September 21: John 6 43-51
Key Verse: John 6 48
I am the bread of life.
Devotion:
“What did they just say?” “Not sure, but I think they said…”
Ever been in that circumstance where you thought you heard someone say something but never actually asked them what they said; instead you asked someone else... If you want to be able to know what was said, then you had better get it “from the horse’s mouth” rather than second or third hand. If you want to know what God said, then read all about it in His Word. Don't rely on someone else to try and remember what they think they read, but rather get hold of the Bible and read what actually was inspired by God.
The Lord wants you to know the truth, but you have to be the one seeking out that truth. He is “the way, the truth, and the life” and there is no other way we can get to heaven other than by believing in Him. All the prophets told of the birth of Jesus. It happened. But still many chose not to believe. We have not seen Jesus in the flesh, yet we must put our faith and trust in Him. He was born over 2000 years ago. Our Gregorian calendar is just one testimony to that fact. Yet many people refuse to believe that He is our Saviour.
All we have to do is to take that first step towards Him and He will guide us through the Bible and allow us to understand what He wants us to know. All we have to do is to take the first faltering step and He will make sure that we continue to learn to walk, then run, then do amazing things, all in His name. Take wisdom direct from God through His Word, not through someone else's words... We can gain knowledge through listening to others as they recount what they have learned, but wisdom comes from God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you learn through teachers or through study?
Do you listen to God?
September 20: Ephesians 3 14-21
Key Verse: Ephesians 3 20
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
Devotion:
Just when you think that nobody cares, someone does something out of the blue that takes you by surprise. You then feel bad about thinking they no longer cared or loved you anymore! One thing we must never forget is the abundant love of our Lord and our God. Just when we start to get down in the heart, He will gently remind us He is there, waiting for us to acknowledge He is our strength and our redeemer.
We cannot ever hope to understand the height, width or depth of His love for us. But one thing is for sure, we must never forget His love was and is still able to cover all our sins. It is by His love we are all forgiven. It is by His love we will survive. It is by His love we will be able to be with Him in Heaven for eternity.
All we have to do is to believe His love is sufficient. That is our step of faith. Without our belief in God and His abundant love, the world cannot offer us much so we end up feeling we have nothing. Without God, we feel we are nothing. But with God, we have eternity at hand. With God we have hope. With God we have love, eternal love.
No matter how much we can ask of Him, no matter how much we can think of, no matter how much we can hope for... God is able to deliver, and then some! He is able to give us more than we can hope for, more than we can think of, more than we can imagine! Jesus may be our silent partner, but remember He is more than just that. He is our hidden bodyguard. He is our built-in satellite navigation system through this world. He is our protector. He has come, not to destroy, but to give life, everlasting life, to anyone that asks.
Points to Ponder:
Do you always believe other peoples promises?
God does not say anything without it being a promise He will keep!
September 19: Luke 18 1-8
Key Verse: Luke 18 5
yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Devotion:
When Jesus was with us in the flesh, He continued to teach the people to pray and ask for all things doing so through Him, through His name. He also warned about asking for earthly things and praying out loud as a boast instead of a personal request to God. Prayer needs to be a very personal thing between you and God.
God's love for us is a personal love. It is something special. It is something that we should keep in our hearts. So when it comes down to us having a word with Him (by praying) He does not want us to stand on the street corner and pray out loud so that all around us will hear us as is told in Matthew; our prayers to Him are exactly that... “To Him”...
If you are going to have a conversation with someone, you have to talk to them and not to someone else. If you want to say something to someone, you make sure that you are close to them so that they can hear you. If you want them to hear where nobody else can, then you take them aside some place. The most important thing being, that if you want to talk to someone, then you must talk to them directly.
Nobody else has to witness what you have asked God to do in your life. Nobody has to verify you have actually asked God to do something. God does not need anyone to remind Him of things that others have asked. You don't have to pray with an open mouth for God to hear, just pray with an open heart. But as it says in these verses, be persistent and ask for things you really need!
Points to Ponder:
Do you spend time with God?
Do you remember to use Jesus as your mediator?
September 18: Isaiah 9 6-7
Key Verse: Isaiah 9 6
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Devotion:
We may think that it is just us lowly people that are subject to punishment and things going wrong and the righteous people in our bibles who had everything go right! But we don’t need to look too far in the Old Testament to find many occurrences of righteous Kings themselves getting it wrong. God made sure that the Kings would have people to warn them. He made sure that the Kings had the prophets to guide them. But still they faltered; even when choices were put directly to them.
Thank goodness that God gave us our Saviour to guide us and to save us from all the problems that we dig for ourselves. For if it were up to us, we would dig deeper holes than some of these Kings did. The prophets knew of the coming of the Lord. God gave them plenty of warning. When the Lord came, many were not prepared!
When the Lord came, He foretold of many more things that would come to pass. The people around Him did not listen. When those things happened, people were still not prepared. We have the complete Word of God at our disposal. The Holy Bible is full of the truth from the beginning to the end. All we have to do is to read it to understand what God has planned in our lives. All we have to do is to read it to make sure that we are prepared for the things that are to come – just like the things that have been were foretold.
If we are not willing to listen, then we too will not be prepared. But if we are willing to listen to what God wants, then we are going to be prepared for everything. Listening to God is not just about reading our bibles. Listening to God means listening through everything around us and comparing it with what God gives us through His Word.
Points to Ponder:
How many exams have you passed without learning?
Do you listen?
September 17: James 1 6-8
Key Verse: James 1 6
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
Devotion:
I'm sure many of you must have heard that song “Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz...”. Sometimes we are so caught up in our world that we lose sight of what the Lord wants us to have in our lives. We get caught up in things and start asking for the wrong things, not because it is what the Lord wants, but simply to satisfy our own desires; we are facing the wrong way and looking at the world instead of to God.
We can take a quick look at the news and see where others seem to be making the wrong choices based on our judgement. We can look at the people close to us and think that they may not be doing things the right way... but we never seem to be able to look in that mirror and say “hey, you are doing it wrong!”
If we were to turn around and look at where we have been we may be able to see how far we have gone from our original path; how far we have drifted from the Lord. How many times has someone told you “as long as you stay close to God He will be able to protect you more?” Well it does not matter how far we drift away from God, He is always able and willing to help us. The problem may come when we ask for things because the things we ask for will probably relate to where our focus is in life.
His love and mercy has no bounds, but if we are not willing to come close and receive His special gifts, then we don't have much chance at being able to resist the simple temptations that the evil one will drop in front of us all the time.
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel closer to people you spend time with or strangers?
Is Christ a stranger or a friend?