Preaching Daily - January 8

Today's Reading...

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. - 1 John 4:16

The Way to Have Eternal and Temporal Security Is to Divest (Mark 10:17)

A man runs up to Jesus. We call him the rich young ruler because when we put Matthew, Mark, and Luke together, we get the whole picture. In Matthew, he is young. In Luke he is a ruler. In all three accounts, he is rich. In this now famous encounter with Jesus, we can put together a picture of what a man must divest himself of in order to have eternal life.

There can be no mistake, this man had zeal. He ran to Jesus. He called Jesus Good Teacher. But did He really know who Jesus was? The Lord calmed him down with a strong dose of caution. "Only God is good." Jesus was not denying the claim but was showing that this young man had zeal but lacked knowledge.

When I was ten, I wanted to drive my uncle John's car. I had a great zeal when he came out to see us on a Sunday afternoon. But he would say, "Mike, if you had it, what would you do with it? You don't know how to drive!"

The Bible speaks of those who have zeal without knowledge. Paul wrote of his countrymen in Romans: "For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge" (Romans 10:2).

Zeal, an enthusiasm that is not biblical, can actually stand in the way of our relationship with God. Being excited about religion is not the same as trusting in Christ as Savior.

(read the full article, "what in it for me?" by michael milton here)

Today’s Pastoral Resource...

Preaching Employers

Hiring a new employee can be scary with not knowing who may apply and walk through your doors. But it doesn't have to be. Preaching Jobs for Employers has a database featuring thousands of qualified potential employees. They also offer services to assist you in the process including background checks.