Thursday 26 Jan 2017

January 26: Titus 3:8-11

Key Verse: Titus 3:11
knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

Devotion:
It doesn't stop at just showing others you can act like a good Christian or to encourage them with the way that you look or behave... Yes, that is exactly what I have been saying over the past few days, but it does not end there. We must set that example so others will be encouraged, but one thing we should never forget is that we should be doing this to improve ourselves too. What use are we if we are going to be hopping in and out of being a Christian? We need to be here, constantly!

With God's amazing grace behind us, we have nothing to fear in our lives. Yes, there will be times we do feel afraid, upset, sad, dejected, but those are the times when we can call upon God to help us through those situations. The best way to avoid those feelings is to try and separate ourselves from the environments which will cause those feelings to surface. This does not mean we should turn our backs on our friends just because they do not know Christ. It means we have to think about what we do and avoid situations where we know what we do will most likely weaken our spirit until we are sure we can face them.

Some of the things which will do that are the games and music we face through computers and the Internet. Just listening to the words from some of the songs released makes you wonder if the powers that be do listen to the words themselves. How would they ever allow such words to be publicly 'preached' through the medium of music. I am certainly not knocking freedom of speech, but how we go about such freedom shows a lot of who we are. If someone is a bully, you try and avoid them. If someone is going to constantly upset you with their songs (or even words) then why hang around with them? If someone is going to constantly bring down God in things they do and say, why include them in your life? We have the choice!

Points to Ponder:
Do your hang around with people that are like you and can encourage you?

God gives each of us the choice, we have to use it wisely!