Reading your Bible for Today April 3

Monday 3 Apr 2017

   

April 3: Proverbs 20:30

Key Verse: Proverbs 20:30
Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.

Devotion:
There is a lot to be said for good old fashioned punishment at schools, but because of the way man has corrupted that form of punishment and sunk deeper into sin we no longer find it socially acceptable. When I did something very wrong at school, I was punished quite severely to try and ensure I would not do the same thing again. It was up to the master to judge fairly whether I was likely to do it again after he punished me and to serve up a punishment which would deter me. It works!

What would we be like if Christ were to turn around and serve out the punishment for our sins. It's not going to be a case of getting a cane across the hands, or on our behinds. It's not going to be a case of us getting our hands chopped off if we steal something; as is the case in some other societies. Romans 6:23 reminds us that the payment for our sins is death! If Christ turned round and said we were going to have to pay in full right now, we would all fall down dead! Fortunately for us we have a Master who knows that He does not have to go all the way in order to persuade us not to go and do some sins again. But He may have to allow us to be caught out by our own stupidity in order for us to realise where we have sinned against Him.

He has given us the rule book in full, our bibles. He has given us the rule book in pocket version, the ten commandments. He has even given it to us in a two-rule version; Luke 10:27 says “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Yet we are the ones who take those steps out of line, we are the ones who go up in the face of punishment just to see if we can get away with it. We are the ones who ignore the rules. We are the sinners.

God is faithful and just. He will have to carry out our sentence when we finally face Him. If we have not asked Him to forgive us by then, we are not going to have a case against our sins. We will have to face our punishment once and for all!

Points to Ponder:
How often do you get into trouble?

Are you thinking about what your punishment could be?