Judge now, Judged then

JUDGE NOW, JUDGED THEN

Who do you say I am?
(Matt. 16:15 NIV).

 

I met a family by the name of Smart when I was in South Africa,. They had listened to "The Wesleyan Hour" for about a year and a half and had all the printed sermons stapled together. They happened upon the program quite by accident on TransWorld Radio from Swaziland. The husband and wife had experienced a particularly strong conviction while listening.

 

Before accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, Mr. Smart went back into the Scriptures. Checking references in five encyclopedias, his conviction remained. His conversion was not an emotional one. He examined the facts, weighed the evidence and reached a verdict. Not everyone's conversion is that calculated, but each of us is called upon to reach a judgment and answer the question Jesus asked, "Who do you say I am?"

 

Is He God incarnate? Is He the Lamb of God slain for the salvation of the world? Is He who

He claims to be? Our judgment of Him determines our destiny. And someday, we will no longer be making a judgment on Him. He will be making a judgment on us. When we stand before Him as our Judge, we. can be very sure of one thing. His judgment will be righteous, for He will know everything about us. I want to face Him with the confidence born of knowing Him as my Savior. Don’t you?

 

Life response: With God’s help, I will live so that I will be able to stand before the Lord with confidence.