Devotionals

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RECEIVING HIM JOHN 1:12

“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name He gave the power to become children of God…”

You and I as born-again Christians count ourselves as one of those whom “received Him”. We look at John 1:12 as a salvation scripture and perhaps we perceive its message strictly in the sense of salvation. Yet I would suggest that John 1:12 can be more broadly interpreted. Surely receiving Christ is not just a onetime experience, but the act of receiving Him goes on continually throughout our lifetime. As we willingly submit to His will and the truth of His word we necessarily begin to receive Him into various areas of our lives.
Christ is coming to us daily, addressing different areas of our will, our soul, asking entrance, asking to be received. And to “receive” means so much more than just letting Him in, in fact it can encompass a very significant realm of ideas. For instance to receive can mean “to act as host or hostess to”. In other words we are to graciously (not grudgingly) welcome Christ into our lives as we would a favored guest into our home. We are to offer Him the very best of all we have for His enjoyment, and we are to willingly giber Him the place of honor.
To receive also means to “act as a receptacle for”. Thus we must allow Christ and His word to dwell within us literally filling us up to overflowing; gibing room for His complete filling of our lives that some of Him might overflow to others. Also, to receive can mean “to accept and pay for”. Although salvation is a free gift, the act of receiving Christ into our lives must necessarily cost us. It will cost us our self-will, our pride, our control over our own lives, it will cost us the laying down of our flesh and it’s desires and lusts. Like His our flesh must be utterly and radically crucified if we are to share in any portion of His resurrection life. For every due that we pay we are summarily set free from the rule of those things that master us and we find ourselves ruled by His love, His will, and His power. The scripture says that “to those who receive…are given the power to become…” It is through this type of receiving that we are given the power to overcome the masters of this world and our own flesh.
Again receiving can mean “to take the force of”. Once we chose to gibe Christ entrance into our body and spirit the very force of His holiness begins to put great pressure on the flesh and we can feel the great hand of God on us. WE can accept the full force of His work in our lives, the force of His holiness or we can be crushed by it retreating into legalism and condemnation. As Out Lord said “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of god will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. (Mt. 21:44)
Finally to receive means to “accept as authoritatively sound and valid”. We must receive the complete word of God (thus receiving Christ Jn 1:1) as having absolute authority in our lives, being sound and valid council for all of our behavior and decisions, we must not argue with scripture but fully accept its authority in our lives.
In John 1:12 the word translated “receive” means to “take or act, to get hold of”. It is not objective or passive but it is an act of our will. Receiving Christ is something that we must actively participate in on an hourly basis. Revelation 3:20 says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. “Looking at the context of this scripture you can see that Christ was talking to believers. Believers that He was asking, by and act of their will, to open the door and let Him in!
What door have you shut tightly against your savior? Where is He knocking in your life? The door of finances? The door of forgiveness? The door of submission? The door of healing? Open the door, receive Him, and you will be given the “power to become a child of God”.

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