22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
24 because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
It is helpful to see our lives in the light of Christ's finished, eternal work. And, in today's Advent Scripture from the 2023 Faith Radio Advent Guide, we concentrate on this truth emanating from our relationship with Christ: I have eternal life. It's Day 5 of the 25-Day spiritual "advent-ure," and the theme Scripture verse is found in this passage from the 6th chapter of Romans:
(19b) For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
24 because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
We can be confident about where we will spend eternity because of the promises God has made to us in His Word. The Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. If we hear the Word and believe in what it says about salvation, we can recognize that have passed from death to life, and have been rescued from the power of sin, which carries with it an eternal death sentence. But Jesus has come and freed us from that sentence, paid our penalty, and freed us from its bondage.
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It is helpful to see our lives in the light of Christ's finished, eternal work. And, in today's Advent Scripture from the 2023 Faith Radio Advent Guide, we concentrate on this truth emanating from our relationship with Christ: I have eternal life. It's Day 5 of the 25-Day spiritual "advent-ure," and the theme Scripture verse is found in this passage from the 6th chapter of Romans:
(19b) For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
Now, the featured verse, verse 23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Because we have believed upon God's Word and prayed to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can know that we have salvation through Him. The Word, who became flesh, existed from the beginning and we are told that it "endures forever."
It's hard to grasp the concept of eternity. But, the good news is that we will be with the Lord forever in heaven - our eternal home.
There is a recent occurrence in Des Moines, Iowa that can help us recall the enduring nature of God's Word. It centers around the owner of Pageturners Bookstore, Kathy Macgruder, who, according to the Faithwire website, had visited a local senior living home and made an amazing discovery - a Bible, estimated to be 318 years old! The article says that, "She had gone to the home to look for unique texts and the Bible eventually stood out." Faithwire goes on to say:
First and foremost, it was printed in 1705 in Selkirkshire, Scotland, and was potentially done so illegally without the monarchy’s permission; such an infraction could lead to a death sentence at the time, KCCI-TV reported.
Magruder was also able to track down who initially owned the Bible, as there was reportedly a family history scribbled in the middle of the book.
“I knew exactly where this book was at a particular time and a particular place, and I knew who owned it, which was pretty exciting,” she said. “You don’t find that very often.”
The article notes:
Nursing home officials don’t know how the Bible arrived at the location, and Magruder hasn’t yet been able to locate relatives of the original owners.
The big question, of course, is how it made its way over the pond and into the U.S.
Magruder’s quest to dig up additional information continues. She eventually plans to sell the Bible...
Certainly, this Bible has had a lengthy life - and the information that is contained in its pages not only tells God's story, but the stories of those who have come in contact with it. This can really cause us to think about how our interaction with God's Word can change our lives - its story completely alters our story, and tells us about our future history - because we have eternal life!
When you accepted Christ, your life was placed on a new timeline. You became part of a new, fresh, and exciting story. God's plan for the redemption of humanity was applied to your life. Now, you have a promise of life beyond the grave - true, eternal life, that is in your heart this very moment. Because your eternity with Jesus began when you were born again. So, we can embrace the story and walk in the tried and true, timeless principles of the Word of God.
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