March 20: Genesis 45 1-5
Key Verse: Genesis 45 2
And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.
Devotion:
We may not have been sold as a slave by our brothers and sister or our parents, but there are people in this world who have to face such things! But there are so many more people, some we may know personally, who have had to face bad things happening to them in their lives. I am amazed at how many of those people are willing to step forward and offer forgiveness to those who have wronged them in some way.
Joseph was sold as a slave by his brothers, but was willing to bring them into his protection at this time when they were in great need. He was willing to forgive and try and move past what had happened – the experience was difficult for him and he wept so loudly that people outside the room heard him. How far are you willing to go when you are faced with people who are in need in your life? Are you willing to forgive what they may have done against you in the past so you can now help them out?
Jesus calls us to love one another, but He also calls us to forgive again and again so we can help those in need. It is times like this when that act of kindness may be the act which sinks in and changes their hearts toward Christ and brings them home to be with God!
When people have done wrong against you, they may well steer clear of your because they are ashamed for what they have done and don’t want you to be unkind to them like they have been to you in the past. They may have every right to be scared – but if we are able to turn that round into an act of kindness which covers their wrong-doings, then, just maybe, they may find it in their hearts to change their ways. This is Jesus’ way and the way He wants us to follow. Yes, it is hard, but we need to be the difference now when so many people are in need.
Points to Ponder:
Do you carry a grudge against someone?
Are you willing to forgive and move on with Christ?
March 19: Psalms 16 5-8
Key Verse: Psalms 16 6
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
Devotion:
I love God and I love it more when I am in a happy place and feeling like I am surrounded by love and care… but that does not always happen. We do have to face up to things which we may not like and face up to life in general – stuff happens! But through this all there are going to be those times when we feel absolutely great because everything seems to come together at that moment! Don’t stop praising God in these times; it is easy to forget about Him when you are so focused on the good things surrounding you…
The more good things happen the more we can look forward to how wonderful Heaven is going to be. The more we will be able to dream up the amazing things God has in store for us. But, even in the bad and sad times, we can look forward and know that things are going to get better. We can fall back on the many instances in our bibles which show us just how great God is and how much He cares for us. Take hold of those instances and know that God has done this before and will do it again!
When we live with God and continue to listen to His instructions, our hearts are filled with the knowledge He cares for us and we realise how much He does! It is through the good times we can lose focus and through the really rough times when it is hard to focus; but that should be our aim – to focus on Him daily. When we do we gain strength through our faith as we see so many things He is doing in our lives.
Let’s equate this to a race happening on the other side of the world – unless we link up to that race through the media or other means, we will lose focus on the race, the racers, its outcome and how it affected people. We don’t just delay the results… We need to constantly keep focus on God and in everything He is doing in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like ‘people watching’ where you sit and watch people go by?
How much do you watch God and listen to Him?
March 18: 1 Peter 5 1-4
Key Verse: 1 Peter 5 2
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them - not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;
Devotion:
These words in this letter to Peter are words we should all be trying to live up to in times of global concern. As Christians we know what Christ went through on our behalf and know how much God has put in place for us – but what have we done in return? The bible reminds us what we do to the people around us is virtually the same as doing that to God – because we are all God’s children!
The news is so full of bad news and despair at the moment as the world faces the global pandemic of the coronavirus. We have seen some governments try to hide figures, some governments treat it as if it was not real and we see people doing all manner of things through sheer panic. So what can we do as Christians?
We are effectively the ‘elders’ of our communities and we need to take heed of these words in these verses. God has asked us to care for the people around us – whether we like it or not! We see people going against governmental advice just because they don’t trust the advice. What we need to do is to continue to uphold God’s Word and His ways, no matter what else happens around us. Don’t be tempted into panic buying like your neighbours just because they have done it. Don’t be tempted to break the law just because others are in this strange time!
We have been given so many people around us whom we can care for and who need our help in this time. We shouldn’t be doing this just because I say so, or because God says so or anyone else says so. We should be doing this because we want to make a difference – we want to care for others and we want them to be blessed!
Now is the time we can step forward and be the examples others can look to and through this God will be given the glory and His flock will expand...
Points to Ponder:
Do you like helping others?
Will you step up and help a few more people?
March 17: James 5 13-18
Key Verse: James 5 17
Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Devotion:
One of the things we are taught to do as a Christian is to pray. This is not as a plea when everything else has failed, but as a daily and constant occurrence whereby you are taking your ideas, worries, needs and praise to God. No matter how many times it is said, we tend to allow our prayer life to fade as time goes by – because we get comfortable in the position we reach and in our relationship with God. Well, just like any relationship, you cannot just ignore your partner and expect them to carry on doing everything you want them to do without reciprocating the deeds!
Elijah showed the power of prayer by praying for a lack of rain (which lasted over three years) and then praying for rain to revive the crops. Both prayers were answered by God – not in the way which everyone wanted them to be answered, but in the way the man of God asked. Everyone else had allowed their prayer life to become cold and unresponsive.
It is at times like this when we have a global pandemic where people are going to wake up to the fact they have allowed their prayer life to go cold. It is times like this when new people are going to call out to God in desperation. God is listening to each and every prayer and is judging each of those prayers according to their sincerity – not according to the authority of the figure asking, but the sincerity of the person asking.
God wants us to be honest with Him. He wants us to be humble in our dealing with Him and the people around us. No matter what we have done in our lives and how far we think we have wandered away from God – He is listening to each one of your prayers and will answer them according to His pure and holy judgement. We can do wonderful and amazing things through prayer – I know they work because I have been on both the asking/pleading end and receiving answered prayers end. God can do immeasurably more than we can imagine – we need to ask in faith and expect the answer!
Points to Ponder:
What do you think happens to your prayers?
What is your attitude to prayer?
March 16: Matthew 5 33-37
Key Verse: Matthew 5 37
All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Devotion:
How many times a week do you ‘swear an oath’ thinking that this will carry more weight than simply saying what you will do? I used to do this a lot until it was pointed out that we don’t have control over everything around us, so we should simply be saying what we know we can do – and if people are asking for more, then we say we will try to do that…
God made many promises to us, but He did not swear an oath. He always tells us the truth and when He says He will do something, we know it is true and we can depend on what He has said. Why is this not the same for all mankind? Because we are corrupt at the core! We have also learned not to trust people because what they have told us and what they do seem to be two different things! What we should be aiming at is bringing trust back into our relationships so we can depend on people once again.
As the world struggles to contain this current outbreak of coronavirus, people seem to have lost the will to trust in anything in many places and would rather build up their own ‘defence’ against anything by buying even more than they need to survive on. They are ignoring the needs of their neighbours and trying to go it alone – where has the trust gone in our societies?
We need to put aside our wants and desires and start thinking about the promises we made to God… “But I didn’t make any promises to God” may be your response, but I look at it differently. God simply says what is going to happen and we take that as a promise. He expects us to say what we are going to do and expects us to fulfil those words – taking it as a promise just as we take His word as a promise. That is the way we should all be living – simply saying what we can do and getting out and doing it! As an individual I promised to help people on the estate where I now live and I am trying to fulfil that as best I can – even within Governmental guidelines in the current crisis we face. We can still do this!
Points to Ponder:
Do you use excuses so you don’t have to do your work?
What excuses have you used with God?