February 21 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

John 5:32-47:

³²There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
³³Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.
³⁴But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.
³⁵He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
³⁶But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
³⁷And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
³⁸And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
³⁹Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
⁴⁰And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
⁴¹I receive not honour from men.
⁴²But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
⁴³I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
⁴⁴How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
⁴⁵Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
⁴⁶For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.
⁴⁷But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Devotional

Right here is where the trouble lies. People do not search the Scriptures. Many professing Christians do not search the Scriptures. To search means to seek diligently. What is there to be found in the Scriptures? Life through Jesus Christ, eternal life. The Scriptures, both the Old Testament and the New, reveal Christ to us, His suffering and death and resurrection. Jesus says, "I came that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." "In him was life, and the life was the light of men." Without him all is darkness and death. Only by searching the Scriptures can we learn to know the God of love and of justice. This is life eternal: to know God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. We cannot obtain life through ignorance. And knowledge, the knowledge of salvation, will not come to us without searching. Moreover, only by knowing the truth can we be kept from error. We read of the Bereans: "They received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things (which the apostles preached) were so." They wanted to be sure that they were not building on error; for then they would be lost. It is not what men say, however learned they may be, but what God says, that can save us. Therefore search the Scriptures, the Word of God. Believe and live!

Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee that Thou hast revealed Thyself unto us in the Scriptures. We could never know Thee, nor could we know Jesus Christ our Saviour, nor the way of salvation, if Thou hadst not spoken unto us. Help us to realize that this is life eternal to know Thee, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. May we then search the Scriptures diligently, that we may know the truth. May Thy Spirit lead us into all truth, and through Thy Word assure us of eternal life. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: John 10:10; 1:4; 17:3; Acts. 17:11.

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