February 12: Luke 6 20-26
Key Verse: Luke 6 20
Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.
Devotion:
How many programs do you see on television which proclaim that we have to live for here and now because we may not see tomorrow? I bet there are many, both Christian and non-Christian too! So many people do, unfortunately, focus on the wrong things when they think of that statement. They focus on themselves and what they are and what they can do and what they have; basically self-seeking and self-centred. But God wants us to look upon the bigger picture, the picture that does not focus on just our lives, but eternity too.
When Christ told the disciples that the poor were blessed, He did not mean everyone should give everything away and live as poor people, but that the poor are better off because they can focus on what they have rather than what they have! Yes, there is a difference! When we have nothing, we focus on what little we have that is close to us. When we have everything, then our focus is diluted somewhat and we focus on everything that we do have or something we just want – we lose focus on the things which are important to us because of everything we do have!
When we are able to focus on what little we have, then we start to see the things which are true and start to pick up on things God is able to do in our lives. But as long as we are rich and not thinking about God, very little will lead us to Him. Many people surmise that Christians are weak people who have had to turn to God. Well, many have turned to God for help, not because we are weak though, but because we were at such a low ebb in our lives that we were able to see the truth and able to act upon it. But for those who cannot see the wood from the trees, they continue blindly on, following their precious things in life and ignoring the truth.
God allows things into our lives to get us to focus on what is important, Him… what we should be looking up to, Him… and who we should be turning to, Him.
Points to Ponder:
In your group of friends, who has the best focus on life?
Why are Christians seen to be happy all the time?
February 11: Ecclesiastes 8 5-8
Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 8 8
No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, And no one has power in the day of death. There is no release from that war, And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.
Devotion:
Solomon had been given extraordinary wisdom by God, wisdom which he had asked God for so he could rule effectively over Israel. He knew as long as he continued to obey God, he would be given guidance by Him and he would therefore have a heart that knew both time and judgement. This did not mean he knew the time that he was going to die or when Christ would come, but rather that he had the concept they would happen and that he had to be prepared.
For those who do not know Christ, they have an uncertainty which eats away at their hearts day by day. Not only do they not know Christ, but they do not know if this Christ will return and hence do not know what will happen to them when they die. Their future is uncertain; whereas we know we do have a future but we do not know when that future will happen. We know for certain our life will not stop when our bodies pass on. People who do not know Christ do not even know what is to happen. People who refuse Christ are told they will face untold punishment, yet they choose not to believe it – for if they did, they would most certainly turn to Christ!
Despite all the people who say they can tell your future, nobody has been given control over time or control over what will happen in the future. There are things we can change in the future by doing things now, but we cannot go into the future to find out what is going to happen. People who talk to spirits may well be told things by them which may well be going to happen, but who can trust a spirit that is not of God? Nobody but God has control over when you will die for He alone has the power to allow you to live or die at any time. When we are fighting wars, both Christians and non-believers have equal chance at being hit by those bullets! There is no way we can go to war against death, for it is a certainty. The hope we have is the knowledge we attain eternal life in heaven when we do die here on earth!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know when you or your friends are going to die?
Do you see why God has chosen to hide this information from us?
February 10: Luke 18 1-8
Key Verse: Luke 18 1
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
Devotion:
A rather unassuming parable on the face of it, but with such truth we need to seek it out and meditate on it. Christ's foremost reason for this was to teach us we ought always to pray and not to shy away from it for any reason. Far too often in our lives we don't pray because of some reason or another. Maybe we give up hope for some reason – but through God anything is possible. Maybe we don't ask certain things because we think we are not worthy – but God has made sure we are lifted up, just a little lower than the angels! We need prayer, constant prayer, meaningful prayer – because we are talking directly to God!
