Reading your Bible for today August 8

August 8: Revelation 18:1-8

Key Verse: Revelation 18:4
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

Devotion:
Just as we have many examples about what has happened in the past, we have the warnings about what will happen in the future in the book of Revelations.  Just as we have seen how wicked man gets and how Christ has to step in and show His wrath in the past, it will happen in the future as well. In other words, God knows what we are like and He knows we will get caught up in the things of this world. Be He still expects us to be able to listen to Him. He still expects us to obey Him. Why, because He has shown us so much love in all that He has done for us and has given us all the rules... He expects us to be able to show a bit of respect at least and follow some rules!

Just the same as the world, not all children are going to be good. Peer pressure and living up to examples laid down by parents means that many children don't have a hope of getting it right! Christ watches us in these circumstances and wants us to take a stand for what is right. He wants us to be able to set an example so others will be able to look up to see His light through us. He wants us to be able to put aside our feelings of pride and go out and help those who need it. He wants us to be able to make a difference in this world so people will know that there is a God!

Without that difference between us and the world, people will always follow the crowd. Without something standing out from the crowd, people just keep doing what everyone else does. The more people see, the more they will be willing to try. The more they try, the further they will be willing to go. The further they go, the more people lay out in front of them to tempt them further. Greed will set up temptation. Temptation will feed on weaknesses. Lack of direction will mean following where temptation leads. It only goes downhill from there...

Points to Ponder:
Do you enjoy doing what all your mates are doing?

Do you ever show your mates what Christ has taught you to do?