October 5: Luke 12 14-21
Key Verse: Luke 12 15
And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
Devotion:
A topic most of us never want to think about is when we are going to die. When we are young, it never seems to cross our minds that it may be possible we do die before our parents. As we get older we may see one or two of our friends taken away from us; too early in our minds. But that is the one thing in life that is certain – each one of us has a destiny with death. But this does not mean there is no hope, for Christ has promised us eternal life – as long as we place our belief and trust in Him.
One of the things which still amazes me is the amount of people who are doing everything they can to earn a whole lot of money just so they can say they are rich. Most of us want to be able to earn enough money so we can survive on our pension until we do die. The sad thing is that money and riches do corrupt the mind. When we get some money, we often want more – we keep on seeking more and more ways of making money... just because we can!
When people get to that stage in their lives, they have probably lost sight of what is important in their lives and they are seeking what they think is important. The problem being they no longer have a good grasp of what actually is important because their minds have been corrupted by their love for riches.
Christ told a parable of a rich man who had a plentiful harvest and instead of filling his barn and then sharing the rest of the food, he rebuilt his barn to cater for all the fruit that had been harvested. Little did he know he was going to die before he could even lay his hands on all of that food he had built up! What we need to do is to build up things we know we are going to need. If we have everlasting life, then we need to make sure we are prepared for everlasting life. We need to focus on our eternal needs and not our needs for tomorrow. We need to recognise who supplies our needs and riches too!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have any friends who are totally focused on riches?
What friend would leave another to destroy themselves?
October 4: Psalms 119 35-37
Key Verse: Psalms 119 36
Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness.
Devotion:
We always seem to be able to say something along the lines of “If only I could do that...” We always wish to be able to do better or do more. When we see the light and find Christ in our lives, we then wish to be able to be more like Him, to be able to get rid of the bad things in our lives and to expand on those things which are good. We also find out that no matter how hard we try ourselves, we always seem to be able to mess things up in some way or another.
That is one of the reasons why Christ has made sure we have the Holy Spirit with us continually. With Him we are able to accomplish a whole lot more than if we try to go it alone... so long as we are willing to listen! As Christians we are often able to see a whole bunch of things wrong in our lives – and that side can get a bit depressing if we allow them to build up in our hearts. Having the Holy Spirit with us allows us to find comfort when we need it most.
But if we are wanting to change our lives to live closer to God, then we are going to have to be willing to allow change into our lives. As a guide, we have the Bible with all of its wisdom written in a language we can understand. God has ensured His Word continues to live on throughout the ages so we have a visual reference. So long as we are willing to follow on from that and not to get caught up in the worldly things around us, we will move forward and closer to God.
Our biggest hurdle is probably our vanity. We don't want to look like nerds, or failures, or to look like we have “let ourselves go”. We still want to look strong and able to face up to things in our life. We want to be independent and allow people to see how independent we are... And in almost every one of those actions turn our backs on God. With His guidance and wisdom we can live a full, wholesome, honest, righteous life that we would actually be proud of. A life which will show we are Christians and show others that we have a strength they are still seeking – that strength can only come from someone who has it. God.
Points to Ponder:
What do you not like about your life?
Do you continue to ask God to help sort that out?
October 3: Proverbs 15 16-17
Key Verse: Proverbs 15 17
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, Than a fatted calf with hatred.
Devotion:
What would you describe as being your favourite food, or better still, your favourite meal. What would you have in your favourite meal? And then, who would you invite along to that meal if it were prepared for you? Most of us would describe quite a lavish affair where our best foods would make up some of that meal. We would describe food and drink to match as well as all the trimmings, and afterwards, to round it off, something sweet.
After you had finished describing the meal and decided who was going to come along to that meal, you may well start to think about why you would invite people. You may choose someone who is going to make your meal fun, or someone who you know would appreciate the meal. You may even start to think about what a meal would mean to others. But, I think, the two most important parts of any fellowship are described in these two verses. Firstly, we should remember God in whatever we are having. We should make sure we recognise that God is the one who has supplied our food and continues to supply our every need. We need to remember how we have what we have because He has allowed us to have it.
