Daily Devotional--10/14/2010

Luke 3:1-6

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. ³He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
"A voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
⁵Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
⁶And all mankind will see God's salvation.' "

Salvation for a Buddhist is to discover the Eightfold path with the goal of nirvana. Nirvana is to eliminate all desires or cravings. The path is a system to free them from any desire and eventually achieve nonexistence.

• Where will all mankind see God’s salvation?
• Christian view of salvation is very different from that of a Buddhist. How would you describe salvation through Christ alone?
• How would you describe the need for what Christ did on the cross?