Monday 17 September 2007

Monday Reading: Proverbs 25 18-19
 
Key Verse: Proverbs 25 19
19  Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
 
Devotion:
Just how much faith would you have in a compulsive liar? Not much I bet! But how much faith would you have in a person who lies once in a while to get themselves out of trouble? Not much either because you would not know when they are telling a lie and when they are not. There is no way that any one of us can ever say that we have not told a lie in our lives... it's something that we actually learn at a very early age and becomes part of our life. What we have to do when we start to realise that is more like damage limitation than anything else.
 
Telling a lie about someone is probably the quickest way possible to make an enemy of them. People will normally understand why they get hit or why physical things happen to them, but deceit is something that runs deeper than we like to think. If we twist our ankles or break a tooth, we have physical pain that can tell us of the problem that we have. We then do something to help fight that pain knowing that we can no longer use that foot or tooth until something is done. But when someone attacks your very spirit through lies, the hurt runs deep and lasts a long time. We feel like that part of our spirit is broken and, just like a broken foot, we no longer want to put weight on it. But as a foot heals, we can see the affects and feel the difference. Our inner spiritual healing may well be much harder to detect.
 
If we can tell so much from something that happens to us, why should we then ever inflict that on anyone else? Why should we even consider doing anything like that to anyone else? The truth is that we don't normally consider it, we just do it! Because we have grown up in a society where reacting to things is normal, we react... and then it is too late... Taking one second to think before we do things will help us to live a more Godly life – what is one second compared to a life of hurt?
 
Points to Ponder:
How long do you remember the lies told against you?
 
God is there, willing to help you take that one second break before you break someone!

Sunday 16 September 2007

Sunday Reading: Genesis 49 22-25
 
Key Verse: Genesis 49 24
24  But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (from the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel);
 
Devotion:
When we look back at men from the old testament, we may often think that there were great men who stood out, who stood over and above all others. But each one of them that are listed as a great man without God behind them, fell from grace and did not have the life that we may have expected. But those that trusted in God and continually obeyed Him shone like stars. It is that sort of belief and trust that we need in God today.
 
Far too many distractions take us away from God and from His Word. We are surrounded by fiery darts. Just as Joseph had to face them, so do we have to face the temptations and distractions. Just like archers using a tree for target practice will leave marks on the tree, so do those distractions and temptations leave marks in our lives. No matter how much we try to put them behind us, they will always be there. What we need is protection from them in the beginning so that they will not strike us to start with!
 
We have that strength and protection in God. But in order to gain from it, we have to wear that protection. What if we have a suit of armour but did not put it on? What if we went into battle but left our bulletproof jacket at home because we thought it was a bit cumbersome? Leaving the protection at home is as good as not having any. Wearing it once a week as just as bad, especially when we wear it on a day where we do not face so many of those temptations!
 
If we want to be able to stand out like great men of the bible, then we have to be willing to show that our strength comes not from within, but from God Himself. We have to be willing to take Him with us wherever we go. We have to be willing to allow His light to shine through us so that others will see that we do have that protection!
 
Points to Ponder:
How often do you wear clothes to protect you from the elements?
 
Why should we not be wearing God's Word all the time?

Saturday 15 September 2007

Saturday Reading: Matthew 5 13-16
 
Key Verse: Matthew 5 16
16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
 
Devotion:
One of the simplest things on earth, salt. How easy it is to overlook is, yet how essential it is to so many things. If we are going to use salt to keep the roads clear of ice, we have to spread it before the ice comes; but the dirt that is spread has to have enough salt content otherwise it will not work. If we are going to use it as a flavouring, we have to make sure we have a salt that is clean so that we can eat it. But if we were to sprinkle something that looked like salt on our food but did not taste like it, we may as well put anything on – we would have lost the point of the salt.
 
Amazingly, Jesus describes us as the salt of the earth. We, Christians, are that important part, to be used in so many ways – but to be used in the right way, we have to consist of the right ingredients.
 
