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The Gospel is not a man-made invention

This morning I was reading another prayer from my wonderful Valley of Vision book. These are Puritan prayers and devotions, collected into one volume by Editor Arthur Bennett and printed by The Banner of Truth Trust. It is a must-have for your bookshelf.

These prayers often stop me in my tracks with their convicting beauty, depth of spirit, and fervency of faith. Today’s prayer was the first prayer in the section “Redemption & Reconciliation”, and it’s called The Gospel Way. You can read the entire prayer here.

I was immediately struck by the first line.

BLESSED LORD JESUS,
No human mind could conceive or invent the gospel.

Think about this for a while.

Really think.

This one statement has enormous ramifications. Thoughts could erupt in a thousand different paths. For me, I clearly remember the years (decades) before I was saved. I remember being mightily puzzled by the Jesus people, their fixation on the blood (Ew, gross) and the communion bread/wafer they ate that was supposed to be the Lord’s body (Ew, grosser). I remember being confused by their joy even when they were diagnosed with a dread disease, why they so often and profusely thanked the Lord for anything and everything (Oh, get over it, I’d say), and why, oh why, has Christianity persevered all these thousands of years when other religions … didn’t?
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