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E V E R Y D A Y L I G H T
Daily readings to help you see Jesus' light in your life
by Selwyn Hughes
Attainment or Obtainment?
"... he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead
..." (v. 18)
-- For reading & meditation: Colossians 1:1-20
Does salvation come up from mankind through striving, helped by the
Divine, or does it come down to us from above, through the act of God
and our receptivity of that act? Is it an attainment or an
obtainment? The answers separate Christianity from all other
religions. Non-Christian religions teach that salvation is the work
of mankind; the Christian faith teaches that salvation is the gift of
God - Christianity alone falls into the category of obtainment. Some
people try to blunt the sharpness of the question "Does mankind
strive to reach up to God or does God come down to redeem mankind
through the incarnate Jesus?" by saying the answer is both. But by
the very nature of things it cannot be both. The starting points are
different. One begins with mankind; the other begins with God. Since
the beginnings are different, the endings will be different. The
whole of the New Testament revolves around the Person and work of
Jesus. In some form or another He is on every page. A letter I
received protested against a statement I made which went something
like this: "There is only one Person around whom the universe can
unite, and that Person is Jesus." "There have been good persons in
history," said my correspondent, "why not unite around all of them
rather than just one?" Because Christ is the meeting point of the
human and the divine. No one else can hold that position. An Indian
Hindu said recently: "There is no one else bidding for the heart of
humanity except Jesus. There is no one else on the field." There
isn't!
PRAYER:
O Father, we want to thank You that when we couldn't come to You, You
came down the ladder to us through the Incarnation. We are eternally
grateful. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
Eph. 1:1-23; John 3:31; 1 Cor. 8:6
1. List some of the things that we have obtained in Christ.
2. What did John declare about Jesus?
Special Offer from CWR and Crosswalk.com
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would like to offer our readers an introductory copy of CWR's one year
devotional Every Day with Jesus - Treasure for the Heart for an
exclusive price of only �5.95 ($10.60), normally �10.94 ($19.50).
All prices include postage and packing from UK to the US.
To secure your introductory copy of this book, just go to CWR's Online
Bookstore at http://www.cwr.org.uk/crosswalk/redirect/partnership .
Additional devotionals are available from Crosswalk.com:
http://link.crosswalk.com/UM/T.asp?A1.7.28376.1.1698058
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Copyright 2002 Selwyn Hughes, CWR, Waverley Abbey House,
Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey, England. Come to
http://link.crosswalk.com/UM/T.asp?A1.7.28376.2.1698058
for more inspirational devotions by Selwyn Hughes.
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