Listen to Audio Devotion
Matthew 11:28 (NKJV)
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Good morning, Welcome to a new day. I hope you are doing well. Ever since we began this new series of devotions, we’ve been inviting different speakers to share devotions every day. The devotion that you heard last week was shared by Dhishan, and I’m gonna introduce him formally in late episodes. But this week we have a special speaker and I would like to introduce him.
The devotions for this week is shared by Rev Isaac Sikha. He’s been in ministry for over 40 years. He’s served with Campus Crusade for 25 + years, and he spent a big portion of that serving God in Mangalore. Rev. Sikha has been a blessing to me and the church, and he’s a man who speaks the word with a passion to see the lost turn to Christ. I pray that as he shares the word, God will bless you and minister to you through his word.
I bring you greetings in the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord. It gives me great pleasure to speak to you a few thoughts on the theme, “The Cross, a sign of hope.” As we look at the world today, people all around the globe seem to be living without hope.
They are seeking to find hope in different things, but the Bible teaches us that the cross is a sign of hope. As we all know, the cross was considered to be a sign of a curse, but ever since Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, the entire meaning of the cross took a new dimension. I would say there was a paradigm shift in the thinking of the people of the world toward the cross.
Today, let me talk to you as, “The cross, the hope of acceptance.” in Matthew 11:28. God’s words says, come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. The Lord Jesus is giving an invitation of acceptance. Ever since man chose to go his own way, he lost the fellowship he had with God.
As sin began to multiply, man distanced himself more and more from God. Even when man longed to be accepted by God, he did not know how to gain that acceptance. He labored in sin and he only lost his fellowship and he moved away from God. God looked down on man and he realized how helpless man is. Man has been trying various ways in order to be accepted by God, but God knew the only way that man can come back to him, so he sent his son Jesus.
The Lord Jesus has paved the way for acceptance for anyone who believes in him. In John 14:6, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. He’s not only willing to accept us, but he has also made the way by his own life for us. He bridged the gap by the cross that separated man from the Holy God. All that man had to do was to just trust in Jesus, trust in the cross, and he will be accepted.
Are you sure you are accepted by God? Are you sure you are a child of God? Doesn’t matter how far you have been. The Lord is inviting you and saying, come to me. Will you respond? Will you come to him? Will you say, Lord Jesus, I need you? I open my heart. I want you to be the Lord and Savior of my life. I want you to make me the person that you want me to be. If only you would do that. Maybe nobody has accepted you. You’ve been rejected by your family and friends. Your colleagues, but let me tell you, Jesus is willing to accept you just the way you are.
Will you come to him?
Let me pray with you, Lord Jesus, thank you for this open invitation to everyone. You died on the cross to give us the sign, the hope of acceptance. When we look at the cross. We realize that you made the way for us to be connected with God, our father. I pray for everyone who’s listening to this devotion.
If somebody is still struggling, I pray Lord, that you’d speak to them, that you’re waiting with open arms to accept them just the way they are and to transform them. And make them who you want them to be. Continue to speak to them. In Jesus’ precious name, we pray.
