Numbers 23-25 | Mark 7:14-37

“The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.” Deuteronomy 2:7

In the beginning, God created everything, the universe, the world and humanity. Specifically with humanity, He created us to be in relationship with Him. However, God’s original design for humanity was corrupted by sin; this sin severed our relationship with God to the point that there was nothing we could do to get back in relationship with Him. The only way to restore this relationship was by the immense love of our God. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus Christ, born as a Man, lived the perfect life among us only to give His life away on the cross so that sin could be broken forever. Through His death, our relationship with God is restored when we place our faith in Jesus.

The picture of the gospel is best illustrated in baptism, where we boldly declare to God, the church and the world that we are a follower of Jesus Christ. In baptism, we are making three things publicly known. Firstly, we are personally choosing to identify with Jesus, where we have been saved by Him and have placed our faith in Him. Secondly, we are choosing to commit ourselves to the discipleship process, which is an ongoing process for the rest of our life. Lastly, what we are doing is demonstrating that a transformation has and is continuing to take place in our life so that when others see us, they are going to see something different—Someone different—they are going to see Jesus in us. In a nutshell, baptism is an outward sign of an inward change.

If we want to follow Jesus, we need to be prepared to put our full trust in Him, to place our complete faith in Him and to obey Him always. Yet, we have to recognize that at the same time it is not about us, but Jesus Christ at work in us through the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5-7 says, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” 

When we follow Jesus, here is what happens: we still live our life, we still go about our life day in and day out. The world around us does not change, but what is different now is that we have been changed, we have been transformed on the inside.

PRAYER

Dear Jesus Christ, it is only by Your Spirit in me that enables me to live the Christian life. Thank You for the gift of salvation. Praise You!