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An
Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at
Creekwood |
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One
of Us Joseph Damien was a nineteenth-century missionary who ministered to people with leprosy on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. Those suffering grew to love him and revered the sacrificial life he lived out before them. One morning before Damien was to lead daily worship, he was pouring some hot water into a cup when the water swirled out and fell onto his bare foot. It took him a moment to realize that he had not felt any sensation. Gripped by the sudden fear of what this could mean, he poured more hot water on the same spot. Again, there was no feeling whatsoever. Damien
immediately knew what had happened. As he walked
tearfully to deliver his sermon, no one at first
noticed the difference in his opening line. He
normally began every sermon with, "My fellow
believers." But this morning he began with........ Now
Damien could FULLY RELATE to the lepers because
he BECAME a leper.
He Damien’s experience portrays the wonder of the Incarnation -- how JESUS, "being in the form of God, … made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men" to live among us (Philippians 2:6-7). The
Hebrew writer informs us of the importance of the
incarnation: "Therefore, in all things He had to
be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful
and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God,
to make propitiation for Because
Jesus was "made like His brethren" (human), He
understands us. He ALSO knows our deepest need: salvation from sin and a relationship with our Heavenly Father. In order to provide for our deepest need, Jesus lived among us, and then died for us, "to make propitiation [to pay the price of redemption] for [our] sins." "Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, EVEN... the death of the CROSS" (Philippians 2:8). The
ONLY one who could take our place and pay the price
for our sins has to be one who is like us, yet without
sin. Jesus
was that One (Hebrews 4:15-16). There
IS a response on
our part: Jesus saves those who: believe
in Him and trust Him (Acts 16:31), repent
of their sins (Acts 17:30-31), confess
Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), are baptized
(immersed) for the forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38), He became "LIKE YOU" in order to "SAVE YOU". Won’t you accept His offer?
David A. Sargent,
Minister * Ravi Zacharias To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:
HTML version: subscribe-livingwater@lyris.dundee.net Follow this link to locate the church of Christ nearest you: www.churchsearch.org Archived issues of "Living Water" can be accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org
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