January 3: Matthew 6 25-34

Key Verse: Matthew 6 25
Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Devotion:
What do you do when someone says “Don’t worry”. It is not always easy to take those words to heart because we are after all in this position because we are worried about something or someone. I am a great one for comforting other people when they are anxious about things, but I don’t share my own worries as much as I should probably… Maybe I should face up to that this year! Don’t get me wrong, I do share my worries with God all the time, I just don’t get round to sharing them with people.

Sometimes it is good to talk to someone else and finding the right person or people who will listen and not judge is difficult. I am lucky I have a good number of people around me who care and let me know they care; but it is the people who actually do something about it I feel more apt to go to in time of need.

Sometimes we may well find the people around us are in more need of support than we are; who do we turn to then? Being able to always call on the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ is a privilege that many of us do forget until it is too late and everything is crashing down around us. Being able to lift up our prayers and supplications to God before they turn into dire needs is something we need to get used to doing. God wants us to bring our problems to Him before they overwhelm us, before we lose sight of any hope and dump a big mess at His feet.

Being able to bring our worries to God before they turn into problems will help us to work with Him to turn those worries into opportunities! Imagine being able to face each of our worries as if they were opportunities to go out and make a difference. Imagine being able to know the support was already there and already making a difference before we had to beg for help. Well, this is why Jesus came to us to say we should bring our burdens to Him. Doing so allows us to work with Him because we are loved by Him even though we have issues!

Points to Ponder:
Are you bringing your burdens to Christ?

Are you leaving them with Him or taking them back home?

January 2: Proverbs 16 1-3

Key Verse: Proverbs 16 3
Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.

Devotion:
When we allow God into our lives He continues to work hard at turning our lives around from the inside so we can walk a closer walk with Him. No matter how much we scheme and plan we will not be able to come up with the best plan forward unless we listen intently and diligently to our God first of all. When we agree to take on work for Him we do not make a bargain with Him but rather a commitment to Him!

We are not striking a deal whereby we can do what we like but also do work for Him part-time; we are committing to follow His ways and to listen to His will in our lives. That is not going to be a nice easy stroll in the park, not just because Satan will be against us but also because the world around us will be pulling us away from God every step of the way. This is not your fault; this is just the way it is. Don’t feel like you are not listening to God as you should be. Don’t think you are too weak to continue on. Don’t think that it’s all too much… God is with you.

Then there are all the things which we will think are right and we will go off and try them one at a time; or go crazy and try do them all at the same time! But these are just your thoughts and your plans. God is much deeper and knows your path even better than you do. I cannot pretend to have all the answers and I cannot pretend to be able to do God’s will all the time in my life. I am weak. But I know God is strong!

When we do make that commitment it is an abiding commitment and not just something we do for this week or because it is a new year. Your commitment should be a promise and promises should be kept! Listening to God has got to be central to your new journey and obeying His Word the aim for each and every day. God wants us to understand and follow Him; that means reading His Word and taking it in so we can begin to understand.

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel alone in your commitment?

Are you thinking this should be a group commitment or a personal one?

January 1: Numbers 6 22-27

Key Verse: Numbers 6 24
The Lord bless you and keep you

Devotion:
God spoke to Moses to show how He wanted the priests to bless the people. This was a fairly solemn blessing but one that should make a difference in their lives. When we accept a blessing from God in one way or another we should be beaming with radiance to show other people we are happy for what God has done for us and we want them to be able to join in our joy and happiness.

The blessings which God brings into our lives should be reflected in our faces, in our eyes and in the way we are. This is God making a difference in our lives; we need to show people He is making a difference and they need to know about it. When Moses spent time with God on top of the mountain he came back down again with a beaming face; not just smiling but beaming so much the other people would have been scared as to what had happened to him if he did not cover himself up! We don’t need to glow like we have been irradiated, but we should be glowing with happiness and joy which others can recognise just by looking at us.

It is not just our faces that should reflect God but our whole bodies. When people see us they should be able to recognise that God has made a big difference in our lives and want to know how they can have God in their lives too. If we go around moaning and groaning about God, people will not want to meet with the God that we always moan about!

Yes there are so many things in our lives that get us down and make us not want to smile or even say hello to people, but God is still there in all the troubles and is still continuing to bless us in ways which we may not recognise as blessings at first. But keep looking and keep considering what God is doing and see if you can see why He wants things to happen in this particular way; it may surprise you too!

Points to Ponder:
Do you smile when God blesses you?

Do others get to know what God does for you?

December 31: Isaiah 43 16-21

Key Verse: Isaiah 43 21
This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.

Devotion:
What a statement for the last day of the year: I am going to praise God for the whole of the next year! Would you be able to do such a thing? Would you be able to find something small to praise God about each and every day for the next 365 days? I certainly am going to try and I would like people to join me in this one. Get a reasonable size jar and write a small note each day, even if it is just one word, and drop it in the jar… If you ever get feeling a bit down during the year, open the jar up and read a few from the bottom…

This may well be a new way of working for you because it may be the first time that you have acknowledged something God does for you every day. I do try to but I know that I get down and start feeling sorry for myself at time; so when I saw this suggestion on Twitter I thought it would be the ideal start for this year – something even I can cope with!

I am embarking on a new course this year as I challenge myself with more work and more study for Christ. I join my colleagues at work in changing from being a company to being a charity and ask some wonderful Christians to come in and help us to discern which direction God wants us to go during this year. This means giving up control to other people – but when we trust in God He can ask you to do some difficult things too.

I have learned to trust God with my life and not just what he will give me when I ask. I don’t go out asking for a certain direction or a certain event but rather ask Him to guide me toward His path and His direction. Isaiah knew he would have to obey God in order to make changes; He did not ask God to make the changes but listened to God first and then followed those answers. Building up that trust can be difficult at first so start by counting your blessings…

Points to Ponder:
Do you count your blessings?

Will you join us to count our blessings?