April 28: Luke 11 24-28
Key Verse: Luke 11 28
But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Devotion:
One of the easiest things to do is to “go back to your old ways”. When you get used to doing things one way or another, you find it easy to continue to do things in the same way. But when you then become a Christian and find you were not acting in accordance with God's laws, keeping those laws becomes hard. Every time you try to keep things going as they should, even more distractions and temptations come along and you see just how easy it would be to go back to your old ways.
We should never lose sight of our enemy while we are still at war. Losing sight of them then gives them a free hand to do whatever they would like without us knowing about it. But keeping an eye on them gives us the advantage of being able to spot what they are up to and avoid that situation. Avoiding any conflict with them is mostly going to be a lot easier path than trying to beat them. Fighting our enemy the devil alone is something we cannot do without God’s help. We may think we have cleaned up our act and even made a better place for the Holy Spirit to reside in... but as soon as we let the evil one back into our lives we find we are subdued with him and his friends, leaving no place for God to work in our lives.
If you were to have an open party in your house – things would probably go along fine as long as you had just your friends, but as soon as people off the street heard about it and started coming in, things may well begin to get unpleasant as they took over the party. That same picture can be used when looking at our Christian lives. As long as we continue to have our private party with God and the Christians we want we will continue to enjoy it. But if we are allowing evil things into our lives, then those same evil things will invite even more evil until we are at a stage where the evil is overcoming the good, just because we are letting it!
Keeping God's Word is difficult. Inviting “harmless fun” (or at least what we think is harmless) can open the flood gates if we are not very careful.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you allow ungodly things into your life?
Christ knows the power of Satan. That is why He constantly warns us of him...
April 27: Matthew 18 6-9
Key Verse: Matthew 18 7
Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
Devotion:
I could say it is almost guaranteed you will offend someone sometime in the next week. Whilst that may sound harsh, it is also true. If you believe in God and say so, you probably will offend someone. If you take your dog for a walk, you may well offend someone. Being a though there are so many ways in which we can offend others, it is impossible to tread lightly enough to not do so.
But, having said that, it is not a good idea to blunder on through life not caring about what you do to others. It is like living out the “bull in a china shop” saying. If you insist on doing things your own way without regard to other, you will surely step on their feet as soon as you walk out or in the door!
On the other side of the coin, you are going to be offended today! No too pleasant a thought, but probably true as well. Be it the news, politicians, people in the street, or even your friends; someone is going to offend you. How should we handle it? Well, the best way is to put yourself in their shoes? What would you do if you had just done what they had just done to you? They may well register the fact they have offended and apologise – in which case, take it on the chin. If they do it again and apologise again – on the chin again. God wants us to show others it is ok to make mistakes but we also need to recognise them too. The more we can show others genuine mistakes are acceptable (though not liked) the more willing people will be to admit to their own shortcomings.
But note also Christ says there will be repercussions for those who do offend others. What He says is it will be better to have a millstone round your neck underwater than to have to face the consequences of offending Christians. When you do offend someone, you often carry the guilt or shame with you for a while. That guilt may well seem like a millstone round your neck after a while. The only way to get rid of it is going to be by being sorry for what you have done and to apologise!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you offend your parents?
If you think you don't have the grace to be able to apologise – ask God for help.
April 26: 3 John 1 1-6
Key Verse: 3 John 1 4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Devotion:
Have you ever thought what others would think of you if you actually stood up and showed everyone you did listen to advice! Listening to advice may well be hard, but actually doing what was asked is often much harder. Then allowing others to see you have been following their advice is the next step. Baptism later in life is one of those steps where you have taken advice from God's Word and you have applied it to your life. You are willing to show others you have applied God's advice. But doing God's will is not always as easy as going through the waters of baptism!
One of the things Christ repeated to the disciples when He walked with and taught them was that they should love our friends as well as loving strangers. Today we are often taught we should not even consider strangers. It is a sign of just how much things have changed in the last few hundred years that we no longer talk to strangers for the simple fact they may well turn out to be unsavoury characters.
