On Rounds with Jesus

Tag: christianity

  • Immunity

    Immunity

    Scripture reading: John 8:31-36

    You can listen to this devotional via Spotify or YouTube.

    Immunity is the ability of the body to recognise, resist, and eliminate harmful organisms or substances such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins. In simple terms, immunity is the body’s defence system against disease. This immunity can be innate—the natural immunity one is born with—or acquired, that is, immunity that develops after exposure to a pathogen.

    Acquired immunity can be active or passive. Active immunity occurs when the body produces its own antibodies through natural infection or vaccination. An example is the immunity one gains after recovering from chickenpox. Passive immunity, on the other hand, is immunity derived from antibodies received from another source. An example is the administration of Rho(D) Immune Globulin to prevent rhesus isoimmunization, as we discussed in last week’s devotional, “Sensitisation.”

    The truth is that the Christian is not entirely immune from sin. Even after salvation, believers still struggle with sin. We will not be completely free from it until we die or until Jesus returns. Yet becoming a Christian results in a changed life (2 Corinthians 5:17). When a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Saviour, he becomes a new creation. He moves from a kingdom where, by virtue of his sinful nature, he could not help but sin, into a new domain where he is clothed with Christ. Christ becomes his righteousness. In that sense, Christ becomes his new innate immunity by virtue of the new birth.

    Instead of producing the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19–21), the believer begins to display the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23), as the indwelling Holy Spirit increasingly takes control of his life. This transformation does not occur instantly, but it does occur progressively. The old nature begins to lose its dominance. The flesh begins to die.

    Along the way, the believer also develops something like acquired immunity—a growing resistance to sin. Through conscious striving, repentance, and sensitivity to the Spirit’s guidance, he learns to keep sinful acts at bay. If a person claims to believe yet shows no evidence of a changed life, it raises serious questions about the genuineness of his faith.

    And sometimes, the believer may still fall. But he does not remain in the dirt. That fall often strengthens his resolve to rise again and continue pressing forward. In that sense, each failure, met with repentance, builds a kind of active immunity against repeating the same sin.

    The difference between a sinning unbeliever and a sinning believer is this: one loves his sin, while the other hates it.

    The believer who stumbles regrets it, confesses it, and longs never to repeat it. He seeks God’s grace and power to avoid it in the future. He does not ask how much he can sin and still be considered a Christian. Rather, he asks how he can avoid even the appearance of sin.

    The believer may stumble, but he does not settle in sin. Grace lifts him, repentance cleanses him, and the Spirit strengthens him. Over time, the soul that walks with Christ becomes increasingly resistant to the very sins that once mastered it.

    Just as the body develops immunity to resist disease, the believer must develop a growing resistance to sin. The goal is not to see how close we can live to sin, but how far we can live from it. A healthy spiritual life is one that increasingly rejects what once infected it.

    To conclude, let us reflect on this question: If I truly belong to Christ, do I see evidence that my desires, attitudes, and actions are gradually being transformed?

    Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank You for the new life we have in Christ. Help us to grow in our resistance to sin and to walk daily in the power of Your Spirit. When we stumble, grant us hearts that quickly repent and return to You. Shape our lives so that we increasingly love righteousness and hate sin. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

    Thank you for joining us for today’s encouragement. If this message blessed you, kindly share it with someone who may also be encouraged by it.

    Until next time, stay blessed.

  • Sensitisation

    Sensitisation

    Scripture reading: Matthew 5:27-30

    You can listen to this devotional via Spotify or YouTube.

    For today’s rounds, we return to the familiar field of obstetrics, reflecting on rhesus sensitisation.

    A rhesus-negative mother may feel completely well after exposure to her fetus’s rhesus-positive blood. There is no fever. No pain. No outward sign that anything lasting has occurred. Yet quietly, within her immune system, something permanent has taken place: memory has formed.

    The next exposure will not be silent. It will be swift. Forceful. Harmful. The consequences may unfold as recurrent miscarriages, fetal anaemia, hydrops fetalis, intrauterine fetal demise, or hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. To prevent this, pregnant women are screened for their Rhesus status. If a mother is Rh-negative and the baby may be Rh-positive, she receives anti-RhD immunoglobulin to stop sensitisation before it begins.

