Monday Reading: Matthew 5:8
Key Verse: Matthew 5:8
8 Blessed are the pure in heart! For they shall see God.
Devotion:
If we were able to get to heaven by dong good works then surely there would be a very long line of people willing to come forward and do some good so that they can get their foot in the door! But the truth is that we cannot hope to be able to do anything of ourselves to get to heaven because it is a gift of God and not something we can take from Him.
Again, though, it is not about doing things but rather about believing in our hearts. It is not the fact that we can say that we believe but the fact that we do believe it in our hearts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He is the one who came to earth in human form to freely give His life for our sins. That in itself shows us that He loves us from His heart and not just saying that He loves us. Yes we can read all about it but He has also shown us that He loves us. That demonstration of His love was unique and remains with us.
Does this mean that if we have sin in our hearts that we will not be able to get to heaven? No. We all have sin in our hearts because that is the way that we are born and that is the way that we live. When we come to know Christ as Saviour we do strive to change our ways but we still have that sin nature inside of us. That is why Christ gave His life for us, so that He can cover that sin nature and free us to be able to come to Him. But to do that we have to believe in our hearts that this is all true. It should not be the way that we are able to change that will get us there because that would then depend on our own actions again. It is through our love for Christ after we believe in Him…
Points to Ponder:
What would you do for love’s sake?
What do you do for Christ’s sake?