Monday Reading: John 12:20-26
Key Verse: John 12:24
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.
Devotion:
How many times have you heard the phrase “the only famous artist is a dead one”? There does seem to be a lot of truth in that phrase; so many people do not get taken any notice of until they die. Then people stand up and listen, albeit too late! So much can be said and done whilst we are alive, and yet sometimes it takes a drastic thing to happen in our lives before we get taken notice of. The last thing we should even be thinking of is having a go at being dead… that is not going to get us anywhere!
Key Verse: John 12:24
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.
Devotion:
How many times have you heard the phrase “the only famous artist is a dead one”? There does seem to be a lot of truth in that phrase; so many people do not get taken any notice of until they die. Then people stand up and listen, albeit too late! So much can be said and done whilst we are alive, and yet sometimes it takes a drastic thing to happen in our lives before we get taken notice of. The last thing we should even be thinking of is having a go at being dead… that is not going to get us anywhere!
But what we can do is die in this world; not a physical death, but a spiritual death. Before we know Christ, we are ‘alive’ in this world but dead in His world. When we do accept Him as Saviour we then die from this world and live in His world. By living in this world, we close ourselves off from a life with Christ. By living in His world, we close ourselves off from a life without Him. We still have an issue with our sins, but we know that He has already paid the price for them.
When we do let go of life in this world, we can then focus on a new life with Christ. That is the point at which we can be seen to die in this world. That is the point where others will start to notice a change in us. That is the point where they will be asking questions within themselves about how we have changed. If we then flop back into their world, we are in essence saying that we have not changed and that we are exactly the same as them – lost!
Christ has already paid the price. He has already given us everything we need to have a life with Him. He has already given us a way that we can show others about Him through our actions. Let other people see that you have died in this world and that you now live a better life with Christ by your side!
Points to Ponder:
Can you remember the last time someone commented on how you have changed?
Can you remember the last time someone commented on how you have changed?
Will God see the change He wants in your life?