February 27: Proverbs 19 17
Key Verse: Proverbs 19 17
He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.
Devotion:
Charity is not something that you must show to the world or prove to the world. Charity should be something which comes from the heart when you have compassion for those who need it. When Jesus told the rich man he should give everything away before he could think about getting to heaven, He knew what was on that rich man's heart and knew he did not have compassion for the poor. Without that compassion, we cannot really show how we do love anything other than ourselves or money like that rich man did. His god was his money and Jesus wanted others to see that first because the rich man was blind to it – he was trapped in his idolatry of money.
Just having compassion for the poor is not going to help them though. If we do have compassion, we will be moved to give them something of what they need according to our ability and to their necessity. That giving does not necessarily have to be money, for your compassion for them can be shown through helping them or even through showing them what you are happy about in your life. If we cannot afford to give out money, then maybe we can afford to give a little physical effort to help them with their deeds; but don’t hold back just in case you may go short in the future…
The encouragement others will get through our efforts to show charity will be more than we will be able to see. For what we do to the poor, we are doing to God's people. God continues to watch over us and continues to see what we are doing to His people. By us assisting those in need in some manner, we are showing God how much we care for His people and He is just and willing to give back to us when we are in need. Our need may not be a monetary need but a simple need for comfort – God is willing to share and show us His compassion.
Falling into the trap of giving alms for your own sake is what we learned about last week – we need to make sure that we are doing things for the right reason, for charity's sake and not for our own pride!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you help your friends when they ask for help?
How much do you help others when they call out for help?
February 26: Matthew 5 17-20
Key Verse: Matthew 5 17
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil.
Devotion:
Many are of the belief that various prophets have come to earth to expand on God's commandments, to renew them or even to replace them with more up to date versions. But as Christ explains here, He did not come to change the law in any way, but to explain it to us so we may be able to better follow it. He warns us nothing must ever be changed in His Word so that we continue to get it undiluted!
There is no way we will see God's true grace until we make the first move to repent of our sins. Once we make that first move, God is just and willing to forgive us of our sins just as He has promised in His Word. Jesus Christ has already gone to the cross to pay for each and every one of our sins. The earth continued after He died on the cross; it did not all come to an end. We all continue to live and learn because He is the one who is still in control of us all and He continues to make sure each and every thing written in His word comes to pass before this earth will come to its end.
Christ came to show us how all the prophets of old were telling the truth and that we need to believe them. He expanded on the commandments to show us the meaning behind them in case we forget or dilute their meanings. He came to show us and teach us more so we would know that His promises stood forever and we would be the ones profiting from them if we stay by His side.
His warning that we should not break the commandments still remains. He did not remove any of the commandments; far from it. He wants us to go out and teach others of their true meaning and for that we will be called great in heaven! His warning about teaching false commandments is also stark; we will be called the least in heaven. We need to make sure we do keep God's commandments, for they stand forever. We need to make sure we keep His Word, for it stands forever! We may try to change things, but will not succeed. We may try to change His Word, but He continues to protect it through all generations!
Points to Ponder:
Are you a good example to others for God's commandments?
Do you follow His commandments in your heart or just on paper?
February 25: Matthew 6 25-34
Key Verse: Matthew 6 33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Devotion:
Each of the previous days has warned us about seeking after the things which are in excess, of the earth or of the desires we should not harbour. What we should not forget is that the everyday things we face will very often lead us away from Christ just as much as the excesses will. The simple thoughts about what we have in the cupboard to eat, or what clothes we have in our rooms to wear or what to watch next on TV will often lure us away from thinking about God. Jesus reminds us He is in control of so many things that we see as amazing and beautiful such as the birds who don't have to grow their own food, the flowers who do not have to dress us for the occasion.
