Bible Story of the Day: On Our Own
Bible Story of the Day
Scripture is the story of Jesus, from Genesis to Revelation. There are over 400 prophecies and representations of Jesus in the Old Testament alone. The Old Testament pointed forward to the coming Christ, and the New Testament points back to Jesus. The Bible is a record of redemption through Jesus Christ who conquered sin and death when He died on the cross and resurrected three days later. The New Testament was written almost 2000 years ago. Some of the Old Testament was written over 4000 years ago. The Bible Story of the Day not only shows Jesus throughout scripture but shows how scripture is relevant to our lives today. Seeing Jesus in scripture is a major step into understanding who our God is, and how He impacts and affects our lives in every moment. I pray that the Holy Spirit opens your mind to understanding the verses and how they affect your life and gives you a better understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will post a link to the chapter that each passage is from, so that you can read further on your own.
On Our Own
Deuteronomy 18:19-22
19 It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (NASB).
Where is Jesus and What Does This Mean to Us?
God is speaking to us in this passage on two parts. The first part, God is telling us that He is sending us a prophet or messenger to speak on behalf and about God to the people. It is our duty to listen. God has given us instructions here that tell us what is going to happen and how we need to respond. The second part clears up our question before we ask it. How will we know it is true? False prophets were as abundant then as they are now. Remember when the world was going to end in 2000 (Y2K), or 2012, or 2015 and every year since? None of those things happened, and God points them out as false prophets not to be believed. In turn, the prophets of the Old Testament told of events that were going to happen, and we have the benefit of seeing that they came true.
The first verse of this passage is telling us that Jesus is coming to speak for God, and it is in our best interest to listen to Him. God has answered the most pressing question we have regarding how we will know it is true. There will be proof by the prophecy coming true. Jesus spoke about what would happen to Him during His 3 years on earth. Those things held to be true, including His own death and resurrection. If we choose not to believe the prophets of the Old Testament or, especially, Jesus then we are own our own to face the punishment put forth by God.
What does this mean to us? God gave us freewill. We made a choice. It was a poor choice, indeed. God has given us a way out of our consequences through Jesus. If we choose not to listen to Jesus and believe He is our salvation, then we are own our own. At some point in our lives, most of us have had to face challenging times alone. We had no help. I experienced these countless times in my personal life and in the military. No one wants to face life alone. Now let’s put this in perspective. Very few people argue that Jesus did not exist as a human. Very few can legitimately argue that He died like the stories tell us. If this was God’s wrath upon His own son, then how do you think it will go for you on your own? This is no scare tactic, but if the idea of death and after-death being worse than this life doesn’t scare you then you are lying to yourself. Gimmicks to extend life would not be such a lucrative business if everyone was okay with dying. It is scary, even to us that believe in eternity. What do you feel about death? What if I am right, and you will face God’s wrath alone? Is that a risk worth taking? You do not have to face God alone, listen to the prophets and believe that Jesus will stand with you here and after.