But there is a big difference between acknowledging a stranger and shunning a stranger. If you are new to an area (or even a country) you may well feel at a bit of a loss. You may find it hard to make friends because people are not willing to accept strangers into their community at first. But if you continue to show them you have God on your side and you are willing to acknowledge them, they will come round to seeing what makes you different.
As Christians we need to stand apart from the world to show everyone we do care – not just for those few people that we like, but for everyone. For the people who annoy others, for the people who nobody else wants to acknowledge, for the people who have made mistakes and want to change and for those who are just lost in a strangers’ world. Showing others you care makes a huge difference to those people as well as to the ones who know and love you already!
Points to Ponder:
Do you restrict yourself to your circle of friends?
What would have happened if Christ had turned His back on everyone but a few people?
April 25: Proverbs 13 16-18
Key Verse: Proverbs 13 16
Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open his folly.
Devotion:
With the amount of sayings and proverbs we have about accepting a bit of sound advice and being a bit cautious in life, you would think we would all be on a successful path by now! It is only man's own folly that stops him from accepting knowledge from others. After all, how can anyone be as intelligent as us!
Far too often in life we think our own way is always best and we try to enforce our way on others. We also disregard advice many a time because we think we are above that advice. But if we were to have a little thought about why we have been offered that advice before we discounted it, just maybe we would understand why we have been offered the advice. Maybe we are right, but maybe we are not doing what is best in the best possible way...
We should consider what we are told; but the last thing we need to do is to blindly follow everyone's advice without thinking. Unfortunately, we do have many a person out there who is bent on causing destruction in others’ lives. To those who insist on wrecking others’ lives, there is but one outcome... And I would not like to be in their shoes when they face their 'final outcome'! They may well not have to wait until they meet God before they find out that some people do not like being upset!
Have you ever told someone a lie? Has that lie stayed with you? How often do you think about that lie? Notice how you yourself feel bad about the lie and how it plays on your mind – probably more than on the other person or people who were affected by it. Any foolishness we try to impart on others will lead to our own feelings and health being affected! But by going out and telling others the truth we feel much better knowing we have told them the truth! As long as we are not so proud that we cannot accept any sort of advice in our lives, we will continue to learn from those around us. We will continue to expand our understanding of others and of God's Word. God's Word is full of advice – refusing that is not wise!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you turn down advice without thinking?
When was the last time you sat down and discussed something with God?
April 24: 2 Timothy 3 1-7
Key Verse: 2 Timothy 3 1
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come
Devotion:
What I find most amazing about the Bible is that, despite being written by so many people, so many years ago, the inerrant accuracy still continues to baffle the world. Paul may well have written this letter to his son Timothy but the words held within are meant to be heard by everyone. The stark warning of times to come is meant to be known the world over.
Think how the world has changed, even over the last few years. Terrorism seems to be an accepted part of life now. Nobody seems to like it, but “perilous” describes life with terrorism. The description of men that follows fits so nicely into everyday life for many people nowadays. We can look back at black and white films and see how life was but a hundred years ago. We can then look at ourselves now and see the difference a century has made.
We may like to think we have advanced so much, but at what cost? What good is all that man has made for himself if he is indeed ignoring his soul? Verses 2, 3 and 4 describe just about every walk of life today. Verse 5 brings another warning – they may well look the same as everyone else, they may well look like Christians, they may well talk about good things; but when they deny the power of God, then they should not be followed. For they are building upon themselves. They are the ones saying they are equal with God. That, I find very scary!
The human brain has an amazing ability to learn and discover things. But when you start to let it loose in the wrong environment, then it will learn and discover from that environment. The more we allow our minds to be filled with the temptations which surround us, the more we will learn about them and the more we will be willing to accept them. Whilst we should know about our adversaries, we do not have to live like them and allow their lives to overcome us as well! The only truth we have to learn from is God's Word.
Points to Ponder:
Does the world frighten you today?
God's Son overcame our sin. We are no longer indebted to it...