September 20: Matthew 16 13-17
Key Verse: Matthew 16 17
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Devotion:
Is it right that each of the people who are in the same classroom will learn the same things? Is it right that when it comes to exams they will all be able to answer the same questions? In theory, that should be the way it is, but in real life we find how each of the children in the class listen in a different way to what is being taught – they each concentrate of different words and phrases and come up with a different conclusion or theory at the end of any lesson.
We have our effective hotline to God through prayer where we can plead with God for things in our lives and especially in the lives of others. We also have God talking to us through the things He does for us in our lives and through His Word. How we listen to Him will be how we learn from Him! The better we listen, the better we will be at remembering His Word and His will in our lives. The better we are, the more able we will be able to pass each of the tests which Christ allows into our lives.
We may think that tests are unfair at school, but without some sort of assessment we would never have to apply the learning and would get lazy and even forgetful about the knowledge we should be taking on. But with tests we are kept more alert to the knowledge and be more able to apply it when the time comes for us to use it. Christ wants each of us to be effective Christians so we are able to take His word out to the people around us. Unless we are going to listen to Him in our lives, we are not going to learn much!
When you begin to think you are struggling with your understanding or with you listening, don't let go and pretend you have understood. Stand up and ask for help while you can. When you leave your classroom you can no longer ask your teacher for help (unless you go find them). When we need some understanding, we need to stand up and ask Christ for understanding – that way He knows you mean it and will be more willing to teach you!
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen in class or just copy other peoples’ notes?
Are you trying to understand God without His help?
September 19: Proverbs 15 12
Key Verse: Proverbs 15 12
A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, Nor will he go to the wise.
Devotion:
Have you ever noticed that people are strange! No matter how much we think we know people, they always seem to be able to come up with something even more outrageous than we thought they could! Be it something which is just plain weird, something you never imagined they could do, or something that just goes beyond normal; someone will always be able to surprise you. What would you think of a person who started to be kind to you and you thought they were trying to make friends. You would probably allow them a little closer. But if they started to bad mouth you behind your back, or do things against you when you were not around, then you would think twice about their act of friendship. You may even confront them and find out what they are up to.
On the other side of the coin, when a friend comes up to you and asks you to do something which out of the ordinary, you would probably have a go at doing it – so long as it would not get you into trouble. They may ask you to help them out with another friend, or maybe they want a shoulder to cry on – whatever it is, because they are a true friend, you will probably take some time out of you schedule to help them out.
I challenge you to think about your relationship with Christ as being similar to the two instances above. If Christ knows you then He is willing to listen to you and to do things which you may well think He may not. He does this because of His love for you. He is not going to do things which are not righteous and He will not allow you to do things which will end up with you being separated from Him – but He may well surprise you with what He does do in your life!
But if you are just going to keep up the appearance of being a Christian without giving your life back to Him, then He may well be turning His back on you when you least expect it! If you are not going to be totally honest with Christ about your relationship with Him, then do you really expect Him to keep up the relationship? God is Forgiving. God is Loving. God is Caring. God is Holy. But God is Just! He will not bend the rules or string you along – even when you do!
Points to Ponder:
Are you always honest with your friends?
Are you always honest with God?
September 18: Proverbs 15 10-11
Key Verse: Proverbs 15 10
Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die.
Devotion:
Do you like being told when you are wrong? How about being told you are wrong when you are enjoying yourself? How about being told your way of life is wrong! When we first come to know Christ, we find out our way of life is normally wrong; we find out that we are living as sinners and we need to repent and be forgiven. But when we do take on this new life as a Christian, we should be the ones who are standing up to the new life and embracing it and everything it stands for. It is very hard to give up the things in your life you enjoy... That is not to say everything that we enjoy is wrong...
Christ wants the very best for us and His aim is always to try and make sure we know about that. Whether we are willing to give up all our ways which displease God and aim to please Him all the time is a matter of choice for us. But think of it this way, if you met someone whom you really liked, but they had one bad habit which you absolutely detested, would you try to get them to give up that habit knowing it would make them a better person? If we are not willing to accept correction from God, then we are not willing to give up our bad habits for God.
