The Devotional – National and personal sin
Comment: Joel 1:1-20 – Good teachers of the
Holy Word of God are illustrators and instructors of TRUTH. Sometimes the use
of current events or natural disasters are good tools to point a congregation,
a community or even a nation to the NEED of revival, to return to the Living
God. A side note – I say The Living God in order that we may know that I am
talking about the SELF-EXISTING GOD of the Holy Bible. I am not discussing the
man-made gods of religion, nor the usurper, who is the thief and murderer identified
in the Holy Bible as Satan. The illustration that the Prophet Joel uses is
literal, an event in time in the southern kingdom (Judah) of Israel. The event
came without warning – a plague of locust around 800BC. Judah had plenty of
warnings of pending judgment from God to turn from its national sins of
idolatry and immorality. The locust plague is one of them. Joel’s prophesy of national
waste due to sin is an ongoing warning to all nations that there is a day of
judgment coming. A not so far away day when another locust-like invasion will
come upon all men, women and children, see the Fifth Trumpet judgment,
Revelation 9:1-12.
Devotional: John 8:31-36 – Are you interested in
TRUTH, does your soul seek a haven of rest, and are there times in your life
when your heart is exhausted from the lies of movies and media? No doubt your
mental answer is yes, even if your lips might play the devil’s advocate and say
otherwise. To those who believe in Jesus we are challenged daily to abide in
Jesus (Truth) while we live in a world of lies.
As a disciple
of Jesus we are exhorted from the Living God to abide in Truth and live in
freedom, as the Truth is in Jesus (John 1:17) thus it is Jesus who sets us free
from the challenges of trial and testing. These lies bombard us daily to live
like the world in the thick of darkness. We must be willing to reject the lies
of darkness and the traditional religions of our day. We must be willing and
abide in the Truth of God. Romans 13:14, John 14:1-6 are just a couple of many that
point us to live in TRUTH.
A sin
committed is opportunity from the world to become a slave to the way of the
world, the world is a temporal place, we are here only for a short time, why
live as a SLAVE to the world when God, through Christ/Messiah offers to those
who BELIEVE in Him an abode FOREVER. One that is SET free from slavery. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free INDEED.”
No comments:
Post a Comment