Read The Instructions

Read The Instructions

Their zeal is not based on knowledge. Rom 10:2

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Early in the life of our family, I owned a 1955 Dodge. I thought it was a grand car

in the 1970’s and I drove it with pride. One Saturday, I set out to change a flat tire.

I took the tire wrench and could not budge the bolt no matter how hard I tried.

I pressed down on the left side of the wrench with all the strength I could muster in

my arms. I then began jumping on the wrench, but to no avail. I fastened a four

foot bar across the wrench and used the extra leverage to exert as much

force as I could, but still the nuts on the wheel failed to turn.

A neighbour from across the street sauntered over and asked me if I was having

any trouble, or if he could help. I explained my problem. At his suggestion, I took

out the owner’s manual, and to my surprise discovered that the nuts on the wheel of

this car were threaded in the reverse direction. I had just spent the last half hour

tightening the nuts to an incredible degree that had now added to my problem.

Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to God

except through Him as our Redeemer. Paul, in this portion of his letter to the people

in Rome, notes that we can’t become righteous before God by keeping His

commandments. This fact is not just related to the Jewish nation. Who hasn’t

thought at some time or other that he had to be sinless in order to win God’s

favour? No one has ever been able to do this. Even Abraham and David fell far

short of this perfection. These men, and others, consistently throughout the Old and

New Testaments only found righteousness through forgiveness by placing their trust

in God. Righteousness has only been achieved with God through confession of sin

and placing one’s life in the hands of God, accepting His leading. When we develop

our own theories or activities to win justification before God, we are

turning the nut in the wrong direction.

Read the Creator’s instructions. Abraham did not know how God was going to

redeem him, but He trusted God anyway. He came close when he instructed his son

Isaac on the way to that special offering. When Isaac asked his father about having

the fire and the wood but wondered where the offering was, Abraham answered,

“God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering!” (Gen 22:8)

John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching one day and said, “Behold the Lamb of

God which taketh away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, KJV) Paul expresses

what he had experienced for himself. “For it is with your heart that you believe and

are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved... Everyone

who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” (Rom 10:10-11) Unlike Abraham

and other Old Testament saints, we have the privilege of looking back to Jesus

and seeing how God worked to win this gift of righteousness.

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Heavenly Father, it seems that we have so many options in life today. In fact,

it seems to be universally accepted that there is no ‘right’ way to view anything,

but that everything is open to interpretation and one theory can be as respected as

any other theory. Lord help me to base my life on Your Word. Help me

to live according to what I know to be true and good. Amen.

- Noel Churchman

Noel was the Executive Director of Christian Horizons form 1976 to 2001. The devotionals we will be using are from a book he wrote in 2005 called “Walking with God”. Noel’s reflections are grounded in his experiences as an educator, and provider of supports for individuals with exceptional needs as well as his life as a dedicated follower of Christ.