“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21
|
God has a purpose for all of our lives!! Every Thursday morning we trek out to Labor Ready and share this truth with the men and women there. Oftentimes, hard times cloud our vision and understanding of God. We forget his plans for us, but we always seem to remember to blame Him for our shortcomings. Enjoy this devotional that comes very early every Thursday morning…
|

Just Do What Is Right

|

1 John 3:1-10

|
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
|
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
|
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

|

Our Great Privilege

Aren’t you just rocked by how good God’s love is for us?! John writes that this love is not just great, but ‘how great’. It is so good that he is taken back by it. But notice that God’s love does more than just comfort us. God’s love allows us to be called children of God. Now that is the greatest privilege that we could ever ask for. Sinful people. Ignorant people. Foolish people. We, are able to be called children of God. I thank God for this great privilege, and I trust that you do as well.
|

Sin Is Lawlessness

But being a child of God is no easy task! It must mean that we put away sin. This passage reminds us that no child of God continues to sin because sin is lawlessness. When someone breaks a law, they are in essence saying that the creator of the law is meaningless, and does not have respect for them. When we break God’s law, we do the same thing. We pronounce that we are not a respecter of God and of His authority. Both of these things are horrific sins for which I am guilty of far too often than not. Children of God would not dear engage of sin for what it would mean to their Father. It would give Him a bad name, and bring a bad name to the ‘family’. Are we this committed to God’s family as to not defame it?
|

Do What Is Right

It constantly amazes me how simple God’s Word is. While I tend to try and complicate things, God’s Word makes things even more simple and easy to understand. In this passage it is simply put in the statement that he who does what is right is righteous. Sounds simple enough, huh? But that statement is so true. If we would only do what is right, we would be righteous. Now, I’m not suggesting that in ourselves, we have righteous. We don’t. Nor am I suggesting that it is by our works that we are acceptable to God. That is not Biblical either. But what I am saying is that understanding God’s love for us and our privilege as His children, we are to do what is right. We all know the situations that we find ourselves on a daily basis. We are constantly presented with the choice to follow God’s instructions, or to follow our own. When we follow God’s leading, we will always do what is right, and will be righteous because the righteousness of Christ will rest upon us. If we try and figure out things for ourselves, we will find ourselves kicking against the wind, struggling to find our place in the world. Which would you rather be?
|

Prayer

Lord, I cannot even begin to thank you enough for your amazing love and for calling me Your child. Not only have you called me Your child, but you have given me life and through the Holy Spirit, have enabled me to know the right things to do and then do them. Help me, LORD, daily, to do what is right. And may You receive all of the glory and honor in the process! AMEN