OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
TUESDAY 27 JANUARY 2015.

THEME : WONDERFUL SAVIOUR.

MEMORISE : For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ISAIAH 9 : 6.


READ : ACTS 2 : 22 - 24.
22. Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.


BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JEREMIAH 8 : 18 -10 : 25 AND ACTS 15 : 36 - 16 : 15.


Message
A major difference between Christianity and other religion is the availability of the Saviour for anyone who needs salvation. As a matter of fact, the essence of true religion is the salvation that it guarantees. Any religion that does not offer the assurance of salvation, particularly salvation from sin, is a base contraption. Concerning Jesus, the Bible in Matthew 1 : 21 says that :

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Why is Jesus Christ the wonderful Saviour? His confessions and testimony about Himself make Him wonderful. No man ever spoke the words that Jesus did. In John 15 : 13, He said this about His mission here on earth :
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

No man ever did such a thing before Him, and after Him, nothing of such as happened.

In Acts 2 : 22 - 24, Peter plainly declared the mission, the passion and the perfect atonement that Jesus accomplished for humankind. Hebrews 9 also corroborates the perfect redemption that Jesus Christ brought to us. For this reason, the apostles declared in Acts 4 : 12 that :

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
In light of the foregoing, the author of the book of Hebrews asks this fundamental question:

" How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;" Hebrews 2 : 3.

The Lord Jesus came with a specific assignment that distinguishes Him from the caricature of religious leaders. Even the Pharisees admitted that He taught as someone with authority ( Luke 4 : 18 - 22, Mark 1 : 22 ). Jesus Christ is not only the Saviour of the soul; He delivers the body from demonic torment too. Those who witnessed His life testified that He went about doing good ( Acts 10 : 38 ). My prayer is that if you have not accepted Him as the wonderful Saviour, you will do so today.



PRAYER POINT :
Father, I accept your offer of salvation through Jesus Christ my Lord today. Receive me and forgive me as I ( re )dedicate my life to you today.

AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE.