February 5 – Eternal Life, It Comes With Jesus

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”   1 John 5:11-12 (NIV)

We have considered recently the truth and promises that are ours when Jesus Christ becomes a part of our life.  He becomes a part of our living experience when we choose to believe and to receive the gift of salvation from Him and we believe in Jesus as our Savior.  Our verse today reveals the beginning of eternal life for us as it comes to us with Jesus into our lives.  Eternal life does not mean that we just keep on living forever and ever in the state we are living when we believe.  Eternal life is a new force we receive with Jesus for it is in Him as the Son of God – Jesus brings it and gives it to us.  For those who have not believed in Jesus as their Savior, they do not have His life within them and so they do not have the promise of eternal life because they do  not have Him in their life.   As He is a part of our experience by faith, He will bring us all the way through to the end of our earthly lives and then on with Him in heaven.  Let's thank God for giving us eternal life and let's trust in Jesus each day to bring us all the way forever and ever. 

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October 2

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.” 1 Corinthians 15:10a (NIV)

This is part of the testimony of the apostle Paul. In writing these words he was reminding his readers of the great change that came into his life when he realized how much God had done for him. God changed him from an enemy of Jesus Christ to a close friend. And after that God used him to get the message out to many people in many places. What Paul said is that it was God who did all this by His grace. He didn’t deserve it. Neither do we deserve the blessings and good things God does for us. We need to recognize that God is working in each of us and we need to give Him the credit for it, so we can say with Paul, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”

June 30

“Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.” Psalm 119:140 (NIV)

This is the testimony of the writer of this Psalm and it can be the testimony of any of us today. I hope that you can join the psalmist and make it your testimony, too. When God brings a promise to our attention we naturally expect Him to fulfill it for us. If God is who He says He is, we expect Him to keep His word. That is how we test His promise. Then when God comes through and fulfills His promise, the experience become very precious to us. We come in this way to love His promise. You love certain promises especially because you have found His word is true.