December 5: Jonah 1 7-12
Key Verse: Jonah 1 8
Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
Devotion:
How many times have you had to face up to your parents and explain why you did something wrong? How many times have you had to explain to your head teacher why you did things wrong? How many time have you had to explain to your boss why you did things wrong? On any of those occasions, have you taken a step back and looked at how many people were affected by that “small indiscretion”? Have you thought about how many people were saddened, or worse still, hurt by what you have done?
When Jonah took it upon himself to try and run away from what God wanted him to do, he not only hurt himself in the end, but he hurt a few more people around him too. He hurt those sailors – they did not understand where the fierce storm had come from and how they were going to get out of it. But, he also hurt God. He was not listening to what God wanted him to do.
When we do things wrong at school, we are asked “why did you do that?” When we do things wrong at home, we are asked “why did you do that?” When we do things wrong against God, He does not ask why we have done that, because He already knows the answer. But He does allow our eyes to be opened to what could happen if we totally ignored Him!
God does not want bad things to happen to us, but sometimes they are the only way we will actually stop and take notice of what we are doing. Sometimes it is the only thing that is going to make us stop and take notice of the people we are hurting by doing things the wrong way?
Points to Ponder:
Do you like admitting to mistakes?
Do you want your slate wiped absolutely clean?
December 4: Jonah 1 4-6
Key Verse: Jonah 1 5
Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
Devotion:
How many times have you ignored, or tried to ignore the things going on around you? How many times have you “buried your head in the sand” to avoid having to do something? We see a picture here of Jonah being asleep during the great storm which was beating down on the ship he was sailing in, trying to escape from the things the Lord wanted him to do. So not only is Jonah trying to escape from God wishes, but he is also ignoring the needs of the sailors who are sailing the boat. He is ignoring the needs of those that are close to him.
Many times when we start to ignore things we should be doing, we find ourselves trapped in a spiral where we shut our eyes to those things and find we are also shutting our eyes and hearts to the needs of those that are closest to us. We are living in a world that can be compared to a storm. There is no peace in the lands around us, there is only war and fighting, both at home and abroad. People are rising up against others and much of it is due to the apathy of those who have the power to make change.
We have the power to change things by taking God's Word out to others, by showing them there is love, a great love, and it is right here and now. It is not far away in distant lands, but right here and right now. God continues to show His love to us by answering our prayers and listing to everything we pray.
If He is listening to every prayer we utter, then why are we not on our knees asking for strength and wisdom to take His Word out to others so they can experience the peace we have. The peace which enables us to sleep soundly whilst the earth around us erupts in war and crime.
Points to Ponder:
If you see someone drop something, what do you do?
God does not make excuses; why do we?
December 3: John 13 1-11
Key Verse: John 13 10
Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”
Devotion:
We often remember the words which say there is no greater display of love than a person lay down their life for another – and so it is. But Jesus' life on earth was one display of love after another. Each one deserving time and thought so that we may better understand just how much our Father does truly love us.
When we are babies, our parents would wash us to make sure we stayed clean because at that stage in our lives we were not able to wash ourselves. As we grew more and more we were entrusted with keeping ourselves clean; though some may never quite get the hang of it! This was just one way our parents showed us their love, not because we looked dirty but because they wanted what was best for us...
Jesus already knew who would betray Him. He already knew Judas would throw it all in for a bag of money. And yet He did not display any preferential treatment to the others whilst He washed their feet. He displayed the same love to each disciple by washing their feet, traitor or not.
Just like that, He shows us all His love continually in our lives. From the vilest sinner to the most ardent church goer – He wants us all to turn to Him and turn our backs on Satan. This does not mean Christ overlooks all sins; it means Christ is willing to love all people in spite of our sins. If we believe in Him, we will ask Him things in our life – He will always answer. If we do not believe, we do not ask and He does not answer for there is no question set. We don't have to be cleansed inside out before we accept Him as our saviour. He is willing to accept anyone and then wash us clean Himself! We are not clean by default!
Points to Ponder:
What do you do to stay physically clean?
Do you look after your spiritual life too?
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December 2: John 12 44-50
Key Verse: John 12 46
I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
Devotion:
How many times do we cave in to the wants and desires of those around us instead of standing firm in what is right? How many times do we give in to what others say we should be doing just to fit in with the crowd? The truth will always stand out as the truth! No matter what was going on around Jesus, no matter how many people expressed their own beliefs and tried to put down the truth, He stood firm in God’s Word. He made sure that people heard the truth at all costs. Those who were willing to listen heard the truth about Salvation and also about the final judgement day. Yet people still refused to believe.
We are faced with many people nowadays who refuse to believe the truth because it does not fit in with their way of life or their thinking. We find many people have been seduced by others pretending to be prophets of false gods. But nothing will ever change the truth – Jesus is the Son of God, He is the one everyone will face on the day of judgement. If we do not know Him as our Saviour, if we do not fully believe in His existence, in who He is, and in His Father, then we will face the same judgement as those who flatly deny His existence.
Despite what the chief priests would have had you believe at that time, Jesus came to earth to save us, not to condemn us. He came, not to pass premature judgement, but to spread the truth so we will all have the chance to hear and believe the truth whilst our mortal bodies continue on earth. He has made sure we have every bit of the truth written down and we have collected this all in one glorious book, the Bible. He has made sure this written proof has stood the test of time, has stood the test of false gods, has stood firm through many people trembling.
Despite what governments and officials would have you believe about the religious hatred we may spread by expressing Gods Word, it is here purely to save, to give us all the same chance at believing... We must not abuse it!
Points to Ponder:
How many of your friends and neighbours know Christ?
How many have been given God’s written word?
December 1: John 12 35-43
Key Verse: John 12 36
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
Devotion:
How many times have you heard people talk about the Bible supporting itself or proving itself? God has protected His Word for many years and many generations of people trying to go their own way instead. The Bible has been translated in many ways into different languages and different styles; each one being what someone believes to be the best in some way. In these few verses is just one of those places where the Bible shows its support for other places in the Bible, comparing The Word with what actually happened to show us the truth was written a long time before it came to pass.
Yet many people still refuse to believe on God's Word. Many people still choose to believe what man says over and above what has been written in God's Word. Many people still choose to live in the darkness because they can hide their sins easily. They do not have to face up to the truth. They do not have to change their lives. Oh, it is so easy!
God had given Isaiah an insight into how people would react when they were faced with the truth, how they would reject Jesus, preferring to follow their own rules that they had made. So many people take God's Word (or at least the parts that they agree with) and add their own rules and saying to it. They corrupt The Word to such an extent that it proves they are right. Trying to get back to the real truth can be difficult and even painful.
If you had an instruction manual that came with your TV that said that you must switch the set off using the switch rather than the remote otherwise the TV would eventually overheat... would you change the manual to say that you can switch it off with the remote because it is much easier to do? The more we get used to doing things the wrong way, the harder it is to change to do things the right way. The more we allow sin into our lives, the harder it is to fight against that sin. But, the more we learn about how to fight that sin, the more we are encouraged by reading God's Word, the more strength we can gain by depending more on Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you choose the easy path all the time?
How often do you choose the easy path instead of God’s way?