Sunday Reading: Matthew 3:7-9
Key Verse: Matthew 3:8
8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance;
Devotion:
Before Jesus came to be baptised by John, John was preaching and baptising in His name already. John knew that his task was to prepare the way for Christ to come to His people and to show them that He was indeed King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But another part of his ministry was to warn sinners that that is exactly what they were and that they needed to come to God with a right attitude in their hearts. We may be able to fool some people some of the time but we will never be able to fool God any of the time!
Christ demands that we come to Him in truth and not in the name of religion or any other practice. Christ wants a personal relationship with us and it is us that have to realise that! It is no good saying that we have kept the law and that we have done nothing wrong and that we have done things in the name of Christ if we are not willing to come to Him with and open heart in the beginning. All of us have the ability to do good; but we all have the choice as to whether we do believe in Jesus Christ or not – that is the turning point.
If you don’t know what an apple tree looks like, you will know after it bears apples; it cannot grow pears or any other fruit. As a Christian we are going to be known by what we do. If we are not living our lives as Christians then nobody is going to see us as a Christian. If we live our lives as a ‘normal’ sinner then that is exactly how the world will see us and that is probably what we have held in our hearts; so if we cannot fools the world then how do we ever think we can get round Christ? If we are truly repentant, our lives will change because we want them to change.
Points to Ponder:
Do you want to change?
Have you asked God to help you change your ways?