Daily Devotion (January 6, 2025)
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”
The “Thief”, Satan, has come to destroy everything God has created. It began in the Garden. It continues today. Satan hates God with a hatred we cannot imagine.
What deception! So many fall victim to the evil one. Adam and Eve fell victim. Today hoards of people choose to follow the evil snares of Satan. Many choose to impose their own theology of God in order to live a life free from the guilt of sin. Satan does not just steal the mind of a person but their entire life.
Jesus is speaking to the religious leaders of the Jews. They have betrayed their calling as spiritual leaders. They have betrayed God. Their motives were a rejection of God so they could rule. They had not learned something I had to learn some decades ago… ”It is not all about us.” It is all about God and this sends Satan into a frenzy. Anything associated with God Satan wants to destroy.
Jesus offers life and life more abundantly. In John 10:9 Jesus says, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” Jesus is the only way to eternal life…Jesus is life. I have witnessed life. I have watched those who chose to live for Satan. I have seen the broken families, the death of people who chose to follow the ways of the destroyer. I have also seen those who turned their backs on Satan and given their lives to Jesus.
The world is only a shadow, a dark shadow of life without Christ. The Light of Christ shines bright. But the only thing most people see is the shadow imposed on the wall of life. The shadow only reveals a microcosm of the reality of life. It does not reflect the truth of Jesus being the Light of the world. So many see only a glimpse of the light. Many only want the Heaven after death but live a hellion life on earth while proclaiming God’s salvation.
Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Jesus said in Like 9:23-24, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”