Wednesday Reading: Acts 4:15-22
Key Verse: Acts 4:20
20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
Devotion:
When the disciples came up against the Sadducees it was not a fair fight at all because God was only on one side! The disciples wanted to make sure that people heard the truth and that they knew who was in charge. As far as the Sadducees were concerned it was the men of the Sanhedrin that had the last say in everything because they were meant to be the ones keeping the law. The unfortunate part was that the Sanhedrin itself had lost its way because it was now seeking its own ways instead of upholding God’s Word. Man’s laws had become entwined with God’s laws and it was man’s laws that were currently being followed – because man found it a whole lot easier to follow his own law!
God does not want us to keep the law just because the words say one thing. God wants us to follow His ways and to uphold His law. We have imposed so many of our own rules and regulations that we have made up religions based around God’s Words. The religions describe their own rules and regulations and so are not God’s ways but man’s ways disguised as a religion instead.
If we are going to sit back and allow those religions to form society then we should not expect anything less than man to glorify himself rather than for God to be given the glory He deserves. When that happens we will very quickly find that man leaves God behind and tries to walk by himself; he may as well declare war on God for all the good that he thinks he can get out of disobeying God. It is not our thing to lift up anyone but God. If I ever start lifting up myself instead of God, please pull me down into the pit that I am digging for myself! God wants us to follow His ways and His law. That is why He has given it to us in the first place – but in order to follow it, we have to first read it, understand it and then apply it in our lives. That way others may begin to learn through our example that God is in charge.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you like teaching?
How much do you like learning?