Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: devotion

Watch And Pray

Encouragement, Trust

Watch And Pray

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:41

 

The Spirit vs. The Flesh

Jesus warned Peter, James, and John to watch and pray as He went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray to the Father.  He had just celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples and was about to be betrayed by Judas.  The guards were seeking to arrest Him and He knew He only had a couple of hours to prepare Himself for the worst suffering and torture known to man. Three times Jesus went away to pray and three times He returned and found the three men slumbering.

Jesus tried warning the three disciples but they let their guard down.  Little did they know that they were about to be tested and tempted more than ever before.  They didn’t think all of this would happen on that night because it was a time of Jewish celebration.  In verse 33 Peter exhaust himself and exclaimed that he would never deny Him even if he were to die.  Three times Peter denied Jesus before the rooster crowed.

We all fall into similar slumbering.  We think all is well and life couldn’t be any better.  That is when Satan prowls like a lion to devour.  We must never let our guard down.  We must always be alert to the temptations of sin.  Jesus said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  We all have high regards to what we strive to do for Christ but in the end we each fall into the same category as Peter.  Good intentions are not good enough.

We can all relate to Paul and his dilemma in Romans 7:15-20.  He sums it up in verse 19, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

Prayer

Pray for the Lord to help you to stay alert keep you from the temptation of sin.

Founded On The Rock

Trust

Founded On The Rock

“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:25‬

The Foundation Of Obedience

There is a great advantage of building upon a firm foundation. A structure’s foundation is its most important element. And it’s the storms that test the durability and strength of what lies beneath the surface.  Jesus gives great advice to build on the rock.

Jesus was wrapping up His Sermon on the Mount and was giving the final take away. The large crowd that surrounded Him listened attentively to every word that was spoken.  The message that Jesus wanted them all to understand was that some listen and obey but some listen and do as they please.

He compared two men building a house. The wise man worked hard and dug deep into the soil to make sure that his house would stand the test of time.  But the foolish man was in a hurry and took short cuts so when the storm came his house didn’t stand. It’s obvious that the foolish man didn’t understand the importance of quality and endurance.

The rock of the foundation is obedience.  For a Christian it is important to obey the Word of God and keep it close to our heart.  Sometimes it is difficult to obey and remain righteous as Jesus instructs.  But it’s easy to disobey and fall into sin and live hypocritically.

It takes a foolish person to build a house on sandy soil as it’s also foolish for a person to know God’s Word and not obey it. It’s one thing to listen to instructions, it’s another to obey them. James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”  We must live obediently upon the biblical truth of Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Pray for the truth of God’s Word to embrace your life as you are tempted to take foolish shortcuts of disobedience.

Under Grace

Faith, Trust

Under Grace

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:14‬ ‭

Dead To Sin

Have you ever considered why we all continue to sin even after we have been saved?  Just because we accept the free gift of salvation doesn’t mean we will never sin again. It just means that the work of Jesus Christ has paid the penalty of our sins. He has justified us before God and we are forgiven.

For an unbelieving person, sin dominates their life. They do not even realize they are sinning. They are a slave to sin and sin is their master.  But as a Believer you are a slave to righteousness. You have been set free from sin. That does not give us the right to go sin even more, it just gives us the attitude to sin less. Once we consider what Jesus did for us on the cross it will make us not want to sin. We will be more aware of our sins and we will make special effort not to sin. The Holy Spirit gives us power to overcome the sins that once dominated our life. Perhaps you noticed in your personal life that after you were saved you quit doing some of the sins you use to commit.

Christ makes us a new person from the inside out. He changes our heart first and then places a desire in our hearts to not want to sin. Sin is anything that does not glorify God. As Christ followers we live a life that is pleasing and accepting to Christ. We need to pay close attention to any sins that we commit on a regular basis.

Prayer

Lord, I confess my sins to you one by one. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me new life.