January 9: 1 Corinthians 4 1-5
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 4 2
Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
Devotion:
When was the last time you thought of yourself as a servant or steward for God? No, not that passing sentence where you tell others that you work for God or that one where you say you are a servant of The Lord Most High… Really, when did you actually admit to being a proper servant? What is the role of a servant? What is the role of a steward? Yes they are different roles, very different, but I would like you to think of yourself in the servant role so you can appreciate the steward role.
A servant is someone who does things for another person or other people. If you are employed by someone then you are an employee and you do the work because you are paid to do the work. If most of us look properly at the role we play in our churches then we have to admit we are employees and not servants because a servant is not necessarily going to be paid to do the work. A servant is told what to do and they have to listen and do what is asked of them. An employee is normally paid to think and do a job as best they can. The mark of a good servant is one that is accepted and one who is trusted to reliably do the work without questioning.
A steward on the other hand is a person who is given responsibility over something. That person is expected to look after whatever they have been given to the best of their ability. They may be paid for the position or they may just be required to cover the position. But their task is to do the best with what they are given. We are described here by Paul as being stewards of God’s Word. We have to look after it as best we can. This does not mean burying it in the sand or in a container in the middle of the desert so it will last but giving it out and sharing it to ensure it grows in people’s hearts and not left to slowly rot!
Are you really being a good servant to God by listening to what He has asked and doing it without question? Are you really being a good steward of His Word by sharing it and making it grow in people’s hearts?
Points to Ponder:
Do you like sharing?
Do you share God?
January 8: Proverbs 28 12-14
Key Verse: Proverbs 28 13
He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
Devotion:
How foolish a life we lead! How we think we can hide the sin and shame that we bring upon ourselves. And yet after warnings and after being found out and after punishment… we go back for more… How evil is the tempter who tempts us back there and makes us forget our sin. How rotten are we to give in and take the bait… And yet Christ is waiting there to forgive and forget when we humble ourselves before Him and ask for his forgiveness.
It truly is an amazing love that God has for us that He should want to forgive and forget even though He has seen us disobey and seen us walk away from Him! But His love extends further than the longest path we stray down because He is always there to encourage us back. We are the fools is we do not believe. We are the fools is we do not recognise His call. We are the fools is we do not see the warning signs.
God continues to show us the signs and even shows us wonders in this world to allow us to see that His power and might go far beyond anything we can recognise. If we but open our eyes to the wonders around us and the love He pours out over us, we too will see the marvellous works He has done to secure our lives under His wings.
When we harden our hearts and give up loving we will not see what God is doing around us; but when we fall reverent on our knees we can see His awesome love in our lives. It take time for us to stop so the world will stop spinning. It takes time for us to get off and gain our balance again. It takes time to stop and see the love that is all around us – especially the people God puts in our lives! Praise God for those He brings into our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Is your head still spinning?
Will you stop to listen for God?
January 7: Genesis 18 9-15
Key Verse: Genesis 18 15
But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
Devotion:
How do you react when you do not believe something someone else says to you? Do you laugh out loud or try to keep it to yourself? I’m sure that most of us would at least try to be kind to the other person’s feelings and keep the laugh to ourselves… But what if that other person could hear that silent laugh? What if they could read you like a book and knew exactly what was going through your mind?
Well God can do exactly that! He reads our innermost thoughts as if we were speaking everything out loud to Him. There is nothing that we can hide from Him… and yet He chose to love us – even when He could read our minds! I find it staggering that we have a God who loves us that much and one who has no limits to the things He can do for us and even to the things that He does do for us!
We would be forgiven for not being too friendly to someone when we hear them gossiping about us or saying bad things about us to other people. We would be forgiven for not liking those people who come up to us and say horrible things to our faces! God is different! He has every right to take what we say and think and to use it against us. He has every right to bring those things to mind when we ask Him for a favour or two… and yet He does not keep bringing up all the terrible things we have done in our lives. His love for us means He puts those things to one side in order that we may have another chance!
There is nothing our God will not forgive if we bring it to Him with a humble or heavy heart. He is not going to ignore us or give us the silent treatment just because we laughed at something He said or a promise He made to us. God forgives and forgets even though He is fully justified to blame us for the things we do wrong!
Points to Ponder:
Do you love someone enough to forgive them for everything?
Do you know how much God loves you?
January 6: Acts 26 4-8
Key Verse: Acts 26 8
Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?
Devotion:
I do like the way that Paul take on King Agrippa here with a certain style in the way he speaks. Paul must have had quite the name with the people as the one to avoid if you believed in Christ. Paul was the one who was hell bent on destroying the Christians and their ways. He took time out to find them and to destroy them in all sorts of ways… and yet he knew that God turned him around so he would serve Christ instead of trying to kill Christians!
Paul then uses this in some way as a comparison to show Agrippa that if God can change him and his ways, then God can do anything! This is not by way of boasting that Paul is doing this but by way of comparison for someone like Agrippa to understand. If we have lived a sheltered life then we will struggle to understand evil ways and anything we have not come across before.
Just because we have not come across the righteous ways and Christ’s path does not mean He is not true and not our Messiah; it just means we have not seen the truth yet! Just because many people do not believe in Christ does not make Christ some piece of fiction! Christ is real. God is real. We need to be reminded of that sometimes because we are too focused on the ways of the world to see what is right before our own eyes.
This is what Paul is trying to show Agrippa as well – just because there are people who make a huge difference (like Paul used to) does not mean that Christian ways do not exist. It just means that Christian ways are being hidden by many people who wish to do many things wrong! We need to lift up the ways of God, the ways of Christ and make sure people get to learn the truth so they have a better chance at getting to see the whole picture like Paul was looking at now.
Points to Ponder:
Do you still blinker yourself?
Will you trust Christ more?
January 5: John 5 16-23
Key Verse: John 5 21
For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
Devotion:
Jesus seemed to be quite clear about who He was and who God the Father was; and yet we still argue about who and what God is and if Jesus Christ was God or not. Christ had power to do anything, not because He was special but because he relied totally on God the Father to enable Him as a human to do the things He was able to do. That in itself demonstrates true faith.
So why can’t we just all agree that Jesus Christ came to earth as the Messiah, came to save us from our sins. Died to pay the debt we owe for the sins we commit, was buried, and rose again defeating Satan once and for all? Because that would mean we have to acknowledge all sorts of things as being true and turn away from our sinful lives – we would no longer have any doubt and would have to follow Christ. Man is still bent on having his own way even after all of this was shown to us on a plate…
When we get to do things our own way we change the way we look at things and tend to make our own rules so we can get more of the things we like and have to do less of the things we don’t care much for. This is true in all walks of life so don’t think you are unique in some way because you run off and sin still… We allow things like that into our lives and tend to change the rules so we can get more if we like them. That is human nature. It is not how God created us but rather how we have learned to do things; the more we change the rules the greater we think we are and the more we run off to sin.
Christ has the choice as to whether He will allow us to continue sinning or not. If we say sorry for the things we do wrong, He is faithful to forgive us. Ironic then that we choose to changes the rules when Christ re-enforces the rules. Very sad that we tend to break so many rules knowing this as well! Give God a fighting chance in your life by allowing Him to change you one step at a time.
Points to Ponder:
Do you recognise God’s power?
Do you still doubt Him?