Have you considered the impact that Adam and Jesus have on mankind?

 20 May 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One

Readings:

1 Chronicles 1

1 Chronicles 2

John 7:32-53

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22). 

Have you considered the impact that Adam and Jesus have on mankind?

Adam’s name appears first in 1 Chronicles 1:1. He was our federal head or representative in the Garden of Eden. Paul describes the implications of his disobedience as follows: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Paul uses the past tense verb “sinned” (in the words “because all sinned”) of us because when Adam sinned as our representative so did we. Conversely, Jesus takes upon Himself the sin of the world so that all who believe in Him shall live eternally. The apostle gives the contrast, “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:21). 

Employment Point: Live for Jesus, who makes all who believe in Him spiritually alive.

———————

Reflections

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”John‬ ‭7‬:‭37‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• These 3 verses says it plainly what it meant when He says that rivers of living water will flow from within. We will all be given the Holy Spirit, it is promised to us.

When Adam represented us in the garden of eden, he represents us as fully man. What started off as perfect became marred by the temptation of the enemy and the heart that turned, because they covet. They wanted to know what God knows. They want to be like Him and they fail to obey what was spoken to them as a command. 

I believe these are all the places or area in our life where we are most likely to fall short. Let me break it down.

• lack of contentment: nothing is ever enough. We kept wanting more and more, until a point when we realised we have too much or had spent unnecessary money to buy unnecessary things. Ending up giving it away, etc. it is a reminder to ask ourselves, how much is enough? Can we survive and live on whatever that we have right now? If the answer is yes, then we don’t need anything else anymore. Instead, we should be seeking the things in heaven and not material things where we cannot bring.
• Letting doubts cross our hearts-the enemy may not succeed in pulling us directly away from the Lord. It’s no use telling us that the Lord is a bad person. We know that He isn’t. So the enemy resorted to create strife, stirring doubts in our life. Remember what the serpent said? “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?””Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬ ““You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.””Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬. The enemy is good at stirring people’s hearts towards doubt, self-doubt and twisting words so that a command may seemed to look selfish, etc. we need to remember that the Lord is good and also fully trust that He is good, regardless of what happens to us. We cannot give the enemy chances to separate us from the love of God.
• Temptations of any kind-for it makes us lose our focus in the Lord and replaces His position with something or someone else.

The Lord came to save us from all of these, provided to come to Him, believe in Him, trust Him fully and let Him have His way. Else it is hard to be spiritually alive

—————————-

Standing Firm Before the Lord

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

May 20

Stand firm, and you will win life.— Luke 21:19

For some time after we are born again, we aren’t as quick in our thinking and reasoning as we were before. We have to learn how to express our new life by forming the mind of Christ, and this takes time, effort, and patience.

“In your patience possess ye your souls” (Luke 21:19 KJV). Many of us prefer to stay at the threshold of the Christian life. We refuse to move on to the arduous work of constructing a soul—a soul that reflects the new life God has put inside us. We fail at this because we are ignorant of the way we are made. We blame our shortcomings on the devil, instead of on our own undisciplined natures.

We try to pray our weaknesses away, not understanding that there are certain things we must not pray about—moods, for example. Moods go by kicking, not by praying. When we are tired or hungry or in pain, it is a tremendous effort not to listen to our mood. But we must not listen, not even for a second. We have to pick ourselves up and shake off our mood. Once we do, we realize that we can do the things we’d thought impossible. The trouble with most of us is that we won’t. We refuse to stand up to our moods, and they end up sapping our energy and motivation.

Think what we can be when we are motivated! If we will stand firm in obedience to the Lord, if we will obey him instead of our own natures, he will guide us in building a soul that harmonizes perfectly with the Spirit inside. The Christian life is a life of incarnate spiritual pluck: “Stand firm, and you will win life.”

1 Chronicles 10-12; John 6:45-71

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”? 

———————

Reflections

A morning where I was super irritated. Because I repeatedly said the same thing over and over again and it just doesn’t seem to register. I ended up shouting because whatever that was said doesn’t even seem to go in. Ok came the reply but a question triggered me again because it just meant that whatever that was said earlier was not heard. Maybe frustration and anger is a more appropriate word.

But as I read this devotional, Father I want to kick all these moods away. They don’t belong to the children of God. How is it that I behave this way. Can is it that I can bear good witness in this manner. This is just bad attitude and not the most Christ-like in the very least.

Father, forgive us, for the time we fall short. For the times like now where I really don’t deserve to be known as Your child, but Lord You love us still and grant us mercies and so much grace. Help us to look past all these negative things and focus our eyes on You. For You are the great Lord and loving Abba Father that holds us fast.

Help us to learn from You O Lord, and grant us patience and a lot more wisdom to deal with the surging demands from man. Help us to draw boundaries so that we will not be overwhelmed and cause hurt to our bodies for it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Help and guide us to be fully aligned with You and Your ways so that in all things, we will be filled with Your peace, Your joy and Your love, so we can properly steward our time and energy towards the things that You want us to do.

Guard our hearts O Lord, against all evil and temptations so that we stand and give from the point of love and not of anything else.

Let’s pray:

Holy Father and Heavenly King, thank You for Your love and Your teachings on how to love. Forgive us in the times we fall short and lead us back onto the right paths for Your name’s sake. Help us to center our thoughts in You and to remove negative emotions or moods that are not of You. Strengthen us so that we will not fall into prey or traps set by the enemy. Build our life so that we can stand firm against the enemy because You have our backs. Thank You Lord. In Jesus’s name I ask and pray. Amen 🙏🏻