Friday 24 Aug 2018

August 24: Romans 15:8-13

Key Verse: Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Devotion:
For so many years the Jews waited for the one who would fulfil the prophecies. They waited for their Messiah; and many still wait because they don’t want to believe Christ could be born as a mere human being. But as we look back on the life of Christ we can see how He fulfilled every prophecy and did so much more. How then can they not see Christ as the Messiah? There is no excuse left for them to try and use other than the fact they do not want to believe!

As it is now with all non-Jews, we have no excuse left which we can bring up to say that Christ is not the Messiah. The only excuse any man can have is that he has not heard the gospel at all – and there are not many people left who have not heard about Jesus Christ being crucified for them. Unfortunately, many do not understand because the story has never been told to them in all its glory. For once we hear the truth, we too have no excuse not to believe it... It is already written that all nations will praise His Holy name – that is a fact.

The one thing which sets Christ apart from any other religion, sect or way of life is that with our belief in Him we have a joy and peace surpassing all others. When we put our faith and trust in Him we do find a joy and peace that goes far beyond any other we can find. Nothing in our lives will ever be able to give us that same joy and peace. Nothing we create or do can ever replace Christ. Nothing can ever live up to the power of God, our Creator, our Sustainer and our King; because God is the power behind us all. He loves us so much He gave us His Son and He demonstrated His love for us by laying down His life on the cross. His continued love can be experienced day by day through living with The Holy Spirit, the one whom He gave us to give us Joy and Peace every day of our lives. How can we turn our backs on such a wonderful, loving, just God who has done so much for us already – yet continues to do things for us even when we continue to trip up and falter from His ways.

Points to Ponder:
Does your best friend wind you up or make you happy?

Are you seeking Christ to find your joy and peace?