Listen to the King

​Listen to the King
11/24/21
As we near the end of the Christian Church year, today's devotion is based on Jesus' answer to Pilate, "You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
When Jesus came into this world as a king, he didn't come with a powerful army. He came with one powerful tool—the truth. Often, this isn't what people want to hear. As the saying goes, "the truth hurts." That's especially the case when the truth reveals the darkest corners of our hearts, where selfish desires, envious and angry thoughts, and shameful lusts dwell. The truth of God's law shines below the surface to reveal how often we fail to live up to God's demands.
But the truth of Jesus reveals not just our hearts but the heart of God himself. God loves us unconditionally. In love, he punished his perfect Son, Jesus, for the evil in our lives so that he could pardon us fully and completely. In love, he continues to call us to leave behind our sinful thoughts and lives and to trust in his forgiveness and his promise of eternal life with him. That's why he gives us his Word of Truth—the Bible. And through that message of truth, Jesus moves us to trust him in faith as he rules in our hearts as King.
Please pray with me, King Jesus, the truth of your law hurts, for I know that I have sinned against you.  Heal me with the truth of your love so that I can live my life the way you want me to live it.  In your blessed name, I pray. Amen.