Thursday Reading: Isaiah 8:11-13
Key Verse: Isaiah 8:13
13 Sanctify Jehovah of Hosts Himself, and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.
Devotion:
“Oh go on then...”
How many times have you said that before? How many times have you given in to those around you just to keep the peace? How many of those times have you turned you back on God just to try and keep the peace with those around you? I’m not talking about turning round and saying to God that you don’t like Him or don’t want to listen to Him but something as simple as agreeing within someone when you know that that is not what God has in mind, when you know that is not what God’s Word says! We can look back at the way that Peter denied Jesus 3 times and we can say that we would never do that, but if you look back on your life and you be honest with yourself there are going to be many more times than just 3 when we did actually turn our backs on God...
What we need to do is to remember just who Christ is. We need to remember just who God is. God is not just the ‘big guy upstairs’ or the ‘boss’ or the ‘one who looks after heaven’. God is our creator. He is our keeper. He is our father. He is our everything. If we do not show Him the uttermost respect at all times then we are guilty of turning our backs on Him. That does not mean that we have to have a stiff upper lip at all times and never enjoy ourselves again – far from it. God has created everything around us for our enjoyment. He has given us the amazing bodies, souls and spirits that we have so that we can make the most of our time here on earth – the place He created just for us! God wants us to be happy and the best possible way to achieve that is to live our lives with Him instead of in spite of Him! Going with the flow of all the people around us is not going to impress Him. Giving in to temptations, going further than we should, none of that is going to impress Him because not only has He seen it all before but we are turning away from Him when we do... God has loved us from the beginning. He has given a love to us that we can share so that we too can be happy in Him.
Points to Ponder:
Are you flexible?
Do you treat God’s Word as flexible?
