June 12: Hebrews 3 12-13
Key Verse: Hebrews 3 12
Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;
Devotion:
Have you ever met someone who people say “has the gift”? Maybe they can play a sport better than anyone, or play an instrument better; and they just seem to be able to do it without the need for a special coach or lessons. The more they do it, the better they get at it, but that initial learning did come from somewhere else...
God has been giving people special talents from the beginning of time. He has set aside some people who are able to do things others would simply dream of being able to do. He has given each one of us something special to be able to do. Some of us may not understand what He has given us, or worse still, we may be jealous of the special gifts which others have, thinking our gift is nothing special at all! Some of the greatest “brains” which have been with us have sometimes expressed the desire to be able to be normal people. Some of them have expressed a sincere desire to be able to understand people instead of having their special gift. The gift of being able to simply listen to others is one which is overlooked all the time.
Each one of us has been given a gift which in some way will complement other gifts within other people. Each one of us has the choice of whether we are going to make the most of our gift which God has given to us, or whether we are going to waste it by ignoring it and pursuing something else which we are going to struggle with for the rest of our lives! The more we use the gifts given to us by God, the more we will grow in that very wisdom or skill which God has given to us.
The more we try to go our own way, the more we are turning our backs on the wisdom or skill God is trying to teach us! The more we do that, the less effective we will be in what God would like us to do. I have seen “successful” businessmen turn to earthly pleasures in order to try and find happiness they cannot seem to find even after they have done all they can in their businesses. If we are to succeed, we need to follow sound instruction!
Points to Ponder:
What do your friends think you are best at?
Are you doing your best with what God has given you?
June 11: Romans 8 1-9
Key Verse: Romans 8 2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Devotion:
The only thing which can set us free from our sins is walking with Christ, believing on Him and asking His personal forgiveness for our own sins. God wants us to be with Him in heaven, and the only way we can do that is if we are cleaned from our sins. The only way we can be cleaned is by having Christ wash them away (He who knew no sin).
If we continue to try to follow the laws and the rules as laid down in the old testament, we will very quickly learn just how hard it is to keep those laws. We will very quickly realise we are useless at trying to keep them and our flesh is weak and useless at standing up to the temptations which surround us all the time. So if we are to stand up to anything, we will have to make sure we have the right people at our sides.
First up, Christ. Without Him, we have no forgiveness. Without Him, we have no chance at getting to heaven. Without Him, we will never be able to pay for our sins other than by death (kind of permanent though). Next up, The Holy Spirit. Without Him, we would be totally lost. We may well have a book of instructions, but without the Holy Spirit we would not be able to understand it, never mind having someone guide us through it! Next up, God. Without Him, earth would not be here – plain and simple. We need God in our lives (in all three parts) so we can live our lives. By trying to go it alone we are doing nothing more than trying to say we are as good as our creator and that we can go it alone! By saying that, we are reducing ourselves to the same level as Satan; only lower because we are not angels!
As soon as we start to walk with God in mind, we can start to understand just how much He has done for us personally. As soon as we can start to understand just how much He has done for us, we can start to know how much He loves us. From that comes trust and obedience. From that comes strength and unity.
Points to Ponder:
Would you trust a friend to save you from a den of lions?
There is nothing our God cannot do!
June 10: Acts 20 7
Key Verse: Acts 20 7
Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
Devotion:
What do you expect when you go to church? Do you expect the preacher to preach a nice short 10-minute sermon that will make you feel good for another week? Do you expect various people to sing great songs to you so you can enjoy the meeting? Do you expect to be able to sing great songs which make you feel good? Or do you go to church without expectations?
We are all guilty of at least one of the above at some time in our lives! We go to church and maybe we want the sermon to finish early so that we can enjoy the rest of the sunny day. Or maybe we are feeling down and we need to sing a few good songs so that we can feel good again. Or maybe we just have to go there to see which other people are not doing too well so that we can all be sad together.