Jesus also describes us as the light of the world. If we want to light up a room enough to see things at night, then we place the light in a place where it will do the most good. If we want to shed light over something, it is no good hiding that light behind something!
 
Jesus makes sure that we, Christians, can continue a life here on earth so that we can be used for the right reasons. He wants us to be able to add the right ingredients into other peoples lives so that we can be useful to them. He wants us to be able to shed light into their lives so that they will be able to see the obstacles that lie in their paths. He wants us to be able to show people how to avoid those obstacles. He wants us to be able to show them that He, God, cares! If we are willing to be Christians, then we should be willing to take on a way of life that God would be able to use to show others how great it is to know that He is our Awesome God!
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you cook in the dark with no spices?
 
Why should we hide God's light when everyone could come to it?

Friday 14 September 2007

Friday Reading: Matthew 16 1-4
 
Key Verse: Matthew 16 4
4  A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them, and departed.

Devotion:
So often we rely on sayings and on folk law to rule our lives. Whilst there is scientific truth behind the reasoning for red sky in the morning and night and the weather the following day, we should not rely on that 100%. Yet we do choose to much of the time. We have come to accept many such things in our lives n the say-so of others. They have passed them down from generation to generation. Because it has been done this way, we assume that there is truth in it otherwise they would not have told us so.

We choose to believe scientists when they tell us of the safety of new medicines even though they have not been around long enough to test for long term effects. Most of the time they are correct and so we learn to depend on them. Weather prediction centres tell us of the weather that is coming up. We love to remind ourselves of how bad they are, but they do get it right most of the time; so we depend on them. But in each case, we may well choose to believe someone different to our neighbour because we may think we have found error in the others. Each of us choose what we are going to believe because it makes us feel better about what they are predicting.

But what of the truth? What of the truth that has been proven? What of the predictions that have been proven 100%? The bible records of the predictions from the beginning of time and how they have come to pass. It also lists other predictions that are yet to happen. It has a 100% track record... and yet, because people do not like what they hear in it, they do not want to believe it! Why should we believe in something that is a warning that will spoil the way we live? How about “because it is the truth”?

Points to Ponder:
How many times do you have to get warned before you believe something?
 
How many times does God have to warn us before we believe?

Thursday 13 September 2007

Thursday Reading: Genesis 32 1-8
 
Key Verse: Genesis 32 7
7  Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed, and he divided the people with him, and the flocks and herds, and the camels, into two bands.
 
Devotion:
How many times have you done something rash because you were stressed out! How many times have you got to the point where you cannot possibly take any more and you go and do something stupid – or maybe it was the first time you were up against it and you did something stupid anyway! When we get get stressed up about anything, our logic tends to fly out of the window and we are no longer fully in control of ourselves.
 
When we get worried about things, we don't tend to think like we would normally. Most times we begin to think the worst of every situation and can only see the bad ways out; giving in and accepting what we think is the lessor of the bad ways! But if we were to be able to think straight, we probably would see the best way out of our situation and to be able to move forward in that manner. But because of our stressful situation, we have lost sight in that which is good.
 
When Jacob was coming back to face his brother Esau, he was really worried that Esau would be upset with him. So much so, in fact, that when he heard 400 men were coming to greet him, he assumed it would be an army coming against him. He got so worried with that fact that he sent drove after drove of presents to try and appease Esau. But his first act was to split the people into two groups just so that one group may survive. What he had lost sight of was the good.
 
He had lost sight of the fact that God had told him to return and that should have been all that he had to worry about. When God does get us to do something, it should be good enough for us. We should trust Him totally in what He has asked us to do. If God is behind it, what could possibly go wrong – everything when we get hold of it! We are the ones messing things up because of our stress and worry when we should be leaving it up to God!
 
Points to Ponder:
What stresses you out most in life?
 
Have you tried giving that to God?