April 18: Proverbs 13 13-15
Key Verse: Proverbs 13 15
Good understanding gains favour, But the way of the unfaithful is hard.
Devotion:
There are only two sides to this ‘coin’; either you understand and believe, or you think you are better than God's Word. Satan chose the latter and he has paid for it by being rejected from heaven forever. Unless we want to join him there, then we have got some thinking to do. Thinking being the beginning of understanding, the beginning of the 'fear of God'. Not knee trembling fear, but full understanding that He is God and He was, is and forever will be. Knowing we must follow His commandments and follow His will. Without that fear, we start to think we are is some way better than Him and try to do things our own way.
The only way we are going to escape from eternal death is by believing in God, by asking for His forgiveness and then following His will. The longer we follow our own will, the more we upset Him. Just like an unruly child will upset their parents or teachers, an unruly Christian will upset God. It does not take much to listen to parents/teachers, but it may well take a while to get into the rhythm of actually doing what they want all the time. When we become Christians, it takes time for us to adjust to God and His will. Just how long it takes depends on how wiling we are to learn what it is that He wants in our lives.
The longer we continue to disobey, reject and walk away, the longer it will take for us to learn what it is we should be doing. If we are willing to stand up and take notice as soon as we can, then we are going to find the way a lot easier. Fighting against the law, against teachers and parents and against God just causes an uphill struggle that will make it harder to live. But accepting God's will in our lives makes things a whole lot easier.
The only way we are able to find out what it is that He would have us to do is by constantly keeping in touch with Him. Reading His word. Praying constantly. Understanding comes from learning His word.
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever tried to pass an exam without learning?
How are we supposed to know what God wants in our lives without reading His Word?
April 17: Proverbs 6 20-24
Key Verse: Proverbs 6 23
For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
Devotion:
This section of passage may be ultimately talking about adultery but stop and look at it from a general instruction point of view. Our parents probably try to give us instructions which will lead us to learning good from bad and following good examples rather than bad. As a parent myself I like to think I have given wise instructions to my children and hope they have grasped the importance of most of those instructions.
When God gave us the scriptures it was to ensure we did have wise instructions we could bury in our hearts to follow for the rest of our lives. I am sure God would like us to be able to keep those instructions and live by them; but we fail daily just as I did as a child and just as my own children probably have too. Those instructions are now called the Holy Bible for us because they have been gathered together with other scriptures to form as single book for us.
If we are not going to keep those instructions in the forefront of our minds we may well not remember them when the time comes and we need them. If we do keep them fresh in our minds we will find we can recall those good instructions when we do need them; and when we sleep we will be able to know in our hearts we have tried to follow those good instructions.
Just as Psalms 119 describes how the bible is a lamp we can use to find our way, this chapter goes one stage further by reminding us reproofs are a way of life we need to get used to. If we do not listen to instruction when it shows us we are doing wrong then we will not learn from our mistakes. Just as a person can give you a bunch of lies to throw you off course or convince you into sinful ways, so too can the evil one throw you a bunch of lies which will send you off in the wrong direction. Use God’s Word to compare instruction with God’s instruction and know what is right and what is wrong!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like instruction manuals?
Are you listening and learning from God’s instruction manual?
April 16: Psalms 119 9-10
Key Verse: Psalms 119 9
How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
Devotion:
Why is it that when other people point out you’ve done something wrong, you go on the offensive and try to prove them wrong? Why is it when you receive criticism, you make up your own criticism of others? I'm not saying that this only happens to 'you', I'm saying we all have this problem! We are all in the same boat when it comes to accepting criticism!
When we start out reading God's Word, we don't want to accept criticism either! We think the writer(s) are the ones who have got it wrong! It is only when we learn more about God's Word we find the whole Bible is true – not just parts of it! And the more we find is true, the more we realise we have done and continue to do wrong... and then we find out God already knows of our sins and He has already given us a way out of paying for them – because He has paid for them! Now that's Love!
