Saturday 2 Apr 2022

April 2: John 7:45-52

Key Verse: John 7:48
Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?

Devotion:
Just because someone does not do what you want and the way you want it done, doesn't make them wrong! All of us like to be in control of our own destiny, so we like to think we are in control of the things happening around us; which often means we want everything to go exactly as we want. When things don’t go according to our plan, we think of them as being wrong!

We don’t have to look very far to see this happening all around us nowadays. We can read about this in our bibles as people set about fighting each other just because they believed differently from each other. We can ready all throughout history how this has shaped and destroyed nations! We can watch it unfolding on our doorsteps in Europe today!

Jesus knew people would fight each other. He knew religious factions would fight each other. He knew the Pharisees would cause a lot of bother just because they wanted the people to follow the laws as described by them – how else would they stay in power and in control? This is the thing; when people sense power or control over others, they start overstepping the mark until they are no longer fully in control because the greed has taken over instead.

God wants us to hear the truth and to uphold the truth. He wants us to set aside the personal feelings and desires we have and try to ensure the truth is told first and foremost. When Nicodemus dared to support Jesus, the rest of the Pharisees shouted him down and supposed he was colluding with Jesus just because he said one thing in support of Him!

Points to Ponder:
Do you uphold you own words, or support God’s words?

Will you set aside your desires and pick up the mantle to follow Christ?