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POWER FOR TODAY
Ken Willis
The story is told that, on September 2, 1945, when
General Yoshijiro Umezu came into the presence of General MacArthur,
on board the battleship Missouri, to sign the Articles of Surrender,
he extended his hand. General MacArthur clasped his hands behind
him and said very firmly, “Your sword, Sir.” General
Umezu is said the have unsheathed his sword and handed it to General
MacArthur. General MacArthur then turned the Articles of Surrender
toward General Umezu and said, “Your signature, Sir.”
General Umezu leaned forward and affixed his signature to the document.
With that final gesture of surrender completed, then, and only then,
did General MacArthur extend his hand. From that point on, as we
all know, General MacArthur led the United States in helping Japan
to rebuild.” (Avanelle Baird)
In a similar way, it is only when we completely
surrender to Jesus that he gives us power. In his prayer to and
for the Ephesians, Paul desires that they “be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love…”
(Ephesians 3:16,17). The Lord has made available to us tremendous
power. We have to make the contact for that power to come into and
remain in our lives. This we do through faith. In Romans 12:1, Paul
says this power can transform our lives. “I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Transformation does not come automatically. The rebuilding of Japan
was a long and on-going process for many years. The transforming
process in our lives continues until the day of our death.
Part of what that living sacrifice means is described
in 2 Peter 1:24, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through
the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine
power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto exceeding great and precious promises: that
by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust.” We must
have knowledge of the One who called us by his own glory and virtue.
This knowledge acquaints us with those “exceeding great and
precious promises,” which in turn leads us to be “partakers
of the divine nature.” It all hinges on knowledge.
As far as I know, the only way to gain Bible knowledge
is through study. Study can take the form of reading, listening
to tapes, researching Bible questions and doctrines, being in a
Bible class, attending Gospel Meetings, Vacation Bible School, etc.
Have you tapped into the power that is available to you? Are you
presenting your body a living sacrifice? Are you a partaker of the
divine nature? Are you using the power available to you to escape
the corruption that is in the world? You Need to!
Copied from
South Florida Avenue’s Bulletin
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