Friday Reading: John 3 18-21

 

Key Verse: John 3 19
19  And this is the condemnation, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, because their deeds were evil.

 

Devotion:
With great sin comes a great burden. Not a visible burden, but the affects of that burden do show themselves. People who have great sin in their lives are always having to avoid what is right, the light, the law. They have to hide from it continually in case they are caught and exposed. It is little wonder then that they create communities for themselves and recruit like-minded people so that they can feel like they have safety in numbers. But, truth be told, they are still hiding from righteousness.

 

Sin may have come into the world through one person, but each of us that have followed on have chosen to follow that path of sin as well. Each one of us have gone down the route of evil. Fortunately for some of us we have found our way back to God through the path that Jesus has laid down for us. Through that path, we are guaranteed entrance into heaven and we no longer have to avoid the light. Our burden has been lifted. Our way of salvation is exposed so that others may see how Christ has done it for us.

 

God's Law is written down so that we can know just how far we have gone wrong. It is written so that we can identify that we have chosen the path of sin. It is there for us to recognise where we are in our dark lives. Isn't God's love wonderful that He could reach down into the darkest depths that we sank to and lift us up back into the light. He reaches down and shows us all where we have gone wrong, but we are the ones that have to choose to grab hold of that hand that is reaching down. We are the ones that make the choice to have faith in Christ. We are the ones that choose to believe that He can save us. We are the lucky ones... if we grab that hand in faith...

 

Points to Ponder:
Would you reach out to a helping hand if were caught in a hole?
 
Have you reached out and caught Christ's hand?

Thursday Reading: Romans 5 6-11
 
Key Verse: Romans 5 8
8  But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

 

Devotion:
We are essentially weak... We give in to all sorts of things... How many have already given in to things this year that we said we were not going to give in to? But through that weakness we can learn so much. Through that weakness, we can learn just how much God loves us.

 

Christ died for us all, not just the ones that give in to small things, but the guilty and hateful as well. Christ died so that each one of us could get the same chance at a new life through His love. He died so that we would be able to walk away from our sins. If any of us were absolutely not guilty, then there would not have been a need to die for us. But we know that through our weaknesses, we give in to all sorts of temptations and live our lives as sinners. Even after we have asked Him to forgive us for our sins, we continue to sin through our weaknesses.

 

But because of His death, we are justified. It is like Christ Himself has stood up in court for us, knowing we are guilty, and has admitted our guilt. He has taken on our guilt and has suffered the punishment for that guilt. Death. He alone has given us a new lease of life and He alone is able to stand up and take our debt because He alone is not guilty! Because of that fact alone, we will be able to be reconciled with God. God cannot abide sin, but through Christ we are able to go to Him being totally forgiven for our sins and approach Him without a blemish!

 

What a wonderful God we have. A God so caring that He gave us His own Son to be the way that we can get back to Him after all our sins that we have given in to!

 

Points to Ponder:
So how many new year resolutions are still intact?

 

Aren't you glad that our sins can be forgiven?

Wednesday Reading: John 9 24-34
 
Key Verse: John 9 33
33  If this One were not of God, He could do nothing.

 

Devotion:
So many times in our lives we close off things that we do not want to hear just because they sound a bit too different from our ideal. It's not just the miracles like this blind man being given sight again, but simple things around us that we prefer not to hear or believe just because we don't like the way they are portrayed! We close off so much from our lives just because we don't want to hear things!

 

The Pharisees did not want to hear of anyone that would proclaim that they were the Son of God because it was too different from their life-styles. They had all the clues in the scriptures that Christ was going to come. They had the head knowledge, but they just did not want to believe that God's Son would come as someone as simple as a carpenters son. They did not want to believe it even when they heard about the miracles. They chose not to believe it, even though they believed in God... once again, just as it had already been foretold in the scriptures!

 

We choose many ways in our lives based on our feelings and on our experiences. If we had an almanac that would tell us what is right and what is wrong at the prescribed times, it would make life so much easier... but then where would our faith be? That would be based on facts and we would do what we do with facts... forget them! When we are faced with facts we accept them, but we all too often forget about those facts just because it happened just as it was supposed to. It is the facts and figures that are different that make us remember. Christ wanted everyone to remember Him and so He did extraordinary miracles whilst here on earth. He made sure that all manner of things were recorded and talked about so that the most possible people that were willing to listen would be given the truth. We have to make sure that we are willing to listen to His truth, that we are willing to follow what has already been written in the scriptures. Christ is alive and He is our God! Praise Him!

 

Points to Ponder:
Do you believe anything you are told?
 
How much of God's Word can you remember?

Tuesday Reading: Genesis 8 20-22
 
Key Verse: Genesis 8 22
22  While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
 
Devotion:
Well, have you noticed any differences yet? Has the world turned upside down? Seriously, we put such a large amount of effort into celebrating the new year because it is a big event – or at least that is how we view it. We are the ones living within time and we are the ones governed by time. Our lives revolve around time and because we have a relatively short time on earth, we try to get a lot of things done – but what are we focusing on?

 

Noah was asked to do something very strange by God, something that would have made him look a bit ridiculous in many peoples eyes. He did it. And after he did it, he lifted up his heart to God through a joint family sacrifice. The last family on earth. He could have been distraught at the fact that everyone else was no more, but he focused on God and showed his thankfulness as best he could. The promise God gave in return was one that we live by today – even though we probably don't think about it all the time. God's promise was that the earth would continue to be exactly the same, having all the seasons and day and night for as long as He wanted it to exist. When the time is right, He alone will have done with it what He wills.

 

We may destroy things around us that we touch. We may pollute and trash the earth to such an extent that we have an affect on the climate, but that climate will still exist. Changing from one year to another does not have a profound affect on the world. It affects us. God's promise still stands. His promises continue to ensure that we still have a world that we can call home. He is our Creator and He is our Keeper. Why not make a difference and show God just how thankful we are this year by doing what is right by Him. He continues to supply our needs and continues to hang our planet in the middle of space... just because He loves us!

 

Points to Ponder:
A very happy New Year to everyone!