Thursday 27 Sep 2012

Thursday Reading: 1 John 3:3-10

Key Verse: 1 John 3:8
8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Devotion:
How many times have people labelled you as being bad in some way? I know that I have had my fair share of people dishing out various things about me but I know that the people that actually spend time to get to know me will know that those things are not correct and that my heart is set on God. None of us is without sin; don’t ever think that you are above the law or that you will be able to keep all of God’s laws all of the time – we just cannot do that. But that should not stop us from trying to live a more righteous life than others around us.

Just because the people around us are giving in to the things of the world and are allowing sin to rule their lives, does not mean that we should be going there to keep them company! God would have us to live a life with Him and not with the world because he knows that if we live a worldly life then we are going to fall into all manner of temptations and then we will look exactly the same as any other person in this world. We should be the light that shines (however dimly) to show the world that God is different from the sin of this world and that we are working towards being with Him forever more.

Jesus is the ultimate example for us to live toward. He was born of God (He is God after all) and as such cannot abide sin. And yet, because He was born as a human being, He was able to shoulder the sin of the world in our stead! Even though He lived a fairly short life, He did live as an adult in His thirties and He was still able to continue living without sin. He used God’s Word to reject Satan and to live by to show others that it is possible. But because we are born into sin we have already fallen short…

But let that not stop us from striving to live more like Jesus every day. Yes it is going to be hard because we are surrounded by things that will distract us and side-track us from that life with God, but try we should. We do not have to be bound by that sin because Christ has already paid the price for that sin so we can leave it behind. Just don’t try think you can do it alone because God is already holding out His hands to help us through each day – hold on tight!

Points to Ponder:
Do you compare yourself to others?

Are you living for the world or for God?