"Lighting the Fire"
Jotting – Week 16

Give the Savior

Oh, blest the house, whate’er befall,
Where Jesus Christ is all in all!
Yea, if He were not dwelling there,
How dark and poor and void it were!
          by Christoph C. L. von Pfeil

St. Paul wrote: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

Praise be to God! We have hope and light and joy in the salvation that is ours through Christ our Lord. Jesus lives! In that assurance we put our trust. We know that someday we will live forever with Him in heaven. In this we live and breathe and have purpose for our lives here on earth.

Living in the light of God’s grace now, we no longer have to live in bondage, in the pit where Satan would keep us. By the power of God’s love and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can live the abundant, fruitful lives God means for us to have, that He wants for us: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11). Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Where Christ is not present, there is only darkness, sorrow, and a never-ending emptiness. People who don’t know Jesus try to fill up that vacuum in all sorts of ways. They worship status and money, thinking they will reach their ultimate goal if they have just a bit more. But getting more never fills the void in their heart. Others fall into searching for fulfillment in drugs and drink and illicit sex, only to discover that these lead to a desert and a thirst that is unrelenting. Some have become convinced that knowing the right people, saying the right things, having the right job or house or car or living in the right neighborhood, even for some going to the “right church,” will satisfy their heart hunger, coming to realize, time after time, that they must do or buy or go after one more thing, one more dream.

Some try other religions, believing that self-fulfillment and introspection is the answer, that the solution lies within themselves. They read self-help books only to feel more helpless. They eat right, dieting or giving up certain foods, hoping that being slim and healthy-looking on the outside will somehow make them healthy on the inside. They give away their money, go on pilgrimages, make bargains with their “god,” become great orators or scholars or philanthropists, trusting in false and empty promises that you “have to be good” or “try harder” to be allowed into heaven.

Then there are those who seem to sit firmly in the devil’s camp already, who are bent on violence and destruction, who live in a darkness so complete that they resist any light because it only reveals their sin-sick souls to themselves and others: “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:20).

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). All other ways seem good, look right, make promises, appear attractive. But all other ways lead to destruction, to deeper pits and darker gloom. Those who don’t know Jesus as their Savior are going to hell. It’s that simple. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18). John wrote: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:12-13).

Give the Savior today, tomorrow, this week, every day, to someone who does not know Him as Lord. Share the Good News of salvation with those in your own family, with those who live next door, across the street, and around the corner. Tell them till they hear. Tell them till they believe. Tell them so they might rejoice with you now and forever in heaven someday.

Pray: Dear Father in heaven, You have promised to hear us. We know that when we have confidence toward You, that if we ask anything according to Your will You hear us. And we know that You hear us in whatever we ask, for the sake of Jesus Your Son. Hear us now, Lord. So many people, Father, are on the wrong road. They travel a way set before them not knowing that way leads to destruction and eternal damnation. Father, You desire that all people are saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Prepare the hearts of those whose lives we touch today, and give us opportunities, Father, to speak to them. Prepare words for our mouths to speak Your truth in love so that they can learn of Your grace and forgiveness in Jesus and finally be saved. Help us give Jesus to others. In His name we pray. Amen. (based on 1 John 5:14-15 and 1 Timothy 2:4)