Lean Your Whole Weight On Jesus
John Paton, a missionary to a remote group of natives, was having a difficult time translating certain passages of the Bible into their language. It seemed that this particular group had no word for "believe." Then one day, one of the natives flopped into a chair, stretched out and propped his legs up on another chair.
He then expressed how good it felt to "lean his whole weight on" those chairs. The missionary quickly wrote the expression down.
When we believe in the promise of eternal life, we "lean our whole weight on" Jesus. To believe in the Gospel message is to transfer the full weight of our confidence and concerns to the finished work of Christ--to rest completely in the substitutionary work of Christ.
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
Of Morse Code and Easter Messages
Daily Readings on America, January 6th:
As a young man, Samuel Morse set out to become a famous painter. His ambition was "to rival the genius of a Raphael, a Michelangelo, or a Titian." He studied at the Royal Academy in London and won acclaim by painting portraits of men such as President James Monroe and the Marquis de Lafayette.
In 1832, onboard a ship crossing the ocean, Morse heard another passenger describe how electricity could pass instantly over any length of wire. He began to wonder: Could messages be sent over wires with electricity? He rushed back to his cabin, took out his drawing book, and began to sketch out his idea for a telegraph.
He knew little about electricity, but he learned as he went. He used a homemade battery and parts from an old clock to build his first models. He developed a code of long and short electrical impulses-"dots" and "dashes"-to represent letters. His invention raised the interest of Alfred Vail, a machinist who became his partner.
On January 6, 1838, the inventors were ready to test their device over two miles of wire at the Vail family ironworks in New Jersey. Vail's father scribbled "A patient waiter is no loser" on a piece of paper and handed it to his son. "If you can send this and Mr. Morse can read it at the other end, I shall be convinced," he said. A short time later, his words came out on the receiving end.
On May 24, 1844, an amazed crowd in the Supreme Court chambers in Washington, D.C., watched Samuel Morse demonstrate his telegraph by sending a message over a wire to Baltimore, 35 miles away. In Morse code, he tapped out a quote from the Bible: What hath God wrought!
Soon telegraph lines linked countries and continents, and the world entered the age of modern communication.
The diehard skeptic Mr. Vail, who penned his message saying, "If you can send this and Mr. Morse can read it, I shall be convinced" was indeed convinced. At the time, it was the greatest communication either sent or received.
On Easter morning, an infinitely more powerful message was sent and has since been received by millions upon millions. "He is not here; He is risen!" (Matthew 28:6). "Look what God has wrought!"
Won't you allow yourself to be convinced? Place your faith and trust in God's message of redemption communicated so clearly through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!
A Being By Himself
While at varying times both decrying Jesus and praising Him, Napoleon Bonaparte may never have given his heart to Christ (that remains for God to judge), but he certainly gave great thought to Him:
Christ is superior, in every way, to every person and every thing:
"Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else--not only in this world but also in the world to come" (Ephesians 1:21). ..."Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name" (Philippians 2:9). ..."For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:16-17).
Bonaparte understood that. So do even the demons. Yet it is not enough to understand--one must believe and receive.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).