October 14: Mark 7 14-23

Key Verse: Mark 7 23
All these evil things come from within and defile a man.

Devotion:
Whatever environment you live in is likely to affect you directly; It may not, but it is the most likely outcome! The first time we see a horror movie, we may well be scared – the second time is not so scary and after several viewings we may even find it funny as we pick up on the errors. We have then become accustomed to those things. Our lives are similar. Each time we see something happen in our lives, we become more accustomed to those events happening. But despite being in the “wrong environment”, each one of us still has a choice as to whether we should do something or not. Unfortunately, most of us will take the side of everyone around us rather than listening to God's will and way in our lives. We see this as the easy way out. We also see this as the natural way out because of the environment we are in.

Nothing we eat or drink is going to drive us crazy or lead us away from God; though there are many drugs which will do strange things to our perceived mental state. So if we were to drink or take a substance that would remove our inhibitions, we would give in to the temptations that face us more easily than without that substance. This is because we have learned ways of giving in to those temptations by seeing them – but we are still making that choice as to what we do, that choice has still come from inside of us.

No matter what evil deed we see or hear about in our world, we know the person doing that evil deed must have got the idea from somewhere and they have made the choice to carry it out. Some people are described as being “not responsible” for their actions through mental illness. Because they are truly ill, should society not have protected them from ever learning about the evil things they have done and continue to look out for them? Everyone else has made an active and conscious choice as to what they have done.

We may not like the things that others do to us, but we have no right to go against God’s will just to get our own back on them!

Points to Ponder:
Would you describe your friends as Godly people?

How many times do you give in to what they are doing?

October 13: Mark 7 1-13

Key Verse: Mark 7 7
And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

Devotion:
How many rules can you think of which you have to obey in your household? There are going to be so many small rules you do not often think of, but simply do because you know them to be right. But have you ever considered comparing them to what God would have us do?

I am not saying we each need an in-depth study of what we do in comparison to what Christ did – rather a more subtle approach to make each of us think about what we do each and every day or week. There are some habits we get into which please us, there are others that please God; but I'm sure each of us could find at least one that is not strictly what God would have us do...

Christ was trying to point this out to the Pharisees around Him, trying to show them they had extended their rules far and beyond those laid down by God. They had changed the rules to suit themselves and because the rules sounded strict, they had adopted them for their own good. Whilst the washing of hands was a strict part of sacrifices, it was not meant to be a strict part of everyday life just before we eat anything (Maybe if I had known these verses as a child I may have been able to get out of washing my hands once or twice – most of the time it was probably wise that I should wash my hands because of the things I got up to!) The word “Corban”, used here, was used to pronounce anything as being dedicated to the temple, thus being free from taxes and other rules – but other rules were put in place so people could get back things dedicated to the temple before the year of jubilee; thus meaning they were never truly dedicated in the first place.

We change rules in our lives to suit our own ways all the time. Some of those rules try to make a mockery of the Bible. They effectively shun God's Word in preference to man's own rules, thereby lifting man above God. Whilst we may try to defend such rules, in reality they are just man's rules being upheld before God's rules...

Points to Ponder:
Do you have any strange rules in your house?

What do you think Jesus would have you do?

October 12: Luke 11 33-36

Key Verse: Luke 11 34
The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

Devotion:
How many times have you got up when it was still dark and banged you shins or your toes on something you had forgotten was in your room? The sensible thing to do would be to turn the light on, but for most of us there is some strange reason for not doing so! The one thing we do need when it is dark is light, without it we are virtually blind, in a state where we find ourselves at a big disadvantage than we were a few minutes or hours before.

A blind person would probably not have that problem because they would have learned to keep their rooms tidy so they would not have things to trip over! We don't tend to take so much care because we assume we will be able to see the danger and hence avoid it.

On the flip side of the coin, a blind person is spared the horrible mess, graffiti and general bad state of repair of much of our surroundings in the streets. A Blind person does not have to put up with having to see horrible sights. We cannot avoid seeing some sights, though we do have a choice as to whether we should turn away; but how many times you do stare in disbelief or in sheer horror?

We live in a world which is full of obstacles that are both physical and spiritual. We use our eyes to guide us through the maze of obstacles we come across each day. Those same eyes are what we learn with. If we continually watch and learn from fighting and other bad things, we will grow up with a life full of fighting etc. But if we learn from a good source, then our lives are going to be full of better ideas. God wants each one of us to learn from Christ's example so we can focus our lives on being more like Him. He continues to give us instruction and example through His Word so we can be some sort of example for others around us. If we can be a single light in the darkness around us, others will be able to see and not have to stumble on things in their dark lives.

Points to Ponder:
Do you pick friends for what they do or what they believe in?

What sort of example do you think you are for Christ?

October 11: Jeremiah 12 1-6

Key Verse: Jeremiah 12 5
If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?

Devotion:
How many times have you got mad with someone for not living up to your expectations, and has that ever extended to God? I’m sure we have all seen how some people can get really mad with God because of what they see happening to them in their lives. Sometimes we may well feel very sorry for ourselves after we go through a rough patch, but what we don't tend to do is to look to the future in rough times. When we see things crumbling around us, we very rarely look into the future to see what good there is that lies ahead, instead we dwell on things happening here and now and allow ourselves to get bogged down in our frustrations.

Jeremiah was just the same as the rest of us in that he had his ups and downs too. But unlike most of us, he was able to listen to God with an open heart and an open mind. The Lord wanted him to record his frustrations as well as what He said so we may learn from Jeremiah's example.

We see people around us who will have nothing to do with God, apart from using His holy name as a swear word. We see people who try to do everything for themselves. We see people advertising about how to make a success of your life; but what we have to remember is they can only make that success last whilst they are allowed to by God and whilst they are here on earth. As soon as they move on, they lose everything they have worked so hard for – and then find out just how much they have lost in heaven because of their ways of unbelief on earth.

God allows us to face trials to make sure we are strong enough to face the next one ahead. He allows some people to have a seemingly successful life because they are working by themselves – they have nothing in the future, they are only worried about the here and now!

Points to Ponder:
Would you choose £10,000 now or £1 every hour for the rest of your life?

Do you allow God to teach you, or do you rebel?