Friday 3 Mar 2017

March 3: John 8:31-36

Key Verse: John 8:34
Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

Devotion:
It really must have been awesome to be able to listen to Jesus whilst He spoke; to be able to hear the authority by which He spoke, knowing that many believed just by listening to short sermons from Him. We may go to church many times before the truth start to sink in... But we face the same problems the Jews faced then. We start to let go, we start to wither, we start to fade, we give in to those temptations around us and lose sight of Christ again.

Jesus knew what was in the hearts of those around Him, but He also knew what was going to be said to them when He was no longer around. He knew they lived in a very strict society where the law had to be followed. He did not want to take them away from the law, because it was that same law Jesus stood for. What He did want them to know, though, was that nothing they could do on earth would allow them to escape from their sins.

Oh, we do try to get away from them, but all we can focus on is the physical aspect of them all. We fight the fight and before long we think we are losing because we don't seem to make a difference – we give in. For as long as we do have that sin in our lives, we continue to be servants of that sin. We continue to give in to it and continue to even enjoy it when we do it – we may regret it afterwards, but that's a bit late! But if we have Christ in our lives, we have the advantage. He is the one who can set us free. If we do want to be set free forever, there is only one way and that is not by trying extra hard and thinking we can fight it! No matter how much we try, we still sin... we continue to be the servant of sin because that is what we like in our lives! But Christ has the power to release us from our sins and He has the power to help us to fight them and He has the power to help us avoid them.

Points to Ponder:
Can any of your friends release you from punishment from the law?

What makes you think you can avoid Gods Law?