December 10: John 14 6-11
Key Verse: John 14 6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Devotion:
Despite how many times Jesus had told the disciples that He must die and rise up again, they just did not get it! How could anyone die and after they are dead, raise themselves up again! Granted, He was powerful enough to do wonderful miracles, but how was He going to achieve this? And where was He talking about going... somewhere where they knew?
There are many times when we too do forget just how awesome the Power of God is! We cannot hope to be able to understand the enormity of His Power and Grace; but we do know He is sufficient for us. We do not need anything else other than God. We do not need to depend on anyone else. We do not need anything to get to heaven other than Jesus Christ who’s love and support we already have! You may think your faith would be increased if you were able to see Jesus, but have a think about it. If you did see Him face to face, then there would be no need for faith, because it would be a proven fact! The disciples saw Jesus face to face, and yet they had problems believing in everything Jesus said... until He had done them!
Whilst we are here on earth, we need to have faith that what is written in the Bible is actually The Word of God and we need nothing else besides that! We need to display our faith by trusting in His Word, by believing in His Word and by following His Word. We need to have this faith so when our time comes, we will indeed meet Him face to face!
The disciples were asked to have faith in what Jesus was about to do. They too had a hard time with things – just as we do have a hard time with some of the wonders we read about in the Bible. But as long as we have that grain of faith, we can depend on His Word to give us the absolute and complete truth! Jesus has already proven what He told the disciples here; isn't it time to show others we have faith in His Word?
Points to Ponder:
Do you believe what you write in your own diary?
Why not believe in the absolute truth?
December 9: John 14 1-4
Key Verse: John 14 3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Devotion:
Sometimes I like to think about Heaven as being a place where there will be no pompous people; a place where we will go back to living the simple life. Other times I like to think of Heaven as being a place of wonders and glory. Whilst we can read about Heaven in the book of Revelation and have it described here as being a place where there are many mansions, we still will be surprised by it – of that I am sure.
The disciples were probably used to living in smaller houses or even tents and Jesus was giving them a brief interlude of how wonderful it was going to be by describing it as being full of mansions. But one of the best bits here is how the God who loves us so much and was willing to lay His life down for us, has gone back to Heaven to prepare a place for each one of us! He wants each of us to be able to be there with Him. He wants the very best for us.
We can think of the wonderful things we would like to be in Heaven, have in Heaven and even happen in Heaven, but I don't think that any of our imaginations are going to prepare us for what actually awaits. I have dreamt of places that I have thought must be Heaven because they are so special. Special, not because of the way they look, but special because of the feeling you have when you are there. Whilst beautiful surroundings can go a long way to please us, nothing will ever be able to really take our breath away until we know what Christ has prepared for us.
Do not despair about the world around you now, for what we have awaiting us is more amazing. Do not fret about the way people are here, for we will be all Christian brothers and sisters in Heaven. Do not look upon the riches you have here as special, for they will pale in comparison to what Christ has for us in Heaven. As long as we are prepared on the inside, He will be willing to accept us to Him soon.
Points to Ponder:
What is special to you here on earth?
How much more can God supply in Heaven?
December 8: John 13 36-38
Key Verse: John 13 38
Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.”
Devotion:
How many times have you heard a friend say they would do something for you and never carried that out? Worse still, how many times have you promised a friend you would do something and never done it? In today's society, people seem to promise things all the time and then forget about doing them. No, I am not talking about politicians... they seem to be in a world of their own, promising things one minute and then saying something totally different to the next person... I am talking about people you would normally think as being upright and honest people.
You can go through the Bible from cover to cover and see that every single thing Christ has said would come to pass, has happened. You can read up about things you never knew about and find out they have happened. You can read about the things that are still going to happen and know they will happen... Because God cannot lie. He always does what He says He will do.
We, on the other hand, seem to be a bit more 'flexible' with the truth. We may tell someone we are going to do something and find out we simply cannot carry it out. You may think it is ok to go back and say we cannot do it (well, that is better than pretending you did it, or just ignoring it) but what we should be doing is making sure we only say things that we can live up to.
Peter was sure He would never deny the Lord, but when push came to shove and he was faced with mortal danger – his knees buckled and he gave in... We don't always have to be faced with mortal danger for our knees to buckle – often it is just that we do not want to 'look bad'! When we say something, we should do it!
Points to Ponder:
How many promises do you ignore each week?
Have you fallen back on any promises you made to God?
December 7: 1 Corinthians 8 7-13
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 8 10
For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols?
Devotion:
I'm sure you have probably been told or heard someone say “be strong in the Lord”. But have you ever stopped to think why they have said that, or what the consequences may be if you are not? We may believe in God, we may believe He is the one true and only God and if we do then we know the idols others lift up are all false and can be discounted as nothing. But take a thought for those around you that do not know. Take a though for those that may be very close to you who do not believe. They may have doubts as to whether these idols are real or not.
We are taught (Romans 14 13) we should not place anything in another's path which might cause them to stumble and fall from the path of righteousness. Yet how many times do we do that every day? How many times do we give in to something because of peer pressure or because it “looks cool”? How many times do we bend the rules just to satisfy ourselves or others?
Each time we do this, we are showing others we are weak, that we are willing to bend the rules, that we are willing to turn our backs on God and that we don't really think He comes first! Sounds harsh? But that is exactly what we are doing. If we do not show others we are not willing to compromise when it comes to Christ, then we are showing them we are willing to compromise! If we are willing to compromise in one way, then we are suggesting to them we may be willing to compromise in everything!
If we then show others everything we do is not for Christ, are we suggesting to them their own beliefs may not be true? We are strengthening their doubts! We are placing huge stumbling blocks in their path!
Points to Ponder:
How many things do you do that friends and family don’t like?
What Would Jesus Do?
December 6: Proverbs 11 22
Key Verse: Proverbs 11 22
As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.
Devotion:
This is such a descriptive verse I thought it deserved a devotional all to itself. Have you ever had a close look of a pig’s nose? Not the most attractive things to observe, and you will not be able to dress it up by placing a gold earring in it! If anything, the gold earring loses its lustre in such a place.
As Christians, people expect various things of us. They expect us to not behave unseemly, they expect us to tell the truth, they expect us to help others, they expect us to be kind and they expect us to go to church. But of non-Christians, people do not often expect much! People are great at making stereotypes in this world! As people, what do we expect of ourselves? What do we think God expects of us? It's not a case of “what can I get away with” whilst someone is watching you all the time! It has to be a deeper understanding of who we are and who we have to try and live up to.
Our aim should be to try and be more Christ-Like in everything we do. There is no way we will ever be able to reach perfection, but at least we can aim for it. But whilst we do, we have to maintain our discretion. We cannot go off on a limb to attain one thing in life whilst ignoring something else. We cannot rush off to make money if we are going to ignore others feelings and health. We cannot rush off to save ourselves if we know others need our assistance. We cannot ignore things just to make ourselves look good!
If we are going to be doing just one thing wrong whilst making every effort to maintain everything else... it would be like dressing up for the ball but forgetting to brush the spinach from our teeth! No matter how good we look on the outside, if we are not maintaining that good on the inside, then are we not as useless as a gold ring in a pig’s nose? God is not going to be checking our clothes and hair to make sure we are looking good... He is going to be looking at us from the inside out to see if we ARE being good!
Points to Ponder:
Did you brush your hair today?
Did you talk with God today?