As God establishes His covenant with Abram, He begins to outline judgment for those who sin. This daily devotional looks at how we are to evaluate ourselves so that we walk blamelessly with God to escape judgment.
I am continuing to do things a little differently while I am sick, I’ve told you that Pastor Steve and I are doing a read-the-Bible-through program together.
I am going to share some of comments I’ve posted on what I’ve read. It may not be part of the At the Heart Level theme, but I will be able to keep providing you with something.
I will keep working on the first series for the At the Heart Level theme and plug it in when I can.
Walking Blamelessly with God
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly’” (Gen. 17: 1-2 ESV)
Let’s take this backwards. God can only make a covenant with us and multiply us when we are blameless — without sin.
No, that isn’t going to happen on this earth. We will always sin.
Sins are actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
- Sanctified means to be set free from sin.
- Pure means not being sinful or having the stain of sin.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
Glossary
But when we accept the gift of salvation, we do become blameless. God has forgiven us of our sin.
Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from condemnation and sin to acceptance and holiness and changes us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
- Holiness is the transcendent excellence of His nature that includes elements of purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart.
- Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin.
- Spiritual death is the spiritual separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Glossary
How do we learn to become blameless and show it? We walk with God. That is a test of our character — having His character.
Walking with God means we are humble, reverent, teachable servants of God. We listen to Him and obey His laws and commandments.
We listen because He is God.
Father God. May we always listen to and walk with You. Amen.
God of the Impossible
“Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’” (Gen. 17: 17 ESV)
Abraham had a good chuckle over the thought that this old couple was going to have a baby. He couldn’t see it happening.
Neither could Zechariah when Gabriel told him that he and Elizabeth would be the parents of John the Baptist. He paid for his disbelief.
Mary questioned it when Gabriel told her she would be the mother of Jesus. But she believed and accepted God’s plan for her.
God is the God of the impossible (Lk. 1: 37). We can’t limit Him by our human limitations. We have to let Him work in our lives.
Father God. You are Sovereign God and can do so much more than we imagine. Forgive us when we look at situations only through our limited understanding. Help us to lean on you. Amen.
The Constant Evaluation
“Then the Lord said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know’” (Gen. 18: 20-21 ESV)
At first read, some may think that God really doesn’t know what is happening in Sodom and Gomorrah. Nothing is further from the truth.
God isn’t going there to make an initial evaluation. He is going to make a final evaluation.
God wants us to evaluate our lives. First, we do it to determine if we need salvation. Then, we continue to evaluate ourselves to ensure we are navigating the Sanctification Road. We identify the areas God is working in our lives to make us more like Him.
Father God. You never leave us as You found us. You are constantly making us more like You. We pray that is how we become — to have Your character. Amen.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Judgment
"Then Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?’” (Gen. 18: 23 ESV)
Abraham was concerned that believers would suffer the same consequence as non-believers when God judged Sodom and Gomorrah. God replied that, “… For the sake of ten I will not destroy it” (Gen. 18: 32 ESV).
We can’t equate this with God’s final judgment of the world. God will not save the whole world because some believe in Him.
But neither can we equate this with judgments occurring now. Disciples aren’t going to have a free ride. They will get sick. They will have money problems. They will feel the consequences of their sins.
Mankind has been judged because of the original sin. Disciples are still mankind. We haven’t — and never will be — turned into angels. We will suffer the consequences of our actions.
Final judgment will be based on the answer to one question — do you know Jesus as your personal Savior or not?
Father God. We choose to know Jesus. Amen.
What do you think?
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