There is no place on heaven or earth where we can escape from the presence of God. He is everywhere! Each time we give in to sin, He is the one who is being affected by that sin. We may not notice it because we have been doing things wrong for so long that we are used to it, but every single time we do it wrong, God notices! What if your friend smoked cigarettes all the time, even when you pleaded with them to stop smoking even if it was just when you were with them.
Each one of us has a choice to live the way that we live. Each one of us chooses to do the things we do. What we don't tend to think about too much is how it is affecting people around us, and especially, how it is affecting God!
Points to Ponder:
What bad habit(s) do you have that others don't like?
Do you think of God each time you continue to sin?
September 17: 2 Corinthians 12 7-10
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 12 10
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Devotion:
“Why does it always happen to me?” How many times have you tried to make sense of the things that happen to you on a daily basis, much less the things which seem to happen randomly! Labouring on trying to find out why things happen to you can make you feel very depressed because some of those things just don't seem to make sense at all! You could say, that is what this life seems to be about – a loving, fairly stable life living close to God, with a few random events thrown in which don't make sense!
There are things we can analyse and make sense of; If we have been acting in a certain manner, then that may well bring on ill feelings in others. If we have been doing certain things, then others may suddenly turn on us. But why then do they seem to go overboard and carry out more than we can handle? We don't have control over that! What we can do is to ask for help from others – specifically God. And I don't just mean turning around and asking Him when you are in trouble, but really meaning what you ask for and asking from your heart, continually. If someone asks something of you once and never talks about it again, you wonder whether they actually meant it. But if they continually ask, then you are pretty sure they do mean it.
God wants us to show commitment in the things we ask of Him. He wants to be able to show you He can do things, and that you are going to remember the things which He does for you. If you ask Him once and forget about it, you are not likely to remember it when He does answer your prayer. But if you have that prayer on your mind when He does answer it, you will remember it and you will be able to glorify God. Then things will begin to make sense!
God does not want us to live empty lives, but lives full of faith and love for Him. He wants to show us just how much He loves us; we just need to trust Him!
Points to Ponder:
How many times do things go wrong before you ask for help?
How many times do you ask for that help from God?
September 16: James 1 5-6
Key Verse: James 1 5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Devotion:
How many times do you ask for things around your birthday or around Christmas time when you just know you are not going to get it! Is it wrong to continue trying to ask for it? Well, you have to think about what it is that you are asking for...
Too many times in our lives we get carried away with the things we lust after rather than the things we actually need in our lives. We seek for those things which we think will make us happy – even if it is just for a few hours! We seek things because others may already have them... We seek things because someone else has said how good it would be to have one... What we should be doing is seeking for those things in our lives which we actually need!
But when you asked for that ridiculous thing just before your birthday, did you get told off? Did you get into trouble just for asking for it? Or were you politely told it would not be likely that you would get it! Your parents are not out to make your life a misery by keeping things from you forever; because of their love for you, they actually go out of their way sometimes to get you something special – even when they do not think it is too wise! But if you are not going to be honest with your parents, or hide secrets from them, then you are probably not likely to receive those special gifts at all!
God wants us to be honest with Him; to be open about what is going on in our lives. To be secretive and dishonest is not going to get you very far with your parents... even if you are able to hide things from them! But when it comes down to you and God, nothing you do or say will hide the truth from Him. Instead, all it is showing is that you cannot be trusted! If that is how you want to be known, then how is God ever going to trust you with anything? He wants to know that when you receive things from Him, you will not only look after them, but acknowledge it is Him who has supplied you with your treasures! Knowing that God will always answer your prayers is the best thing about your relationship with Him!
Points to Ponder:
What sort of things do you ask your friends to do for you?
If you can trust your friends with secrets, why not take them to God?