Saturday 25 Oct 2014

October 25: John 20:19-23

Key Verse: John 20:21
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

Devotion:
I love the way that Christ comes into the room unannounced and proceeds to give the apostles a very special commission, not just to go out and tell everyone about Him but to make sure that they understand why they need to know as well. Depending on which translation of the Bible you read these verses will come out differently and may be read to have different meanings if not read carefully and in context with what Christ has said all along.

God has always taught that he alone is judge and He alone will forgive sins; that means God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit because they are one. These verses are telling us that Christ personally came to deliver the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. When they received the Holy Spirit they were given the wisdom to know when people were going to be forgiven. This is not to say they were given the ability to judge people but the ability to discern the judgment of Christ. People would know that they were telling the truth.

When we start listening properly to God, we too will be able to discern whether people are following Christ or whether they are doing something for themselves. The problem comes with our ability to listen properly because like Jonah we may not want to listen to God because we don’t like some people! Does this mean that we have a problem if we can’t hear God? I think I would be worried if I did hear voices because I think of that as a last resort way of reaching us from God. When we spend time with God by reading His word and trying to understand it, we grow closer to Him and understand His judgment better. It does not give us the right to judge but it does give us an insight into other people’s lives.

We should not have to wait until we get a personal visit from Christ. We should not have to wait until He speaks verbally to us. We should not have to wait until we see Him face to face. We have been given our Bibles, great people of God who have gone before us, great scholars who have studied the scriptures and many people who just love God with everything. Let us listen carefully and try to discern the real will of God in our lives and the lives of those around us.

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like you are not tuned into God?

Have you spent some time with Him alone recently?