January 8: Philippians 1 27-30

Key Verse: Philippians 1 29
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him

Devotion:
There will always be a time in your life when being a Christian is going to work against you. It is these times in your life where you need to stand firm and be counted. Peter lived what he thought was the right way and would not believe Jesus when He said that he would deny Him three times that night. It was only upon the last time when he suddenly realised he had indeed denied Jesus three times; it was then he realised his weakness.

We all have weaknesses within us, we all have our weak points, and we all have our downfalls. But how many of us are willing to take the blame, willing to confess, willing to stand up for Christ, willing to step forward and put our lives totally in God's hands?

Faith is putting your trust into the unseen, putting your trust into God's hands, putting your trust into something you cannot see. Faith is knowing your trust is true and will withstand anything.

When the disciples were witness to the resurrection of our Lord, they then had more than enough faith to stand up and be counted for God. They were willing to pay for their faith and belief with their lives. God allowed them to do that so we would have the ultimate examples of what people did for their love for Christ. If we did not know how far others have gone for their faith, how could we expect to know what is expected of us.

That expectation is the hard part, to put your life 100% back into the arms of God, to be totally dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ for your safety. He has already paid the price for your sins; He has already shown us His love by doing that for us... All we have to do is to show Him we are willing to show others we love Him. Is that so hard?

Points to Ponder:
When was the last time you showed your love by giving special gifts?

When was the last time you showed your love for Christ?