Tuesday 9 Dec 2014

December 9: Acts 13:16-25

Key Verse: Acts 13:23
“From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Saviour Jesus, as he promised.”

Devotion:
These verses are quite a good summary of the coming of Jesus starting from Egyptian captivity days right through to Jesus and His ministry! How often do you look for a simple way of telling someone who Jesus was and is? How often do you look for a different way of telling people who Jesus can be in their lives? Paul was no stranger to the scriptures because he had been using them against Christians for much of his life, but now the Holy Spirit was using him to turn the tables and tell people the real truth behind the scriptures.

We need to be ready at all times to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us and use us in ways that we can make a difference to this world and its plight. Yesterday’s devotion was the prophets message that we should be the ones making things move forward in the desert, making roads and preparing for Christ’s return. This message has not changed for us, but we seem to have changed in our urgency, or lack of it, of delivering this message to the people around us. Paul was the one going out on a limb and preaching to the Gentiles; we need to go out on a limb and tell people who don’t get to hear the message.

Christmas is a good time to do this because this is the season we celebrate Christ’s coming as a baby, as our Saviour, as the Messiah. Christmas seem to have gained too much momentum as a feast of money and greed and left behind the real meaning of celebrating the entry into this world of our Saviour Jesus Christ! Let us make a difference this year by making a difference to the story we tell with our lives.

Paul made a huge difference because he turned his back on the state and allowed Christ to use him for God’s glory. If we are serious about our relationship with God then we should be willing to allow Him to use us as well. Don’t panic and run off like Jonah; we all know there are some pretty scary people out there who (it seems) would like to eat us for dinner. God is with us and He will allow us to say the right things at the right time if we allow Him room to be in our lives!

Points to Ponder:
What is your life saying about you?

Will you let Christ change your life?