KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Island
IS IT POSSIBLE to simply be a Christian today, in the 21st century...?
Can we avoid being entangled in and weighed down by all the trappings and innovations of man which have found their way into religion over the past 2000 years? The answer is "yes," and it can be accomplished by taking an "island approach" to Christianity. What do I mean by that? Suppose there was an isolated island filled with people who knew nothing of Jesus. However, one day a chest washed ashore and contained therein was a copy of the Bible. The islanders began reading this book with great interest. After careful study, they came to the point of faith, turned from their sins, confessed their faith in Jesus as the Son of God, were baptized into Christ, and began worshiping God together and committing themselves to the moral standards contained in the Scriptures.
THOUGHT: What denomination were these islands when they obeyed the Gospel? What "brand" of Christian were they? It is a silly question, isn't it? They would not be a part of any denomination, sect, or party. They would simply be Christians, and Christians only. Friends, if people on an isolated island can be "Christians Only," then why can't we be "Christians Only" in our communities? The fact is, we can. However, it will require that we do what they did: open the Bible and unite on what it teaches, leaving behind those practices and doctrines that are not found therein (Steve Higginbotham).
KneEmail: "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one is Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" ( John 17:20-21).