February 6: Romans 5 15-21
Key Verse: Romans 5 20
The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more
Devotion:
Does it seem strange to you that doing things wrong is easy but to do things right is hard? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Well, I think the reason for this is the way we are brought up... not so much our parents, but the peers we have surrounding us. The world around us is deep in sin and following on the example of all those around you seems to be the easiest thing to do. Trying to find people who are doing the right thing is now a task in hand and seeing the hardships they have to face in order to try and get done what is right is not pleasing to the eye – so we give in to the other things in our lives and take the easy route!
Man has always been like this way and continues to make bad choices – we only have to look through history and see just how much we have destroyed in our history to realise how we do continue to make unsound decisions which lead to sadness, death and destruction. Digging our way out of those rather large holes we insist on making for ourselves is then an uphill struggle which we don’t like to take; instead we try to find a quick fix or easy way out. Sometimes what we have to do is put aside the easy and tempting ways and dig in to do it the right way no matter how hard it may seem.
God has shown us His mercy and grace and leaves before us the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. He has given to us a safe place whereby we will retain eternal life. It’s not an easy path to try and stay there whilst everything else around us seems to be crumbling and tempting but try we must. His grace will support us through our trials and will give us the encouragement that we need – so long as we continue to depend on Him. That is the key factor – we need to depend on Him. If we try to justify things ourselves, we end up in hot water because we are all guilty. We have the choice as to whether we stay in bonds to a life of sin or whether we turn our backs on it and depend on the unseen. We gain more when we turn to Christ than we lose when we turn away from sin. It may not seem like when you are drenched in sin, but that is the truth. The only way we recognise this is when we do take the first step away from sin and fall in Christ’s arms.
Points to Ponder:
Do you think everybody else has a good life?
Are you looking at your life in eternity?
February 5: Romans 5 12-15
Key Verse: Romans 5 13
To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.
Devotion:
One thing which is asked many a time is why should we be known as sinners? The obvious answer would be because we are, but you cannot turn around and tell anyone they are a sinner without telling them what a sinner is and why they should be called a sinner. You cannot stop there either because beating someone down into submission without giving them hope is not what God wants. If you want to show someone they are sinners against God then you must approach it by showing them why there is sin, why they sin, why you sin too and then give them encouragement by showing them God has already given them a way out...
Sin entered into the world right from the beginning when we chose to go against the most basic of laws. The only reason why we know it was sin is because the law was there in the first place. If the law had not been given in the first place, man would not have known that it was wrong. The laws which God gives us are not grievous and yet we choose to work against them because we see other ways which seem like a good idea at the time. Looking back after the fact we can see that we have done wrong – that is sin. None of us can step back and tell everyone else that they are sinners because we are sinners too. Unless we are willing to show others that they are just the same as us, they will not know that they are working against God.
It does not matter we may not have done the same things wrong as others, the fact is we have done something wrong and God’s Law states that if we are guilty we face death just as all other men have faced before us.
The greatest part is that we do have forgiveness given to us on a plate. All we have to do is to accept this plate so we may have forgiveness. Jesus gave His own life on the cross to pay for all the things we have done wrong. He did so because He loves us and wants us to be saved from the penalty of eternal death. It is a free gift for anyone who wants it and showing others that we have accepted that must be our goal.
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are better than others?
Does God see you sin?
February 4: Proverbs 15 3
Key Verse: Proverbs 15 3
The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.
Devotion:
God has a full, clear and perfect knowledge of all things on this planet (and more besides). He continues to watch over everything that exists and continues to balance our world we live in. Scientists, on the other hand, continue to guess at why atoms do not fly apart and why things happen the way they do. Granted, there are some amazing scientists out there who have been able to predict behaviours of particles we cannot yet see, but they are not the ones holding them together. Just like children playing with new toys, we seem to want to be able to try and break anything we touch! But God continues to watch over us as a parent does, waiting for us to learn from our mistakes. He encourages us when we stop finding things out and He discourages us when we break too much. He is there and He is watching and He is so patient with us!
