Saturday 27 May 2017

May 27: Matthew 17:1-9

Key Verse: Matthew 17:5
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Devotion:
This is one of those moments when the disciples would have been in no doubt about just who Jesus was! And yet, when Christ actually went to the cross, they had their doubts again. Satan is there in the background just waiting for each of us to show a chink in our armour so he can trip us up! What we need to focus on is our Faith in Christ. How do we do that? By hearing His word.

To “hear” His Word does not just mean that we should simply go to church and listen and go home and forget about it. Hearing God's word means we need to take in what we hear and try and apply what we hear in our lives. If we are going to be hearers of the Word and not doers of the Word, then we are not going to get any closer to heaven than the unbeliever who may be next door... Applying God's Word in our lives means we are willing to live our lives according to His rules and to His will. It means we firmly believe that HE IS GOD and we do owe everything to Him. It confirms our love to Christ after He Himself gave it all on the cross for our sakes.

If we are willing to take things into our own hands and do things we think Christ ought to have us do, we had better make sure it is what He desires and not what we want. It is very easy to get carried away with things in our lives thinking we are doing it for Christ when we are simply fulfilling our own desires. That then shows us we are not really “hearing” God's Word, but trying to re-invent it. Yes, it is a very fine line between doing our own thing and working for Christ – the difference being the hearing of His Word, the real hearing.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you switch off when people are speaking to you?

How often do you sit up and listen to Gods Word being preached?