Friday Reading: Romans 8:1-9
Key Verse: Romans 8:6
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Devotion:
How many times have you been in a position where someone else has doubted your sincerity or has not believed you when you have told the truth? How did that make you feel to know that you were being doubted or blamed for something wrong? Would it not have been better for the other person to accept the truth and believe you? It is not a nice feeling being blamed for something when you know that you should not be blamed for it because you feel like you have been condemned for something that you should not have been. Now, on the other hand, when you are condemned for something that was your fault you have got to accept that condemnation even if you don’t like it... Now what if someone else were to step forward and support you and inform the other person that you are in fact not to blame? Would that make you feel a whole lot better knowing that you have support and someone else on your side?
As we continue to read through the book of Romans we are given a logical path of deduction showing us that we are sinners and that we have to own up to that fact. We are then given hope through the idea that someone else could support us and allow us to come through looking squeaky clean rather than tarnished by sin as we should be. It does not mean that we are going to absolutely clean because we still have that sin nature within us that is just bursting to get out at any opportunity. What is does mean is that someone else is willing to take our blame and say that we should be innocent... so long as we trust Him to do exactly that.
Once we believe that Jesus Christ is willing to lift that blame from us because He has already taken on that blame the truth will be able to set us free. Once we know that Christ has already set us free, all we need do is receive that free gift and walk with Him in our lives. We cannot please God unless we walk with Christ in our lives...
Points to Ponder:
Do you like being blamed?
Will you let Christ take you blame?
