Wednesday Reading: Hebrews 11 4
Key Verse: Hebrews 11 4
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. And by it he, being dead, yet speaks.
Devotion:
When we start to do what God wants us to do, we are going to upset others; not because of our actions, but because it makes them look bad. When people start to see us acting like the Christians we say we are, they are going to take notice because we are now practising what we preach – literally. Jesus did not go round saying one thing and doing another – He made sure that what He said, He did. Oh how wonderful it would be to live up to such a standard!
Key Verse: Hebrews 11 4
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. And by it he, being dead, yet speaks.
Devotion:
When we start to do what God wants us to do, we are going to upset others; not because of our actions, but because it makes them look bad. When people start to see us acting like the Christians we say we are, they are going to take notice because we are now practising what we preach – literally. Jesus did not go round saying one thing and doing another – He made sure that what He said, He did. Oh how wonderful it would be to live up to such a standard!
In the next few verses in Hebrews 11, we are reminded about various people from the scriptures who have shown faith. What is different about Cain and Abel is that we know so little about them. Cain looked after crops and Abel looked after the animals. Together they provided food for the family. But in order for them to know about sacrifices, God must have given that knowledge to Adam in the first place. God must have told them about making a blood offering to cover their sins. The rules before Christ died for our sins were simple. Make sure that you offer a blood sacrifice that is good, without blemish. What better sacrifice than an innocent lamb.
Christ died on the cross as our blood sacrifice so that we would no longer have to offer blood sacrifices that did not quite live up to the mark. No single sacrifice before Him was enough to cover all sins, forever! Every sacrifice before was a temporary solution. If people did not offer the blood sacrifice, they were not forgiven. They did that through their belief of the unseen. They did that because they knew it was right. Short cutting anything was wrong and Cain knew it but still chose the wrong way. The result was that he got so upset, he ended up killing his brother... We need to give up on our ways and follow the rules God has laid down for us. Acknowledge Christ as our last blood sacrifice and ask for His forgiveness. We know it is right.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you have to say sorry for thing you do wrong?
Have you chosen to say sorry to Christ yet?
How often do you have to say sorry for thing you do wrong?
Have you chosen to say sorry to Christ yet?