Friday 21 Jul 2017

July 21: 1 Timothy 5:20-22

Key Verse: 1 Timothy 5:21
I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favouritism.

Devotion:
How many times have you done something for a friend even though you knew it to be wrong? I am sure we will all admit to doing something at some stage... How many of us have been found out and accepted the punishment for that? If we are the ones who are going to consent to doing things, then we have to be the ones that are willing to stand up to the punishment. We have to be willing to admit to everyone that we have done wrong so they will see what happens when they do wrong. Being an example not only means trying to show others the right thing all the time, but also means accepting your punishment gracefully when you have done wrong!

When it comes to us having to uphold the peace or point out the wrong things people are doing, we must certainly not pick sides! For as soon as we pick sides, others will see that we are no longer impartial and will no longer have the full trust in us which they may have had to start with. We have an abundance of trust in God because He has shown us over and over again He is not a respecter of men but of justice and souls. He does not pick sides when people are looking to Him. If we think we are any more just than any other man then we are mistaken. We need to realise we are all in the same bucket and act like it!

Taking out our wrath on others is just a bad sin as helping them in their own sins. We need to show others we are not only willing to accept the punishment for doing wrong, but willing to learn from our mistakes. We must also be willing to show others what we have learned so they will not fall into the same problems we have in the past and certainly point out to others if they are headed off in that direction.  Avoiding temptation is much better than having to pay the price for sinning!

Points to Ponder:
Do you accept your punishment gracefully and learn from it?

Do you learn from Gods Word or do you have to have things pointed out to you?