Wednesday 25 Jun 2014

June 25: 1 Corinthians 8:9-13

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 8:12
But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Devotion:
As we grow with Christ we get to learn a lot about the differences between God’s ways and the ways of the world and of the devil. Whether you see it as a clear split between God’s ways and the devil’s ways or whether you see man at some stage in between the two should not matter too much; the fact is that there is a separation between our ways and God’s ways. How we go about living our lives and seeing where we are in the degrees of separation is what should concern us.

If we were only ever to live in God’s ways and never to go anywhere near the ways of man, be it man’s ways or the devil’s ways, then we would probably not be able to reach other people and teach them about God. On the other hand if we spent all of our time doing what others did then the weaker Christians would look at us and consider that they may be able to do that instead of following God’s ways as they are trying to.

We need to be able to reach out to people and show them that Christ is with us wherever we are in life, but we also need to stand firm in ways that will encourage people to stand by God and grow with Him. It is not difficult really, it’s just about how we approach things. Being close to those who do not know God is hard work because we need to constantly strive to avoid those temptations that others are giving in to. We need to also make sure that we are not putting stumbling blocks in the path of Christians who are watching us reaching out. We may know that we do not have to worry about what people offer to idols because they are not real, but someone who is unsure will see us as giving in to or supporting those idols.

God does not need us to work against Him, there is enough people already doing that as they follow the devils ways. God does not need us ignoring Him because there are enough confused people out there just getting on with life. God needs us proclaiming His name and His ways in ways that will show support and encouragement to all others; and that is where things can get tricky… but trusting in God to show you the way is always profitable.

Points to Ponder:
Do you mix with non-Christians?

Do you still obey God?