March 24: Luke 21 1-4
Key Verse: Luke 21 4
for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
Devotion:
What's the first thing that pops into your head when you think about “giving your last one”? Perhaps that advert about a particular toffee chocolate... “Do you love anyone enough to give them your last Rolo?” Advertising is an industry where the people are paying others to come up with slogans, pictures and gags that will jog your memory enough to remember their products. If they show the resulting advert enough times, people then build up a strong association between that gag or saying and the product.
In our society, it seems to be all about advertising and “getting your view across” before others... It seems to be all about beating everyone else to the post to try and make your product more well-known than others so you get the bigger market share.
Well, the Bible has beaten them all! God's Word was written before any of us polluted our minds with the intricacies of advertising. But, just like those old adverts, people all round the world forget about what is written, forget about the guidance, forget about the real reason why we have the Easter Holidays.
If you wanted to know about the real reason why we have the holidays, you will have to search “under the stones” to find out, because God's Word has been buried by many years of advertising and corruption. People all round the world think of the global economy first thing in the morning rather than what God has in store for them today. People are sweeping God under the rug, hiding the real reasons because they don't fit in with what they want in their lives. Well, it's not about what we want, but what God wants. NOW is the time to think about who created you. Now is the time to think about who shed His blood for you. Now is the time to think about His love for you. Now is the time to reflect upon how much love you show Him....
Points to Ponder:
How close are/were you to being top of the class?
Why measure up to other people when God just wants you?
March 23: Luke 18 24-30
Key Verse: Luke 18 27
But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Devotion:
How many times in your life have you taken a “leap of faith”? I am not talking about true Christian faith, just taking a big chance in your life and believing the outcome is going to be positive. Every week, millions of people take a “leap of faith” by buying a lottery ticket in the hopes their ticket number is going to be the number randomly chosen for the week. People are not always told the odds of winning the national lottery are normally around 1 in 14 million! And it's not a case of trying 14 million times before you win, because the odds are reset for each game. Yet many people believe they are sure to win something soon and continue with their quest.
Many scientists believe they will find the exact time the world was created. Well, they may do, but that will only be after it is too late! God gave us a perfect world to live in and we have messed it up something silly! We have corrupted just about everything that there is to corrupt and broken just about everything else; and yet what Jesus did remains perfect. We see doctors trying their best to come up with cures for illnesses, whilst Jesus spoke a word or two and people were healed instantly.
But no matter how bad we are, no matter how much we have corrupted things, God is waiting for us to ask Him for forgiveness. He is patiently, earnestly, faithfully waiting for us to turn from our ways. We do not have any hope of being able to change our ways without becoming new people, without asking Him for Salvation.
We are reminded that no person who has turned their back on this world in any way to follow Christ has ever had any regrets. Yes, our weak minds may give in and we long for the sinful ways, but when we get through it and are with Jesus, we will long for nothing!
Points to Ponder:
How many times have you wished someone else could control your life for you?
God is patiently waiting for you to ask!
March 22: Luke 17 31-37
Key Verse: Luke 17 33
Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
Devotion:
How many times have you been told something, and set it aside because you did not believe it possible or true... and then found out later (when it was too late) it was actually the truth! I know I have found things out the hard way. I know there are things that I had thought could not happen to me. I have believed that there are things which only happen to others... And each time I have been caught out because I refused to believe in the truth when it was given to me.
We are like that, because we live in a world which is polluted by many lies. We become hardened to the sayings of others. We become hardened to the lies. So much so we start to not believe in the truth when we are given the truth. This is Satan at work! Surrounding us by things to cloud our judgement!
We can tell people about the second coming of Christ until we are blue in the face, but many people will just not come to terms with the fact that this could ever happen to them. They think if they stay in their cocoon, they will be protected or insulated from the ravages of the truth!
But when Jesus Himself reminds people of the things which have happened in the past and the things that are going to come in the future – we had better start listening! He has given us the truth in so many places. He has given us His Word (the Bible) so we can discern the truth. He has supplied us with so many things we can learn by – but still our cold hearts turn Him away because of the cloud and clutter in our lives! The only saving grace is God. The only way we have hope is through Jesus. The only way we can get to heaven is through Jesus. He is our door. All we have to do is to acknowledge He is our Saviour and ask for His forgiveness for our sins. With Him in control, we have no worries about our end times!
Points to Ponder:
How many times have you wondered what will happen to you when you get old?
What would you do if your best friend was “left behind”?
March 21: Luke 17 20-21
Key Verse: Luke 17 21
nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Devotion:
One of the great mysteries that stops people from believing in God is that they cannot physically see Him. It is amazing how many people refuse to believe in something just because they cannot see it. It is further amazing just how many people are conned into believing false things by people all round the world because they have made up proof. There are many conmen round the world who make a living out of tricking people into believing stories and living within them.
We go to school, college, university and other places of learning in order to learn how we may best live within the world we are in. We try to do what we can so we can survive the pitfalls which we learn about and learn to avoid. We try to learn how to make the most out of situations so we can “get ahead in life.” But, far too many times, we turn our backs on the truth just because it seems so simple.
The truth about Jesus lives within us. The Pharisees demanded that Jesus tell them where the kingdom of God was. They were the learned scholars, and they wanted to know the truth – but they were wanting something physical. They, like so many scientists, looked for physical proof of everything. What Jesus gave them, probably came as a big surprise to them... God lives within us... Each one of us has a spiritual part, just like God has a spiritual part.
The kingdom of God cannot be searched for. Many archaeologists would have you believe they are on the track of finding something... But God knew that the Jews had rejected Him, that they had rejected the physical truth, and so He gave them the only other hope they could cling to. The kingdom of God had to be searched for in the hearts of man. We cannot physically search for it. We will not find it physically. But if we search within our spiritual bodies, we will gain the understanding which will lead to our faith being established.
Points to Ponder:
How many times have you found something only after you gave up looking?
Are you trying too hard to look for the truth?
March 20: Luke 17 1-4
Key Verse: Luke 17 3
Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
Devotion:
There is no way we can live on this planet without being offended by someone! We are living in a world of sin, surrounded by sinners, doing... sin... What else! If you moved to a small island which was surrounded by sea, then you could expect to be wet every now and again! If you moved to the desert, you can expect to be hot and dry! So why do we not expect to be wronged when we are here in a world of sin!
Jesus knew this, knows this, and wants us to know this. He wants us to know we are going to be persecuted. He wants us to know we are going to come up against unsavoury people. He wants us to know we are going to be tested by man all the time. It is at these times when we need the strength, power and guidance of our Saviour to help us through the difficult times. We need to heed His words because it is the truth which will set us free. We need to listen to what he would want us to do.
One of the most difficult things He asks us to do is to forgive others. Jesus has no problem with forgiving us. When we admit to our faults, He is waiting there to shower us with blessings of forgiveness. He wants us to know that no matter what we have done, we can expect to be forgiven! But He also wants us to show forgiveness to others. We find that hard because of our nature, but Jesus wants us to know about His ability to forgive by showing us how to forgive.
Jesus knew He was on His way to Jerusalem to submit to the cross. He knew He was going to face a time of torment and torture. But still He was willing to go forward. He knew people were turning against Him, but still He went forward. As He went forward, there were those who wanted to believe, like the ten lepers whom he healed along the way. He never gave up!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you give up in a task?
God never gave up. Jesus gave His own life on the cross!