By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 1 John 4:13-15

In 1957 a group of Buddhist monks were forced to move because the government was building a highway. That was no problem for the monks, but it was a crisis for their large, centuries-old, clay statue of Buddha. A crane was brought in to lift the giant Buddha from its base.

The crane lifted and the monks heard a crack. They ordered the crane to set the statue down.

Later they checked the statue for damage. Using a flashlight they looked under the protective cover. They were surprised to see something shining back. The tarp was removed, and the monks looked closer. The gleam became brighter.

The monks carefully chipped away at the Buddha's toe. Then, after a while, they began in earnest. Hours later, filled with questions, they stood before a solid-gold statue.

Their best guess explanation was this: centuries before, the army of Burma was about to invade Thailand. The monks at that time covered their gold statue with clay. It was a good disguise, made all the more complete when the Burmese slaughtered the monks who knew the secret. It took hundreds of years for the statue to be seen for the precious object that it was.

Today I encourage you to see the value of a living Savior and not a lifeless statue.

Today I urge you to value the grace of God more than you might cold gold. My friends, not a single one of our Daily Devotioners is being given 100 years to see the Savior and appreciate all He has done for them with His life-sacrifice. None of us have endless tomorrows that will enable us, by some strange accident, some coincidental happenstance, to sneak a glimpse of His great love.

On the other hand, every day, the Holy Spirit calls us to see Jesus clearly.

* He wants us to see underneath the mud of abuse, the dirt of disregard with which the world tries to cover the Savior and the salvation His death and resurrection have won.

* The Holy Spirit wants you to look past the lies of Satan who does his best to cover the Christ, disguise Him, deny Him, and hide Him.

* Today the Holy Spirit wishes to chip away at the disrespect that doubters and deniers and detractors have smeared over your Lord.

Today is the day the Holy Spirit says, "See the Savior for Who He is. See Him as the Redeemer who has rescued you."

See Jesus clearly and be confident the Father, on Judgment Day, will not see you as a sin-stained sinner.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, may we see our Savior and be kept in the faith of Him who gave His life so we might have life eternal. This we ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: 1 Samuel 1-3    Luke 17:20-37

To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"