JULY 31, 2025 ~ FROM A PASTOR'S HEART

JULY 31 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: REVELATION 22:12-17

Many years ago, I remember a man who said, "I am going to teach you John 3:16 like you have never heard it taught before." He then went on to say that “whosoever” didn't really mean whosoever. He spent a lot of time trying to make his point and quite honestly when he had finished I was really wondering what the point of the whole thing was.

People have spent their whole lives fighting the battle of the special elect or total free will. I find it an exercise in futility which usually leads to one feeling spiritually superior to another. You could spend a lot of time finding verses that support your particular theological persuasion and at the end feel you have proven your point better than the other side...it happens all the time. Both systems are man-made and both have their biblical limitations.

So what are we to do? We are to know that God is sovereign (He answers to no one)...we are to know that God is love...we are to know that His grace and mercy are greater and more far reaching than any of our minds can conceive...we are to know that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world...we are to know that no one can come to Him unless drawn by the Holy Spirit...we are to know that Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up will draw all men unto myself"...we are to know that when one is drawn they must make a decision concerning Christ...we must know that even the ability to respond in faith comes from God...we must know that all who come to Him, He will in no wise cast out...we must know that God knows!

In salvation, though no man knows all the nuances involved...we can know that God is a gracious and loving God, whose will is that, "none should perish, but that all would come to repentance."

Please share your thoughts.