John 1:29

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

The whole first chapter of John is the basis for today’s devotion. John writes a great diary of his first few days with Jesus. (Additionally, the first 18 verses provide a great outline for the work of God, the establishment of the word, and the coming Savior.) In less than one week, John details the testimony of John The Baptist, an encounter with Jesus, the calling of the first disciples, and the wedding at Cana. That’s a full week!

Playing all 18 holes is easy to do in theory, but is often difficult to actually accomplish. Something inevitably happens which deters the necessary concentration level. Many times it’s either an extended conversation among your playing partners, a backup on a hole causing a delay, or a missed three foot putt. Our mind wanders and we lose focus on the golf at hand.

We have these same distractions in our daily lives which interrupt our closeness with Christ. Just as we are focused on the first hole in our golf round, we are zoned in spiritually on Sunday morning. This zeal wanes a little Sunday night as we dread Monday morning. We may have to go to work early or stay late at the office. These unexpected changes to our week alter our regular schedules for Bible reading and study. Frequent alterations make it easy for us to get out of our spiritual habits. There are no days off for the believer. Each day we neglect Christ, our relationship with Him weakens and makes it easier to neglect our spiritual duties in the future. Thus, we must play all 18!