Tuesday 2 May 2023

May 2: John 10:22-30

Key Verse: John 10:24
The Jews who were there gathered round him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’

Devotion:
How many times have you asked God to reveal Himself in some physical form because you still have doubts? It is only human to have doubts but those doubts do not come from God not telling you something or Christ not giving you a cue or The Holy Spirit not talking to you audibly; these doubts come from the things around you which have been placed there by the evil one to try and make you stumble!

Despite the Jews being the chosen race and despite all the things God had done for and with them over the many years they had been together, they still had doubts because of the many things they were doing wrong. They had grown more used to listening to the world than listening to God and it was harder for them to hear Jesus when He did come to fulfil the role of Messiah.

Jesus’ rebuke to them was to say they were not His sheep, effectively saying they were not of the fold of the church. He did this because they were seemingly refusing to listen to Him; they were fighting a battle between the earthly rules they had built up and the scriptures they had been given thousands of years previously. God does not change the words He gives us but our perception changes as we begin to realise what He actually was saying to us.

We have to be willing to change when we hear the truth, and the longer we stay in the world the harder it is going to be for us to listen to those truthful sayings when all we hear is the temptations of the world. Just as God will not change His word, He will never let go of the people who are in His charge!

Points to Ponder:
Do you have doubts about church?

Are you listening to the world or to God?