Red letters

John 14:6 New International Version (NIV)

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

These are the words of Jesus telling us directly his is the truth, the life and the way to The Father. Take these words and believe them.

If you own a red letter edition Bible the verse above is written in red. The red letter edition points out all the words Jesus spoke by printing them in red.

The inspiration for rubricating the Dominical words comes from Luke, 22:20: "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which I shed for you." On 19 June 1899, Louis Klopsch, then editor of The Christian Herald magazine, conceived the idea while working on an editorial. Klopsch asked his mentor Rev. Thomas De Witt Talmage what he thought of a testament with the Dominical words rubricated and Dr. Talmage replied, "It could do no harm and it most certainly could do much good."

Klopsch published the first modern red letter edition New Testament later in 1899. The first modern, fully rubricated bible was published in 1901. The rubricated bible instantly became popular, and is sometimes favored by Protestant Christians in the United States. Especially in King James Version editions, this format is useful because quotation marks are absent.

Romans 5:9 says, “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” Jesus died to save us from our sin. He shed his blood on the cross. Red ran down from his body for our sakes. And for our sake His words are printed in red.

The invitation

Revelation 3:20 New King James Version (NKJV)

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Here we see an invitation given to the Church of Leodicia from The Lord. He states that if anyone hears His voice and opens the door He will come in and dine with them. It is a wonderful invitation suggesting warmth, intimacy and friendship. Have you heard The Lord and asked Him to join you?

In the Chicago Tribune Magazine actor Kyle Chandler was asked a series of finish-the-sentence questions.

One question was, "I'd give anything to meet___."

Chandler answered, "God Almighty. I'd like to share my favorite meal with him, and I'd let him do all the talking."

Such an offer is open to Chandler. Revelation 3:20 states: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

[Cheryl Lavin, "Fast Track," Chicago Tribune Magazine (March 2001); submitted by Lee Eclov]

Not only hear, but do

James 1:22 New King James Version (NKJV)

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

We all have a problem with our heart, not a physical one, but a spiritual one. Throughout The Bible, God has told us how to live our lives, yet we often ignore the words He has given us. In our disobedience, there are consequences we face. If only we would listen to what God has told us our lives would be much simpler.

A [2006] medical study reveals just how difficult change is for people. Roughly 600,000 people have heart bypasses a year in America. These people are told after their bypasses that they must change their lifestyle. The heart bypass is a temporary fix. They must change their diet. They must quit smoking and drinking. They must exercise and reduce stress.

In essence, the doctors say, "Change or die."

You would think that a near-death experience would forever grab the attention of the patients. You would think they would vote for change. You would think the argument for change is so compelling that the patients would make the appropriate lifestyle alterations. Sadly that is not the case.

Ninety percent of the heart patients do not change. They remain the same, living the status quo. Study after study indicates that two years after heart surgery, the patients have not altered their behavior. Instead of making changes for life, they choose death.

Change is that difficult. The majority of the heart patients choose not to change. They act as if they would rather die.

[Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger, Simple Church (B & H Publishing Group, 2006), p. 229]

Remembering God's Words

Psalm 119:114 New International Version (NIV)

114 You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.

Remembering God’s words at critical times in your life can bring peace and hope you may have otherwise missed.

Scripture memorization is a great challenge to a modern day saints. But in the old days, many of the saints of God would memorize large portions of Scripture because they were devoted to God.

One such man was John Ruskin. He lived in the nineteenth century in Great Britain and was raised by a mother who was unsparing of herself and others. One of the things she made him do was memorize Scripture. He memorized Psalms 23, 32, 90, 91, 103, 112, 119, and 139.

Later in his life when he was writing some about some of his life experiences, he wrote, "It is strange that of all the pieces of the Bible which my mother taught me, that which cost me most to learn, and which was, to my childish mind, chiefly repulsive--the 119th Psalm--has now become of all the most precious to me in its overflowing and glorious passion of love for the Law of God."

Another man was William Wilberforce who fought slavery in London and was largely responsible for its downfall wrote in his diary in the year of 1819: "Walked today from Hyde Park Corner, repeating the 119th Psalm in great comfort."

Henry Martyn, a missionary to India, memorized Psalm 119 as an adult in 1804. He had an extremely laborious life but he wrote that it was the Bible alone that gave him the strength to keep on going. He died of exhaustion in 1812.

David Livingstone, the pioneer missionary to Africa, won a Bible from his Sunday school teacher by repeating Psalm 119 by heart when he was nine years old.

One Irish pastor out of the Keswick convention said that God did not call him to ministry but his mother did. I don't recommend this kind of calling but he said that his mother told him on her death-bed, "Derrick, my boy, you have the gift of gab. But you don't know the Word. If you'd learn the Word, the Lord might be able to use you." He took what she had to say to heart, determined to study the Bible, and within three weeks of his mother's death was preaching!

(From a sermon by Philip Harrelson, A Clean Life With a Hidden Deposit, 5/14/2012)