Old Testament reading: 2 Kings 7-8
With God all things are possible. As the famine in Samaria continued to take its toll on Israel, Elisha pronounces not only an end to the famine, but an immediate reversal to the plight of Israel. Elisha announces that Samaria shall overflow with commodities within a 24 hour period. One of the king’s closest advisors questions Elisha’s prophecy, not in wonderment, but in skepticism and rejection. He is informed that he will witness the event, but not be a partaker thereof. My favorite line of this account is found in 2 Kings 7:9, as four lepers decided to leave the starving city and surrender themselves to the Syrians in hopes of saving their lives. In their own words, they had nothing to lose. Rather than finding the Syrian army, they found the entire camp abandoned with all the animals and provisions remaining behind. (You’ll have to read the reason for such yourself!) As they filled themselves with food and goodly spoil, they observed, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news.” This statement reminds me of my obligation to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When something good happens to us, we want to share that news far and wide. So it should also be with those who have been forgiven of their sins through the blood of Jesus.
New Testament reading: Acts 15-16
“Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar” (Prov 30:6). Acts 15 and “the Jerusalem council” reaffirms an important truth that many in the religious world do not consider – all men will be saved in the same fashion. Speaking of his dealings with the Gentiles at Cornelius’ house, Peter proclaimed that all men would be saved by the grace of God “in the same manner as they.” How were these saved by God’s grace? By being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf Acts 10:48). How were the first Jews saved in the Christian Age? By being baptized in the name of the Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (cf Acts 2:38, 41). This is the only one plan by which men can be saved from their sins. Any attempt to alter the plan by adding to it as the Judaizers and Pharisees did, or any attempt to eliminate part of the plan is to negate the entire thing.
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