October 30: Ezra 9 5-8
Key Verse: Ezra 9 8
And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.
Devotion:
Ezra was a man who did not give up hope with God. So many people had turned their backs on God and, as a consequence, after being warned enough times, had lost their country to the enemy and were thrown back into slavery. How many times would they have to face slavery in their history before they realised that God was in control and that He wanted them to listen? Too many times in our lives we turn our back on God and continue to do our own thing. Too many times we ignore the warnings in our lives thinking we know best!
But Ezra's hope was for God's grace to be shown one more time. He had absolute faith that God's Word would be upheld and they would be shown grace so they could rebuild the country and be shown just how God was going to give us a perfect sacrifice! He knew God would never give up because God had already promised this would happen. He knew God would give a way out of their predicament, simply because it had been promised. He faithfully prayed this would come to pass.
Ezra had faith the small beginning he saw would grow into something a whole lot bigger as time went by, knowing how God was on their side and knowing that God's promises were still promises and remain promises to this day. We know we can depend on God's promises. History has shown us time and time again how we can depend on Him. History has proved He has never broken a promise. Yet we would rather believe in our own judgement than the truth as it stands in front of us!
We continue to be the ones who break the rules. God continues to be the faithful one who stands by us through everything. We continue to turn our backs on Him, He continues to remain waiting for us. We continue to sin; He continues to forgive and forget as long as we acknowledge Him as our Saviour!
Points to Ponder:
Wouldn't it be great to be able to believe everything our friends told us?
God's promises stand so that we can have faith in them!
October 29: Deuteronomy 32 7-18
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 32 15
“But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; You grew fat, you grew thick, You are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, And scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
Devotion:
Is it strange that we believe things when they happen directly to us, but when things happen to someone else, we always have doubts over whether it actually happened. Our trust in other people is always in question. Why? Because of the way society has polluted our minds with all that is wrong – and because we choose to believe in those things rather than the truth because it is easier to do so!
Moses always tried to make sure God's commandments were held in remembrance. He made sure people always remembered what God had done so they could see what He was doing and what He could and would do. What better way to trust in God than to look back on His perfect track record? Each time we see God being faithful and delivering people, sustaining people, caring for people... we always see someone who has taken all His goodness for granted. We have a habit of going a bit far when we do that too.
When we see others around us being lazy and loafing in God's comfort, we ask ourselves “why can't we do that?” and quite often join in. Each time we do that we are giving in to the temptations which are being laid down in front of us. Each time we do give in, we are turning our backs on God, saying we don't need Him in control of our lives. Despite all the love and care the people of Israel had been shown, they turned their backs on God because they were in such good hands – they forgot who was actually caring for them!
God's faithfulness to us does not change. His care for us does not vary. What changes is our acceptance of that love and care! We are the ones who grow weary with doing God's Work. We are the ones who turn to other things in our lives. We are the ones who go 'soft'... (Nave's Topical Bible: Jeshurun: A name used poetically for Israel.)
Points to Ponder:
How often do you read your Bible to find out God's ways?
How often do you apply His ways in your life?
October 28: Psalms 19 1-6
Key Verse: Psalms 19 6
Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Devotion:
Have you ever looked at a painting and thought “I wonder what random set of events lead to this painting being created by itself”? I think not! You are more likely to think about the wonders of the picture and then of who could create such a masterpiece (assuming it is a good picture). For every effect that we see we know that there was a cause...
We need only gaze out of our window, look up in the sky, across a field or even down at the grass to know that there is something bigger than just 'chance' at work. We can study all we like but still come to the conclusion that there is order in our universe from the settings of galaxies down to the settings of molecules – there is order; though it may seem like chaos at times. The more we study, the more we realise the order has design; a design which is far and above our simple intelligence.
Each day we see come and go, each sunrise and each sunset – all are here to glorify God. Each one shows us God’s handiwork. Each one reminds us of His power. Each one reminds us of His love for us. How can we not see the love whereby the world around us has been created in such beauty and splendour so we may be happy! How can we not rejoice in the sun which rises and gives us warmth and sustains us. How can we not be amazed by the number of stars we see at night. All for us. All for His glory!
If you have seen how a bridegroom stands in front of the church with full radiance, standing proud as if his life is about to start... that is how we should see the sun that God has provided for us each day. We may not see it each day, but we know it is there and still rising each day as created, following the path as created and giving life to the rest of God's creation. Each day brings us another change to rejoice in what God has created for us. Let us rejoice and be happy in HIM!
Points to Ponder:
What is it you like most about this planet?
Have you thanked God for it today?
October 27: 1 Timothy 4 1-9
Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4 6
If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
Devotion:
Why do we have to put up with so much in our lives? It is a question many of us ask ourselves at regular intervals – why do we have to put up with things? The unfortunate answer is that the world around us is polluted with so many bad things that people are taken in by them and even live by them. People see how others are doing nothing about it, or accepting it, so they accept things – even when those things are not right.
We do have to be strong and to stand up for what is right, making a stand against what is wrong. But we also have to do it in such a way that we do not frighten people away from the truth! That can be the hard part. If we find a whole community doing things wrong according to God’s law, then we should be bold enough to stand up for God; if we give in to those things we may be accepted quicker into the community but we will find it harder to convince them of God’s laws because we have flouted them already! We cannot just accept the parts that we think we or they may like...
Those truths come to us from reading God's Word and studying it. We then learn what we should be doing and can then apply it in our lives. Without that knowledge of what is right and wrong, we have no hope of going in the right direction. But with that knowledge, we can apply the truth in our lives remembering what is right at all times; not forgetting the small things and letting them slide!
If we were to accept what God has laid down for us, we would find we live in a fairly simple world. But we always think we know best and come up with rules and regulations to try and please everyone. It is at the stage when we are elevating others to the same position as God by allowing them to set rules that work against God's commandments that we find our world becomes far too complex to live in...
Points to Ponder:
What are the things which you find hard to live with?
How many of those things are God's rules?
October 26: Luke 21 5-9
Key Verse: Luke 21 8
And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them.”
Devotion:
One of the things that I still find hard to remember is that God is not restricted by time in the same way we are. When He created our world, He also created a timespan for us to live in. “Genesis 1 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” He had to make a beginning in order for us to exist, and He has made an ending for our lives on earth as well.
Just like we did not know we were going to be born, we do not know when we are going to die. We have been given a timespan within which we should make the most of our lives. So many people will tell you about the money you have to make and the things you have to accomplish so that you can have a 'good life' – thereby sentencing many to not have a 'good life' because they are not living up to someone else’s standards for what life should be!
God's commandments are not so restrictive that we cannot enjoy ourselves – far from it. If we are able to stick to His commandments, we will find that the life that we have is rather agreeable because He will have no problem looking after us. But if we start to think we can do a better job at it, then we will find our shortcomings quite quickly; finding out as we turn from Him, He is less able to watch over us because we are choosing against His support!
Ultimately, the choice is ours as to whether we want Christ to be able to look after us or not. If we are going to choose 'another god' (be it an idol or some other path in life) other than Him, then we should not expect anything other than failure from that 'other god'. He has promised us things will come to pass and all we need do is live for that promise. There will be hard times and there will be hardships we have to face up to – this is life... But we can depend on our Christ 100% of the time!
Points to Ponder:
What things are you hanging on to in your life?
Are you fully trusting in Christ for everything?