It does not mean He is willing to sit back and watch us break the world and all our fellow people! He has given us the rules and given us the encouragement we need to be able to understand things, but He also keeps a close eye on us. When we do bad stuff He does not like it. It displeases Him. How long do you think it would take before the person looking after you would start disciplining you when you started playing up? People tend to be impatient when things are going wrong and we also tend to shout rather than work out the problem properly. God, on the other hand, knows exactly what is best for us and will do that... It does not mean that we will like what He does!
We cannot hide from God like we can hide from our parents or those in charge of affairs. We like to seek out dark places to hide (places that are far from the truth – the truth being the light). We like to think nobody can see us if we are far enough away from the truth... but God is watching over us. Each time we rebel in any way, we are doing that in front of Him. Each time we hide from the truth, He is watching us try to hide. He wants us to be good. He wants us to follow the truth. All He asks is that we ask for assistance to do what is right!
Points to Ponder:
Where do you run to hide?
Do you realise how much you affect God?
February 3: 1 John 2 1-2
Key Verse: 1 John 2 2
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Devotion:
To me this is one of the key verses which show us just how much Jesus showed His love on the cross. This was written by a Jew talking to others and showing them Christ had died for their sins; but he also reminds us all this was not just for the Jews but for everybody! The wording used by John also showed Christ’s death was not just for people at that time but for those who had gone before and those still to come; in other words, for all people throughout all times.
The most amazing part is that Jesus laid down His life for the sins of the whole world. The original text of the bible uses words which carefully distinguish between people who believe Christ did die for our sins with those who do not. In other words, Christ’s redemption is there for all who believe in what He did for our sins and not for those who reject Him. That is the thing that we have to remember... Christ did die for everyone, but only those who believe this is exactly what He did and why He did it will receive Him as their Advocate.
John also uses words such as “little children” to identify the way in which we are looked upon by Christ. Each one of us has been a child at some time and each one of us can probably remember times when we did things wrong and had to be punished; but each one of us has moved on from that time and those things are no longer held against us. We need to come to Him as children, expecting to be forgiven and expecting to be loved unconditionally – just as our parents probably have done.
With that sort of knowledge behind us and the proof of His love for us already having being displayed, how can we not believe He is our Living God? It is through our faith in Christ’s shed blood where we find redemption, peace, reconciliation and forgiveness of sin. It is faith in the “known,” but it remains faith because it is in the unseen. That is why God gave us the bible, so we can know He loves us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you worry about not being forgiven?
Is your faith firmly on Christ’s blood?
February 2: 1 John 1 8-10
Key Verse: 1 John 1 9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Devotion:
One of the hardest things to do is to admit you are wrong! No matter where we are in our lives, admitting we have done something wrong is not our idea of fun because we think it shows us up as a weaker person in some way. But, just as the alcoholic will have to admit they have a drink problem before they can move forward in their lives, we have to admit we do have a sin problem before we can move forward with God. Admitting we have a sin problem or that we have even sinned just a little (as we often see it in our eyes) is something which may well take us a long time to realise.
The first step of becoming a Christian is that admission we have done things wrong against God. We know this because we have our bibles which will show us exactly where we have done things wrong. Admitting to those things may be hard at first because it means we have to admit to not being fully in control of our actions. But when we do make this first step, we can then know just how much God loves us because He has already allowed His Son to die on the cross so our punishment for those sins has already been paid! That is what Christian loves stems from!
Just because we may well have already admitted our sins and already asked God to forgive us for them a while back, does not mean we can then forget about any which we have committed since then! Each time we recognise we have done something against God, we need to admit to those sins; those admissions being done directly to the one who paid for our sins – Jesus Christ. He has already said He will forgive us for those sins because He has already paid the price. If we do not admit to them then we are only fooling ourselves because our God is a Just God! Justice must be served... If we say we have not sinned, then we are telling Him He died for nothing and that He does not know us! He wants to forgive you...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you admit to being wrong?
How often do you admit sins to Christ?