Police Devotion 11-3-2017

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 15:13)

God is “the God of hope.” The hope He gives is a good hope, a sure hope. He gives us joy and peace as we believe His Word, trusting His Word as truth. Picture a little kid at a third-story window of a burning house. Outside the window beneath him are eight big firefighters holding a safety net, yelling for him to jump. They can catch him and save him, but he has to believe on them, to accept their offer of salvation as truth, trust his life to them, and jump. If he does, he’ll be saved. If he doesn’t, he’ll perish in the flames.

That’s how you come to Jesus. You accept God’s truth that you’ve sinned and are separated from God: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And that your sins have condemned you to death and hell: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14). You also accept that God the Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross to pay your sin-debt, was buried, and rose again: “…Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24).

Finally, you come to the risen Jesus, trusting Him entirely (believing) to forgive and save you when you receive Him: “…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). Once you receive Jesus as Saviour, you can accept as truth God’s promise that Jesus has forgiven and saved you: “…He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). He is God—He cannot lie.

God also has many more promises for believers than that. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.” Once you know Jesus as Saviour, you have many promises in His Word you can accept as truth. The more you read His Word, the more promises you’ll find to trust and rejoice in; the better you know Jesus and see His love for you, the more your love for Him grows.

More about Jesus in His Word, Holding communion with my Lord, Hearing His voice in every line, making each faithful saying mine. More about Jesus  by Eleiza E. Hewitt, John R. Sweney

You’ll be tempted at times not to believe His Word. For instance, God promised, “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). But if things aren’t going well in your life, you may think God has forsaken you. You may neglect your Bible, skip church, and become angry at God. Don’t trust your circumstances—trust God’s promises. God made promises. He meant them. You can trust God’s Word.

Do you feel your faith is weak? That can happen. The remedy to a lack of faith is God’s Word: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). This verse isn’t just for lost people to come to Christ to be saved. It’s also for saved people to grow in their faith.

Have you ever come to Christ, receiving Him as your Saviour? If you want to know more, please click “Helpful Links” on the main menu and then “How Do I Go to Heaven?” on the dropdown.

Brian Miller 11/3/2017

Cleveland Baptist Church | 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 | 216.671.2822