August 16: Ephesians 3 8-13

Key Verse: Ephesians 3 13
Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Devotion:
How many of you think about crossing bridges? How many of you question whether a bridge is going to be safe before crossing it? How many would ask the same question of a rope crossing a river? We tend to judge things quite quickly in our lives. We learn from experience and then apply that experience to make informed decisions, often in split seconds to allow us to continue on our way. If we saw a rope bridge across a deep ravine, we would probably think twice before even attempting to cross it. But when we see a concrete bridge high over a river, we continue on our way without giving it much thought.

When we are crossing that river for the first time, we are putting our faith in something that we did not make. Something that we do not yet know about. But more often than not, we simply believe that it will hold our weight. We put our trust in something that we can see. But faith is all about believing in something that we cannot see. So why should we believe that Jesus can do what we cannot see?

Jesus was able to describe it to the disciples in terms of light and dark. You can have a dark room, but as soon as you let a little light into that room, it is no longer dark. In 1 John 1 5 the disciple tell of the message being given by Christ to him and that same message now being passed on to us all, God is light and no darkness can be anywhere near Him!

God supplied us with a method by which we do not have to pay for our sin; He sent His Son to die on the cross so that we did not have to pay the debt for our sin. Instead, He has paid it up in full!

Points to Ponder:
Would you trust anyone to drive you home, even a blind person?

Are you leaving your life to the professionals or just anyone?

August 15: Ecclesiastes 7 20-22

Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 7 22
For many times, also, your own heart has known that even you have cursed others.

Devotion:
“All I want is to be happy. As long as I have a house, a family and friends and enough money to do what I like and when I like – life would be good!” This is a philosophy that many of us start out with in life and many try to stick to it. Unfortunately we are human and our human ego starts to kick in and take over!

We may always strive for more but none of us can hope to go through life doing good all the time; we always trip up and do something wrong whether that is shouting at someone with anger or just turning your back on them when they need you. However much we try to stay good, we find all sorts of pit falls to trap us! And what is worse is when we fall we always seem to take someone else down with us, or instead of us!

The more that we try to understand things, the more that we learn and understand what we are doing wrong. The more that we understand that we are doing wrong, the more upset that we get about what we are doing. But it is only through learning that we will understand what we are doing wrong! So when someone says “you learn from your mistakes” don’t go out and make as many mistakes as you can to learn, try listening more to start with!

We could try to earn as much money as we can all our lives, but the more we earn the more we want to earn and the more we lose sight of the real goal of life. Gaining all the money we seek will not do anything for us unless we actually spend the money too. We could leave it all to our children and feel good about that, but what good has it done for you? The simple fact is we are all going to die one day so we should aim to get our lives sorted and not just our bank accounts. God wants us to be happy, but we get lost trying to seek happiness in worldly ways instead of with Him.

Points to Ponder:
Who tells you what is right and wrong?

What is your current goal in life?

August 14: Acts 11 16-18

Key Verse: Acts 11 18
When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

Devotion:
We are living in times when Jews are being discouraged from living in certain countries in the world and they are finding hard times. Times when people are fighting Jews just because they are Jews. Hitler was just one of the many leaders that “had it in” for the Jews and took many of their lives; but he also had it in for Christians and took many more lives! We still hear of people fighting Jews and Christians just because they dare to be who they are.

Why the fighting against Christians? It comes down to what Jesus taught, what the Bible tells us: that Jesus came into the world to seek and to save everyone because they have done wrong against Him and against others. He came to be Saviour for everyone, not just Jews, not just people in so called Christian countries, everyone!

Many religions round the world will say that they are the only people that will be safe. Some teach about having many gods. Some teach about you being a god. Some teach about war and death. Others teach about love. But just as we are reminded there is only One God, we must also remember He foretold about people pretending to be gods and people corrupting the Word of God for their own devices.

If you want to be able to find the truth, then you must go back to the Bible and look up for yourself what God has said, done and promised for each one of us today. No matter how many people say they know better, the Bible is God’s Word and we need to hold it up as such. Yes interpretation has corrupted it in places, but when we study the whole word of God we find truth. Trust God and trust His word.

Points to Ponder:
Who do you like believing?

Do you listen to God’s Word?

August 13: Isaiah 37 14-20

Key Verse: Isaiah 37 17
Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.

Devotion:
How do you react when someone says something against God which you know is not true? Do you stand up and shout them down because you are so cross or do you try and take them aside to give them the truth and explain their errors? It is difficult not to get cross with people who are ignorant of God’s ways when it seems like they are being foolish; but it is not our task to judge people and make them feel like fools.

Hezekiah did not retaliate with letters to say how wonderful and strong God was, nor how God could destroy the Assyrians without Hezekiah even lifting his army. Hezekiah lifted up the words to God and prayed for justice to be done, not by the army or other gods but by the One True God of Israel!

Hezekiah did not ask if it was possible for God to do this or if it was God’s will to do this; he pleaded with God to deliver them from the hand of someone who dared to speak against God Himself. If we are going to come up against an enemy that frightens us or one who thinks nothing of God, we need to give the situation to God in faith and with confidence knowing He will provide justice.

God is faithful above and beyond our comprehension. He has delivered people from danger all throughout history. He has delivered me from danger. I know I can trust Him and I want to encourage each one of you to place your faith in Him because He is God of everything and not just God of the people who ask in the right way. Don’t limit your prayers because you are afraid He will not hear them or answer them. Lift up your prayers with confidence and purpose. Glorify God today!

Points to Ponder:
Do you live by God’s laws?

Do you know God has already chosen to love you?