Today’s Scripture: 1 Kings 12-16
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy. – Jude 24
The tragedy revealed in 1 Kings 12-16 is that although it took Israel many years to achieve its place of power and grandeur, it took but a little while for them to sink in the mire of sin.
So it is with our spiritual lives. Growth is slow. It takes a long time to get our spiritual roots anchored firmly into the person of Christ. But it doesn’t take long to slide back into a place of rebellion and cold-heartedness.
I have a friend who showed great promise in his Christian growth. Year by year he took steps of faith that led to his becoming an established, mature, dedicated disciple of Christ. He went on to become an equipped spiritual laborer in the harvest fields of the world and was mightily used by God to bring many others to a personal faith in Christ. Then one day it happened. He met a woman to whom he was attracted, and today he is living in sin. Compared to the time required to mature in his faith, his decline was almost overnight.
That’s the warning from today’s passage. One after the other, we learn of the decline and fall of the leaders of the people. We see it in Solomon, in his son Rehoboam, in Jeroboam, Abijah, Nadab, Baasha–the list goes on.
You might be thinking, If I’m going to hit the skids spiritually someday, why not fall into sin today and get it over with? But the warning of Scripture is that while spiritual failure is always possible, it is never inevitable. Our challenge is to stand by the grace of God, recognize that we are vulnerable, and take heed lest we fall.
Prayer
Lord, may I never take for granted the Holy Spirit’s work in my life. Amen.
To Ponder
When was the last time you chose to stand by the grace of God against temptation?
DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION 