ICS Daily Devotions
Rooted In God’s character
John 15:18-20 (NKJV) If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
Jesus made it very clear that we will suffer persecution. Jesus promised us that the world will hate us. Light and darkness cannot co-exist. When light comes, darkness has to leave. When light comes, it will also reveal all the work of darkness and sin in the world. We are the salt and light of this world. As Christians, we do have values and principles that are exactly at the opposite end of the world. The Pharisees and the religious people persecuted Jesus because Jesus was righteous in His dealing and was not legalistic nor was He a conformist.
Maybe you are a new employee in an advertising company and the media industry is quite a liberal place. There are all kinds of parties where they are drinks, drugs and free social life. There are bosses or clients who expect favor prior to promotion. You are young and you want to prove yourself. But they persecute you for your Christian values and principles. Do you stand or stumble?
You might be confronted and sifted by the devil because he is looking for every opportunity to oppress you through persecution by your boss or peers. However, these persecutions are pale in comparison to those who have been martyrs for their faith when they reside in countries who are hostile against Christians.
Jesus wants us to allow the word to take root in our lives so that we can stand firm in the midst of tribulation and persecution. He does not want us to fall away because we have been very shallow in our faith or has no rock solid conviction. The key to withstand tribulation and persecution is to be rooted in Him.
Mark 4:17 (NKJV) And they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble.
We need to be rooted in Him so that we will not stumble when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake. The seed will need time to take root when there is enough soil and we need to water it daily.
It takes a decision to get to know someone. We need to make this decision with God. We need to know that God is the sower even though he uses man to preach or teach his word today. He will not be the instigator or in cohort with the devil to steal the word that He has sown.
One way to be rooted is to know God’s character and the other is to be able to discern what are the work of the devil and the goodness of God. If we do not know the character of God, we will be easily deceived by the devil. We not only need to know Word of God but also the God of the Word. This will give us greater understanding of the Word. Without knowing the nature and character of God, it will lead to a misinterpretation of the Word of God.
You only know someone after you have formed an intimate relationship with them. Knowing someone doesn’t just come by spending time with them. You need to speak with them and more importantly learn to listen to them. Make it your confession to grow in knowledge of God today!
Sermon series: There is power in the seed
