Main Passage: 19 The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”
20“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of His great name the Lord will not reject His people, because the Lord was pleased to make you His own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”
— 1 Samuel 12:19–25 (NIV)
Main Devotion:
Have you ever thought that your sins will disqualify you to serve God?
I have.
The passage today assures me that God looks upon me and He is pleased to make me His own (v.22).
For the sake of His great Name, He did not abandon me and still pursues me. He has called me to continue to turn to Him, to revere, to love ,and to serve Him faithfully, and to look upon Him and the wonderful things He has done for me (v.20,22,24).
The undeserved favors and answered prayers I received in the most challenging time of my life and His Words that comforted me and changed me will testify how loving and faithful our God is — and He is not done yet.
What I also appreciate and am grateful for is that God appointed our CCF Dgroup leaders, just like Samuel, to act as guides who are committed to pray for us and with us, and to teach us to do what is good and right (v.23). They are our accountability partners who will speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and will never give up on us (1 Corinthians 13:7).
Yes, we are to confess our sins, because God is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:9), and we also need to repent and turn to Him (Acts 3:19), humbling ourselves by renewing our minds and our hearts to fully surrender to His will for us — which is good, pleasing, and perfect (Romans 12:2). For God will also give us the desire and ability (Philippians 2:13) for us to accomplish what He has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
Reflection:
- Do you still have sins that you need to confess to God and ask forgiveness for?
- Have you already repented (turned away from sins) by renewing your hearts and minds, and by fully surrendering your lives to the will of God?
- In what ministry is God leading you to love and serve Him faithfully with all your heart?
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
To our God who loves us and desires us to be with You — we thank You that You are faithful and just to forgive all of our sins, through Your Son, Jesus Christ. As You look upon us and call us to be Your own, we humble ourselves to You, God. Lead us and help us to love and serve You with all our hearts, mind, soul, and strength. As You open doors of opportunities for us to serve You, make us a willing vessel to be used by You.
We also thank You for our DGroup Leaders who continue to pray for and with us, as well as teach us to do what is good and right. Father God, keep our eyes fixed on You, and may we always remember all the wonderful things that You have done. You have saved, changed, and redeemed us — and nothing can separate us from Your love. And yes, not to us, Oh Lord, but by Your grace alone and Your will be done. We surrender our lives to You. All this for Your glory, honor, and praise, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.