Daily Devotional, Feb 5, 2024 Magic Epoxy

"And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." 
Matthew 10:38

I grew up seeing and hearing my dad relying on Epoxy as if it were a magic glue that could repair anything that is broken in our house. He did not just use it for roof leaks, he even used it to stick together broken pieces of almost everything. I looked up why Epoxy seems to be magical and I discovered that it is because of its strong chemical composition that makes it resistant to most things that could affect adhesion. 

To strengthen our faith as Christians, we need to stick to the Lord the way any super super glue could hold us up to Him. That glue is our will to totally surrender our lives to Him. And to ensure that we get attached to our Savior, we must closely follow Him, and do it with all our hearts.

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 
John 8:12

We also have to be certain that nothing will get in between us and the Lord. Most of the things that get in the middle of us abiding in His commands is the things of the world. Calls for us to please other people. Our pride in ourselves and in what we have. When we succumb to self-idolatry and worship of fame and fortune, we distance ourselves from Him.

Hence, the Apostle Paul reminds us through his letter to the Romans to veer away from the temptations of our present society. From compromising our Christian values just to fit into our social circles and not get left out. That we should not anchor our self-worth in what the world thinks of us, but rather how our Heavenly Father views us:

"Do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." 
Romans 12:2

We should intentionally form a strong bond with the Lord if we haven’t yet. We can only do this though by severing the ungodly bonds that we might be attached to. These include friendships centered on hating and coveting; bad relationships; self-adulation and narcissism; and the endless pursuit of worldly pleasures, powers, and possessions. 

We have to give these up in order to bond with him. A dirty object will not cling effectively to a surface unless its surface is cleaned before applying the adhesive.

Here’s a snippet of St. Paul’s message to the Ephesians when he reminded them that when we seriously intend to follow Christ, we have to renew ourselves:

"to put off your old self,which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." 
Ephesians 4:22-24

Once we have formed that bond with the Lord, we have to make sure to nourish it so that we can continue living in His light. Apart from sticking and carefully abiding by all His commands, we can nurture our personal relationship with Him by:

1. Consistently praying and doing quiet time. Making sure that we account for all our wrongdoings, asking for pardon, and thanking Him for everything that He has done for us.

2. Intentionally studying his words by ourselves and with fellow believers.

3. Attending Church or Worship Services every Sunday, and consciously rejoicing in His presence. Honoring Him with your offerings/tithes.

4. Spending time with the family of faith by attending Church activities, and joining volunteer programs.

5. Soaking up in His words either through listening to praise music, journalling, or making bible verse cards from time to time.

6. Taking faith walks and talking to Him throughout the day.

7. Sharing Him with someone who has not yet known Him. Taking time to share the gospel with others using one’s own personal resources such as time and treasure. Invite someone for coffee or a simple snack, or even lunch and then share the gospel or invite them to Church.  

The greatest gift that we could ever receive is having Jesus in our life. Let us cling to Him, and allow others the opportunity to cling on to Him too.

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on John 3:16-21 and Ephesians 4:17-32 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: Is there something that is keeping you from fully clinging to the Lord?

Conversation with the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, give me the confidence to fully adhere to your teachings. I want to follow and abide by you all my life. Allow me to bring others to you too. Amen.