April 22, 2019 - Oh dear Lord Jesus, let me thank you once again for the sacrifice that you made of your own physical life, by death on the cross that I and all others might have eternal life with you.
Let me ask you this day Lord, what can I do for you, what do you require of all who would come and follow you?
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
Is that all one might ask? yes, for you see, Jesus has done it all, there is nothing more that man can do under the sun but to accept Jesus as Lord and to obey the will and wishes of the Father God.
Billy Sunday was a major league baseball player in the early 1900’s who gave up his career and began an evangelistic ministry, preaching all over the country for many years, becoming a great preacher of God’s Word.
At a camp meeting one time at the end of the message a young man came forward much as the young man did with the prophet Micah in our opening scripture (Micah 6:8).
He came down to see Billy and asked him this, “Brother Sunday, I wanted so badly to come forward and accept Jesus but I was afraid and just couldn’t walk forward. But, I know I must be saved. What must I now do to be saved?”
Billy answered him, “Son, there is nothing you can do to be saved!” With that answer I would suspect the young man almost fainted as he cried out, “But Brother Sunday, I must be saved, what must I do?”
Billy Sunday calmly answered him, “Son, there is nothing that you can do for you see, Jesus has already done it all. All you can do is accept him as Lord and obey his will for the rest of your days.”
That’s the message, Jesus has done it all, all we can do is accept him as Lord and do his will in our lives.
But wait, before you begin to rejoice at the simplicity of salvation let me caution you, yes, it is simple, but it is not easy for the devil lies in wait for you. At every turn as you try to live the Christian life he is there waiting to pounce on you to draw you away from Christ and back into his lair where we were all born.
For all who do believe and accept Jesus as their Lord the scripture says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16-17)
To suffer with him is to follow him, remaining true to him through all the hardships and persecutions that we may face as Christians in a sinful and hateful world of non-believers who hate us just as they hated him.
But take heart Christians for what we may face today is nothing compared to what we will see in the end.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)
