January 18: Psalm 32:1-2
Key Verse: Psalm 32:1
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Devotion:
Have you ever tried to work out what is making or has made you miserable? Have you ever compared how you feel when you are wallowing in sin to the time when you are walking with Christ? Sin is the root cause of our misery! Yes, there are many sins which give us instant gratification and many which lead us to money and even some will prolong our own lives – or at least that is how we view it when it happens. But what is actually happening within our souls? What is actually happening to our spirits? We may well think we can get a bit more here and a bit more there, but eventually we will realise we have done things through the expense of something or someone else. We begin to realise someone has to pay for the things we are doing wrong!
We may be able to trace our problems back and find out who has been affected by our transgressions; we may even be able to face them and apologise for what we have done... but we will all eventually reach the stage where we realise Christ is the one who has stepped up and paid the ultimate sacrifice for our transgressions and has taken on the punishment Himself! He did not deserve any of the blame for what we have done and what we do, but He willingly stepped up and took that blame because of His love toward us! The result being we will not have to face the price for our sins. God will judge every one of us and only those whom He knows as His children will not have to face the ultimate price; a price clearly stated by Him.
When we realise the full extent of just what has happened for us we begin to realise what we have done and what we need to do! When we accept what Christ has done for us, we must accept that any time we continue to sin we are continuing to add to what He has paid because of us. Yes, He has already paid the price and knows how much we will do, but that does not excuse us from turning our backs on sin. When we are justified by Christ’s blood, we should be sincere about our lives with Christ from that point on. From then on, we need to turn away from our sinful lives and live for Christ!
Points to Ponder:
How happy are you when someone bails you out?
How happy are you that Christ has bailed you out?
Friday 18 Jan 2019
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