    In today’s passage, Jesus reshapes our understanding of sin. It is not merely the outward act that matters; it begins in the realm of desire.

    Small exposures can carry far-reaching effects.

    In Song of Solomon 2:15, Scripture urges: “Catch the little foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines…” Not wolves. Not storms. Not raging fires. Little foxes.

    Vineyards are rarely destroyed overnight. Damage usually comes slowly, through small breaches, repeated nibbles, subtle erosion over time. So, it is with the soul. The first compromise seldom feels catastrophic. The first indulgence rarely feels fatal. The first step away hardly feels distant. But something forms inside: memory.

    From there, progression is familiar. James 1:14–15 describes it plainly: desire is conceived, conception gives birth to sin, and sin matures into death. It begins quietly, internally, almost invisibly. No one sets out intending to ruin their integrity, marriage, or ministry. The path often begins with exposure that is entertained rather than resisted.

    The enemy seldom presents the outcome. He offers only the first step. Just look. Just try. Just once. Just this small compromise.

    Yet repeated exposure reshapes the heart. In immunology, sensitisation makes the immune system more reactive. Spiritually, repeated compromise often produces the opposite effect — dullness. Hebrews 3:13 cautions us not to be hardened through sin’s deceitfulness. Sin deceives because it hides its destination. It whispers that nothing has changed. But over time, what once convicted now entertains. What once disturbed now feels normal. What once shocked barely registers.

    As 1 Timothy 4:2 describes, the conscience can become seared. Wrong remains wrong, but sensitivity fades.

    Prevention is better than cure. Once Rh sensitization occurs, it cannot be reversed. Management becomes complicated. Risks increase. Spiritually, the stakes are even higher. Small patterns form strongholds. Private indulgences shape public outcomes. Tiny permissions grow into entrenched habits. No one drifts into holiness. Drift moves in the other direction.

    But here the analogy reaches its limit, and grace begins. In medicine, sensitisation is permanent. In Christ, renewal is possible. 1 John 1:9 reminds us that if we confess our sins, He forgives and cleanses.

    Let us pray

    Lord Jesus,
    Guard my heart from seemingly innocuous exposures that could eventually turn it away from You.

    Help me catch the little foxes before they spoil the vine.

    Holy Spirit, soften my hardened heart. Convict where numbness has grown and renew where drift has occurred. Do not let what is wrong become normal in me. Renew my sensitivity to Your voice.

    Amen.

    On today’s rounds, the lesson was not only about antibodies, it was about attention.

    What you repeatedly tolerate, you eventually normalize.
    What you normalize, you eventually defend.
    And what you defend, you eventually become.

    Stay vigilant. Stay sensitive. Stay surrendered.

  • Reborn

    Reborn

    Scripture reading: John 3:1-8, Galatians 5:19-23

    You can listen to this devotional via Spotify or YouTube.

    At conception, special cells carrying half of the genetic information from each parent fuse in a process called fertilization. This marks the beginning of a nine-month journey that culminates in the birth of a baby. At birth, that child already carries inherited features that will gradually find expression in the way they look, speak, and even behave. Genes make this possible. They shape how the body looks and how it functions.

    Sometimes, however, the genes a person inherits may also predispose them to disease. In the past, there was very little that could be done about genetic conditions such as sickle cell disease, where red blood cells become abnormally shaped under stress, leading to pain and complications. Today, advances in medical science offer new hope. Through gene-editing technology, it is now possible to modify a patient’s own blood stem cells to produce high levels of fetal haemoglobin, preventing red blood cells from sickling. By restoring healthy oxygen flow, this innovation offers the possibility of a one-time, transformative treatment without the need for donor transplants.

    Spiritually speaking, humanity also carries an inherited condition. By default, we are sinful. It is our nature, something we are born into. When Jesus said, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” He was revealing that entry into God’s righteous domain is not possible while we remain in our natural state. We require a complete inner renewal – a spiritual re-engineering.

