Not Smart or Savvy Enough

TITLE: Not Smart or Savvy Enough
DATE: November 23, 2019

Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed.

TEXT: Acts 4: 12 – ESV - And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men[c] by which we must be saved.

I come from the Windy City.

Because that is so,  I really don’t have a lot of use for those folks in the Big Apple who think the country begins and ends with the five boroughs of New York, New York. Now don’t get me wrong, I truly appreciate listening to a legitimate New York accent and I applaud the kind of moxie which allows a city to look at the terror attacks of 9.11 and rebuild without hardly breaking stride or breaking into a sweat.
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Which is a long preface to a Big Apple “scam” which was played on “two, sharp, savvy NYers.”  Yes, that really is what Alex Baldwin and his wife called themselves: “two, sharp, savvy NYers.” Well, Mr. Baldwin reports that he intended to take his wife, Hilaria, and their four children on a boat ride around the Statue of Liberty.
 It had every earmark of being a great and educational family outing.
Unfortunately, those “two, sharp, savvy NYers” ended up getting on a shuttle bus and driving to New Jersey. No boat, no tour, no Statue of Liberty. All of which may indicate that they are not as sharp and savvy as they think they are.
Now Mr. and Mrs. Ballwin are going to get over their little fiasco. They made a mistake and were brave enough to come forward and warn others. Many people wouldn’t have done that.
But there are other people who aren’t going to get off as well.
*I’m thinking of the folks who...

• Think that one religion is as good as any other religion in taking you to heaven
• Think that God is going to let anybody through the pearly gates if they’ve tried hard to do right in this life.
• Think that there is no heaven or hell, so it really doesn’t make any difference what you do or believe.

Of course none of those perspectives are true or right. You can be smart and you can  be savvy, but no amount of smartness or savvy-ness is going to make something true which is wrong.

The Lord is very clear when He says there is salvation found in nobody other than the Christ.

Yes, the world has many wise men and more than a few brilliant thinkers, but they are all sinners who are not only unable to save you, they are unable to save themselves

They must, like everyone else, be brought in repentance to the cross. There they will be given the blood of Christ which washes every sin from their befouled soul. There they will be brought up, forgiven, restored and redeemed, ready to live a life of thanksgiving in praise of the risen Redeemer.

THE PRAYER: Lord, I give thanks that I don’t have to rely on my wisdom or smartness to be granted the gift of heaven. Let me be always grateful for what my Savior has done to save me. In His Name I pray. Amen.   

The devotion for today was inspired by various recent news articles. For further reading you may wish to go to this address: https://www.newser.com/story/281452/alec-baldwin-expected-a-boat-tour-he-got-a-bus-to-jersey.html   and the article written by  Jenn Gidman .

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html