Thursday Devotional - Slavery

We are all slaves to something – whether it’s work, wealth, weight, status, security, service to God, pleasure, possessions, perfectionism, family, food, fashion, etc.

Is slavery always bad???

Romans 6:16-18, 22-23   Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness… ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul says slavery to sin results in death, but slavery to God results in righteousness, holiness and eternal life!!! Where is your and my allegiance?

What sin of mine do I justify, ignoring the destruction it has or will cause? What sin of yours do you justify, ignoring its destruction? What negative consequences might we (& others) experience if we continue in that sin?

Let’s value righteousness, holiness and eternal life! There’s freedom in slavery, slavery to God! There’s freedom from sin, earthly consequences, and eternal death.

Alice

Precious Possession

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.

    O Israel, the one who formed you says,

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

    I have called you by name; you are mine.

When you go through deep waters,

    I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty,

    you will not drown.

When you walk through the fire of oppression,

    you will not be burned up;

    the flames will not consume you.

For I am the Lord, your God,

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;

    I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

Others were given in exchange for you.

    I traded their lives for yours

because you are precious to me.

    You are honored, and I love you.  Isaiah 43:1-4

At the end of last year, I decided to get my daughter an iPhone.  I had told her that if she did well with her grades for the semester, she would get one, but I really wanted her to have it as a gesture of kindness because she’s my daughter.  Spoiling her?  Sure, some might say that, but regardless of anyone’s view, she’s still my daughter, and I love her unconditionally.  She knows it even when she is upset after being disciplined or getting a reprieve.

God’s love for us is beyond doubt because He gave to us without condition.  Last week, I spoke of a father’s love as to our focusing on relationship with God to not disappointing Him.  Today, I want to spend more on this relationship, but focusing on God’s love for us.  Through Jesus Christ, He paid ransom for our sins.  We neither earned it nor can we repay it.  It is a gift for the opportunity to have Him with us.  Today’s verses are further proof of Jesus being both God and with God, but the focus today is on how God makes it clear that He is with us in trouble and difficulty and oppression and pain no matter what.  Why is this important?  In the last part of the fourth verse, God answered “because you are precious to me.  You are honored, and I love you.”  Meditate on that for a moment.  The God of wonders, the Alpha and Omega, the great ‘I Am,’ says we are precious to Him and loved.  To fully understand the depth of this is twofold.  First, we can walk boldly with confidence that we are indeed valued by the greatest of all.  Second, we are to be humbled knowing we not only are not deserving of this but also are no better than anyone with or without salvation.  It may seem like a delicate tight rope to walk, and you are right.  We must let the love of God give us strength and the grace of God make us humble.

God has wanted a relationship with you all along.  Even when we feel off the train tracks in our relationship with Christ, remember that He paid the ransom in His blood so that we could be one with Him no matter what.  And He did it for the simplest of things; love.  That is why we should not focus on repayment.  Rather, our relationship is as a statement of devotion and love for Him.  Let us cherish the selfless act of God who loves us no matter what.  What level of reflection will you have in your relationship with Christ?  How can your understanding of being His make you both stronger and more humble?  My prayer is you remember that you are God’s precious possession.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Accessible

Hello,

This past week I have been reading through Leviticus. While not exactly at the top of the books in the Bible that excite me, it seems each time I go through it something new strikes me. This time I was caught by the accessibility God presents to those seeking forgiveness and restoration.

When you read through Leviticus, you see the precision and details of many areas, as the priest roles and sacrifice systems are put in place through Moses and Aaron. But as you pay attention, you notice several instances like these 3 (NASB):

Leviticus 5:7 ” But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord his guilt offering for that in which he has sinned, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.”

Leviticus 12:8 “But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.”

Leviticus 14:31 “He shall offer what he can afford, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed.”

Twice the exception is made for a less expensive sacrifice, and the third time it is a matter of what they can afford. You see, forgiveness and relationship are not out of reach. They require sacrifice-  but it is a sacrifice that is within our means from the Provider.

I hope you have a blessed day, and are encouraged by the accessibility of our God’s forgiveness.

Will Hill