August 2: 1 Corinthians 2 9-12
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 2 11
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
Devotion:
No matter how much we get to know and love other people, it does not change ours or their earthly intelligence. No matter how intelligent we are, we will not be able to read the minds of those people around us, even the ones we love. Yes we can get to learn what things they like, what they prefer and we can make intelligent guesses as to what they may be thinking about but that is all. How much of that are we going to retain when we die?
Man has been able to pass on knowledge from generation to generation by writing books, teaching and learning. That knowledge is spread through all walks of life and through all subjects. With the Internet, phones, radio and television, that knowledge can spread faster than we can talk, further than we had ever imagined and to many more people than we had imagined. But again, where does it all go? What use is it going to be if we are not learning the right things? What use is it going to be if we do not live forever?
If we are not good enough to being to know the thoughts of those around us, then how can we hope to get to know the thoughts of God? Well we can’t really. But he has given us so much in this world and through His scriptures we can make intelligent guesses as to what He would think of the things we do. Christ promised to give us the Holy Spirit and He does. That same Holy Spirit is the one who is able to know the thoughts of the people around us and even of the thoughts of God.
Is not our task then to listen to the Holy Spirit so we can understand God’s ways and God’s plan? Should we not be stopping all the things we do in our lives which distract us from God and listen to Him through His Spirit? The more intelligent we become the more we think we can pick up on the thoughts of others and God Himself. Don’t be fooled by the foolishness of pride…
Points to Ponder:
Do you regard yourself as intelligent?
What is the first thing that comes into God’s head?
August 1: Galatians 5 13-15
Key Verse: Galatians 5 15
But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
Devotion:
How many times have you asked someone, maybe even your parents, if you can do something without telling them the whole truth about what it is you actually want to do? We are given many rights in our lives, but if we stretch those rights beyond their real meanings, then we are not sticking to them – we may as well just go about breaking the rules – but what good would we be to anyone if we were to do that!
Christ has given us freedom and free will; but how we go about using that freedom and free will shows God and others whether we take Him seriously or not. Using our freedom against Christ is really not what God teaches us! Christ has Himself given us the commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves – we need to make sure that we treat others in the same manner as we expect others to treat us. Corruption within our Soul is literally soul destroying; just like a corrupt government or nation will bring down the whole country, so will we if we go up against ourselves and God.
Abusing liberty and freedom is working against ourselves; not only will we be eating at our souls as we go against what we know is right, so will we be eating at the souls of the people around us too. Think of it as being like a cannibal in that we are eating the people we love; once we start eating we may not want to stop until they are all but destroyed. Always stop when God says that is enough!
The Holy Spirit will be desperately trying to guide us through the minefields that we walk through each day; most probably cringing each time we take another step forward with our eyes closed! It is far too easy for us to return to our sinful ways and continue without caring for others. Taking a stance and standing up for those around you in Christ's name may be the hardest step to take, but you will never look back after that first step!
Points to Ponder:
Do you really love someone?
Would you actually eat them to death?
July 31: Ecclesiastes 11 1-6
Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 11 1
Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days.
Devotion:
How do you decide how generous you should be to others? Do you base it upon how well off you are, how poor they are, or do you judge the person themselves? God's love for us is like a large rain cloud emptying itself upon the land; it does not rain on the garden which needs rain but not on the patch full of weeds, it rains everywhere. God's love goes out to everyone and in equal measure. His rewards may well be very different between you are your neighbour!
In our days of drought we long to see rain give life back to the ever drying soil. We don’t limit that longing just for our back yard but to the whole country! We should aim for the same with God’s love and the entire earth. But far too long we forget about how we should act towards others; you know, that thing called Christian love! We could never live up to the love that God has for us, but we can make a huge difference in the love we show others! If we don’t share what we have we should not expect others to share what they have. When we show others respect and love, things begin to change for us and for all the people around us.
What we should not do is to blandly go out and give to everyone we see. What we are directed to do is to firstly give of our own possessions (cast your bread...) but also to be aware of our surroundings when we are giving out. Just like a person sowing seeds should not sow on the road, we should sow God’s word where it will take root. We should also harvest at the right time when it is dry or we risk losing everything!
Giving out of love will allow us to discern where gifts will make the most impact. God knows exactly where our giving will make the most difference so we should listen for His calling and His directions.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you help friends?
How often do you try to help others?
July 30: 2 Kings 2 19-22
Key Verse: 2 Kings 2 21
Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’”
Devotion:
How many times do we have to be reminded about our lack of faith, or about how we fall short of God's Works? We can use the Old Testament times as a very good example of how we think when compared to men who put all their faith and trust in God. Elisha was one of those men who wholly trusted God. He was a man who did not need to be reminded of God's awesome power or of his duty to God. He listened for God continually and when God spoke to him, he obeyed immediately.
When we look at our lives, we often look at situation and think about what is right – but what we end up doing is not always what is right, but what we think is going to be easier for us to handle! We have the ability to be able to take any situation and lower it to the point where we can do it with ease or any way as long as it is our own way!
Despite the words that Elisha had spoken to the Children of Israel, they still questioned Elisha when they thought that it would be better to do something “safe”. They called on Elisha to do something because they probably did not have enough courage and faith to ask God in expectation of Him performing a miracle. What Elisha did was quite extraordinary. He took salt and dumped it in the water! Have you ever tried to drink sea water or gargle with salt water? Yet what happened was that the water was purified – not because of it having had a huge amount of salt dumped in it, but because that is what God did.
God does answer our prayers. He listens to what we have to say from the inside and answers our prayers through our honesty. As long as we listen He may well ask us to do something we don’t expect either! If we ask will full reverence, then that is How God will answer. Why do you think it always looks like God answers our cries? Just maybe it is because those are the times that we are most sincere with our prayers. If we made sure that we were sincere with all our requests, we could be certain of a good response!
Points to Ponder:
Do you ask people to do something just to check if they will do it?
Are you testing God or believing in Him?
July 29: Luke 18 35-43
Key Verse: Luke 18 39
Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Devotion:
Have you ever wanted to shout out to someone even though all the people around you are telling you to keep quiet? I think everyone's answer would be a guarded “depends on who it is” But what if you cannot see who it is and are just depending on those around you saying who it is? That then starts to take on the realms of faith.
Our faith is the firm belief in something that we cannot see, something that we believe but others will say we cannot prove. It is up to us to have faith in our belief and to do what is required to make sure our faith continues. Satan is going to be close by trying to persuade us to not call out all the time. He is going to give us excuse after excuse about why we should not call out and about how our prayers will not get answered or even heard; but if we have faith enough to believe God will hear us, then He will be answering your prayers!
When we feel down, we may well feel like a beggar, sitting out of the way where people have shoved us aside. We may well feel like nobody is ever going to take any notice of us and that we don't have much to live for. But if we are willing to call out to Christ, He is willing to be our Saviour and take us away from our lowly position. He is willing to bring us out of the gutters and keep us by His side. If we are willing to call out His name when we are surrounded by people who want to keep us quiet, then He will be willing to call us out of the crowd which wants to keep us in the gutter!
These people could see Jesus existed, but still they were not willing to call upon Him to be saved – they had doubts with what they saw. But the blind man had no doubts, he knew in his heart what was true and called for that truth. We know Christ exists because of history books and the Bible, but our faith in what He can do for us (personally) is not written anywhere. Our faith allows God to see we love Him and His love for us is not going to be in vain!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like making a fool of yourself?
Will you trust the REAL God?