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May 26
The hour of decision
For reading & meditation: 2 Corinthians 6
"I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation." (v.2)
Listen to Jesus as He receives the news that the Greeks have come to interview Him: "Now is my heart troubled '" (John 12:27). The Greek word used here for "troubled" is tarasso, which implies extreme agitation. And well might He be troubled, for being human as well as divine, our Lord would have felt as keenly as you and I the horror of impending death. Some of us are not troubled at this point because we fall in with the spirit of the age, and choose acceptance rather than rejection - the plaudits of men rather than the nails of a cross. We are afraid to die, and thus live on to experience only shallowness. Again our Lord cries: "And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour' " (John 12:27). Would He ask to be excused, from paying the supreme price? Some of us may be asking that at this very moment. We are asking to be "saved from this hour". Listen to how Jesus meets this moment: "No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour" (John 12:27). Can you see what He is saying? "All the ages have matched me against this moment, all the yearnings of men have brought me face to face with this crisis. I cannot fail now, for I would fail both God and them." Can you sense in your own heart right now that God has been working to bring you to this crisis point? For some of you, particularly those of you who have not yet fully surrendered your lives to God's purposes, this is a moment of destiny. Someone has brought you to this hour - that Someone is God.
Prayer:
O Father, what can I say? I feel a struggle going on inside me - the struggle concerning who is to be my soul's rightful Lord. Help me to make the final surrender. I do it now, fully and finally. In Jesus' worthy and wonderful Name. Amen.
For further study:
Acts 26; Psalms 32:6; Deuteronomy 30:19
1. What was Agrippa's response to the challenge?
2. How will you respond to God's challenge?
