Everyday I will post a new daily Devo. I hope this blog will bring you into those next steps with God.
WHAT IS A DEVO???????????
So glad you asked! A devo is the short word for “devotional.” And “devotional” is a word used to describe a time of study and prayer. Some people also call it a “quiet time.” Whatever you call it, it’s really a chance for you to spend time getting to know God on a personal level.
And that’s what the Refuge 180 is all about – we want students to begin a relaitonship with God. Sure, we want you to come to church, but church isn’t what changes your life or what gets you into heaven. It is your relationship with God that makes all the difference.
But before you start growing a relationship with God, you need to understand how to start a relationship with Him in the first place. God is our creator – and he loves us! He created us perefectly, but gave us the freedom to make our own choices. The first people created, Adam and Eve, made the choice to disobey God. Ever since then, we all live with their choice. But we don’t blame them only, becasue we each have a choice of whether to obey or disobey God – and, I hate to tell you, but we all have disobeyed God. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” It’s part of our nature ever since Adam and Eve.
So, there’s some more bad news. Because we have all chosen at some point to disobey God (also called sin), God can’t be in a relationship with us. Becasue he is perfect, our imperfection isn’t allowed. So if we are going to have a relaitonship with him, we have to be made perfect somehow. More bad news – nobody can make themselves perfect.
Okay, so now for some good news. God knew that no one could be perfect, so he sent is only son, Jesus, to live a perfect life. Living a perfect life would have been great, but Jesus did so much more. He was put to death by the government for things that he did not do. But in dying, he paid the price that we deserve to pay for our sin – death. That’s right – that’s what our sin gets us – death. And not just regular old death – we all die anyway, right? I’m talking about eternal death – away from God in a horrible place called hell. That’s what we deserve, but Christ died so that we don’t have to die.
Hang with me, there’s more to the story. So not only did Jesus live a perfect life that none of us could live, and die a death he didn’t deserve, he actually rose from the grave. I’m not making this stuff up. 3 days later he was raised from the dead. Over 500 people saw him – so there are more than a few people who verified it. But in raising from the dead, he gave us all the chance to overcome death and have a relationship with him!
Remember what we said about being perfect – that none of us are, but God is. the Bible tells us that if we will believe in Jesus and follow him that it will change the way God sees us. Instead of seeing our sinfulness when he looks at us, he will forget about our sin. All we have to do is place our trust in him, and he will forgive us of EVERYTHING that we have done against him. The price is free, but the commitment is great. He is asking you to be willing to give up everything to follow him.
Don’t get me wrong – you don’t earn it. It’s a free gift. Here’s how you get it. If you believe that Jesus was God’s son, came to earth as a man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose again, then all you have to do is accept the forgiveness that He offers. Simply talk to God and tell him that you know you have sinned against him, that you believe that Jesus died on the cross to forgive you, and you are ready to give up your old life in exchange for the new life that he offers. Ask him to forgive you of sin, and that you want to give him your life. If you tell him that, you can have forgiveness, and spend forever in heaven with God! Believe me, it’s going to be amazing!!!
Okay, that’s how you start your relationship with Christ. Once you start, you need to grow! Christ offers amazing, incredible life that is WAY better than the life you had before. But to have that life and to have a relationship with Christ, we have to start living the way the Bible tells us to live. The only way to do that – study the Bible.
The devo is here to help you develop and grow that relationship by talking to God and studying his Word. We hope it helps you to learn more about who God is and how to have the real life that he offers.
But there’s one catch – he wants it all. He doesn’t want a small smount. He doesn’t want a corner of your life that you aren’t using! He wants the whole thing – so sin has to go!
