October 16
Luke 11:14-12:34
The Bible has been translated into 724 languages, the New Testament into an additional 1617 languages, and smaller portions of the Bible have been translated into 1248 other languages. Knowing the power of the Word of God, there are many people who smuggle bibles to people in areas where reading the bible is forbidden, at great risk to themselves. Though there was a time when much of the world was illiterate, now most are literate. Though there was a time when one had to rely on a leader to give them God's Word, people now have access to written copies, and also many, even in impoverished areas, have access to God's Word for free on electronic devices. Our world is without excuse. Ignorance to God as written in His Word comes down to a choice. We have been given His Word. We have been given His Son. We have His Spirit available to any who seek and accept. We can't point to anyone else. We can't blame anyone else. We can't blame parents, children, or religious leaders. If you don't believe in God, then you have made your choice. No one can blame being too busy, too distracted, too anything, for this too is a matter of choice.
Jesus is clear throughout, the exclusivity of what it means to follow Him. We read in Luke 11:23, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters." Notice there is absolutely no middle ground in this statement. We read in 11:27-28, "And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”" Mary was indeed blessed. But the question begs to be answered, since we are all to be judged by the same standard, according to the same weights, what have we done with the Word of God? What have we done with Jesus? By God's Word we can all be partakers of the light, as Jesus said in 11:33-36, "“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”"
So, where are you in your walk? Have you made excuses? When we realize that God has created the world that we live in, created each of us individually, left us His love letter, the Bible to live by, gave us His Son to cleanse us from our sins, and gives us our very breath, does any excuse really seem valid as to why we choose any thing or any person above God? People can make so many reasons, and others will justify these reasons, but realize this, there simply is no legitimate reason, other than that person made a choice not to engage in a true, authentic relationship with the God of the Universe. It is never Him who hid, it always comes down to the individual who has made the choice. Please. There is nothing more important. Open the pages of God's Word, and enter into the only relationship which holds the keys to your eternal fate. He and He alone offers salvation and heaven.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: