Thursday 1 Aug 2013

Thursday Reading: John 3:18-21

Key Verse: John 3:19
19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Devotion:
God sent His Son to convince the world of their terrible sin and to save us from that sin. He is our light that shines brighter than any other and we certainly should not be hiding Him under any bushel or bed; instead we should be lifting His name on high so that everyone will get too hear about the truth! We may not be able to convince people that it is the truth, but as long as we are lifting it up for them to see, God will convict them in their hearts through His Word!

It is the sin of the world that separates us from Christ and it is the sin of unbelief that prevents us from knowing Him personally. It is that sin of unbelief that separates us from heaven and only that one sin that cannot be forgiven. Christ died for ever other sin in this world so that He could forgive us of absolutely anything else – and that He will… if we believe…

This is when things get a bit difficult because as we lift up the light of Christ we allow people to see the terrible state that they are in and that sin of theirs looks worse in the light than in the dark. This is why we all love the dark before we realise just how much Christ can forgive. That is why we continue to seek out that darkness and continue to hide from the truth. It is only when we can finally see that Christ’s blood on the cross can wash away every speck of dirt that we then want to be seen in the light. But convincing someone to come out into the light whilst they are filthy can be difficult!

As long as we continue to hold up Christ and to show people that it is not us that have cleaned ourselves in any way but rather Christ who has washed us white as snow, then we have a chance of convincing others. When people can see that we are still sinners but we choose to follow Christ instead, then they too will begin to see that they have this wonderful choice as well. Lift up Christ as high as you can so that they too can see He is willing and able!

Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are clean?

Do you forget how sinful you were?