November 23: Romans 6 8-12

Key Verse: Romans 6 12
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

Devotion:
We may well be weak and give in to our lusts and desires, but once we have given our life back to Him and realise He has died for our sin, we no longer have any reason to give in to those sins. When we did not have any reason to give up the sins, we continued because we thought they gave us something or that they pleased us in some way. But it does not take a rocket scientist to realise the more we get tangled up in sin, the more we are likely to be ruled by it.

However, when we realise just what Christ has done for us, we realise He did die for our sins. He died so we would not have to be ruled by our sin nature any more. We still have that sin nature, but we no longer need to continually give in to it and be ruled by it! The most amazing thing is He only had to die once to cover all our sins. No matter what the sin, He has paid for it in full – so long as we are the ones who have realised this fact and have asked for His forgiveness. If we are not willing to come to Him and ask for that forgiveness, then how are we going to ever get it?

If we continue to live in sin, we are acting as if Christ's death was to no effect, we blatantly say His death was for nothing. But we know different! We know His death was sufficient. We know He did that because of His immense love for us. We know that because He gave His life for us – so we would no longer be trapped by our own sins and we will be able to live with Him. So why continue to give in to the temptations if we no longer have need for them? Why continue to give up the fight when we know we are on the winning team? Why give up and let Satan in?

Points to Ponder:
How difficult do you find it to avoid sin?

How difficult would it be if you saw what Christ had to pay?

November 22: Isaiah 53 10-12

Key Verse: Isaiah 53 10
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

Devotion:
I find it so amazing people were warned of God's wrath in the days of old, yet did not follow His commandments. But we do not have to look too far into our own lives to see why – we are surrounded by so many things which distract us we do find it very hard to keep focused on God's Will all the time. And yet, even after all the grief we have given God, He was still prepared to give His Son for our sin debt so we could have an easier way to get to heaven. Man was told Christ was on His way, and yet so many refused to believe.

It was only when Christ was amongst people that they would open their eyes to the truth which stood in front of them. They would not believe based on what other people said or what was written, unless they were willing to take a small amount of time and separate themselves from constant stream of distractions surrounding them. We still find that today, even after we have all the proof of how Christ has come and done exactly what was foretold. People still get so caught up in the world they lose sight of God and of what He actually means to us.

By faith we are justified. It is not a case of waiting for a big sign to tell us of what we have to do. We need to take a step away from our busy lives and think about what has been done, think about what Christ has done for us, think about what God has done for us. Then that a step of faith forward, trusting that Christ has actually done everything which has been written down, trusting His Word as the truth. We need to admit to our faults, believe on Him and confess that we are guilty before Him.

Points to Ponder:
How busy a life do you lead?

How much time do you put aside for God?

November 21: Mark 10 41-45

Key Verse: Mark 10 45
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Devotion:
As a backup of what we read yesterday from the days after Solomon we read about Christ saying the exact same thing, reminding the apostles in order for us to become great, we have to go through being a servant. What it does not mean is we all have to start at the bottom and work our way up, many people think they can work themselves a place into heaven. What Christ was saying made it perfectly clear when He told how He had come to serve us so we could be saved. That is what made Him great in our eyes.

When we think of the men and women who willingly have given their lives to protect others, we stand in awe. When we think of what Christ has done for us, we stand amazed. He willingly went into the hornets’ nest and took on all the punishment and humiliation just so we are the ones who could live next to Him in eternity!

But we have to be oh so careful because when we have any sort of fame or fortune dangled in front of us like a carrot, we will change our course. We may not think that we will, but we do change tack pretty quickly when there is some sort of recognition to be had. We crave recognition. A few verses before this in Mark we find two of the apostles themselves were asking if they could be on the right and left hands of Christ in heaven. Fame and fortune go to our heads and are likely to sink us.

If, however, we are willing to aim a whole lot lower, we will find we are able to accomplish more and avoid the lusts and desires which would normally entrap us. We have to aim to serve others if we are going to get into their lives. Christ willingly came forward and gave it all as our Servant so we could live. He willingly came to earth as a human so He could die for us. The humiliation that He faced was for our sakes, and ours alone...

Points to Ponder:
Are you willing to humiliate yourself for your friends?

Christ did it all for everyone. He did not pick who it was for!

November 20: 1 Kings 12 6-9

Key Verse: 1 Kings 12 7
They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favourable answer, they will always be your servants.”

Devotion:
In order for people to be able to trust you, you have to show them you trust them. In order for people to love you, you have to show them you love them. We will not get anything for free from other people and we will not be able to take things when they are not ours. We may find a short-term loophole, but in the long run, we are the ones who need to show the way before people will follow our way.

You do not have to be a leader in order to carry out these rules. We should be adhering to them in everyday life; love before you expect love, give before you expect gifts, help before you expect help. If you want someone to be your friend, then you have to show them you want to be their friend. Most of the time when we make new friends it is because we both make that initial move towards friendship. Most of the time when we show love it is because both make that move. In reality, one had to take the lead, but when we look back it seems so natural... and that is because it does become natural when we are in it the right way!

God wants the most natural love between us and Him. That is why He made the first move, so we will know He first loved us. He wants us to be able to trust Him, so He showed us trust first. He wants us to serve Him, so He first served us. How much better example could we hope for? And yet we do exactly what Rehoboam did, we turn to the popular people rather than the people who we need to turn to. We turn our backs on the good relationships in order to follow the popular ones. We turn our backs on good people in order to seek out the popular people. What example are we showing others when we turn our backs on them? What example do we show when we turn our backs on God just for a bit more fun in our lives?

Points to Ponder:
Have you hurt someone just because you ignored them?

Are you hurting Christ by ignoring Him?