Bible in a Year:
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
The man seemed beyond redemption. His crimes included eight shootings (killing six) and starting nearly 1,500 fires that terrorized New York City in the 1970s. He left letters at his crime scenes taunting the police, and he was eventually apprehended and given consecutive sentences of twenty-five years to life for each murder.
Yet God reached down to this man. Today he is a believer in Christ who spends time daily in the Scriptures, has expressed deep regret to his victims families, and continues to pray for them. Although imprisoned for more than four decades, this man who seemed beyond redemption finds hope in God and claims, My freedom is found in one word: Jesus.
Scripture tells of another unlikely conversion. Before he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, Saul (who later became the apostle Paul) was breathing out murderous threats against the Lords disciples (Acts 9:1). Yet Pauls heart and life were transformed by Jesus (vv. 1718), and he became one of the most powerful witnesses for Him in history. The man who once plotted the death of Christians devoted his life to spreading the hope of the gospel.
Redemption is always a miraculous work of God. Some stories are more dramatic, but the underlying truth remains the same: None of us deserve His forgiveness, yet Jesus is a powerful Savior! He [saves] completely those who come to God through him (Hebrews 7:25).
Do you know someone who seems like a tough case for redemption? Nothing is too hard for God! Bring that person before Him in prayer.
Dear Jesus, thank You for loving us so much You died to bring us into a relationship with You.
Bible in a Year:
Before they call I will answer.
Her doctor said her detached retinas couldnt be repaired. But after living without sight for fifteen yearslearning Braille, and using a cane and service doga Montana womans life changed when her husband asked another eye doctor a simple question: could she be helped? The answer was yes. As the doctor discovered, the woman had a common eye condition, cataracts, which the doctor removed from her right eye. When the eye patch came off the next day, her vision was 20/20. A second surgery for her left eye met with equal success.
A simple question also changed the life of Naaman, a powerful military man with leprosy. But Naaman raged arrogantly at the prophet Elishas instructions to wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored (2 Kings 5:10). Naamans servants, however, asked the military leader a simple question: If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? (v. 13). Persuaded, Naaman washed and his flesh was restored and became clean (v. 14).
In our lives, sometimes we struggle with a problem because we wont ask God. Will You help? Should I go? Will You lead? He doesnt require complicated questions from us to help. Before they call I will answer, God promised His people (Isaiah 65:24). So today, simply ask Him.
How complex are your prayer requests? What life problem can you offer to God in a simple prayer?
Dear heavenly Father, when life feels complicated and difficult, thank You for Your promise to hear even my simple prayers.