Monday 15 Jul 2013

Monday Reading: Matthew 17:1-7

Key Verse: Matthew 17:5
5  While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Devotion:
If it was not bad enough that the disciples were to see Christ transfigured before them, they were to see two other men whom they assumed to be Moses and Elijah and then they were to hear God the Father’s voice booming out to them as well! If there was ever a day when they would feel so totally undone and built up at the same time, this was probably it.

We may read things and try to believe them without proof, but when it comes down to it we always seek some sort of proof before we fully commit ourselves to something that we have doubts about. Maybe Jesus saw some doubt in their hearts and wanted to wipe them away once and for all knowing that that tiny bit of doubt would continue working and spreading like a cancerous growth. The disciples knew that nobody would live if they came face to face with God. They knew that people had died just because they had done something against God’s word. How frightened they must have been, knowing that they had heard God Himself!

Jesus personally told them to not be afraid, showing them that God was and is all powerful and all mighty, but that He does love and care for us even in our sinful state. He gave us His own Son so that our sins could be wiped away, making room for us to repent and be forgiven so that we can draw close to Him once again. Christ wanted them to know that and for us to be able to have something else we can depend on as we struggle with our own doubts.

When God and then Jesus spoke to them is was not a wrathful God bellowing down to them from heaven reprimanding them for their sin and doubts but a loving God showing them that Christ was and is The Son of God and that they could trust in Him totally. God’s love goes far beyond our sins, far beyond our thoughts and far beyond our limits. He is a God that cares for us and a God that does extraordinary things for us so that we can know Him better each day.

Points to Ponder:
Do you seek proof for everything?

Is God’s Word not enough?