Saturday Reading: John 20 30-31
 
Key Verse: John 20 31
31  But these are written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life in His name.

Devotion:
There are some people’s biographies that read like war and peace because they have accomplished so much in their lives and yet there are others that have very short biographies but are none the less important in our history.  The Holy Bible is a large book in itself but just because it is so large does not mean that it can contain all of the history of our world. What God has given to us is enough information that we may believe in Him and that is what is important.

But that being said, there is no way that all of the accomplishments that Christ did could ever be included in writing, never mind in one book. When we think of Christ we think of His relatively short human life when He lived amongst us in human form. We do not tend to think about the times that He has been there with us and for us from the beginning of time right through to the future. If we were to try to list the things that He has done we would run out of life before we could get very far!

We have our bibles so that we can know the truth, the truth as told by God Himself. He was the one who inspired men to write down what they did. He was the one who made it possible for them to do that. We have a God who is presented to us in three parts to try to allow us to realise just how awesome and all encompassing He actually is. If He were presented to us as a human we would wonder how He could do things all over the world. If He were presented to us as a spirit we would wonder how He could do the physical. If He were presented to us as simply God then we would not understand. By showing us that He is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit we begin to realise just how much He is and how much He does! Just the works of Jesus Christ in Human form could never be written in a single book because He accomplished so much; but what we have is more than enough evidence written down by men who were there with Him so that we may believe in all that He did at that time. With that knowledge we can then begin to realise our whole God! He is Awesome!

Points to Ponder:
Have you ever tried to list everything you have done so far in life?

Have you begun to realise just how much Christ did for you?

Friday Reading: Romans 6 8-11

Key Verse: Romans 6 11
11  Likewise count yourselves also to be truly dead to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Devotion:
If we trust Christ we need to trust Him for everything that He has promised us. It is not just a passing thing that He has done so that all sins in the past can be covered. His death was the perfect sacrifice that God required to pay for our sins. What love He showed by laying His own life down for that one cause – just so that we would not be found guilty for the things that we know we have done wrong! When we believe that that is exactly what He has done we then have to look at a few more things; first and foremost being that He rose again from that tomb so that Satan may be defeated forever and not just at that time.

But it is not just all about His death and resurrection but about our lives because He has done this for us. When we trust Him as our Saviour we are in effect laying down our mortal sinful lives and gaining eternal life in its stead. No we don’t have to physically die at that point otherwise we would not be able to tell other of the great news! We die spiritually to the world. The world no longer has dominion over us because He has released us from its mortal grip. If that is so then shouldn’t we act like we have been released from the grip of a sinful life? Should we not turn our backs on our sinful ways and turn towards the life that He has given us?

So many people forget that when we do trust Christ we are no longer constrained by the sinful world either. Christ rose again so that we could rise from our death to the sinful world and live for Him. Because Christ has given us a new life we do not have to live in our old lives. Why should we have to continue to put up with the sin in our lives when we have been set free from it? Why should we turn back to our sinful ways when we have so much ahead of us? The answer is that we don’t have to... It is our choice and we have to think about what we do. Christ chose to rise from the grave to show us that it is possible to defeat sin through Him. He has done it already so let Him guide you through your minefield too.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you turn back to your life before you knew Christ?

Are you choosing Christ or the world?

Thursday Reading: 2 Corinthians 5 14-15
 
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 5 15
15  and He died for all, that the living ones may live no more to themselves, but to Him who died for them and having been raised.

Devotion:
We know that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6 23). We know that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3 23). So knowing these two things, how can we ever hope to be able to be by Christ’s side? Te answer has already been given by Him and has been written down for us so that we may find out the truth and live by it. I’m not talking about living up to God’s standards because we can never hope to be able to do that but rather being able to live with Christ because of what He alone has done for us.

Christ did not die as a martyr for all humans or Christians or Jews. Christ did not die by way of example, but He did die for all of us. He did not have to die multiple times because the death of one perfect sacrifice was and is enough to everyone. So do we have a choice about this? Sadly or gladly we do. We have the choice as to whether we want to believe that that is exactly what He has done for us. If we do not believe that He has done this for us then we do not believe that He is God and that He is our Saviour – our death then becomes our end for we face an eternal death for our unbelief. If we choose to believe in Christ and what He has done then we are telling God that we know He has given us the opportunity to have eternal life instead of eternal death.

But it is not enough to know these facts and to simply sit back and wait for things to happen. Christ has given us this opportunity to get to know Him. As we get to know Him through His word and His love we find out that we need to confess to the things that we have done wrong, the things that placed Him on that cross. He died because of those things that we do wrong. He died so that we would not have to take the punishment for those things that we have done wrong. Whether we believe it or not, He still died for our sins. If we do not believe this then we make His death of no consequence...

Points to Ponder:
Do you expect people to acknowledge when you do things for them?

Have you admitted that Christ actually died for you?

Wednesday Reading: Luke 15 20-24
 
Key Verse: Luke 15 22
22  But the father said to his servants, Bring the best robe and put it on him. And put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet.

Devotion:
We often think that we have been so bad or naughty that we do not deserve forgiveness and yet these are the word that Christ Himself spoke to show us just how much He is willing and able to forgive us. The parable of the rich man and his sons is one that shows that forgiveness not only comes from the heart but that it should be total. When we say that we are going to forgive someone we try our best to do so but we never quite make it because we always seem to hold a grudge or remember things that have happened in the past.

God, on the other hand, demonstrates that He is willing to forgive right from the moment that we show that we are willing to repent. That very act of coming to Him and asking for His forgiveness for the things that we have done wrong is the trigger for our being forgiven. We do not have to go through all manner of things to be able to be forgiven nor should we have to go through much punishment or to have our sins forgiven. He is willing to forgive us when we show in our hearts that we are ready to ask for that forgiveness.

The rich man's son was still a way off when the rich man was willing to forgive and forget. The rich man put everything behind him as if it had not been done in the first place; he was willing to lift the son up to his level by giving him the best clothes and the best food and comfort. Christ wants to be able to give us His best when we are willing to see what we have done. It is not that we have to go through what He went through on the cross, nor should we have to pay for eternity; He wants to forgive us 100%! He wants us to know that and to come to Him with an open heart. We may be able to fool all of the world all of the time but we can never fool our God. Open your heart to God today.

Points to Ponder:
How much do you remember about things done against you?
 
Are you willing to admit what you have done against God?