June 7: Psalms 119 10-18
Key Verse: Psalms 119 18
Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.
Devotion:
If we are to be able to distinguish what is right from wrong, then we have to do as this Psalms describes: “With my whole heart have I sought thee”. There is no point in reading the Bible like it is a novel; plainly because it is not a novel! If you want to be able to gain everything from the Bible, then you have to be prepared to read it like you mean it.
To read God's Word is to listen to God. He is the one who gave the writers the words to write so we would not forget His Word. His Word has been kept safe for us from when it was delivered and will be kept safe for all time. Mark 13 31 reminds us of how His Word will last forever. If He has gone to such lengths to make sure His Word does last, then surely we must be good stewards of this Word.
If we want to be able to steer clear of sin, then we have to know what is and what is not sin. If we want to be able to do that without thinking, then we have to get into the habit of making sure we know the truth. We do have so many habits in our lives we do without thinking, but how many of us honestly can say we get out our Bibles every day without thinking.
We need to learn what is in God's Word and not to try and put things in between His Words. Many people change God's Word to suit themselves. They take the parts which suit themselves and leave behind that which is too strict or which they don’t like. The truth lies in all the Bible and not just part of it. Without the whole Bible, we may as well not have it. Without guidance from all of God's Word, we will be walking on our own, still being lost... How many can say the 10 commandments without looking them up? How many can describe what happened to Joseph? How many can say the content of Mark 13 31 without having to look it up? If we are going to be faithful to God, then we have to be faithful to His Word. We need to know His Word and know that He is God!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you read your Bible?
How often do you remember what you have read and meditate on it?
June 6: Proverbs 14 7
Key Verse: Proverbs 14 7
Go from the presence of a foolish man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.
Devotion:
How many times have you started out in a friendship and found out something you did not like and then continued in that friendship thinking it would be ok after all? Or maybe you went out looking for something to buy, found an item which was almost right and bought it anyway... And how many times have you regretted making that decision in the first place?
Many times in our lives we are confronted by people who or things which we “want” to be right, so we make them right by covering up the part we do not like. Many times we even bury the faults without thinking; just because we like the rest of what we see! Many times we will not see anything wrong until after it has all collapsed round our ankles and we have to go back and look at the list of events.
God has given us a wonderful mind which can discern right from wrong. He has given us a wonderful book which holds all the truths we will ever need to know about. He has given us all the direction and intelligence we need to make sure we can get things right. Then we come along and break things by ignoring a few of the rules, or by covering up a few, or even doing things without knowing we are doing it wrong because we haven’t read the rules.
If we want to be able to find out what we should avoid in life, we need to start looking at what is wrong. When we see anything which is wrong, we need to avoid bringing it into our lives unless we have a desire to right that wrong. If we do not mind the danger, we will most certainly end up right in the middle of that danger! And when we are surrounded by all things wrong, we will have a hard time finding out what is right because of all the calamity of those wrong things! If we want to be able to follow God's Word, then we have to make sure we do not try to follow people who have a very limited knowledge of the Truth. A little truth is just as dangerous as a whopping great lie! We are not going to be able to help others to see the light if we are carrying round lights that do not work!
Points to Ponder:
Do you make friends with people who you can see are not good?
Would you follow Christ if He did not tell the truth?
June 5: 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:
Many of the latest fashions in clothes and other things are typically not “the latest” but reincarnations of fashions and fads that have come and gone in the past – albeit slightly changed. We like to think we are up on things and know what is “in or out” - but if we were to dig back into the past we would find all sorts of things are not quite as new as we think they are.
We may look at society and think how corrupt things and people are. We may think we are the generation which is turning our backs on God. But a short look back into the Bible and you will see many generations have done exactly that. We can see what has become of them as well. We can also see what has become of those who have put their faith and trust in God. But by far the more stories seem to be about how people have rejected God and departed from His ways.
