June 18: Revelation 7 13-17
Key Verse: Revelation 7 14
And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Devotion:
It is difficult for us to understand what Heaven is going to be like because we only know words that can describe what earth is like; so the words used here are the writers best attempt at describing the unknown in words we can relate to. Even though we may be living in times of tribulation and though we sin and do our own thing, we always have a door upon which we can knock to find God and forgiveness!
It is the blood of our Saviour that washes our sins away and not the blood of any number of sacrifices we attempt to offer in His stead. Nothing but the blood of Christ can wash away every speck of sin we have in our lives, and once washed away it stays away. These people had robes which were totally white – washed clean and forever clean. It may not look exactly like a gathering of people all dressed in white flowing dresses when we get to Heaven, but the symbolic description gives us hope.
The New Jerusalem is described in various ways in the bible to show us how special it is going to be. We treasure things like gold and fine gems because of their looks and pureness; our place in Heaven is going to be surrounded by great things which are pure and beyond our imaginations. We will be in the presence of our God and King, not just for a day trip or single visit, but for all eternity where we will be able to say thank you in any way we can.
We may face horrible things while here on earth as we see society and our physical world literally fall apart at times, but nothing will be there in Heaven to bring us down, nothing will be there to make us cry, nothing will be there to make us sick. Christ is not only our Salvation but is also the one who will look after us for all eternity in Heaven. What a glorious day it will be when we can be with our Saviour in such a place!
Points to Ponder:
What do you think Heaven will be like?
How much love will you be able to show Christ in Heaven?
June 17: Romans 11 19-24
Key Verse: Romans 11 24
For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
Devotion:
If your read through the bible as if it is a novel you may well miss out on most of the symbolism used throughout God’s word. Each of the writers of the epistles uses various means to engage the people whom the letters are written to. If the letters were written as an essay or transcript of things previously said we may well get tired of reading the letters before we get to the end of them; but because of the way they are written, we are engaged by the words.
Each letter reaches out to many different types of people but always reaching out in love and support for fellow Christians. If we were all the same we would be able to all receive a single style of writing and all get the same story out of it. But because we are different we all get to hear something slightly different to the other people around us. In this case I may well get a different take on this letter – but by discussing things openly we all get to learn something new.
I am certainly no gardener and can kill almost any plant in a very short time without even trying! What really surprises me is when a plant can grow in my house! So the intricacies of how grafting works is lost on me, but the intent is clearly read by me! It is not the biological methods or results here I see but the symbolic meaning of these words. God has every right to cut us down because of the lack of love we show Him just as He has every right to cut down the Israelites for rejecting Him…
Instead, any person who is willing to trust in Him will be given amazing and everlasting support. All those rejecting Him should expect nothing less than being cut off whether they are Jews or anything else. God chose the people of Israel to be the example, but His law extends to all people and He wants all people to get to know and trust in Him. As soon as we put our faith and trust in Christ He brings us into the church and feeds us from the root of the church, nothing less than the best.
Points to Ponder:
Do you know how grafting works?
Do you know Christ wants to graft you into the church?
June 16: Psalms 92 5-7
Key Verse: Psalms 92 5
O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.
Devotion:
Trying to fathom God out is not something we should try and do unless we want to send ourselves a bit nuts… Yes we should try to understand God’s ways, get closer to Him so we can get to know Him, understand the bible and be able to share this wisdom… but actually understanding God is way beyond anything the whole world could accomplish even if we were able to all think together at the same time! (you know what I mean)
If we presume to know what God is capable of, is planning or wants to do then we are only fooling ourselves. We cannot hope to get inside someone else’s head never mind the mind of God! I know many of us find it very difficult to understand other people and to even begin to think like other people so why should we try to second guess God and His ways? Simple answer… we shouldn’t!
As soon as we accept that God is actually all powerful and that His ways are beyond our imaginations then we can begin to have the kind of faith He wants us to have. When we learn to trust Him even though we think things are impossible, when we place the impossible situations in His hands and trust Him, then we move closer to getting to know the real God of Heaven and Earth! We will always struggle with the concept of the rich people getting richer, the poor getting poorer, the earthquakes, the storms and general chaos of this world we live in; but that is not God forcing things upon us…
How many people have gone ahead and built their homes on ground that is not suitable even though history has shown us it is not suitable? How many people go ahead with their own ideals even though they have been warned against such things? We tend to make our own choices no matter what the advice; and much of the advice we get is probably good advice – but we ignore it through our own choice! Don’t try and blame God for something you chose! If we want to get to know anything we should try to get to know our own minds first of all, and trust God with the things He can do!
Points to Ponder:
Do you always make good choices?
Are you trusting God or your own choices?
June 15: 2 Timothy 3 10-17
Key Verse: 2 Timothy 3 12
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution
Devotion:
One of the things Paul was trying to teach Timothy whilst he was learning to teach others about Jesus being the Son of God was the hardships he would have to face. But no matter what hardships we should have to face in the name of Jesus, none of it should turn us away from believing the bible. Yes some of it is hard to understand whilst we are still young and green in the gospel, but the more we are able to learn about Jesus, the closer we get to be with Him and the stronger we become in the wisdom Christ wants us to have.
Whilst there may be arguments about what should be in the bible and what should be left out of it, the fact remains we need to know as much of the truth as we can learn so we can get to know all we need to know to make us useful for Christ. If we try to teach ourselves we will never be able to lift ourselves higher than our own understanding, but when we trust in God we can learn more and get to know Him better each day.
Many people spend their lives in church because they grow up with parents who always take them to church; but until each one of us makes the choice to believe the scriptures, we are nothing more than a bunch of words living in a world of corruption. But when we get to know Christ we get to learn a whole set of truths God has ordained us to hear.
Whilst we get to know more we will also get to know a lot more people who just turn their backs against Christ all the time. Those people are the ones who will gently lead us away from Christ and allow him to throw seeds into our lives which will slowly eat away at our souls. Christ alone is the goal we need to aim for and the truth we accept should only come from God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. God made sure we had the right people in the right places to get the words written down for us to learn. I thank God daily we have His words written down!
Points to Ponder:
What do you struggle with most as a Christian?
Are you looking for advice through God’s Word?
June 14: Proverbs 4 20-27
Key Verse: Proverbs 4 21
Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
Devotion:
If you wanted to keep something valuable safe, where would you keep it? Would you trust it into somebody else’s care or would you try to keep a close eye on it for yourself? Would you keep it out in the open or surround it with something strong to protect it as best as possible? Each of us will have our own ways of answering these questions because we probably come up with our own ways of protecting the things we love; the author chooses to keep God’s wisdom deep inside his own heart.
I’m not one to go and buy something unique or rare and then keep it as a museum piece that cannot be used in the way it was designed to be used. I would rather see something used as it was designed. God did not create us to be kept on a shelf or tucked away from all the danger and trouble in the world. He created us to live in this world and to be able to make our ways through it to Him. Our instruction manual is the bible, God’s word.
Instruction manuals are designed to be read and to be followed. That may mean changing the way we think we should work to fit in with the instructions held in it. If we learn the instruction manual we can then apply it more easily and also be able to face things we have not faced before with more confidence knowing we will have an idea what we should be doing.
Keeping to those instructions can be difficult especially when we want to run off and do our own thing, but because we know them as the instructions for life, we should follow them as best we can. Turning away from the ways of the world and turning toward God’s ways will not just encourage us but also bring glory to God as others see us working in His ways instead of our own. Sticking with what God gives you and keeping to the path He shows us will always be what is best for us.
Points to Ponder:
What is the safest place you know?
Will you keep God’s word safer?