Read:
John 3:25-30
Bible in one year:
Ezekiel 44:15-46:18
Psalms 77:1-10
Hymn:
Sing hymn 14
For Jesus Christ to be fully formed in us, we must learn the secret of
reducing our carnal nature to the level of divine approval. In
Colossians 3:5-6, Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ said:
“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;
fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of
God cometh on the children of disobedience:”
When a person is born, he is born loaded with traits that are in enmity
with God and consequently brings His wrath. Another apostle of Jesus
Christ lists some things that make a typical fallen man; the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life (1 John 2:15).
These are the sins into which the first man and woman fell and we
inherited. We must get rid of them if want Christ to be fully formed in
us. The pride of life is a subtle and complex sin for many reasons.
Firstly, the proud will never accept that he is proud; this makes the
sin very complex until the power of regeneration comes upon the
individual and he surrenders his life to Christ for total deliverance.
It takes the direct opposite of pride to go to Calvary and confess one’s
sins. Moreover, it takes an acceptance of his actions as sinful before
the fellow can confess them. Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke on this matter
when He told the story of the Pharisee and the Publican in Luke 18:9-14:
“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went
up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a
publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I
thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give
tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off,
would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his
breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man
went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one
that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself
shall be exalted.”
In the Bible reading for today, John the Baptist teaches us some
lessons. In spite of his position as a prophet, he knew his limitation;
he knew his boundary. He pointed his audience to the original Messiah.
From his proclamation, we got the title for today’s devotional reading:
Jesus must increase while we must decrease. Our carnal man must be
mortified so that Jesus Christ can increase in us, and gradually, we
shall be transformed to conform to the image of the Son of the living
God. Beloved, I want to encourage you to make a decision to decrease,
that Jesus may increase. Let the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22 characterise your lifestyle.
Memorise:
He must increase, but I must decrease.
Prayer Point:
Father, please help me to be transformed to the image of Your Son, Jesus Christ my Saviour.
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