February 28: Psalms 37 1-6
Key Verse: Psalms 37 5
Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
Devotion:
How many times a day are you upset by what other people get up to? How many of those times are when people are doing evil things or working against people? I know I am upset by people who are not just and upset others; I think that upsets me more, the fact they are upsetting others rather than upsetting me. I know God is watching and I know God is probably a lot more upset about what is going on than I am.
The psalmist writes here about how we all have a finite lifespan on this earth and how people who do work injustice are not always going to be here to work their injustice. God has better plans and His plans are forever rather than just a lifespan on earth. We need to look at the future and a life with Him rather than just a short while here as we live our mortal lives.
I know it is hard to imagine anything longer than a lifetime for us because this is all we really know. It is even harder to imagine a full lifetime when we are young children because as young children we have no real idea of time. I can remember being called old by a very young child when I got to my twenties! And yet when I look at pictures of me in my twenties I wonder how young I looked. God is not limited by time because He is in control of it. He made this environment for us to live in because this is what we can cope with.
Our lot is to trust God and His ways all of our lives. We need to put aside the shortcomings and the ways of evil people and aim for the high calling of eternal life with Christ. Every day continues to follow on from the next because God has created things this way. We need to aim for a life with Him and make it our goal just as the days follow on from each other. Make it a matter of fact!
Points to Ponder:
How short are your feelings?
How long is eternal life with Christ?
February 27: Romans 8 18-25
Key Verse: Romans 8 24
For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
Devotion:
When is it your birthday? Are you expecting something special? Are you hoping for that great pressie that you have always wanted? Hope is a great thing. Hope gives you a reason to continue. Hope gives you something to look forward to. Hope helps to keep your spirits up when you are down.
As it reminds us in these few verses, the trials and hardships that we go through whilst we are on this planet are going to be nothing compared to what will be waiting for us after our mortal bodies die. We have hope that there is something special in store for us. We have the Bible to tell us about that hope and encourage us. We have the hope of a secure future ahead of us.
Faith is based on hope. Faith is based on believing something that we cannot see. What happens when your birthday comes round and you see the pressies? You dive into them and see if that special gift is in them. If you find it, then you know that you have it. There is no more reason to hope, because you know 100% what the answer is... you have your gift!
But what happens when you find out that you don't have it yet? Has your hope gone? No. You now know that you have to wait another year or until Christmas! But you still have that hope. When we die, we are destined for one of two places. The one is a place of great happiness and everlasting love and all things good. That is where my faith is going to take me!
Points to Ponder:
What present are you hoping for next?
What choice are you thinking of now?
February 26: Daniel 2 1-10
Key Verse: Daniel 2 10
The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.
Devotion:
I love to read stories like this in the Bible. About the times when the astrologers and fortune tellers would be 'found out' for what they are. There is no greater power than that of God. There is nothing that can stop the power of God – but you do have the choice of whether you want to listen to God's truth. We are surrounded by people who insist everyone’s lives are governed by the stars and the position of the planets; that our whole life is planned out from the instant when we are born and is all according to the position of the stars we see at night.
Our newspapers have columns in each day which tell us what we are going to get up to for the next day, week or month. But when you start to read up what they say, you start to see them for what they are. Each one of us could take almost any one of the astrological predictions we find in the paper and apply it to our lives in some way – we could 'see the truth' in the lie, just because we want to see it!
In the book of Daniel, we see how the King turned round to his astrologers and sorcerers and told them to give an explanation of his dream – even though he could not remember what the dream was about! There are few powers on this planet that can actually pull that one off! If we want to be able to find the truth about our lives, then we have to ask our maker, not a person who thinks they can do the job!
If you have a car, the best people who are trained to fix your car are the people who have made the car, the people who have been trained to fix the car – not a local DIY guy round the corner who is willing to have a go!
Points to Ponder:
Do you go to a dentist to see about your bad back?
How often do you ask God for advice?
February 25: Deuteronomy 18 9-12
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 18 12
For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.
Devotion:
When we go to a fair or a circus we quite often get to see some sort of daring stunts, and sometimes you get to hear or even see amazing things such as people walking on fire or other feats which seem to defy the odds. We even see programs on TV about people who are willing to contact the dead on your behalf. Even people who are willing to bring back people from the dead for the right price. Each one of these being an act that seems impossible to believe.
We do live in a world where spirits exist; but just how much to believe some of these things or not I would not like to guess. Each one of us has our own spirit. God allows the Holy Spirit to dwell within us to help to guide us and to keep us safe. But, just as there are good and evil people, there are good and evil spirits. Satan will do what he can to try to convince you he is good. He may even do something which you think is a miracle, just to try to convince you he is doing things for your good – but you have to be aware he always has a motive and that is to prevent you from getting to know God. That is the only way that he is going to be able to gain followers – by hiding the truth from them.
When you do see something which you believe to be amazing, you have to look at the motive behind that act. You have to look at it from an angle that will show whether it lives us to the truth which comes from God, God's Word.
We do have His Word. We are able to look things up. We are able to get advice and guidance. We are able to discern those that do have ulterior motives. God warns us that they are an abomination! This may sound harsh but there is a line we have to draw and we have to keep that line; identifying which side of the line some things are can be difficult which is why we do have our bibles, to help us understand where things are in relation to God’s will in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever had your fortune told?
If you are willing to believe the unbelievable, why not try the truth?
February 24: Proverbs 1 28-33
Key Verse: Proverbs 1 31
Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
Devotion:
When you first look at the bible and see a book called Proverbs, you may think this must be the source of many of the so called proverbs we have in society nowadays. We are surrounded by people who insist on quoting proverbs to us to 'guide' us in our lives. Proverbs or saying such as “Look before you leap,” “Don't count your chickens before they hatch,” “Many hand make light work,” “Lightning never strikes twice in the same place” or “Live and let live.”
There are so many proverbs that people turn to because they have heard them before, because someone has written them down or because they just sound good. People will actually follow things that are written down just because they have been written down. Some people come up with some pretty strange sayings and theories though, and when they write them down in a book and start selling the book, many more people catch on to them and start to believe they are true because they are in a best seller!
If you look through the book of Proverbs in the Bible, you start to see where some people have made up sayings from, by changing the words so they fit into their own way of thinking. It's like taking an instruction manual, and changing the wording of the instructions because you don't like the way it says you have to do things. Have you ever tried to put a square pin into a round hole just because you liked the look of the square pin over the look of the round one? You know what I am thinking of, we have all “changed the rules” just because we don't like what we read!
But when we start to believe the new rules we have created, because they fit in more with our lifestyles, then we have fallen into the trap of believing that we know best; that we know more than God about what is best for us!
Points to Ponder:
Which rules don’t you like following?
Have you ever wondered why God would want you to follow that particular rule?