March 14: Philippians 4 5-9
Key Verse: Philippians 4 8
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
Devotion:
One of the greatest parts of our free gift from God is the “peace that passeth all understanding”. Something that is difficult to explain, but amazing to possess and experience. When you let God into your heart, He lives within you. When the Holy Spirit indwells you, you find a peace which you will have never experienced before, and something that can only come from God Himself. With our Faith comes an understanding we should, as the Bible says, cast all our burdens on Him. He wants to ensure we do have a peaceful life, that we do understand how much He loves us and wants to take care of us.
When you were small, would your parents shout back “change your own nappy/dyper” when you started to cry? Or would they come through and take care of you? All you had to do was to cry out, and they would be there. Parents often tell of how they can pick out their own child's cry from within a crowd. Jesus can pick out each one of our cries from within the whole universe! So long as we call on Him, He is willing to listen and take care of us.
When the Holy Spirit lives within each of us, He is witness to every action, reaction, thought and emotion we go through... Imagine being caught in a room full of people who just want to shout obscenities all day long, or being caught in a room full of people who just want to talk about how they murder people all the time.
When we accept Christ into our lives, we should change our lives to make sure our bodies become a living temple for Christ, a place where the Holy Spirit would be proud to stay!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you think of the things which come out of your mouth?
How often do you think of the Holy Spirit's reaction to your language?
March 13: Philippians 3 2-6
Key Verse: Philippians 3 3
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
Devotion:
What are your true motives for going to church on a Sunday? Why do you go to the particular church you go to and do you attend every week as well? These words in this passage show how the writer was trying to separate themselves from the “judaizing” teachers who were promoting the lifestyle of ceremonies and strict law instead of following Christ from their hearts!
Just as many animals will eat all manner of things rather than the right food, so to do people go after all sorts of things in their lives rather than the truth from God. We are called to do things differently from the normal; words echoed in Isaiah 43 18-19 tell us we are called to do things in a new way. This way should be a way in which Christ is glorified and not the man or the method. But it is far too easy for us to continue on in our habits and follow what we have always done rather than picking up on anything new.
We are still going to be surrounded by good and bad people, but the task of identifying the good from the bad will get harder when we branch out into something new. We may like the idea of something so much we go off and do it without considering whether it is actually glorifying Christ. We need God and His word as our guide. We need to listen to the Holy Spirit as He talks to us and tries to guide us through our life choices.
Just because we have been on a course to learn how to do something does not mean we know it all and can do it all now. God is still our guide and we still need to listen to Him. Being aware of our choices and allowing God to guide us does take some getting used to as well; we are probably far too used to basing our choices on what everyone else is doing rather than what we should be doing. God is the one who does know what is best for us, every place, every where and every time. Trust Him!
Points to Ponder:
What do you base your life choices on?
How often do you stop and wait on God?
March 12: Psalms 139 1-12
Key Verse: Psalms 139 8
If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
Devotion:
When was the last time you thought you had gotten away with something. Just when you think others have forgotten about it you realise there was something that was not quite hidden and is now on show for everyone else to find out! No matter how hard we try to hide things, the truth is always there. No matter how much we try to pretend certain things are not so in our lives, the truth jumps up and bites our ankles.
God is the one and only God. He knows all things. He sees all things. He is able to control all things. Our understanding of what He is and what He can do will never be able to cover all that He is or can do. Our minds are limited in the number of things we can retain or think about at the same time. Yet God is able to be with each and every one of us all the time. He certainly does know exactly what we are doing and thinking all the time. He certainly does build a hedge of protection around us when we are vulnerable. He certainly does try to show us the right things to do all the time.
Can you imagine having a friend with you for the rest of your life, just watching out for what you are doing, warning you when you are about to do something stupid, warning you when you are about to do something wrong, encouraging you when you are about to do something good... Listen to that small voice and you will hear God right there, warning, encouraging, protecting and loving.
There is no place where God is not. No matter how much trouble we may think that we are in, He is always able to be right by our side. You can sail or fly right round the world, and the same God will always be right by your side. You do not have to seek Him out in the right places, just ask Him to guide you so you can continue walking together all the time. People cannot hide in the darkest corner to try and escape, because God is there, making the light to shine for all those that want to open their eyes.
Points to Ponder:
When do you feel most alone?
How close do you think God was?
March 11: Psalms 119 140
Key Verse: Psalms 119 140
Your word is very pure; Therefore Your servant loves it.
Devotion:
Many of us will know the words in Psalms 119 105: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” But what does that verse mean to you? Is it just the words from a song or do you use God's Word to guide you each and every day.
David's affection for God's Word lead him to write these words. Notwithstanding he would not have had a “complete Bible” in the same manner we have, but rather access to a collection of scrolls which would have had “The Law” or early books of the Bible only. Even so, he made sure he knew those laws. He made sure he was familiar with them. He made sure they were his guide.
But what he writes in verse 140 gives us understanding of what it meant to him. He loved God's Word, not just because it was the truth (verse 160: “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever,”) but because he was able to understand what God wanted him to do by keeping it close to his heart.
It's not much good just knowing it all unless we are going to apply it in our lives. The more we apply God's Word in our lives, the more we are able to understand it and His will. The more we do that, the more we realise just how much God actually loves us; the more we uncover the truth about God's grace! Our friends and parents understand how much we love them when they ask us something difficult and we reply that we will do it anyway. God wants us to be able to show Him our love for Him by us following His will in our lives – even when we think it is difficult. God's Word is refined. It is pure. It is not corrupt. It is simply true. We are the ones who misinterpret it when we make our own versions. We are the ones who corrupt it by not knowing it. We are the ones who cause the cracks to appear when there are none.
Points to Ponder:
How many of your friend’s likes and dislikes do you know but overlook?
How many of God's likes and dislikes do you know and follow?
March 10: Psalms 119 41-48
Key Verse: Psalms 119 43
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I have hoped in Your ordinances.
Devotion:
Have you noticed how the more you try to do something you think or know is impossible, the more things go wrong. No matter how hard you try to get some single thing right, the more goes wrong around it. Far too often we just need to ask a single question of someone else in order to find out how to get around the current issue! The one great thing we can totally depend on is Christ in our lives. No matter how much we think we cannot do something, through God anything and everything is possible. All it takes is trust. One huge step for us. To trust in the unseen.
So many times we think we are alone in the world with our problems, but as soon as we share them with a few people, our problems seem to be a bit lighter. But when we share them with The Lord, they seem to get lighter still. God wants us to be 100% honest with Him – not just because He can see right through us! But because being honest with someone is showing them that they mean something to you.
This Psalms may be the longest chapter in the Bible, but each section of it covers parts in our lives we need to be concerned with; all pointing back to Christ as our Lord and Saviour. He is the one whom we should be depending on. People in our lives do come and go, some seemingly at the most inappropriate times; but God is ever by our sides. As long as we keep on seeking Him, He will never be far from us. As long as we keep obeying Him, we continue to walk in the freedom that we are allowed.
Just like Adam and Eve were given all freedom in the beginning, we are. Just like them, we have rules to follow. Just like them, we are tempted by Satan who is trying to put a wedge between us and God. Just like them, when we fail at something it is all too easy to try and cover it with a lie. God can see through us and He simply wants us to be honest with Him!
Points to Ponder:
How many problems do you have that you think you cannot cope with?
How many of those problems have you shared with God?