Friday 4 Jul 2014

July 4: 1 John 3:13-17

Key Verse: 1 John 3:16
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Devotion:
The more that we stand up for Christ, the more the world is going to object to what we are doing. And if you ever want to find out just how much people are going to object, try starting something new for God in your home town! People may say that it is a great idea and that someone needs to do it, but as soon as you start out and they see you succeeding in working with God the curtains come down and you get all manner of aggravation coming from all sources!

It is no wonder then that Christ would shut Himself off and pray to God the Father in private. How else was He going to get the support that He needed to continue His mission on earth? Christ did warn us that it was not going to be an easy task to step forward and work for Him. We see that the world is a place of corruption and deceit. So why think that we can get away with it? Don’t!

Instead, stand up and be counted. Accept the fact that you are going to get objections. Accept the fact that people will be jealous of your work. Accept the fact that people will not like it when you open the eyes of their friends and bring them to Christ. Accept the fact that you will not be popular in the worlds view. But never forget that your Father in Heaven is watching ever step you take and will be listening with baited breath to every word you lift up to ask for courage and strength. He will give you the strength you need to succeed just as Christ was able to.

Don’t turn away from doing God’s will just because the world objects to you; they are objecting to and rejecting God and you are currently His spokesperson so stand firm. I have heard some amazing talks by people recently which have reaffirmed my belief that there are still many many good people out there who are willing to live for Christian morals and to give the glory to God. There are also many people out there who do not know God but are still good people. We need to include everyone in our outreach otherwise we are only talking to those who know Christ already…

Points to Ponder:
Do you grow weary at the complaints?

Will you stand form with Christ?