Monday 4 Nov 2013

Monday Reading: Mark 8:34-38

Key Verse: Mark 8:35
35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Devotion:
When Christ walked amongst mankind, men saw a truth within Him that they instinctively knew was the absolute truth. Everywhere that He went, people would flock to Him to hear the gospel, to be healed and to get to know their Messiah. But how many of them were actually willing to give it all up and follow Christ? This is the same problem that we (mankind) has faced from the beginning… when we do get to know the truth, many are not willing to forsake all for that truth even though we know it as the truth.

That really does sound so strange when you read it like that, or write it down like that, but man still wants to be in control and not give full control to God. God is all powerful and all knowing and He alone is the one who should be guiding our every footstep – but we insist on trying to do things our own way instead. I’m sure that most of us would agree that men in particular always like to think that they are in control and lift themselves up when things go right. But what happens when things go wrong? Well, we turn around and blame everything else around us! And no, it’s not just men…

Christ highlighted this by reminding us that no matter what we are able to gain here on earth, nothing will compare to having eternal life! What good is it going to be if we can gain all the riches in the world if we are only going to lose everything when we die? Why not aim for the riches that Christ wants to give us in heaven, those same riches that we will keep for eternity? No they may not be gold watches or the like, but I would rather have a smile on my face for eternity than have a gold watch for doing my bit on earth!

We need to stand firm and show all people that we are not ashamed of being called Christians; that we remain strong in God’s Word, upholding the truth and giving that truth to every person that is willing to listen. God has given each one of us the gift of the gospel so that we can share it with others. He has done that for a reason and for it to be a blessing to each one of us for eternity!

Points to Ponder:
What do you strive after in life?

What do you look for from God?