July 22: Mark 11 12-14
Key Verse: Mark 11 12
Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.
Devotion:
One side of Jesus that we often forget is how He was perfectly human! As He returned to Jerusalem, He hungered – His body was quite normal and required food just like the rest of us! He lowered Himself down to our infirmity so He would know exactly what we went through. He did this so He could pay for our sins through His “humanness”. He was a man who was so intent on getting God's work done the right way, He often went without food.
But through every one of His actions, we see God glorified. Even when it comes down to looking for a bit of food – He makes sure He takes every opportunity to lift up God. But He was also just. He went to the fig tree expecting it to have fruit, after all, it did have leaves. What He found was a barren tree and He sentenced it to perpetual barrenness. There is coming a day when everyone will be facing Him in judgement and He will be just as perfect in His judgement then as He was with the fig tree.
The barren fig tree can be looked upon as a hypocrite. The hypocrite shows off like a fruit tree showing off its leaves, but bears no fruit. The disappointment for anyone who reaches out to that fruit tree for help is echoed in the disappointment to anyone who looks up to the hypocrite for help – they seek, expecting, and find a void. What Christ is looking for is a fig tree which is going to give fruit – He expects us to be able to bear fruit!
Many of us falter when we come to giving off fruit – mostly because we think we cannot do it. But as soon as we are willing to fully depend on God, then we will be able to bear fruit for Him. Just like a fig tree depends on a hidden water resource to bring forward it's fruit, we depend on our God to bring forward fruit. If a fig tree were to be planted next to a sour water supply, I don't think I would want to eat its fruit. But planting a tree next to a sweet water supply will make sure it has good fruit. If we want to bear God's fruit, we need to make sure we keep close to Him through effective prayer. That effective prayer will ensure we can do more than we had ever thought possible!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like giving bad things to friends?
Do you depend fully on Christ to allow your fruit to grow?
July 21: Isaiah 63 11-13
Key Verse: Isaiah 63 12
Who led them by the right hand of Moses, With His glorious arm, Dividing the water before them To make for Himself an everlasting name,
Devotion:
I love reading God’s Word when it reminds me of so much which has happened in the past and so much which is still going to happen. The prophet Isaiah told of many things from the past and many things which were still going to come. Hundreds of years before the prophet lived, stories are remembered and put here to remind us of the wonders God has done and continues to plan in our lives. Hundreds of years after the prophet died, we read about things which happened and are still to come.
I don’t know of any other book which has such as span over time with an insight into mankind and our spiritual connection with God; all written with so much love and care by someone who was closely connected with God. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to be so connected with Him too – and then I am reminded of all the things which He has personally done in my life and I realise we are all very well connected!
As I sit at home in relative safety with the front door wide open to let the warm breeze fill the house I marvel at how much God loves me to allow me the opportunity of being in such a blessed place at this time in history. Then I try to listen harder to Him and find out what it is He has in store for me.
Don’t be worried you are not being verbally called just as Samuel was called. Don’t worry you do not have someone like Eli bringing you up. Don’t worry you are not following an amazing leader like Moses through a desert. Be thankful for all God is allowing into your own life so you have the opportunity to do the best you can for God! Be the best, where you are, when you are and with God!
Points to Ponder:
Are you waiting for the right time and place?
Are you listening to God right now?
July 20: Exodus 15 19
Key Verse: Exodus 15 19
For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
Devotion:
If there are any times in our lives when we think we are hard done by, then we need to go back and ready a few chapters from Exodus as it described the journey of The Children of Israel out of Egypt. They seemed to go through so much and for so long, and yet they tried hard to not be side-tracked by their own desires; God was with them all the time!
We may think we desperately need things in our lives when they are not actually required. We may think we are hard done by because we don't have certain things. But how many times have you sat down and thought about just how much God has supplied for you when you really needed it? How many times has there been that silent hand of protection over you when everything else seems to be falling apart? How many times can you look back in your life and think “someone must have been helping me through that time?”