    This renewal comes through faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross. We are not called to return physically to the womb, as Nicodemus imagined, but to experience a new birth, one that transforms our very nature.

    When we believe, God places His Spirit within us. From that moment, a hidden work begins, much like the unseen development of a child in the womb. Quietly and gradually, the Spirit reshapes us into the likeness of Christ. This process takes time. And its outcome becomes visible in what Scripture calls the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

    Just as a mother does not consciously assemble the organs of her growing baby, spiritual fruit is not produced by sheer human effort. The mother’s role is to nurture the environment, to eat well, avoid harmful substances, and attend regular care. Likewise, our role is not to manufacture transformation, but to cooperate with it.

    Spiritual growth comes through yielding to the Holy Spirit, through daily surrender, prayer, Scripture, and sensitivity to His leading. As we align our hearts with God’s will, He works within us, shaping our character from the inside out. Yet we must remain willing participants. Though the work is God’s, we can resist or hinder it through sin, neglect, or indifference.

    Ask any pregnant woman – carrying new life is not always comfortable. There are cravings that are not necessarily healthy, sacrifices to be made and moments of strain. But in the end, the joy of new life makes the journey worthwhile. So it is with spiritual growth.

    As we trust God’s Spirit to work in us, both to will and to do according to His good pleasure, we can be confident that the character He is forming within us will prepare us for our place in His Kingdom.

    Reflections

    1. In what areas of my life am I still relying on self-effort instead of yielding to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit?
    2. What habits, attitudes, or “old nature” patterns might be resisting God’s regenerating work within me?
    3. How can I intentionally create space for the Spirit’s hidden work in my daily life through surrender, prayer, and obedience?

    Let us Pray

    Heavenly Father,

    Thank You for offering me new life through Christ.

    Holy Spirit, shape me quietly from within. Teach me to yield, to trust, and to rest in Your transforming grace.

    Let Your life grow in me until I reflect Your love, Your peace, and Your likeness.

    In Jesus’ name,
    Amen.

  • Going the extra mile

    Going the extra mile

    Scripture reading: Matthew 5:38-42

    When a client recalls a great experience in the hospital, it usually does not entail receiving the most sophisticated treatment or procedures. Most often, it’s about that doctor who took an extra minute to listen, or that nurse who went beyond duty to reassure them. The memory is usually about the “extra mile” — the gentle, unexpected brush of kindness.

    “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” (Matthew 5:41)

    In Jesus’ time, under Roman law, soldiers could compel ordinary people to carry their burdens for one mile. This was burdensome, humiliating, and deeply resented by the Jewish people. Yet Jesus flips this around: instead of resisting or doing the bare minimum, He teaches His followers to voluntarily exceed expectations — to surprise even the oppressor with generosity.

    Reflections

    • Radical Love in Action – True love doesn’t only do what is required; it goes beyond duty into grace.
    • Breaking the Cycle of Resentment – Rather than retaliating, Jesus calls us to disarm hostility with kindness.
    • Living Differently – As children of God, we are called to stand out from the world in humility and service.
    • Inner Freedom – By choosing to go further willingly, we master our response instead of remaining victims of compulsion.

    Application Today

    • At Work – Don’t just do the minimum your boss expects—add value willingly.
    • In Relationships – Extend forgiveness, patience, and kindness even when others may not “deserve” it.
    • In Service – Help people beyond what they ask, showing Christ’s love in practical ways.

    Let’s pray

    Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Jesus, who showed us what it means to love beyond duty and serve with joy. Too often, we stop at the bare minimum, giving only what is required. Lord, teach us to walk the second mile — in our work, in our homes, and in every relationship.

    Help us to turn burdens into opportunities, insults into kindness, and demands into chances to reveal Your grace. Fill our hearts with the freedom that comes from choosing love over resentment.

    May every “extra step” we take reflect Your generous love and draw others closer to You. Strengthen us to live differently, to shine Your light in a world that desperately needs it.

    In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.