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"Pass
It On!"
The
city of Samaria was besieged by the Syrian army (read
2 Kings 7). As
a result, a great famine arose in the city.
Four leprous men stood outside of the city
discussing their plight.
They reasoned among themselves, "Why
are we sitting here until we die?
If we say, 'We will enter the city,' the famine
is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit
here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us
surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us
alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall
only die’" (3-4).
The
four leprous men rose at twilight the next morning to
go to the camp of the Syrians.
When they came to the outskirts of the Syrian
camp, to their surprise no one was there.
Why had the camp been deserted?
“The LORD had caused the army of the Syrians
to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses;
the noise of a great army; so they said to one
another, ‘Look, the king of Israel has hired against
us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the
Egyptians to attack us!’" (v. 6).
The Syrian army evacuated in a panic, leaving
the camp intact.
When
these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they
went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from
it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid
them. Then
they came back and entered another tent, and carried
some from there also, and went and hid it (v. 8). Then
their consciences began to hurt them.
They said to one another, "We are not
doing right....
This day is a day of good news,
and we remain silent!"
If we wait until morning light, some
punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let
us go and tell the king's household" (v. 9). They shared the good news, and the famine ended!
Christians
also have good news that is too good to keep!
The good
news (or gospel)
is... that Jesus came into the world to
save sinners (Matthew 1:21).
Because of Jesus’ death, burial and
resurrection -- the facts of the Gospel (1 Corinthians
15:1-3) -- we may have salvation from our sins and the
hope of living eternally with Him in heaven.
The good news
is... that those
who believe in Jesus (Acts 16:31), confess His name
(Romans 10:9-10), repent of their sin and are baptized
in the name of Jesus for the remission of their sins
(Acts 2:38) are saved from their past sins.
As the Christian continues to walk in the light
as He is in the light, The
good news is...
that the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse him from
his sin (1 John 1:7).
Jesus is the author of salvation to all those
who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9).
Friends,
if we are not sharing the good news of Jesus, then the
words of those guilt-stricken lepers ring true for us
as well: “We
are not doing right.
This day is a day of good news,
and we remain silent.”
Our
response must be that of the four leprous men who had
found treasure:
“Let us go and tell” others!
Let’s share the good news!
We encourage you to use the Living Water
devotional as a tool for outreach for Christ.
Pass
it on!
"Living
Water" is produced on a weekly basis and
is currently utilized by more than 6
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United Kingdom -
Venezuela
God
bless you!
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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