Sunday Reading: John 8:41-43
Key Verse: John 8:43
43 Why do you not know My speech? Because you cannot hear My Word.
Devotion:
There is always going to be a time in your life when you think that you are doing the right thing but you are not. Those times may well be more frequent that we would like to think because we are the weak ones who continue to give in to the temptations of this world rather than standing firmly in God’s hands. Does that sound harsh? Well it is only going to sound as harsh as what you know that you are doing! Therein lies the truth – we do know that we are doing things and we do continue to do them. I am certainly not able to tell anyone else that they are doing anything wrong because I know in myself that I still do things wrong. That does not change the fact that I do love my Lord and Saviour. But it does throw some doubt as to my sincerity in my relationship with Him.
Have you ever stepped just one tiny step back and thought about it in that manner, that what you are doing is casting doubt on the sincerity of your relationship with God? When Jesus faced the Jews He was trying to get them to take that one tiny step back and to look at what they were doing to themselves. God is never going to take a step back and leave our relationship with Him. He continues to stand firm and continue to have His arms out-stretched toward us in the hopes that we will submit to His will and fall back into His arms. God has declared publically that He is there waiting for us. What we do in response to that is a public response for all to see.
So what is it that is going to break down that relationship from our side? What is it that is going to stop us from having a proper relationship with God? What is it that is going to cast doubt before others? Well I am the least able to cast doubt into any relationship because I have failed in my past. But what I am going to say is that there are choices that we make in our lives that take us away from God instead of bringing us towards Him. Those choices may seem like the most minor things when we make them and it is only when we look back on our lives and our relationships with God that we see just how big a mistake things were. My prayer is that each one of us will be able to take that small step back in our lives and do some self-examination before we break our relationship with Him. Believe me it is a whole lot easier than you release…
Points to Ponder:
Do you know where you are going?
Is Christ watching you walk away?