ODB: the final opening ceremony
January 8, 2010
READ: Revelation 15
All nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested. —Revelation 15:4
Some words used to describe the opening ceremony of the 2008 summer Olympics were awesome, breathtaking, and extravagant. One commentator observed, “This shows what happens when you give an artist an unlimited budget.”
When I heard this, I thought, That’s what God did at creation! He held nothing back. The resulting universe is stunning in beauty, staggering in complexity, extravagant in all regards.
The Olympic ceremony was perfect in its precision; but if just one drummer or dancer had decided to alter the artist’s vision, the whole ceremony would have been flawed.
That’s what happened shortly after creation. Unlike the Olympic producer, God allowed free choice, and His work of art was marred by Adam and Eve’s idea of a better way. In Isaiah’s words, “We have turned, every one, to his own way” (53:6).
God’s solution to our waywardness was unimaginable: The Artist paid the price to recreate what we ruined. One day, there will be another opening ceremony, and everyone in heaven and on earth will bow at the name of Jesus (Phil. 2:10). And those from every nation who have accepted God’s plan in Christ will worship together in the flawless New Jerusalem (Rev. 15:4). — Julie Ackerman Link
We have all eternity to praise God—begin today.
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Loading ...ODJ: early or late
Out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness (vv.21-23).
READ: Mark 7:14-23
Have you ever listened to someone tell how he or she came to receive Jesus as Savior, and it totally blew you away? You sat slack-jawed as you took in every incredible detail. The depth of depravity from which God lifted this person was amazing!
It’s likely we’ve all experienced the goosebumps and waves of faith-building joy that powerful testimonies for Jesus can elicit. But, if you’re a person who came to believe in Jesus as a child, these accounts can also make you think your conversion story is boring and not worth sharing.
Not true.
Whether you’ve come to Christ early or late, it’s an amazing tale to tell. God performed a miraculous work in your life. Jesus said that before salvation your heart was full of “wickedness . . . from within” (Mark 7:21-23). You were literally “defiled” on the inside (v.23).Your sin nature was present at birth, not something that settled on you during life’s journey (vv.15,18-20). As the apostle Paul wrote, you entered earth “dead” in your sins (Ephesians 2:5). And all of us were under sin’s power (Romans 3:9). In Psalm 53, the writer states: “All have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!” (v.3).
There was nothing inside of us that could save us. But God reached out in mercy, and “though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead” (Ephesians 2:5).
So if you think your salvation experience lacks power in presentation, you’re dead wrong. For if your story were a headline, it would read:
DEAD PERSON COMES TO LIFE!
Now that’s an amazing story that everyone needs to hear. —Tom Felten
How do you view the power of your salvation story? How does the fact that you were once dead in sin affect what you now share with others?
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