Lay Aside Evil

Devotion for Thursday July 26, 2018

Sing A&M 304 (Abu 233) - Fight The Good Fight With All Thy Might

Topic: Lay Aside Evil

Text: James 1:21 – “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Evil is everywhere as well as good, it is but a matter of choice to cling to any of them. One can choose to live a good life while another person could settle for evil and whichever a person chooses there is always an end result. One thing is sure you cannot carry evil and good at the same time. A Christian whose fruit still show that of wickedness should as a matter of urgency repent and make amend. James admonished Christians to lay aside every form of evil and all kind of wrong because it will be a barrier to maintaining a cordial relationship with Jesus Christ. Christians must walk like children of light living in the Spirit, it is not possible for a Christian to be living in the spirit of God and still live in sin. 1Thess.5: 22 say we should flee from all appearance of evil. How do we know appearances of evil? We know them through 1) Unfruitful work of darkness (Ephesians 5:11) 2) Works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) and 3) Walking in the counsel of the ungodly (Psalm 1:1-2). Though as believers in Jesus Christ we have freedom to do various things as guided by the Holy Spirit yet not everything is good for us. We should be salt and light to non-Christians. We are enjoined to flee from sin and temptation (2 Timothy 2:22); this will help us to stay holy and focused; we should be living in a manner worthy of God not according to the pattern of the world. In a nutshell we should be a good example of a follower of Christ in our speeches and actions.

Food for Thought: Evil may look very attractive but its end result is destruction, therefore flee from evil.

Memory Verse: James 1:21  

Prayer: God, help me to discern evil and flee from it when I sight it.

But Come And Lay Your Hands

MY DAILY COVENANT WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL

Tuesday March 7, 2017             

Topic: But Come And Lay Your Hands

Text: Matthew 9:18 – 19       

This man came to Jesus with a need. Mark and Luke called him Jairus (Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41), a leader of a synagogue. A leader of a synagogue was responsible for supervising worship services, caring for the scrolls, running the daily school, keeping the congregation faithful to the law, distributing alms, administering the care of the building, and finding rabbis to teach on the Sabbath. They exerted great influence in their communities, yet Jairus knelt before Jesus, indicating homage and courtesy as he came with his urgent request.

According to Matthew he told Jesus that her daughter had just died but He should come and lay His hand on her and she will live. This was a clear demonstration of faith in what Jesus can do. His faith was rewarded with the restoration of his daughter back to life. We can’t say the motive behind the action of Jairus in coming and bowing before Jesus. It may be the urgent need but needs should not be the reason for our coming to Jesus. The death of a loved one would have weakened the faith of some people but not Jairus at that time. He trusted Jesus for an intervention and he got it.

This is the kind of faith God wants to see in us and He honours such faith no wonder He left immediately with him. If you were in the position of Jairus, would you have trusted Jesus? Would you have bordered that He goes with you? Some would have gone home disheartened. No matter how hopeless your situation is, don’t despair. If Jesus is invited into the matter, the situation will change. Invite Him today.

Food for Thought: If you were in the position of Jairus, would you have still bordered Jesus to go with you?

Memory verse: Matthew 9 verse 18 - While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

Prayer: Lord God, strength my faith as I trust in you so that hopeless situations will not despair me.