But whilst we continue to live our lives on planet earth, we do have to try and keep ourselves going in the right direction. If we do not, then others are going to looks at us and tell us what hypocrites we are! Not that they will have a leg to stand on... God is the only one who is sinless and able to tell us we do have it wrong! God's Word is full of encouragement, full of direction, full of sound doctrine, full of sound advice, full of reproof and is not wrong! So if we need to know how we should be doing things, then there is only one place we can look for that advice... and that is to God, through His Word!
Yes, we can often get very good advice through biblical scholars and teachers, but when push comes to shove, we all do make mistakes. We cannot trust even the highest authority here on earth to give us the absolute truth, because we are all sinners. When you have children, you always look upon them as being perfect in many ways – or at least that is what we want to believe! When God looks at us, He wants us to be perfect too, because of His love for us. God's Word is profitable for correction. Galatians 6 1-2
Points to Ponder:
Can you see the 'good' in anyone?
God, through His love for us, can see the potential in all of us.
April 15: 1 Timothy 4 12-16
Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4 14
Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
Devotion:
Just because you may be a ‘young’ Christian does not mean you will not be able to go out and tell people about the gospel! Even if you only remember one verse, take that verse and tell it to others. Jesus may well have known all of the scriptures and may well have been able to converse with the most learned scholars of the time; but what we read about in our Bibles is not a whole repetition of the Old Testament but a small selection of references back to the scriptures.
God has created each one of us different from others. Each of us is able to do things in our own ways. We may not see what we can do as being gifts from God until someone points it out and you then realise just how wonderful it can be. Just because you can do something which is not listed in the Bible does not mean it has not come from God! I can do all sorts of things on computers and I always thought of that skill as being something purely from this world. Then I started to use my skills to do things for God and quickly realised God is more up to date than we are!
It may well take someone else to point out your gift as well; far too often we see the skills we have as things we have learned about. But I know my skills with computers and software comes from something much deeper than what people have taught me. When I look back and see how much I have been able to do to help others spread God’s Word just by creating them the tools they need for their work, I realise why God has given me this ability.
Take time to meditate on what you can do and how you can actually use it to help others spread the gospel. It may not be you who spreads most of the gospel; you too may have the ability to give others the opportunity to teach. But don’t leave God’s Word out of it because it is through His Word you were given the gift of eternal life.
Points to Ponder:
What are your strengths?
Why did God make you the way you are?
April 14: 1 Timothy 4 6-11
Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4 6
If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
Devotion:
Being able to remember stuff after reading it has never been one of my strong points – or at least that is what I thought! The more I have read and studied the Bible, the more I have realised that I did not remember much of the stuff in school because I just did not want to know about it! But the more I read the Bible, the more I want to learn, the more I can remember and the more enjoyment I get out of it!
The more I learn about God's Word, the more I want to share it with others. The more I learn, the more fascinating I find it. The more I find out about God's Word, the more I remember it and the more I can then apply it in my life. The more that I do in God’s will, the more I want to do! God wants us to know about His Word so we will be able to use that knowledge in understanding how to behave and to actually get to use it too. The profitability of knowing what God wants us to do, allows us to understand what is wrong with our lives and others’ lives and allows us to be able to help other people by encouraging them to do the right things too.
Jesus promised us He will be coming back for us. He has promised us He has paid for our sin debt, but until such a time as we realise just what it is that we are doing wrong, we will not be able to ask Him to forgive us for those wrongs! It's only by reading about it we will find out just how much God loves us even though we do so many things wrong!
If we want to show God just how much we love Him, then we should be finding out how much He has done for us; how much He is doing for us; and how much He has promised for us. When we show God openly how much we love Him, the more other people will allow see how much love there is in our relationship and that will encourage them to find out how much God loves them too...
Points to Ponder:
Does anyone love you enough to give you the last item they own?
God love you so much He gave you His son!