John 6: 66 – 68
After this, many of his disciples turned back and were not walking with him anymore. So Jesus asked the Twelve, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Dear Lord Jesus,
Keep us always close to you so we will not turn away from you. Faith was never forced upon anyone, it has always been a gift placed in our hands, and people can choose at any time to leave it. These verses from John are a shocking wake-up call for all of us who trust in you. Those who walked away from you that day had been eyewitnesses of your miracles; they had in-person private lessons on repentance and forgiveness; you offered them full forgiveness for their every sin, yet they left you. We always have that choice to go and try to gain heaven our own way, but the minimum requirement is to love you and others perfectly. Setting aside self to serve you and others; if we fail with our thoughts, James reminds us of this: “In fact, whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point has become guilty of breaking all of it.”
Lord, we say with Peter, “To whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life.” You suffered for us on the Calvary’s cross, for all our sins, and with our sins pardoned; you restored us to the Father. Eternal life is ours through faith in you. We can never keep the demands of the law on our own, but it is through you that you have redeemed us from the bondage of hell. So, we thank you for saving us, and we pray that you will keep your Holy Spirit close to us so we will never reject you or your word.
We pray that we can share this good news with others who do not know you. So that they, too, can hold on to you in faith and have the words to eternal life. Amen.
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
Walking with Jesus in his word means knowing and trusting what Jesus has done for you; he has forgiven you every sin, declaring you not guilty. Then through faith, we serve God and others out of love for what Jesus has done.