July 8: Jeremiah 29 10-14
Key Verse: Jeremiah 29 11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Devotion:
Do you remember the book of Jeremiah for all the bad things and warnings that were written down against Israel? So many times we get caught up in all the bad things happening in our lives that we miss out on the good points or we cling to anything that seems like a good idea and end up in more trouble than we started with. The trouble Israel were in was because of their disobedience toward God; it was self-inflicted.
But even though they were facing a time of great trial whilst being exiled in Babylon, God was still giving them advice as to how to get through it and how to prosper. Just because we may be going through tough times ourselves does not mean that all the doors have been closed permanently, it just means they are closed for now. God still has plans for us and still wants us to continue on doing His work, but we have to watch out because of the false prophets and teachers around us.
God has set in motion things in our lives and the only thing which will stop those things happening is us and the choices we make. We can either look for the best ways at the time and try to work our way through things doing what we think is best all the time, or we can trust God to deliver on the promises He made to us in the beginning. It does not mean we close down and wait for God to do everything. We need to continue moving forward, but listening to God’s instructions!
Jeremiah was telling the people of Israel they had to continue on with their lives and to prosper so they would be ready for their triumphant return. They had to follow His commands to make sure it happened, turning away from the false prophets who may give easy directions or things to fill the desires of the people’s hearts rather than those to fulfil God’s word.
Points to Ponder:
Are you looking for easy ways out?
Do you follow God’s ways in troubled times?
July 7: 2 Corinthians 10 7-11
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 10 10
“For his letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.”
Devotion:
How different are you in talking face to face with people as opposed to writing them emails, sending texts or writing letters? I know I seem to be very different when face to face with people because I lack confidence in my ability to say the right things on the spur of the moment. The more I learn to trust God to give me the words the more I seem to cope with it – but I still lack confidence in myself.
God gives each of us different ways of handling things and He allows the right people into our lives at the right times for us to learn how to move on to the next step or stage in our lives. I have learned so much over the last decade of writing devotionals and try to apply what I have learned into my own life; I still wonder how God is able to give me insight into things when I think I cannot cope myself! I know God prepared me to write these devotions by allowing me to find someone who was writing devotions and emailing them out around 18 years ago, someone I grew with until they moved on to do ministry in a different way; that’s when I started writing them for myself and others.
If you met me you may well think I am not at all the type of person you expected me to be – just as Paul is intimating here in this passage. God gives us gifts to use at the right time. For some He gives the gift of being able to speak the right things whilst for others He gives the gift of being able to write things down… the rest of us just get along and try. I tend to write what is on my heart as I read through the Bible and through what others say about the Bible. If you met me I may eventually get round to saying the right thing!
I am able to love God more each day by living my life with Him. I am able to draw closer to Him by writing down my feelings in my word processor and placing them on the Internet for others to join me in my journey. I hope and pray each message goes out to reach into your hearts and allows you to draw closer to Him as well.
Points to Ponder:
How different is your life to what is on paper?
Do you remember God is listening to your heart?
July 6: Hebrews 12 7-11
Key Verse: Hebrews 12 9
Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
Devotion:
How do you cope when things all seem to be against you? Do you wish you could be as strong as other people and rise up to the challenges of life and breeze through them? I used to think I would be a better person if I were able to just get on with things and get over them, but God has given me a compassionate heart which allows me to feel more of the issues other people have which in turn allows me to deal with issues compassionately. Yes I do get things wrong and I do get too involved with some things, but I have learned that unless I am willing to get involved I cannot help as God intended me to help.
So does this mean I am much stronger now and can cope with more? No. It means I have learned when to ask God for more help to cope with the strife as it comes in. I’m sure we can all remember being told God will not allow anything into our lives we cannot endure, but that does not seem to help much when we are the ones facing the trouble! Much of the learning process is going to be us listening to God when He tells us off for doing something else wrong once again! Do not crawl up in a ball or hide your head under the sand when God is trying to tell you something; stand up tall and listen.
When we show our elders respect and listen to their instruction we tend to learn things and grow stronger. Why then should we not stop and listen to God when He tries to teach us? Just because He is God and we cannot see Him does not mean we should ignore Him! Trust God but also listen to Him…
If we are going to find the peace we think God is going to give to us, then we had better start listening to Him as He directs us toward that peace and away from the danger. We may not like God telling us to go in the other direction but He is telling us that for a reason – the peace is in the other direction! We may have to learn how to get there before we are turned round. We may have to learn by getting into deep water first. Trust God and learn to go toward the blessings and peace.
Points to Ponder:
How many times have you failed to find the peace by yourself?
Will you trust God’s instructions?
July 5: Jeremiah 12 5-6
Key Verse: Jeremiah 12 5
If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?
Devotion:
Sometimes the best way to learn something is to jump in at the deep end; but that can be a very frightening experience and may put some people off before they begin… Jeremiah was complaining and God’s response was not to give him what he was asking for but to make him stop and think about what was happening. God may well allow something into our lives so we can learn how to cope with it before we have to get involved with something even harder to cope with.
God is not going to dump you in the deep end without giving you a way of handling the situation first of all. We may not see it that way because we are far too worried about what is going wrong we do not look for the things God is trying to allow us to see. Jeremiah did not have an easy job to do and if we think our work for God is going to be a walk in the park then maybe we have not seen the state of the world around us.
The world we live in is broken and needs fixing. Jeremiah was given instruction to show the leaders what should be done to get back into a proper relationship with God. They had gone astray and Jeremiah was to be the one to point them back in the right direction. Now I don’t know if you have ever had to point people back in the right direction but there are two types of people. The first type are those who know they are lost and are asking direction; they tend to listen and follow direction. Then there are the people who refuse to believe they are lost and will not listen but tell you how wrong you are instead; these are the type of people Jeremiah had to face!
God wants us to be able to do the tasks He sets for us and in order for us to be able to do them He may well get us to go through a few trials of our own in order to be strong enough to run the race and complete the task He asks. If we just give up because we think it is too hard or not worth the effort then we have failed in what God has asked of us. Listen to God and learn every step of the way!
Points to Ponder:
Do you back off when nobody seems to listen?
What has God asked you to do?
July 4: Mark 6 1-6
Key Verse: Mark 6 4
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”
Devotion:
Can you imagine going round to different places and everybody looks up to you and says how wonderful you are, and then going back home and being treated as a fraud because they have always seen you are normal? I have had the privilege of being treated as a nobody and it is not what you may think it to be like. Yes it may get you down because you are expecting more but being able to be anonymous and just blending in with the crowd is good sometimes.
But what happens when people do not believe you can do things that you have been doing all round the country just because they have never seen you do those things before? Jesus was facing unbelief and rejection because the people closest to Him were the ones rejecting Him. Just because we know we can do things and others may know we can, does not mean that the people who have seen us grow up will believe it.
We get stuck in the way we do things because it seems safe to stay doing the same things and not stepping out into new ventures. We don’t believe in our own worth because the people around us don’t believe we can do things. This is quite normal unfortunately and something we have to be aware of otherwise it will get us down. Sometimes we just have to get on and do things in spite of all the rejection and lack of support.
But going off and doing things should not be done alone. Jesus sent out the disciples in pairs and not alone. We do need someone by our sides. We do need someone who is going to lift us up when we feel rejected or dejected. We do need a positive spin on things when we are caught up in the negative things. God made us to be like Him and He is certainly not alone! God, Christ and the Holy Spirit always work together. Take note!
Points to Ponder:
Do you go and do things because nobody else does?
Do you take God with you?