None of us has the power to simply will ourselves to grown that extra few inches in height; that is fixed by God. Why should we then take so much time in thinking about what we are going to wear if we don't give thought to thinking about how tall we are going to grow today. We need to make sure we do not take our everyday thoughts too far and that we do not lose track of just who is in control of our lives. We need not be anxious of the future because we cannot see into the future; but God is able to see past, present and future and is able to guide us in the path which is best for us – as long as we listen to His guidance.
We need to make sure our first thoughts are towards God, to think about what He has done in our lives, what He continues to do in our lives and about what He will do in our lives. When we focus on the important things in life, then all other things will seem insignificant! As long as we are focusing on His will in our lives, He will be able to guide us – but when we allow ourselves to get caught up in everyday life situations, we lose track of His will and miss those moments when He is speaking to us.
We need to reconcile ourselves with what we have rather than the things that we desire just as we do about how tall we are – accept it... Leave room in our minds for thinking about the important things in life - God!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you allow yourself to be caught up in petty thoughts?
How much more time could you give to God?
February 24: Matthew 6 19-24
Key Verse: Matthew 6 24
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Devotion:
We don't have to look far to realise just how much we do think of ourselves and just how much of our world revolves around ourselves. We like to think we are better off than others by surrounding ourselves with newer and better things than others have. We like to think we dress correctly according to fashion and even that we do have a reasonable fashion sense. Each one of these things is about comforting ourselves with earthly goods is some way or another. That sort of comfort will only last as long as the item or fashion we are dealing with – pretty soon things will break or fashions will go out, and we are left with little else but memories and more wanting.
Nothing we can gain on earth is going to help us to get to heaven. Nothing we can do on earth is going to get us to heaven. No riches or any manner of objects will gain us access past Christ who can see everything. Each one of the things we have on earth is only surrounding us in earthly ways; but we are living in the hour of grace where God has already given us a path to heaven and all we need do is to accept that path. When we try to figure out any other path to live by, we are seeking things we can do or things that we think that we can depend on. The problem being that all the things we seek have been made by man, been fashioned through human hands or through other earthly means. What this means is we can not go further than the designer or manufacturer.
If we are seeking something which is going to last forever or seeking comfort which we do not find in earthly means, then we need to look to the one who can supply that comfort. We need to look past our earthly desires and wants and look to God for everlasting life and comfort. We need to look for our original heavenly creator and designer! When we do find Him, we will know that nothing else can ever do!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like to keep in fashion?
How often do you keep up to date with God?
February 23: Matthew 6 9-13
Key Verse: Matthew 6 9
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Devotion:
After Jesus had shown His disciples how they should behave in doing their work for God and in praying to God, He went on to show them how they should pray; a prayer commonly known as The Lord's Prayer. First and foremost, when we pray, we have to remember just who we are praying to, God, our Father. We have to remember He is the one in heaven where we have had places prepared for us. We have to bow to Him in reverence and know that we shall join Him in heaven as He has promised. We have to remember that we should be trying to do His will here on earth.
How do we go about that? By seeking what He would have us receive each and every day – by seeking His Word, or our daily bread. He is willing to teach us every day so long as we are willing to listen. He wants us to learn His Gospel so we can show and explain it to others. He wants us to show others He is behind everything in our lives. For none of this is of any worth unless we know that God is behind it! With the knowledge He gives to us, we can then do what He would have us to do, to forgive those who do wrong against us just as we are taught that God is faithful and just to forgive us when we come to Him with contrite hearts.
We then need the guidance the Holy Spirit can give us so we are not lead into temptation. We are surrounded by temptation each day and if we did not know any better, we would be walking into every trap laid down by Satan and his followers. There are always going to be times when we do cave in to temptation and those are the times when we need to know that God is still behind us and can help us out of our situations. He is our King in heaven and He alone has that title. He alone has all power in the universe and to Him alone should all the glory be given, not just for today, but forever!
Points to Ponder:
If we can remember these points when we pray, our prayer will be effective!
If we desire mercy from God, then we need to show it here and now!