Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
The faith of Jesus is the only one under heaven that promises eternal salvation to anyone who will simply look to Him. Here's what He says: "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other" (Isa. 45:22).
When in the desert after being led out of Egypt, the Israelites murmured against God's care and against His leading, poisonous snakes bit them. The poor people imagined that God had sent those poisonous snakes (Num. 21:5-7). What did He do to save them?
He had Moses make a snake out of bronze and put it on a pole and hold it up; then anybody who would simply look could be saved (Num. 21:8ff). It took a repentant, humble heart for anyone with a murmuring, unbelieving heart to decide to look.
Jesus told the story to Nicodemus on his night visit, and applied the lesson to Himself so we can have it: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:14, 15). He equated "believing" in Himself with their looking.
It's a Bible truth: Hebrews 12:3 urges us to "consider Him ... ." Same idea; harness your thought processes and fix them on the story of Jesus. "Think of Him" says the New English Bible. Unlock the door of your soul and admit the thought of Jesus; ponder Him; meditate on Him; stay quietly in the darkness alone with the Son of God, your eyes closed. That's what Jesus means when He invites us: "Go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place" (Matt. 6:6).
If you can't think of what to say, stay quiet and remain there. If all you can say is, "Father! Father ... !" Just stay there. You desperately need this moment of looking to Him alone.
You are no longer worried about getting to heaven. Instead, you are beginning to remember that time when you will be alone in the personal presence of Jesus. You are tasting a bit of what heaven will be like. Thank Him.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 1, 2008.
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