If you were to see a sign which said the cliff you wanted to walk along was dangerous and could fall apart at any second, would you still go and walk on it anyway? If you saw a sign which said there was 20,000 volts of electricity in some wires, would you touch them to check? We are given all these warnings in God's Word for a reason. We are given plenty of things to show us what happens when we reject God. And yet mankind still seems to want to reject God in almost every way we can.
We should be looking back in history, reading our Bibles and finding out what sort of things God wants us to do – not turning our backs on His Word and doing what we think is best for us at that time. God is a LIVING God, one who is constantly with us, constantly watching over us; living our lives for Him and in Him can only make our lives better! We need to exhort one another – urgently and fervently remind one another – seek to urge one another – that Christ is our Lord and He is the one and only God. Living our lives for Him and against sin will continue to draw us closer to Him where we will find His peace, mercy and blessings.
Points to Ponder:
Do you ignore warning signs?
Do you ignore God's warnings in the Bible?
June 4: Hebrews 4 1-3
Key Verse: Hebrews 4 1
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.
Devotion:
How many times have you come out of a class or meeting without remembering what was said? Or maybe you stopped and had a brief conversation with someone on the corner and cannot remember their name – never mind what they said! We have a great ability to turn on our “selective” hearing so what is said around us goes in one ear and out the other.
God has created our amazing bodies so we can look, listen and learn – though some will be less able than others, our bodies are still wonderfully made. The complexity of the human mind continues to baffle scientists and we continue to try to emulate the human brain in one way or another through computers and what we call artificial intelligence. What we will never be able to do is to truly emulate our minds. God has given us the ability to instinctively discern good from evil, the ability to know when something is right and the ability to love. Artificial intelligence can only go by what has been learned.
Yet we have the ability to turn these abilities on and off to a large extent, giving us the ability to ignore the truth. What is so amazing is that we choose to ignore the truth so much in favour of more exciting things! If we were to continue our lives with a fervent respect for God and what He has done, we would very quickly grow to a point where we are able to fully respect Him in all His ways. We would be able to find and live constantly with the peace only He can give through His Word. We would know we no longer have anything to worry about. Instead we let our minds and hearts rule us by allowing them to make up all sorts of exciting things we can amuse ourselves with.
We have been shown the Gospel by The One who was willing to lay down His life for us so we may receive it as a free gift. All we need do is to have faith in what is written. We need trust His Word to find the peace which we continue to strive for. And yet so many people still choose to make their own stories up in their own ways.
Points to Ponder:
Do you believe what your parents tell you?
Why then is it hard to believe historical truths?
June 3: Psalms 4 1-3
Key Verse: Psalms 4 1
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
Devotion:
When David penned this Psalms he realised just how wonderful and loving his God was and is. He knew God would always be there for him and continued to rely on God for many things. But it was not all plain sailing because he did go through many things where he would have to call out to God with all his might!
When we call out to God it should not be a half-hearted attempt of gaining a bit of time with Him or gaining some response out of Him; we don’t have to prove God is listening to us all the time. David grew to know that God continued to look after him every day and so we should as well. It is during our hours of greatest distress where we get to know just how much God listens and answers our prayers. Remember those times during the hard times and the good times!
How long does God have to remind us of how much He does for us? How much does He have to remind us of His love for us or His mercy upon us? We do not have to put His love or mercy to the test time and time again – but we do! We do not have to question His faithfulness – and yet we continually do so!
The more we are willing to put our faith and trust in God, the more He is willing to make sure we get to see His faithfulness and mercy in action. The closer we get to Him the closer He moves forward to us and the more we get to see Him in action. The closer we get to Him the more godly we act and the more He recognises what we do. We don’t have to be sinless and we don’t have to be perfect; why else would we need Christ in our lives is we did not have faults and sin? Christ came to forgive and to cleanse us from our sins; allow Him to do so and follow His lead!
Points to Ponder:
When do you call out for help?
Will you ask God to be a bigger part of your life?