Sunday 26 Oct 2014

October 26: Matthew 8:18-22

Key Verse: Matthew 8:20
And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Devotion:
I think if anyone had told me that I would have to face so much adversity just for being a Christian, I may have put it off for a while! I don’t remember the priests at the various churches I had been to telling me how difficult life could be, but I do remember one of the seniors from school telling me that it could get difficult. I mostly remember him telling me about what Christ had done just for me though.

I took a look at the bible that my God parents gave me when I gave my life to God and that was dated 40 years ago. And then I also remember going through a bit of a rough patch just after that. I really did not look at it as being anything other than me being led astray, but when you look back at all the timing you begin to realise that things do start to happen when you give your life to God. Job must have been feeling so good living for God before Satan had a go. I can remember feeling so good back then before he had a go at me in my school life too.

But each time we turn back to God and ask Him for protection, we are strengthened enough to move on through the rough patches. Jesus was warning the people that said they wanted to follow Him, not to try and discourage them but rather to prepare them for a life against Satan. The evil one does not want us to be comfortable – we see that in the book of Job. He does not want us to feel safe in God’s care otherwise we will continue growing stronger each day.

But when we are prepared to give up the safety net and allow God to be the safety net, we will find great blessings and strength also follow us. Just because we have to face up to the flack that the evil one will throw at us does not mean that we will be broken. If we can continue to rely on God just as Job did, then we will be given strength and direction to continue following Christ. It also means living our lives out of the ordinary, because Christ is anything but ordinary!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like a smooth life?

Or will you go into battle with Christ by your side?