December 6

Jeremiah 17:14

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

As Jeremiah looked about him he saw nothing but a plague of corruption: lying, fraud and sin were rampant in the land. As he looked within, he saw this same plague of corruption, and he realized that if he were truly going to be healed of this inner and outer corruption, God alone must do it. “YOU save me, and I will really be saved”. How true this is! Salvation is of GOD. It is GOD’S work. After we come to Christ sometimes we fall into sin. We feel bad, try to make amends, and then slip again. We despair because we feel that more or less our salvation NOW depends on ourselves. But our salvation is GOD’S work. If you are NOW, at this present time, SAVED, it is because God sought you when you were still in your sin and rebellion, and long ago, JESUS PAID THE PRICE FOR YOUR SINS. SELF-REFORMATION is futile, and has to be done over and over again. It is incomplete and will never save anyone, because it is dependent on SELF. Only a genuine ENCOUNTER with Jesus can wash away your sin, and only DAILY SUBMISSION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT can give you the dynamic necessary to live for God in this present evil age. That is why Jeremiah called out to God, “Heal me O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved”.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

"...what must I do to be saved?" Acts 16:30