DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT MONDAY – A HEART STARTER. #6.

Jesus was God spelling himself out in language humanity could understand. - S. D. Gordon.

Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone. - Act 4:12. (CEV)

While I was on holiday with Jean, I had the opportunity to listen to Ravi Zacherias on my iPod. He was sharing about the exclusiveness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it really made me realise that a lot of preachers have tried to water down the Gospel, and make it acceptable to many, but that is impossible as most of us well know. Ravi said that it was exclusive by its definition, and by its proposition!

A.B. Simpson is reported to have said that the gospel "Tells rebellious men that God is reconciled, that justice is satisfied, that sin has been atoned for, that the judgment of the guilty may be revoked, the condemnation of the sinner cancelled, the curse of the Law blotted out, the gates of hell closed, the portals of heaven opened wide, the power of sin subdued, the guilty conscience healed, the broken heart comforted, the sorrow and misery of the Fall undone. - M. Cocoris.

There is only one foundation, on which the Church and the Christian life can be built, and that foundation is Jesus Christ...

And now you are living stones that are being used to build a spiritual house. You are also a group of holy priests, and with the help of Jesus Christ you will offer sacrifices that please God. It is just as God says in the Scriptures, "Look! I am placing in Zion a choice and precious cornerstone. No one who has faith in that one will be disappointed." You are followers of the Lord, and that stone is precious to you. But it isn't precious to those who refuse to follow him. They are the builders who tossed aside the stone that turned out to be the most important one of all. - 1Pe 2:5-7.

He is the one whom God sent to save us... God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! - John 3:16-17.
He is the “way, the truth, and the life,” the only way to God...

"I am the way, the truth, and the life!" Jesus answered. "Without me, no one can go to the Father. - John 14:6.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the name above all names, the name at which every knee will bow...

Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us. Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross. Then God gave Christ the highest place and honored his name above all others. So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And to the glory of God the Father everyone will openly agree, "Jesus Christ is Lord!"
- Philippians 2:6-11.

When the 1960s ended, San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district reverted to high rent, and many hippies moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. They had children and got married, too, though in no particular sequence. But they didn't name their children Melissa or Brett. People in the mountains around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children playing Frisbee with little Time Warp or Spring Fever. And eventually Moonbeam, Earth, Love and Precious Promise all ended up in public school.

That's when the kindergarten teachers first met Fruit Stand. Every fall, according to tradition, parents bravely apply name tags to their children, kiss them good-bye and send them off to school on the bus. So it was for Fruit Stand. The teachers thought the boy's name was odd, but they tried to make the best of it.

"Would you like to play with the blocks, Fruit Stand?" they offered. And later, "Fruit Stand, how about a snack?" He accepted hesitantly. By the end of the day, his name didn't seem much odder than Heather's or Sun Ray's.

At dismissal time, the teachers led the children out to the buses. "Fruit Stand, do you know which one is your bus?"

He didn't answer. That wasn't strange. He hadn't answered them all day. Lots of children are shy on the first day of school. It didn't matter. The teachers had instructed the parents to write the names of their children's bus stops on the reverse side of their name tags. The teacher simply turned over the tag. There, neatly printed, was the word "Anthony." - Luanne Oleas.

Ravi was right, it is an exclusive Gospel, and by way of definition and proposition, there is no other Way, there is no other Life, there is no other truth, and there is no other Name. His Name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone. Let's take the time today, to specifically honour Jesus as Lord and Saviour, with our hearts, our words, and our actions.

Loving Father, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for Jesus, your only begotten son, and the fact that His Name is above every other name that has ever been named. Lord Jesus, your glory extends back beyond creation, and will endure after the light from every sun has been extinguished, your sacrificial love that saved me is awesome and beyond comparison. I ask you to receive my heartfelt adoration and praise. To you belong all glory, majesty, power, and grace, for what you have done to save me, and what you will one day do to bring me home to you! In your wonderful Name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged!
GBYAY