Verse of the Day 1/27

John 5:25-26  "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.    English Standard Version (ESV)

As I read these verses in my devotions this morning, the  statement that caught my attention was "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live".  As I read them I thought back to Ezekiel  37 and the valley of dry bones when the question was asked of the prophet, "can these bones live?".  The answer was yes, if the Spirit of God would breathe on them, He could raise them to life. 

My mind then went to Ephesians 2 where Paul writes in verse 1 that we "were dead" in our sins, but in verse 5 stated "but God made us alive" by grace.  God has the power to raise from the dead physically and spiritually.  The key to it is found in the end of verse 25 in today's passage.  "and those who hear will live."

Jesus related that all men, the saved and the unsaved, will literally and physically be raised from the dead one day. Their eternal destiny will be determined by whether or not they heard and listened to the voice of God when He called.

John 5:24   Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.  English Standard Version (ESV)

Have you heard this Gospel call and responded? We receive salvation when we respond to that call.  But it not just a one time decision, as if it were buying insurance.  It is a decision to follow, a decision to follow Him and to seek Him daily.  What is His Word calling for you to do today?  Will you hear that call?

 "I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders."  The Message.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

John 5:25-33The Message (MSG)

^25-27 "It's urgent that you get this right: The time has arrived—I mean right now!—when dead men and women will hear the voice of the Son of God and, hearing, will come alive. Just as the Father has life in himself, he has conferred on the Son life in himself. And he has given him the authority, simply because he is the Son of Man, to decide and carry out matters of Judgment.

^28-29 "Don't act so surprised at all this. The time is coming when everyone dead and buried will hear his voice. Those who have lived the right way will walk out into a resurrection Life; those who have lived the wrong way, into a resurrection Judgment.

^30-33 "I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders. If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness. But an independent witness confirms me, the most reliable Witness of all. Furthermore, you all saw and heard John, and he gave expert and reliable testimony about me, didn't he?