March 20: Luke 5 27-32
Key Verse: Luke 5 31
Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Devotion:
It must have seemed very odd to the religious leaders that Jesus would go out of His way to mix with the sinful people instead of spending all His time with them. If we get into a position of authority or into a position of respect then we can get carried away and start to demand more attention from others just because we hold this new-found position in society. Jesus was nothing like that and reached out to the people that needed it rather than the people who wanted it!
Like so many things in our world it is not the people that want attention or respect the most that deserve it but the people who often show the most love and respect toward others. Jesus went out of His way on many occasions to make sure that He could show love and respect to people where others would not. In order to reach out to people we first have to be able to get them to know we are here and that we care for them or their situation.
Doctors are not here to care for the healthy people but to look out for those people who need medical advice or care; i.e. the sick. Medical doctors may get paid for the work they do but they are caring for the sick and not the healthy. Jesus did not get paid for the work He did because He was (and is) doing it out of love for each one of us. His love goes far deeper than anything we can understand – the world’s way does not accept that love because it is aimed at people who some think may not deserve that love.
No matter which way you want to look at this, Jesus was here to break the mould and challenge the way people looked at each other. The religious leaders had changed society to make it seem very civilized for the people they wanted in their groups. Jesus stopped and invited everyone in. That is the commission Christ gives us, to go out into ALL the world and share the Gospel with them.
Points to Ponder:
Who do you share Christ with?
Will you reach out to more people today?
March 19: John 17 20-26
Key Verse: John 17 23
I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Devotion:
This is one of those passages where I have to read it slowly and through a few times because my brain does not decipher any languages that quickly. Numbers I can get. Language takes me a while. But because God is explaining things to me as we go along I can get this passage. We had an awesome physical interpretation of this the other night in church… Imagine that you are a onesie and Christ is a person: Christ wants to climb inside you and zip you up totally just as you climb inside a onesie and zip it up covering yourself totally to keep warm.
I know it falls far short of what Christ does to us and in us but it brings home this picture that God wants to be in us so He can help us to stand up and be counted. Without Him inside of us we would collapse in a heap, but with Him in us we are alive!
Jesus does not just pray for those who have already believed but all of us in the future who are going to believe. He prays to the Father that we are going to be kept safe in His grip. That does not mean that nothing bad will ever happen to us again but that He will never let us go once we place our faith and trust in Him. This does not mean that we have to fight at keeping in His arms. This does not mean we have to do things over and over again to make sure we keep off the ground. It means He wants to hold us tight and forever.
I know that I try to live my life correctly but I also know that I fail in many counts as well because I see myself give in to things I should not and do the things I should not. But I know through all of this, though I embarrass myself in front of God, He is willing to forgive me when I admit that I am wrong. Actually He is willing to forgive me before I admit it, but it is when I admit it that He can forgive me. He will still present me to the Father without a blemish!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like curling up in your bed?
Imagine God embracing you more than your bed!
March 18: John 17 13-19
Key Verse: John 17 17
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
Devotion:
Jesus’ prayer to God in this chapter is so full of encouragement, grace, beauty and strength that we ought not ignore it. We have learned to lift up the Lord’s Prayer which is nice and short so we can remember it and yet so full of meaning. When Christ lifted up His prayers to God in Heaven it was not just a list of requests as we often do. It was not a list of complaints as we often do. It was not a list of wants and desires as we far too often do… it was honest and heartfelt and meant for us to hear!
Jesus spoke these words here on earth so we could hear them and be filled with Joy at the content and meaning of His words. He prayed for us! He came and gave us so much, bringing us a perfect birth, amazing love, a beautiful life and amazing words. He gave us new scripture that we may understand His ways. He gives us hope by reminding us that it is not just Him thinking of us but God taking notice of us too!
He pleads with God the Father to make sure we are presented faultless before the throne because of what He is about to do. He then goes ahead to give His life for us so we can be presented without blemish, without fault, without blame before God! But in order to get this far we have to understand how this is all possible and without our bibles we simply would not get the story.
So He lifts us His words, our bibles, and asks that we can receive the words as the truth, hold them in our hearts and believe them to the end. With those words we can understand He has paid for our sins. With those words we can receive the Joy He wants us to have because we now know this is all been done for us. What an awesome God; that He goes so far just for us. What an awesome God who lays down His life for ours. Believe and receive!
Points to Ponder:
Do you trust Christ?
Do you receive Him?
March 17: Hebrews 13 1-6
Key Verse: Hebrews 13 5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Devotion:
Living a good life should be a consequence of loving God and loving others. Once you can get your head round the fact that loving other people is quite normal because it is a different kind of love to loving a partner, then you can move on to treating others in the right manner because you do love them. It is also right and proper to make friends and invite strangers round so you can get to know them. Getting to know people leads to friendships which leads to greater love for your friends and neighbours.
I love the fact that the apostle writes to remind us that God works through many ways and has sent angels to sup with people before, such as Abraham. The very thought of entertaining someone God has sent to you is such an awesome idea that it makes me want to go out and invite all manner of people in for dinner! But it should not just be because we want something out of the chance meeting that we invite others in. It should be because we want to give back to others what some have given to us.
If we can show half the kindness to others that some have shown to us the world will be a better place. By showing kindness we can brighten someone else’s life; especially if they have been in any sort of trouble, sadness or other bad situation. We should aim to have right and proper relationships with others and not to run lustfully after those we like the look of. Love runs deep and needs to be nurtured and kept right.
Being happy with all that God allows into your life is not just a mark of respect for God but will allow you to enjoy your life so much more with Him. God has already promised us that He will never leave us or forsake us who believe in His Son. So be bold and tell the world that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is the one who looks after us!
Points to Ponder:
Are you content?
Have you realised what God has given you?
March 16: Psalms 133 1-3
Key Verse: Psalms 133 1
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Devotion:
Living in unity with others is a true blessing; living in strife with anyone is hard going every step of the way! So why do we do it? Why do we cause each other strife and pain? Because we don’t all understand each other nor do we ‘get’ each other. We are different and we should recognise that and live with those differences, accepting each other as being different.
Those precious moments in life that can be remembered forever are the ones we hold dearest to our hearts. Those are the ones that allow us to remember just how good life can be. When you go back in your own life you will see that many of those moments are with God which should bring about a realisation of how good times can be with God in your life. The psalmist describes the special mix of spices and oil God described to Moses for use in ceremonies which ran down the beard of the person who was being anointed. A special moment for anyone who is being anointed.
The psalmist also describes the dew on Hermon which is by all accounts something to behold with most reports saying it is would be as wet as if it was raining during the night. Considering this is in a very dry place, that is pretty special as well. Again something that would be remembered and treasured by the person involved or present.
So being in unity with other people should be as special as these things described! And it is! I find it amazing to be able to go to Christian festivals or camps where we can be together with so many Christians and enjoy our time celebrating and glorifying God. The joy of being able to worship God is just so very special and something we will all look forward to in Heaven where we will be able to worship our awesome God for all eternity!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like worshipping God?
Do you look forward to eternity?