Friday 5 Jan 2018

January 5: John 5:39-44

Key Verse: John 5:44
How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

Devotion:
I am amazed at how often the Jews are held up as an example of people who try to make their own way to heaven. This is not a dig at the Jewish people, rather an eye-opener for anyone who thinks in a similar way. Just because you go to church or have a bible or even read it, does not mean that you will get to heaven. In the same way, just because I read a book about recycling everything, it does not make me green!

To take the example about being green a step further. Just because I separate my paper, glass and plastic from the other rubbish, it does not make me worthy of being called a “recycler”. I have to go that one step further and make sure each of the items I have identified as “recyclable” gets to go to the right place. It would not do me much good by separating everything and then putting all of them out in the same bin for a single lorry to come along and collect them to throw them into the same hole in the ground!

Just because someone reads their bible, it does not mean they believe it; they have a whole lot better chance at understanding God's Word by reading it... There are many scholars who know the bible better than I do, but still some refuse to believe it! Jesus was talking with the Jews and encouraging them to think about what they were reading. At school my brain would not allow me to learn everything parrot-fashion and spill it all out again for a test, I had to try and understand things and apply them before I would remember things – probably why it took me so long to do any learning! But that is what God wants us to do – to read His Word and understand it. To then apply it in our lives in the way it is written and not how we think fit. The truth is there! We just have to read it and understand it and apply it! Getting help from others to discuss and meditate over Gods Word helps us all...

Points to Ponder:
Do you find learning easy?

Do you apply God's Word in your life?