made a personal profession of
faith) that I did not act on my faith - that is, my actions are
not always consistent with my faith. Even today, on occasion, my
sin nature temporarily takes hold and I act out, until conviction
pierces me and I confess my sin, turn away from it, and return to
the things I've learned.

I can't just turn on and turn off the ways of the Lord, for they
are always good, right, and true. It is important for me to
understand biblical principles and apply them consistently.

I am a sinner, I need Christ, and I do fail - that's especially
why I need Him, and why I need to stay close to Him. I need to
accept Him - on His terms, not mine. Are you any different?

Yours in Christ,
Brian

____________________________________________________________

Harvest Daily Devotional

March 12
A Different Kind of Messiah

"He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him." (John
1:11)

When King Herod heard that one had been born King of the Jews, he
summoned the chief priests and scribes to inquire where the
Christ was to be born (see Matthew 2:4). They told him, "In
Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet...' "
(Matthew 2:5-6).

Not only did these religious leaders know the answer, but it
appears as though they knew it right away. "The Messiah?
Bethlehem is where He will be born." Then why weren't they
looking for Him? Doesn't it seem a little unusual that foreign
dignitaries had come from the East, claiming to have been led to
that very area by some star, and were looking for one who is
called the King of the Jews? Certainly that must have piqued
their curiosity a little bit. Yet these theological experts
could not even bother to walk a few miles to Bethlehem to find
out whether the Messiah had indeed been born.

They knew the Word of God, yet they did nothing in response.
They were too busy with themselves to be concerned about Jesus.
In fact, when His public ministry began, they were Jesus'
principal adversaries. They were looking for a different kind of
a Messiah. They were looking for someone who would support their
religious system and their chosen way of living, someone who
would cater to their whims and conform to their wishes.

A lot of people today want Jesus, but they want Him on their own
terms. They want the kind of Jesus who will not challenge them.
These religious leaders were like that. They knew
Scripture--they could quote it verbatim. Yet they did nothing to
meet the living Savior.

Copyright (c) 2003 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New King
James Version, copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

FREE Christian Magazine!
l.salemweb.net/swnoffer0304/UMhd/

____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________

* Copyright (c) 2004 Salem Web Network and its Content
Providers. All rights reserved.
____________________________________________________________

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Search - Find what youre looking for faster
search.yahoo.com

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Today's message is from the Harvest Daily Devotional, one of many
daily devotionals that are available, either directly from the
Web pages, or by Email subscription to Crosswalk.com devotional
messages.

I have to wonder about today's message. My guess is that most of
you who are reading today's message have at least some
familiarity with Jesus Christ, the Messiah, even if you do not
fully believe that He came to seek and save people - God's very
own provision for His people.

Yet I have to wonder how many of us really pay all that much
attention to the Messiah, what He said, what He did, and the
difference it can make in our lives, even at this very moment.

I say these things, not in a condemning sort of a way, but
hopefully in a convicting sort of a way. I know from my own
personal experiences that believing in something and acting on
what I believe do not always follow immediately, and sometimes,
they don't follow at all.

I've been raised in a moral, Christian based home all my life.
Even so, there have been many times during the course of my life
(some of which came even after I made a personal profession of
faith) that I did not act on my faith - that is, my actions are
not always consistent with my faith. Even today, on occasion, my
sin nature temporarily takes hold and I act out, until conviction
pierces me and I confess my sin, turn away from it, and return to
the things I've learned.

I can't just turn on and turn off the ways of the Lord, for they
are always good, right, and true. It is important for me to
understand biblical principles and apply them consistently.

I am a sinner, I need Christ, and I do fail - that's especially
why I need Him, and why I need to stay close to Him. I need to
accept Him - on His terms, not mine. Are you any different?

Yours in Christ,
Brian

____________________________________________________________

Harvest Daily Devotional

March 12
A Different Kind of Messiah

"He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him." (John
1:11)

When King Herod heard that one had been born King of the Jews, he
summoned the chief priests and scribes to inquire where the
Christ was to be born (see Matthew 2:4). They told him, "In
Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet...' "
(Matthew 2:5-6).

Not only did these religious leaders know the answer, but it
appears as though they knew it right away. "The Messiah?
Bethlehem is where He will be born." Then why weren't they
looking for Him? Doesn't it seem a little unusual that foreign
dignitaries had come from the East, claiming to have been led to
that very area by some star, and were looking for one who is
called the King of the Jews? Certainly that must have piqued
their curiosity a little bit. Yet these theological experts
could not even bother to walk a few miles to Bethlehem to find
out whether the Messiah had indeed been born.

They knew the Word of God, yet they did nothing in response.
They were too busy with themselves to be concerned about Jesus.
In fact, when His public ministry began, they were Jesus'
principal adversaries. They were looking for a different kind of
a Messiah. They were looking for someone who would support their
religious system and their chosen way of living, someone who
would cater to their whims and conform to their wishes.

A lot of people today want Jesus, but they want Him on their own
terms. They want the kind of Jesus who will not challenge them.
These religious leaders were like that. They knew
Scripture--they could quote it verbatim. Yet they did nothing to
meet the living Savior.

FREE Christian Magazine!
l.salemweb.net/swnoffer0304/UMhd/

____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Search - Find what youre looking for faster
search.yahoo.com