October 20: Matthew 26 39
Key Verse: Matthew 26 39
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Devotion:
Have you ever had the thought “how does God know how I feel?” Well, the answer is simple. He came down to earth as a human being meaning that He was absolute flesh and blood, as we are, and He felt and thought like a human being – the only difference being in His faith. His faith was absolute because, you could say, He had inside knowledge. That is what we should aspire to be like!
Each one of us can think back on a time when we were really upset or when we most needed someone to help us. We can recall those emotions and probably the desperation which we felt at the time. We may, depending on the outcome, have had to face up to things which we did not want to. We may have had to pay a price for something we had done that we shouldn't have. Or, we may have had to pay a price for something we did not do!
Can you imagine how you would feel if you were suddenly called to one side to answer for all the bad things you had done and said in your life. Imagine if you knew the trouble you had been in in the past was nothing like the trouble you were in now just because of those things you had said... You were now face to face with having to pay for everything there and then in one go, and there was no way out.
Jesus knew what was ahead. He knew exactly what was going to be laid on His shoulders. He knew He would personally have to pay for each and every thing that we have done wrong. He knew all of those feelings of guilt and desperation were about to become His feelings. He knew He was about to take on everyone's guilt; and still He said “not as I will, but as thou wilt”. His love for each of us meant He had to go through with it. He knew He had to take on all of that guilt so we could be held guiltless before God. And He was doing it all because He loves you!
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever taken the blame for a friend’s mistakes?
How are you thanking Christ for what He has already done?
October 19: Isaiah 50 4-9
Key Verse: Isaiah 50 4
“The Lord God has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned.
Devotion:
Wisdom is a two way street – we need to use our wisdom to show others what we have learned as well as to be able to listen and learn from others. God gives us the ability to understand as well as to explain. When we start out learning, we take a whole lot of information in which has to be explained to us because we cannot discern the good stuff from the useless. We continue to use our new knowledge and wisdom to gain more knowledge and wisdom as God explains things to us in our lives. Every day is a new day whereby we can learn more from those around us as well as help them to see the truth.
God gave us a heart which is not rebellious, once which will not turn our backs on Him. Whether we use our new-found wisdom to do things right or to find another way round the rules is our choice. He gives us the strength to stand up to our adversaries. He gives us stamina to stand up to the mockers. He also gives us boldness to take His Word out to others. Whether we use any of these to do His Will is still our choice.
Our God is the God who has made heaven and earth. Our God is the God who set time in its place. Our God is the maker, the creator; who can stand against Him. Our God is on our side! No matter who tries to stand up to us, as long as we have God on our side, who can hope to do anything against us? But never get complacent because He is always willing to allow us to learn something new at any time – whether we like it or not!
We have the choice to be like Isaiah and to take everything which God gives us with open arms, or to sit there and pretend that we have not received anything...
Points to Ponder:
What new things have you learned about your friends this week so far?
Are you learning from God as quickly as from your friends?
October 18: Ecclesiastes 8 1-5
Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 8 2
I say, “Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God.
Devotion:
One of our quests which we often find ourselves on without thinking about it is to find wisdom... We hear about people who have done wonderful things and stand in awe of them, wishing we could do similar things. We look up to people who show wisdom and aspire to be like them in some way. But have you ever considered just what wisdom people have?
There is the wisdom to be able to calculate numbers without breaking a sweat; the wisdom to be able to write novels as if you are living the life within the story; the wisdom to be able to figure out scientific conundrums... but none of these are going to help you when you die. You could have some form of wisdom which can advance your career but falls short of helping anyone else. You could be the most intelligent mathematician on the planet but not be able to hold a conversation with a child about their fears at night.
Wisdom is a whole lot more than knowledge! Knowledge will get you far on earth, but nowhere afterwards. Wisdom is being able to apply what is important to everything in life and to allow others to see you can do that. Having knowledge in God's Word will allow you to know what is righteous. Having wisdom in God's Word will allow you to shine so that others can see where the wisdom actually lies – and that is not in you but in God.
Being able to apply God's Will and His Word in your life on an everyday level is something we all need to aim for because it will be at the stage when others can see God through us and our actions that wisdom is passed on. How can we expect to be able to attain such wisdom without directly consulting God and seeking it from Him? To make sure we do stand out from the crowd, we need God on our side; we need to separate ourselves from evil so we can do God's work and to let His light shine through us!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you look up to as being intelligent?
Does intelligence bring you any closer to God?
October 17: Proverbs 15 20-23
Key Verse: Proverbs 15 23
A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!
Devotion:
Those people who are lacking in wisdom are like fish going after bait; their only concern is to get the bait and not to worry about the consequences. They (the people and not the fish) seem to have pleasure in sinning all the time and not worrying about what is going to happen to them or other people. Yet those who understand the consequences do have concern for others and will stop before they throw it all away.
When those people who lack wisdom are put away in jail, they may still lack the concern for consequence when they come out of jail unless they have been educated within the prison. It's not going to take just one concerned person but many people to convince them they are actually doing something wrong, and, unfortunately, they are surrounded by people who don't care! When they come back into society, they have to be continually supported in order for them to learn in the right environment. We, as Christians, are like those people being released from prison. We may know what is right and wrong, but are we in the right environment to steer clear of the sin we used to do? Are the people around us educating us in the right manner? If not, then are we listening to the right people or are we continuing to listen to those who do not care of the consequences of sin in their lives?
Right from an early age we are taught what is right and wrong, but whether we are going to listen to such advice is up to us. If we are able to experience first-hand what happens when we do things wrong, then we are more likely to try and right ourselves. That is one of the best things about parents! They have been there and have been in trouble for the things that we still face ahead of us. Their advice is based on experience rather than theory. Listening to them will not only make them happy, but may well stop us from doing something stupid ahead!
But the ultimate consequence of sin is hidden from us through the “veil of death.” After we physically die, we are going to have to face up to which way we have chosen to live our lives... in front of Christ!
Points to Ponder:
How much trouble to you have to get in before you listen?
How far will God have to let you go before you change your life?
October 16: Psalms 119 33-36
Key Verse: Psalms 119 36
Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness.
Devotion:
Let me state the obvious... In order to learn something, you have to be taught! Whether you are going to learn it the hard way (by trial and error) or the easy way (by listening to someone) is up to you. We each have a choice as to how we are going to advance through life and we have to live with the consequences of those choices!
The obvious answer must therefore be to seek knowledge and wisdom from greater sources of knowledge so you can learn. But the next choice is whether you are actually going to listen to that advice or to discard it. If we are going to be wise, then we would listen to all sources of knowledge and ensure we follow the good advice. Not to go and do something which is similar to the advice given, but by following it as it was designed to be followed!
If we follow that good advice once and then turn our backs on it the next day, we are not going to get very far on the second day! If we are then going to make an effort to follow the advice properly, we have to structure our living so we can follow said advice in everything we do rather than just one time. If we choose to not follow the advice, we are assuming we know more than our source of knowledge – there-in is the problem... we probably lack the understanding of the long-term problem and have immediately broken down the sound advice from the beginning with our false assumptions later on!
So how do we go about changing our lives in the right way? First we seek out the right source of knowledge; not ourselves, but God. Next we seek to follow the advice daily, not just when it suits us. If we want to understand the problem, we have to listen to the entire solution, not just the part we think we like. Seeking out God's will is not that hard a task; we have it written plain and simple in our Bibles. Following that advice in its entirety and not just in part is where we fall down... Far too often we let our own desires get in the way of that good advice!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you turn down good advice?
How often do you find it hard to follow God's advice?