Daily Devotional For Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Good morning Southside. It’s “Wonderful Wednesday”. We are looking at what it means to follow Jesus. In Matthew 4:18-22, we read this:
“One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. (19) Jesus called out to them, ‘Come, follow Me, and I will show you how to fish for people!’ (20) And they left their nets at once and followed Him. (21) A little farther up the shore He saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And He called them to come, too. (22) They immediately followed Him, leaving the boat and their father behind” (NLT).
Can you imagine that day that Jesus called His first four disciples to follow Him? Jesus' ministry began with one word – repent. Look at Matthew 3:2, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (NLT). Why does Matthew start Jesus’ ministry this way? It goes all the way back to Genesis when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and sin. And it doesn’t take long for the world to be obsessed with sinning. Look at Genesis 6:5 with the story of Noah and in Genesis 8:21. Even after the flood, the world quickly plummeted again. We see this in the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 and in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.
The reason Matthew starts with sin is because that is why Jesus came. That is Jesus’ point in Luke 19:10. Jesus did not come for “good” people because there are none. That is the point of Romans 3:10-12, Psalms 14:1-3, and Psalms 53:1-3. When God says something 3 times, He means it. This means that Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, your godly parents or grandparents are not good in God’s sight. We are sinners. The sooner we get that into our heads, the sooner we realize we need to repent. The sooner we realize we need a Liberating Savior.
A lot of people read the Bible and view it as a “bad cop” and “good cop” theme. In the Old Testament, God is the “bad cop” and in the New Testament, God is the “good cop.” Nothing could be further from the truth. God is consistently good from Genesis through Revelation. Our problem is we want to measure God by our own standards. We think we are qualified to give God a job evaluation. The same is true when it comes to our sin. We look at murderers, pedophiles, adulterers, abusers, thieves, etc., and think we are good compared to them.
But they and we are not the standard, God is. That is the point of Romans 3:23 and that is why for all of us – not just the “worst in society” – death is our penalty according to Romans 6:23. The penalty for sin is determined by the magnitude of the one who was sinned against. If I sin against a brick, if that were even possible, then there is no real guilt. If I sin against you, then the magnitude increases and I am completely guilty. If I sin against a holy and righteous God, then I am infinitely guilty and deserve eternal punishment.
So, do you view yourself as a sinner who is constantly in need of a Liberating Savior or a good person who only needs God for emergencies? I really believe that most people in the church see themselves as good people, not sinners, who have made some bad decisions or bad choices. If we lie, cheat, gossip, judge, use God’s name in vain, or steal something, we just made some poor choices. We are not sinners, oh no. We are saints who made some bad decisions under duress.
God says differently. Look at Col. 1:21, John 8:34, 2 Tim. 2:26, John 3:20, Eph. 4:18, Rom. 6:19, Rom. 1:28, 2 Cor. 4:4, Rom. 11:21, Gen. 8:21, and Matt. 9:12. To say we are saints who made some bad decisions is to call God a liar when He says we are sinners. Scripture affirms it’s not that we have made some bad decisions and messed things up. It’s that we have rebelled against God. That is what sin is – rebellion against God. You may not like to think of your life that way, but that is the way God looks at you and me when we sin.
Look at what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-2. The Apostle Paul says that prior to Jesus giving us His life, we were spiritually dead. DEAD! I’ve asked this question several times in a sermon: what can a dead person do? – Nothing. Paul doesn’t say we had a “near-death experience.” He said we were completely spiritually dead. The Great Physician certified our spiritual death certificate as being dead.
Assignment: Think about your church worship service. When the invitation is given, do you stay in the pew or your seat? If so, why don’t you go down to pray and to repent? If not, is it because of pride? Fear of what people may think? The attitude that you’re not as bad a person as others? Has it ever crossed your mind that not repenting (i.e., doing a 180 and correcting the wrong) from your sin, you are calling God a liar? If you are aware of your sins, where is the proof of your repentance? Refusing to repent means you do not believe you need a Liberating Savior? What do you think would happen if every week when the invitation was given, people followed the Holy Spirit’s lead and they flocked to the altar and confessed their sins to God, asked for forgiveness and repented from them?
Scripture To Meditate On: Ecclesiastes 7:20, “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, I am a sinner. Please forgive me when my pride convinces me that I am not as bad as someone else. Lord, it is me standing in the need of prayer and forgiveness. The reason I do not take my own sin seriously is because I do not take seriously the cost it was for You to save me. I take Your gift of salvation to me for granted. If I was truly grateful, I would see myself as You do – a sinner and not a good person. Help me to follow Your lead to repent. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly