Tuesday January 10th, 2023
Memorize: Isaiah 65:5 New Living Translation (NLT)
« Yet they say to each other, ‘Don’t come too close or you will defile me! I am holier than you!’ These people are a stench in my nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away. »
Read: Isaiah 65:1-7 New Living Translation (NLT)
1 The Lord says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.
I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name.
2 All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people. But they follow their own evil path and their own crooked schemes.
3 All day long they insult me to my face by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens. They burn incense on pagan altars.
4 At night they go out among the graves, worshiping the dead. They eat the flesh of pigs and make stews with other forbidden foods.
5 Yet they say to each other, ‘Don’t come too close or you will defile me! I am holier than you!’ These people are a stench in my nostrils,
an acrid smell that never goes away.
6 “Look, my decree is written out in front of me: I will not stand silent; I will repay them in full!
Yes, I will repay them—
7 both for their own sins and for those of their ancestors,” says the Lord. “For they also burned incense on the mountains and insulted me on the hills. I will pay them back in full!
Message:
There is a worrisome trend in Christendom today: many people claiming to be holier than other.
While I am a serious advocate for holy living, I am not in support of condemning other because of the assumption that they are not as holy as you. We must acknowledge that we are what we are by the grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:10) and no one can be holy except by this grace.
« 24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling and to make you stand joyful and faultless in his glorious presence,
25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus the Messiah, our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time and for all eternity! Amen.” Jude 1:24-25 (ISV) »
So, when you see someone living a questionable life, do not condemn him/her, rather pray that God gives the person grace to live holy.
It is okay to correct someone who has done wrong, but if it is not done in love, you most likely will not get the positive result.
Many people have given up on faith because some Christians have condemned them.
The hurting and reproachful words spoken to them have pushed them far away from God rather than closer to Him. This is not good at all.
Let love reign.
Let your actions be guided by the intention to bring people out of darkness, not because you deliberately want to hurt them by pointing out their flaws.
If anyone is backsliding in your local assembly, pray for such as you lovingly try to restore them according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Don’t laugh at any backslider, don’t look at them with disgust.
The father of the prodigal son never mentioned all the ills the boy had done, he just embraced him in love.
From today, begin to walk in love with people in your family, church, workplace and everywhere else. See them with the eyes of Jesus and He will not only convert them but will also draw them unto Himself by His power.
Key point: Jesus is depending on you to show His love to the people of the world. Don’t push them away.
Author: Pst E. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
Freely you received, freely you must give (Math 10:8) , kindly share this devotion, and the Lord will bless you for it ♥
