Monday 1 Oct 2018

October 1: Matthew 12:1-4

Key Verse: Matthew 12:2
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Devotion:
We have a task set before us as did the Hebrews at the time of this writing. The task before them was to continue in obedience to their faith in Jesus Christ so they would gain their crown of glory – everlasting life. That same task is before us nowadays too; we need to strive to be obedient to our faith in Christ too and not to give in to the sins which come our way. It is so easy to give in to sin when it is right in your face, especially if you are apt to think nobody is watching or will ever know about it... That is our weakness – giving in to sin because it looms before us.

When we are faced with sin we should be remembering just what Christ has done for us. He is the one who did not sin even when tempted just as we are. He is the one who stood firm and took on our sin debt even though He did not deserve it. He is the one who shed His blood because of what we do... We are not the ones paying for our sins with blood because He has already done that. He did not give up in His obedience to God even though He had to pay for the sin with blood. We give in so easily when we compare what we do against that which Christ has already faced. When we are faced with sin we need to bring this to mind so that we can gain strength and face it.

While we allow sin to be part of our lives, we give it the power to continue in our lives. While we do not turn our backs on sin, we give it strength to continue. The more we feed our sins, the more they will take over and the more they will discourage us. We need to be steadfast and refuse sin before it takes hold in our lives. Let us not give in to carnal desires but gain spiritual strength by depending on our faith in Christ – who has already done for us what we cannot do!

Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to say no?

Are you forgetting all that Christ has already done?