[Dailydevo] Daily Devotion Monday January 23, 2006

[Barry Ludwig]

Daily Devotion Monday January 23, 2006

The daily devotions this week are written by Zion member Dale Eckart, who
looks at answers to the question, "What must I do?"

 

Matthew 19:16,21

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to
get eternal life?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me."

 

One of the questions I often ask when praying about a problem or choice is,
"What should I do, God?  Which path should I take?"  And sometimes, I wish
that God could speak to me directly -- out loud, so I could hear the answer.
Rick Warren wrote a whole book about what God wants for our life, but I
wondered if there were places in the Bible where God answers these questions
directly...where God says, "Do this!" to his people.

 

The first passage that came to mind was this one, where a rich young man
asks Jesus, straight out, "What must I do?"  Jesus' first answer came from
the Jewish Law -- follow the commandments -- and the young man replied that
he had already done this.  So, had he earned salvation?  Could he earn
salvation?

 

Jesus had a two-part response.  First, he set a standard so high that the
young man could not, using his own wisdom and strength, achieve it. But
Jesus did not leave it there...he added, "Come follow me." By coming forward
in faith, not on the merits of a good deed "report card," the young man
could have been saved.  But he couldn't accept it.

 

Through this week, God answers this question with good news; may we be able
to receive it.

 

Prayer

Good Teacher, we cannot always see the answers to the questions we bring to
you in prayer.  Give us confidence to trust you, and to follow you even when
it seems like an impossible task. Amen.

 

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