The initial assumption is that we do pray! For if we are not, then we are not concerning ourselves with God, but rather doing what we think will please Him and expecting Him to do everything else. Whilst God will continue to look out for us, He also wants to hear from us so we are showing Him we are genuine about our needs. Yes, He can see we need things, but by asking Him we are showing humility because we need to ask. If we ask something of our friends in earnest, they may well give it to us; but asking of them a few times will ensure they do listen and remember our request. Once God knows our earnestness, He answers. He wants us to remember that we need to be continually earnest about things and not just to let them be a flash in the pan.
Prayer requires time. Time that we have to set aside from everything else and spend personally talking to God. He cherishes each of those times because it shows we are willing to spend time alone with Him. And through that prayer, God will answer with miracles. This instance when we have a person who neither feared God, nor any person – his mind was changed by God in favour of the woman who otherwise had no hope. God doesn't need people to believe in Him in order to use them for His good!
Points to Ponder:
How fully are friends able to answer your requests?
God is able and just to answer each prayer in full!
February 9: Isaiah 40 27-31
Key Verse: Isaiah 40 28
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
Devotion:
It is often said there are two things which are certain in life, taxes and death. Well, so long as you continue to pay your taxes, you don't have an issue with them. But death has a habit of getting everyone and when we least expect it too! Having known God for a while, I am secure in the knowledge that He will take care of me when my body perishes. The only fear I have of death is how I will no longer be able to spread God's Word.
When we are faced with people who do not believe, it is very easy to get cross with them for closing off their minds to the truth and even history. It is so well laid down in the Bible and so easily explained how God is in control and He is our God; you wonder why they cannot see it! Just as Isaiah wrote reminding people of their past, reminding them where the names Jacob and Israel came from, we need to continue reminding people of our heritage. Isaiah knew the power of God, knew God is sufficient, knew that He would always give him strength – but so many around gave in to fears and returned to thinking how they could do things by themselves.
Even the youngest and the fittest amongst us will grow weary when they run around too much. That is how we see that our bodies have limits; when they stop, we stop! Even the most intelligent people amongst us must rest their brains from time to time. That is when we see that our brains may be the most amazing things ever created, but they have limits. God does not have these limits, He is not bound by strength nor knowledge. He alone can give everything to us to make sure we can continue in His work whilst we are here, knowing that we will be forever with Him when our mortal bodies finally give in!
We may feel great when things go right for us, but that is going to be nothing to what we will feel when we are released from these bodies and join Him in Heaven!
Points to Ponder:
Does not the most talkative person stop once in a while?
God's strength knows no limits. He alone is able!
February 8: 2 Kings 5 9-14
Key Verse: 2 Kings 5 13
And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
Devotion:
The miracle by Elisha for the woman with the pot of oil is a description of someone who was willing to take God's Word for what it is and obey it. Today's miracle is more along the lines of the reluctant believer; someone who had built up a picture of himself, his self-importance, and was not going to let anyone take it away from him! But that is often the first step which God would have us take – to give up our boastful selves in order for His love to get through to us!
Naaman was a proud man, probably because of his accomplishments and his position now held as captain of the Syrian army. He was not willing to believe that anything in life could be as simple as what Elisha had told him to do. He thought Elisha would have at least shown him some respect! But God does not respect the human personal achievements, but rather the human being who lives within. He wants us to know that knowing Him can be as easy as Naaman's task that day – simply accepting Him for what He is and not arguing about it!
Each of God's commandments in our lives is probably going to get us to do something which we do not at first want to do. Why? Because we get caught up in our own little worlds where we build up the world around us and have that as our protection rather than depending on our Creator! God wants us to be dependent on Him just so we know that He is God and how we owe everything to Him. God looks on at kings and queens in the same manner as He looks on at us. He wants each of us to know we are all equal in His eyes. We may well hold different offices and responsibilities here on earth and should take note of them too – but when it comes to worshipping Him, we are all the same and we all get the same hearing!
God is there to answer all of our prayers – as long as we are willing to let Him!
Points to Ponder:
When people talk to you, how do you treat them?
How are you treating God in your life?