Monday 7 Oct 2013

Monday Reading: 1 John 3:16-21

Key Verse: 1 John 3:20
20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

Devotion:
How do we know if it is right? How do we know if we are following what is righteous? How do we know that God has told us the truth? The most amazing thing is that when we do invite Christ to be in our lives, He makes sure that our consciences are kept in line with His will. When we have the Holy Spirit come to dwell in our hearts He makes sure that we do know if we go against His will by giving us that uncomfortable or on edge feeling. But when we are following in His footsteps and doing His will, our hearts are filled with the love that He has shown us.

When we work against God we are left with those uncomfortable feelings and we begin to understand why we feel that way. It is our own desires, the pride and foolishness that we cling to that will prevent us from knowing the truth. God’s love is far greater than any feeling we can come up with and so we will know that the ultimate truth is governed by God and not our own desires.

The first steps that we do have to take are to make sure that we are sharing the love of Christ with others. If we are going to tell others of this great love and then not show others that we do accordingly, we are just saying the right stuff and not doing it. That is not what God has required of us. The Scribes and Pharisees were sticking to the letter of the law and they were certainly not displaying that love to others. We should not fall into that same trap by saying and not doing…

Just like King David’s heart made him feel condemned for what he had done by ordering the census, we too will have our own consciences pricked by the Holy Spirit if we work against His will. I thank The Lord that He is patient and forgiving in His ways so that He allows us to see the truth even when we are working against it at times. Trust what God has given you, but make sure that you follow His Word to confirm your feelings!

Points to Ponder:
Do you go with  your heart?

Do you confirm your hearts desires through God’s Word?