God listens to each one of our prayers, the same as He does to the prayers of great leaders like Moses. He answers our prayers when they need to be answered. He answers them when we understand it is Him answering them and not ourselves or others. He answers them because He has promised to do so and continues to keep each and every promise through His love for us.
It may seem strange that no matter how much we stray away from Him, His love for us does not change. No matter how many things we do wrong, His love does not fade. He may well get cross with us for not listening, but His love does not alter. When we need something, He is waiting for give it to us. When we acknowledge Him as our God, He is happy to give it to us. When we worship Him, He gives us more than we expect. This can only be because of His non-fading love for us and not because we have done something right!
Points to Ponder:
How do you feel when your friends let you down?
How many times a day do you let God down?
July 19: Psalms 66 16-20
Key Verse: Psalms 66 18
If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.
Devotion:
Too many times in our lives we get depressed about things not going our own way – we give in to failure just because we think we deserve it. But with God on our side, we had better make sure we are not excluding Him from our problems, or He may just let us endure them a bit longer to encourage us to turn to Him for the help which He continues to offer us! We often do this when helping out others, we allow them to get a bit deeper into trouble just so they may learn how to get out of that trouble the next time round.
But when God helps us out, we get more than just help with our current problem. He answers our prayers from the inside as well as visibly. When God has helped us out, we know physically as well as in our souls. We see adverts about a beer which reaches parts no other beer can, but God can reach everything – and He's free!
No matter how, when or where we cry out to God, He will hear our prayers. But there will be times when we think He is ignoring our prayers – those times are probably when our heart is not in it, or not in the right place. If we go to our parents and ask them for money to do a worthy cause – they will probably help us out if they can. If we go to them asking for money just so we can waste it on extravagances – they may well turn us down. It does not mean they have not heard our plea for money...
God hears our prayers as well as our thoughts which go along with those prayers. As long as we are genuine about our prayers and we are not being selfish with them, He is more than willing to answer all of them. If we are going to pray about something which will help us to show others about God, I'm sure He will answer before we realise it. If we are willing to show others just what God has done in our lives, He will be more than willing to continue doing great things in our lives. It's not about what we can do for God, it's about what we can do WITH God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you like helping others who are selfish?
How often do you ask God in desperation for selfish reasons?
July 18: Proverbs 14 22-24
Key Verse: Proverbs 14 22
Do they not go astray who devise evil? But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.
Devotion:
One of the biggest lies we live is that sin will not catch up with us! No matter what we do to work at hiding sin, it will end up right back on our doorstep. For those who are not Christians, they may well think they have been able to get away with it for all their life, but once they face judgement, they will find out the hard way what it is all about!
We all do still carry sin around with us, and we probably try to hide it at some stage as well – but with God watching us all the time, we are certainly not able to do that! If we think by being more artful with our sin than others we will be able to get away with it, we are mistaken. If we think by bending the rules a little less than others, we are not really sinning, we are mistaken!
We may not gain earthly rewards from keeping God's Word and by avoiding sin, but we will gain heavenly rewards by doing His will. For as long as we try to avoid sin, we will be more able to follow His Word and His will. No matter how much we talk about things, unless we are willing to actually get up and do them, we are wasting our breath. What use is talking about a good life unless you are willing to try and achieve that life?
We have seen over the past weeks how wisdom comes through hearing God's Word and how reading God's Word helps us to learn it. But what worth is this wisdom unless we are willing to use our new learned wisdom in our lives. If we are willing to listen and learn from God, then we will be able to see what He has in store for us. If we are willing to show others we are gaining from listening to Him, then He will be willing to use us in showing His love to others through us.
We have a promise we will be going to heaven, and without us being able to show His love, others may never be able to see His love and never be able to know just what everlasting peace will be like. It does not take too much wisdom to listen to the wise, but it takes courage to do what is wise in front of adversity.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you get caught out breaking the rules?
How often do you take your sins to God?