August 24: 1 John 4:16-18
Key Verse: 1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Devotion:
This letter really does drill home the words God is love! But words are just words unless people listen to them and act upon them too. We could all speak the right words and go off and do our own things instead, making the words of little or no effect; meaningless!
As Christians we do need to fully rely on God’s love in our lives because it is central to being a Christian and central to our lives in general. If we do not love then we are meaningless vessels who are of no real use in any community. The more we realise God is love, the more we draw closer to Him when we do exercise love in our own lives. Focusing on what the love is for and not just that there must be love will help us to focus on God’s love in our communities too!
We do need to remember there is no fear in love! Notice I say there is no fear, not there should not be fear… If we bring fear into the equation then we are making an excuse where we will not have to love unconditionally. This unconditional love is the love God has for us and the love we need to spread in our families and in our communities. Good and wholesome love will drive out fear because the definition of love does not contain fear.
The basic concept of fear has to do with punishment in some form or another. Love does not include punishment… punishment is sometimes dealt out in the name of love because we would rather see someone punished now to stop them from offending than to face greater punishment after they are found out. Love did not cause the offence in the first place, love had to deal with the real-world problem after it has happened!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you bring fear into a relationship?
Are you ready to put it all on the line so love can make the relationship better?
August 23: Romans 12:1-2
Key Verse: Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.
Devotion:
Nicodemus was willing to try ans find out how he could be saved from this debt he owed because of his sinfulness. He came to ask Jesus how he could do this and the answer was a whole lot simpler than Nicodemus probably thought. To simply present himself to God because of what Jesus would do on the cross for us all...
Once you have made the decision to allow Jesus fully into your life, you need to think about how you live your life! If you are going to tell God you are willing to be a Christian, then you should also be willing to start acting like one – to change your life away from the sinful things which were a part of your life and to aim to be more righteous – not so you can be assured a place in Heaven, but to show God you are serious about being a Christian!
If you went around telling people you were a Christian and acted nothing like a Christian, a lot of people would question whether you were a Christian! God would love us to be good examples because that would encourage others to be more like that too! This is why the author here reminds the people to present themselves as a living sacrifice… not that there needs to be a physical sacrifice…
If you are willing to give something up, like you sinful life, then you are actually making a sacrifice because you are stopping that part of your life you once thought to be normal and aim to be more like Jesus asks us to be. This is our living sacrifice which we should aim to live every day as a Christian. We don’t have to do things the way we used to or the way anyone else says we should be – we should be trying to live according to how God wants us to live...
Points to Ponder:
Do you give in to the old ways you used to live?
Or are you making a sacrifice and living a more righteous life?
August 22: John 3:1-3
Key Verse: John 3:2
He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’
Devotion:
Nicodemus, a man who had a position in the Jewish ruling council, wanted to know how to be saved. He had heard the gospel message and was convinced this was the way to go forward in his life. No longer was he blinkered by the man-made extensions to God’s Commandments, he was a man on a mission...
But he knew exactly what the Jewish ruling council could do to him if he opposed their strict rules. He was scared of what they may do to him if he was to admit he followed Jesus. So, he came to see Jesus at night when there would be much less chance of any of the rulers or their spies seeing him come to see Jesus.
How was he convinced? By what he had heard of and possibly seen happen to others. Jesus knew if He healed the right people, the right people would get to know about this and the Holy Spirit would be able to convince those people God was real and Jesus had come directly from God! That is such a huge statement! He was admitting Jesus came from God; he was admitting Jesus was the Messiah – something the Jewish ruling council did not want to admit to…
This is our reminder we don’t have to stand up in front of a church congregation to admit we want Jesus in our own lives. We can do it by being alone, even stuck in a cupboard or wherever! Jesus wants us to freely admit He is the Son of God and He has come to set us free, to be saved from our sin debt, to be free to worship Him whether it be in a church or alone at home or in hiding because another ruling council does not want you to know the truth!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know Jesus as you Lord and Saviour?
If not, will you ask Him to be your Lord and Saviour wherever you are?
August 21: Romans 8:14-17
Key Verse: Romans 8:16
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Devotion:
It may sound such a simple thing: if we are led by the Spirit of God, then we are children of God! But, as with so many things in life, it doesn’t always turn out to be so easy… Yes, we are children of God, but we live in a world surrounded by sin and by strange and divisive things. But, no matter how much we think of ourselves as being humans living in a sinful world, we are still children of God and can live as such!
It is not what we have done or how we have behaved which has brought us to the point where we can be called children of God; it is because of what Jesus has done and the Holy Spirit convincing us that this is ultimately true! If we had never had the Spirit convince us Jesus was real and died for our sakes, then we would never accept the fact He died for our sins… we would be eternally trapped in the sinful world with seemingly no way out!
But because we have been convicted by the Spirit, we can now cry out “Father!” to God and know He is listening and will answer our prayers just as He has promised us! The Spirit does not stop there and go onto the next person; He continues to convince us and guide us and will allow us to grow as long as we are willing to listen.
If we turn our back against the Spirit, then we will not learn any more than we know. Just like we will not learn anything from School if we never turn up for school! God has given us free access to Him through Christ and the the Holy Spirit. It is time we started to use that free access for the purpose it was intended – to have a relationship with God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you ignore God?
Do you try to listen to the Holy Spirit every day?