February 28: Psalms 125 1-3
Key Verse: Psalms 125 1
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
Devotion:
It is amazing to read through the Old Testament and see so many references to how much God through Christ protects us. The fact that these words have been written hundreds of years before Christ came to earth in human form just goes another step forward in reminding us of God’s plan right from the start. How often we do forget because we have spent one extra day not praying or one day not seeking God. And yet He chose to not be around for hundreds of years and still kept the promises as if they were said half an hour ago!
God surrounds us with His protection and continues to uphold righteousness in front of us so we should not have any reason to doubt Him – yet we still do. God continues to love us no matter what. He continues to build up protective layers around us. He continues to uphold every promise He ever made.
The picture of God being like mountains that surround us is greatly comforting! We find it good enough when we hide behind a small wall or even curtains… so having a mountain between us and our adversary should make us swell with confidence! But we still find fault in the protection because we do not see it in our own eyes but rather as something we have not yet understood. God is not asking us to understand why we have the protection we do have but just to rely on that protection, always.
God is building up the protection all the time and encouraging us through that protection being tested each day. When we see the protection holding we should be encouraged… yet what we focus on could be the fact that testing time have arrived and then we lose focus on the actual protection as we watch the temptations with fear instead. God is the only one we should fear!
Points to Ponder:
How do you lose courage?
What must God do to build your courage?
February 27: Mark 16 14-18
Key Verse: Mark 16 15
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature
Devotion:
When we lose sight of a target we do tend to give in or give up; for some reason so many of us need to have our eyes on the target to keep our minds focused on the task in hand. If we are encouraged to keep looking for the target as if it was just around the corner we may well be able to keep to the task in hand and not give up so easily. So it is little wonder that Jesus goes directly from telling the disciples off for giving up on the task to getting them to take ownership of the encouragement of others.
If we took a step back we would be able to see how we do give up and stop our jobs just because we slip up a little or forget what we were doing! It is not just us being totally useless or even us lacking faith… it is just a very human thing to do! That does not mean that it is right; just that it is human… Jesus knew the disciples were giving up because they had lost sight of the target so He is preparing them for covering that gap that others may not have to face it.
It is easy to say that we would not give up if we were constantly reminded but sadly that is not the case. Often we do get too used to being reminded and we then rely on those reminders rather than thinking for ourselves. I know that I rely far too much on my mobile phone as my alarm clock, diary, reminder, clock, address book, email appliance… and so many others things. What it cannot do is get me to read my Bible, pray to God and listen to God. Those are the things we have to take control of and make a part of our daily lives.
When we do make God a part of our daily lives we can then see when we fall short or recognise when we are losing touch. He then gives us the wherewithal to give up on the procrastination or temptations so we can continue focusing on Him instead. God wants us to be the constant encouragement others need to exercise themselves so they too become strong and live their own lives with God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you need reminders?
Are you trusting God?
February 26: Hebrews 2 1-4
Key Verse: Hebrews 2 3
how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him
Devotion:
Ignoring salvation just does not make sense! Ok, so we have an advantage in that we do know Christ died for us and that our sin debt has been paid for through what He alone achieved on the cross; or at least I am assuming you do because you’re reading this… You see, that is the type of attitude we get into in our lives. We assume people know all about salvation because we do and we try to remember it each day. We celebrate Easter and Christmas and try to glorify God when we can… but do we live the truth?
Salvation is not just the fact that Jesus died for our sins. Salvation is everything Jesus has done for us from coming to earth as a man, teaching, healing, living out the Gospel, laying His life down and rising from the grave to show us eternal life… it’s about the love that Jesus showed us through all of these things. Without that love it is all a bit hollow.
If we tell people about this love and know and believe it in our own hearts, then we need to show people how great this love is by living it as well. God wants us to fulfil the love He showed to us through loving one another. If we ignore that love or do not share it then we will look a bit shameful as we tell people one thing and live another. Christ lived His life just as He told us. He loved beyond measure. He did everything without limits.
Throughout time God has continued to show us His love which culminated in perfect salvation for us all. God performed miracles that set Him apart from anything else to prove His love – not that He needed to prove it but that we needed proof because of our lack of faith. Our doubt meant Christ having to pay an incredible price just to prove His love and commitment. Don’t ignore what God has done, live it and love.
Points to Ponder:
Does your life reflect your way?
Is that way God’s way?
February 25: Philippians 3 12-16
Key Verse: Philippians 3 13
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead
Devotion:
One thing the apostle learned was that there was a whole lot more to learn about Christ and about God. No matter how much of the law he knew from his past and no matter how much he learned since getting to know God, there was so much more to learn still. Nothing from his past was going to be able to stop him because Christ had set him free and Christ alone was his new strength. The only way forward was to embrace all that God was setting before him so he would have a clear path to walk.
When God calls us to do something it is not going to be without problem. If we jump up ahead of ourselves we will find that the direction we go off in may not be the same direction that God has asked us to go. Listening to God every step of the way and allowing Him to direct you is the only thing keeping you going in the right direction! Does this mean I am? No, I make mistakes just like many other people. I don’t listen to God just like many others too. The apostle had issues with listening until God made it plain and clear! Do you want God to have to be brutally honest with you?
I would rather try and listen so I can have a good relationship with God. I certainly don’t want to intentionally upset Him just because I want my own way; but I know that there will come a time when I do make mistakes and when I do I will try to remember to come back to God asking forgiveness.
When we do listen we find out just how much God loves what we can do. When we do obey God we find out how much more He wants to share His love with us, not as a slave-driver thrusting His way forward with slaves, but as a loving Father encourages us forward to do what is right. When our loving Father sees how we want to please Him, He rewards us in ways we don’t expect.
Points to Ponder:
DO you expect the expected?
Why not trust God for the unexpected?
February 24: Psalms 25 1-5
Key Verse: Psalms 25 4
Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.
Devotion:
How has God managed to get through all of this time without destroying the world time and time again? If we look at the way mankind has acted toward God we would be forgiven for thinking that we deserved to be obliterated once in a while! But God sees so much more than we can see because He is not limited by time and by our limited feelings. God sees how there are going to be people who do love Him no matter how evil those around them become. What a brilliant light those people are!
God continues to teach people the righteous ways to live and to encourage us all to live our lives with Him and not against Him. He does this despite our ability to get things wrong time and time again. He does this because of His amazing love toward us and because He can see past the small squabbles. We need to be able to take a bigger view of this world…
When we ask God to open our eyes it should be with faith and certainty that we ask, knowing He is going to open them so we can see so much more than the limited view we currently have. Why just look at the few evil things around us when we can open our eyes to the great things God is doing next door or even on the other side of the world! God does not limit His actions to the community we are currently living it – God works throughout the world!
We may not be able to understand the global picture as He can, but we certainly can trust Him to bring us the knowledge and wisdom we need to make that little difference here. It may be that one spark on this side of the world that will erupt into something glorious God has planned on the other side of the world. We don’t have to see all things all of the time; we just have to trust God with the things we can see here and now.
Points to Ponder:
Do you understand the global economy?
Why not focus on the local spiritual economy?