If you had some serious illness, you would be glad to get a doctor's prescription, and you would not delay getting it from the chemist.
Did you realise that you might have the greatest prescription of all lying unused in your own home! Our great God and Saviour has graciously provided God's only prescription for our original and worst disease. But, remember a prescription is only of value if you use it to secure the right cure, and follow its instructions.
God's Word, the Holy Bible, could be compared to a doctor's prescription. So, just to have a Holy Bible in your home will not cure you! You need to read it, and believe in the cure God tells us about for our terrible and deadly disease of SIN. You need to be sure you are putting your trust in that only cure, or you will not be saved from sin, nor escape Hell! (John 5:24. & 12:48.)
God has been writing out the prescription time and time again through His many prophets, and He has kept the record for us in the OLD TESTAMENT of the Holy Bible. This message was often misunderstood and rejected by careless and disobedient people. (verses 38-40. John 5:39-40.)
God's last and clearest message for us was through His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in the NEW TESTAMENT. (Hebrews 1:1-3.)
But some people thought Jesus' message disagreed with what God had said through His prophets. God had written "that the Christ will remain forever". So how could Jesus claim to be the Christ if He was talking about being lifted up to die on a cross! The people asked Him, "How can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'?" (verse 33.)
If only they had listened to ALL that Jesus said, and ALL that the prophets had said about Him, they would have known God's plan for the Messiah (Christ.) To become our Saviour He must take the punishment for the sins of all mankind (Isaiah 53:3-6.), and rise from the dead on the third day. (Luke 24:25-27. 44-48.) Then Jesus would "remain forever" as the only One who qualifies to forgive our sins and make us acceptable to God. (verse 36. 1st Peter 3 :18. Hebrews 7:23-27.)
Jesus told them, "You are going to have the Light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the Light, before darkness overtakes you... Put your trust in the Light while you have it, so that you may become the sons of Light." (verses 34-36.)
But the people were content to live on in their sin, and believe that somehow their religion would eventually cure them! IMPOSSIBLE!
How could they be so blind as to refuse the Light of God, refusing to trust in Jesus - God's only prescription for the sin of the world! (verses 39-40. John 1:9-13. 3:16-21.)
Read about their folly in John's Gospel chapter 12, verses34-41.
John Nixon, Cork, Ireland. P31HD98. Contact: jnixonj@gmail.com
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