August 7: 2 Peter 1 12-15
Key Verse: 2 Peter 1 13
Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you
Devotion:
As Peter got closer to the end of his life he continued to try and make sure the people around him got to hear the gospel as much as possible. He never gave up telling people about God and about all Jesus had done for us all. He knew his task was to tell people about Christ as long as he had breath to say things.
Does this mean we are letting God down by not standing up on the street corner and telling people about Christ? Does this mean we should all be standing up in front of congregations around our countries telling people about Christ? Does this mean we are not obeying God by not standing up and talking about Him? No. There are so many more ways we can tell people about Christ other than opening our mouths and speaking.
The way you act and react with the people around you is a bigger statement about your Christ than the words which come out of your mouth in church. We are told it is not the things we do that count for salvation and that is true. Our salvation is not based on the things we do, but when we go back out into the world it is the things we do other people are going to be noticing. If we go back out acting the same way as we did before we came to Christ then the world is going to think we have not changed from the old person we used to be.
If we want people to notice Christ has made a difference in our lives then we have to show them He has and act accordingly. I despair at people who claim to be Christians and act in exactly the same way as the people around them as they try to fit in to the world. Christ has set us apart from this world and we need to tell people this is what has happened. The best way to tell people is to act accordingly. Continue to be charitable to people around you even when they are not toward you. Show Christ’s love through your actions and stop complaining about the world treating you badly!
Points to Ponder:
Do you complain when people don’t treat you like a Christian?
Are you actually acting like a Christian?
August 6: Romans 12 1-8
Key Verse: Romans 12 2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Devotion:
Yes, we are still living on Earth. Yes, we are still bound by the laws of the nations. Yes we are still bound by many things whilst we live in our mortal bodies. But one thing that we must never forget, is that when we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we must make sure that we show Him that we care by following His Will! There is no way that we can do that alone! Imagine, if you will, signing up for the Royal Air Force and then being given “the keys to a brand new jet” without any training! There is just no way that that is going to happen.
We may be given a chance of flying with someone and even being able to sit in the pilot’s seat, but without getting to know what you should be doing you will remain a trainee and not a pilot. God wants us to learn to fly and to pass on that knowledge to other people. As Christians we are given a personal instructor who will be with us all the time giving us guidance in every walk in life. It is up to us whether we listen to the instructor and act on His advice.
We are the ones that have to learn a whole new way of living otherwise we will never be able to encourage others to get it right! We are the ones who have to learn from our instructors. Each of us are going to learn different aspects at different rates because we are inherently different. Allow your best qualities to come forward and to be used by God for His glory!
Your instructor is with you at all times, trying to get you to do things that way that God wants you to. We are the ones with the abilities given to us and we are the ones who can use those abilities to the best advantage... we're just a little deaf and a little stubborn at times!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are a good listener?
Are you actually listening to God’s instructions?
August 5: Genesis 3 8-13
Key Verse: Genesis 3 9
Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
Devotion:
Ok, let’s set the scene. You’re in your classroom and everyone is whispering about what just happened a short while ago with the whispering getting louder and louder as people get more excited. The classroom door gets bashed open and in bursts the teacher with his voice raised: “Who is responsible for the graffiti in the hallway?”
You could almost draw the line between the loud whispering and the deathly hush that now has descended on the room. Nobody is moving. Nobody is making a sound. Some are even holding their breath! We all know who did it because they still have the paint on their hands but nobody is going to volunteer any information at all in case they get their own heads bitten off, or so it seems!
Still nobody moves or says anything. So the teacher quickly and quietly rolls in a TV screen and plugs it in. Up flashes the picture and you all realise the whole incident has been captured on tape by the safety cameras which had been installed a few months ago! Now there is absolutely no doubt who it was and what they did. The problem is that you have been put in the awkward place of withholding the truth now because you are also on screen, watching…
We can blame society and blame others and blame circumstances; we can even blame the makers of the paint brushes and the paint. But who should we be looking at? Who should we be looking up to? Should we really be covering up what we know is wrong, or should we be admitting to our guilt and moving forward in our lives? God does not require us to wear a tabard for the rest of our lives telling everyone what we did wrong, but we should admit it to Him before it gets us into deeper trouble! Be honest and open with God about everything in your life and not just the things you want others to know about. You cannot cover it up from God, so be honest now.
Points to Ponder:
Do you still cover up your wrongdoings?
Do you not see how God is trying to get you to admit it to Him?
August 4: Romans 8 1-8
Key Verse: Romans 8 8
So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Devotion:
I wonder what the Romans must have thought about this letter to them? How would you react if you were told that the life you are leading does not match up with the life God wants you to live and things look pretty bleak for you unless you change? Sometimes the truth is hard to accept because we have been living in a world for so long we don’t know anything different. That is the most dangerous time because we have grown comfortable with the things around us and feel no need to change.
God does not give up on us but continues to bring people through our lives who make a difference and who show us the others side of life once again. I know I have many people in my life both past and present who have shown me many facets of life with and without God. I thank God for the people He has brought through my life who have no concept of living a life with Christ and who have inadvertently shown me what life without Christ would be like… and I don’t like the look of it!
There have been a few times in my life where I have been about as far from God as I would ever like to be and looking back on those times scares me. There have been times when I have never felt so safe in His arms and I long for every day to be more like those. But the truth is that we live lives in our own ways. We live every day with Christ but we do not always make sure we know He is there. We live with Him and yet choose to ignore Him.
Let us take on board the words written to the Romans, no matter how depressing we may find them, and think about how we can change our lives to be more in line with the lives Christ would have us to live with Him. If we leave God out of our lives we cannot really please Him; we may bring a wry smile to His face as we do something good without knowing it, but to really make Him happy we need to make sure He is the centre of our lives.
Points to Ponder:
Can you make someone happy by ignoring them?
Are you ignoring God?
August 3: John 6 26-29
Key Verse: John 6 29
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
Devotion:
How many times have you asked God to show you a sign about something so you can believe? I know I have asked God on occasion and been very surprised at the result because He has opened my eyes to things I have not even been thinking of when I asked. Christ was showing the people He knew what was in their hearts and He wanted them to simply believe He had been sent by God to save the world. We can look back in our bibles and come to the conclusion Jesus was indeed sent by God, but the people did not have everything written down as clearly then as we have now.
And yet no matter how much we have written down we still ask God for signs and miracles just so we can believe or make our faith stronger. I keep telling myself I have to trust God more and continue to show my faith by displaying that trust; it’s not that easy when things fall down around you and you are seemingly left with very little to hope in. I do not believe God is constantly testing us by taking things away and seeing how we stand up to our faith, but I do believe Christ continues to encourage us to simply believe in Him.
The disciples were told to go out into the world and heal people after they had learned how to trust Christ time and time again. Trust is often not something we switch on or off in our lives but rather built up over time through testing and through trials. It is the consistent outcome from those trials which we can believe in, but the trial do have to come first of all. I know I have learned not to ask for so many signs as I grow closer to Christ, but I still ask… because I’m still learning.
I know God answers my prayers and I know He is listening to all of them I lift up. I trust He is going to answer the ones I have asked in faith and I trust He knows the best timing in my life for those answers. Trust and faith are being built up in our lives each and every day through us believing in Christ and all He can do.
Points to Ponder:
Do you ask for signs?
What if you asked for greater faith?