But how many times have we been to church to go and give everything back to God? How many times have we been to church to dedicate our lives to His service? How many times have we been to church to get closer to God? Matthew 18 20 says “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
I know these words were spoken as a reminder that where people are gathered together to uphold the law, He will be there with them; but we can also be encouraged by these words to know He is always with us. We can remember that when we do gather in His name, whether it is to uphold His law or to encourage others or to receive encouragement, Christ has given us the freedom to be able to worship Him when we please. He has given us the freedom to be able to worship Him all the time in the hopes we will recognise it for the gift that it is and receive it with open arms. His love for us does not know any limits. His love for us does not stop when the sun goes down on the Sabbath. His love for us does not end when we walk out of the church doors after the service!
Points to Ponder:
Are all your friends 100% faithful even when you are not with them?
Christ is and always will be faithful to His Word!
June 9: Colossians 2 13-15
Key Verse: Colossians 2 14
having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Devotion:
How often do you think you are “hard done by”, or life is treating you a bit harsh, or your life is tougher than it should be? Have you ever sat down and spared a thought for others who are going through a bit more than you? I am not talking about the people in the world who have to put up with tyrants running their countries, not the people who have to live for a month on what we can go through in a day or two; I may be talking about the person who lives next door.
Christ has paid an awesome debt on your behalf. He has paid a debt which carries the sentence of death! He has gotten you off of death row! And all you have to do is say thanks. You have heard His Word. You have heard His Word preached. You have listened to someone explaining His Word to you. You have had the chance of hearing the truth so you can understand just what Christ has done for you. What about your neighbour? Have they been able to hear God's Word? Have they had a Bible opened up for them? Have they heard about the awesome thing which Christ has done for them?
Can you imagine having to live as one of the Israelites before Christ came to earth? Can you imagine having to keep every single law. Not just the “you shall not murder” laws, but the laws about not walking far from your home on the Sabbath. The laws about not working. The laws about what you can eat. The laws about fasting. The laws about observing various feasts. The laws about not looking with envy at anything that belongs to anyone else!
And then knowing when you break those laws, you have to pay for them with your life! What happens if you find for some reason you cannot get to the temple to offer a goat for your sins? What happens if you get caught doing something you should not have – just because of a lax in your judgement? You can thank Christ personally for what He has done for you by being nailed to the cross. You can thank Him personally for the awesome gift where He showed more mercy than we can ever imagine!
Points to Ponder:
Would you be willing to kill your pet just to “save your bacon”?
Christ laid down His own life in place of yours!
June 8: 1 John 5 1-3
Key Verse: 1 John 5 3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
Devotion:
“But it's too hard to do it that way.” How many times have you been caught saying something like that just so you can get out of having to do something? How many times have you stretched the truth so you can get away without having to do something? How many times have you know you can do something, but complained about it anyway? We do like to complain about some things just so we don't have to do them!
One of those things we may well complain about is getting to grips with God's Word. Whether it be that we are too lazy to get up on Sunday to go to church, or just too tired to pick up the Bible and read a verse or two – we do like to make all sorts of excuses about getting out of things. But that is the thing about being a Christian. It is not about having to do anything. It is about wanting to do everything. God has already given up His Son for us so we will not have to pay for our sins. Christ has already gone to the cross and paid for our sins. There is nothing else we “have to do”. He has done it all already.
The only thing we need to be doing is believing on Him. That means believing Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He did in fact lay down His life for your own sins! Not for the sins of your next door neighbour, or your friend down the road, but your own sins! That means you should be having a personal (one to one) relationship with Christ. You do not need to go through anyone, or through anything. This is something between you and Christ.
There is nothing grievous He is going to ask you to do. There is nothing He is going to ask you to do other than what He knows you can do. What sort of friend asks you to do the impossible? Jesus knows what each one of us is capable of doing and that is all He asks. Obeying His commandments may seem like a big chore, but look at each one in turn and think about how He wants you to change your life so He is glorified.
Points to Ponder:
How many times do friends ask you to do things which are not nice?
How many times have you turned God down?