And the second point is that of love. Without love, true Christian and brotherly love, a meal would be as satisfying as a meal could be – but that satisfaction would fade as quick as the food within our bodies. But with love, we have memories to keep, we have fond things to remember, and even after those memories start to fade, we still have the love to depend on.
A simple meal with a loved one can mean so much more than a full feast with people whom you did not know. What can be better than a simple meal with a loved one? That same meal with the knowledge that God has been gracious enough to supply it for you because of His extraordinary love for you! And sharing the meal with someone who also knows just how special a gift they have.
Points to Ponder:
So who would you invite to your meal?
How much do you depend on Christ for your spiritual food?
October 2: Ecclesiastes 2 1-11
Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 2 11
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labour in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.
Devotion:
What would you do if you had a huge amount of money? Would you go out and try to live the best life you could with that money, buying the very best items and surrounding yourself with all manner of comforts? Well, if you did, you would not be the first! Right from the beginning of time we have had people who try to take what they have and live a life which is far and above those around them – just because they have money. But the important thing has got to be what is in their hearts, not what is in their pockets!
Have you ever spoken to people who have loads of money? What sort of reaction did you get to your “normal” conversations? I have been fortunate enough to speak to many people from many walks of life and it is often the so called rich I have felt sorry for. I have pitied them for their actions show that, despite having all that money, they are still lacking something in their lives. Despite surrounding themselves with all the imaginable comforts in life, then still lack a comfort which dwells within. They take pleasure in showing others just how much they have so they can make it look like they are happy, but in reality they fight battles within themselves.
It does not take money, belongings or surroundings to make you happy... Yes, you can gain happiness for a short while with many things in life, but lasting happiness does not follow on from great belongings. It does not take servants and people surrounding you to bring lasting happiness either, because you will soon see the folly of such quests. It does not take constant laughter and friends to gain everlasting happiness – we strive to find friends who can make us happy, but we then remain happy only for as long as they are with us.
What we need is someone who is going to remain with us throughout eternity, to comfort and guide us and to sustain us without the desires for physical surroundings. Only God can provide that in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever met a wealthy person who is happy within?
Have you ever met a poor Christian that was happy within?
October 1: 1 John 5 9-13
Key Verse: 1 John 5 10
He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.
Devotion:
How easy is it to believe in anything? That probably depends on yourself, on how your mind works and how willing you are to believe others... Our primary method of belief (if you can call it that) is how we listen to what others tell us and go along with what they say. It is not that we immediately believe someone when they tell us something, but that we harbour those thoughts in our heads whilst we think them over – then when we realise they are telling us the truth through proof from some other means or through others telling us the same, we believe. But, that other proof normally comes through seeing supporting evidence.
If we are willing to believe other people about things that may seem to be hard to believe, then why should we doubt anything God should tell us? We know we can tell lies, we can stretch the truth and expand on things – but God does not. We know we like to think that we can do things – God actually can do all things. We like to think we can look out for others – God really does. We like to think we are good listeners – God hears everything we say. We like to think we see everything – God doesn’t miss a thing. We have God's Word right in front of us (our Bibles). We have His promises and His wishes. We have the absolute truth. And yet we are willing to believe the unbelievable things which others tell us before believing God's Word in its entirety!
It may seem hard to explain to others just how we know that God exists when we believe in Him. It is hard to think of the words to explain how we “just know” that it is true. But this is why The Holy Spirit is with us. He can guide us in our conversations, He can give us the words to say. But most of all, He can show us how to live for Christ so others will see that He is real! It is through seeing things we believe most. If we want to show others we do believe, we must also act like we do. If we want to show Christ we believe, we need to follow His rules because He can see right through anything we do!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have to explain to people you are a Christian, or can they see it?
Can God trust you?