September 21: Philippians 1 19-26
Key Verse: Philippians 1 21
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Devotion:
What sort of life do you think you have? Do you feel like it is wonderful and that nothing will get you down, or do you get really fed up with some of the things others get up to? If we are honest we would probably be more like the latter as we struggle with this world. When we profess to be followers of Christ we get even more uphill from the people around us and more aggravation from the people who object to what we do. This is what Paul was weighing up here in his mind; should he have to put up with all the aggravation or should he give in and go to be with Christ in heaven where there will be no more aggravation?
But it is not as simple as that because there are other people involved with this besides just us and Christ. We have all the people that will listen to what we say. All the people that will be encouraged through what we do and say. All the people who may well hear the Gospel for the first time because we dare to say something! These are the people God has placed us here to reach, not just the ones that are already destined for heaven but those other people who do not yet know Christ.
The more that we are able to live our mortal lives the more we should be able to achieve and the more people we should be able to introduce to Christ. This is assuming that we are going to get up and do something about it instead of just talking about doing things! God wants us to be doers of the word which means taking what we know and love and sharing it with other people just as it was shared with us in the beginning.
We should have a desire to go and be with God which is far more preferable than staying here and putting up with other people… but our work is given us by God and not just a choice we make. We are given the choice as to whether we want to follow Christ and obey His commands, and it is far better that we do obey for therein is the best and most fruitful destination. We will end up in heaven still, but it will be with more people by our side when we obey Christ!
Points to Ponder:
Are you getting aggravation?
Are you willing to put up with them for Christ’s sake?
September 20: Jonah 4 1-4
Key Verse: Jonah 3 10
Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
Devotion:
I have included the last verse from the previous chapter because it sets the scene. Jonah, after spending some time in the belly of the big fish, was still in no mood to preach to the people of Nineveh; but he did because he now knew God was very serious about it! After he had gone through all the horror of being swallowed by the fish and vomited up after three days, he was not in any mood to see the people forgiven even though he was telling them they had to repent…
God is very patient and full of grace and mercy. This short story should more than convince us of this, but we would probably be more like Jonah and wish destruction upon them after being treated as Jonah was. Yet Christ was to go through a whole lot more than Jonah and He still went through with it knowing it was the only way we could truly be forgiven.
We know or are taught that God is gracious and will forgive almost every sin that we can come up with when we do truly repent. We are taught that God is very patient and kind. We are taught that we should follow on from His examples. Yet when push comes to shove we would rather the ‘naughty people’ get punished because we have had to endure so much because of sin in the world. We may want to blame the rest of the world for all that goes wrong, but we don’t really have the right to do so!
It is our lot to forgive just as Christ forgives us. It is our lot to offer that forgiveness even though we do not want to. It is our lot to offer it time and time again even when we are pushed to breaking point; after all we pushed Christ beyond breaking point when He offered forgiveness! Don’t be like Jonah and go off and sulk because we have been wronged. Look for Christ for strength and grace to forgive them just as He forgave us.
Points to Ponder:
Do you react like Jonah?
Are you willing to be more like Christ?
September 19: Psalms 106 1-3
Key Verse: Psalms 106 3
Blessed are those who keep justice, And he who does righteousness at all times!
Devotion:
Have you ever thought about why you should deserve blessings from God? Well don’t think about it too long otherwise you will get depressed! None of us deserve to be blessed and yet God continues to do so each and every day. We may not see those blessings because of the turmoil of our world around us, but those blessings come every day for each of us. Who could ever describe just how many blessings we have received? Not I.
You may be singing that old hymn “count your blessings, name them one by one” right now which was is a favourite of an old friend of mine. You should try it now and again just to refresh yourself and know that God does care for you even when the going gets tough. But what do we do in return for those blessings? They are going to come our way because of the great love that our God has for us; but what do we do to show our appreciation?
I like to think that I am able to show some appreciation by trying to keep justice and trying to pass on the Gospel to the people around me. I like to think that I am doing what I can to make sure that people get to know that God is real and that they could be blessed as well. The truth of it is that God blesses even when I fail because His love never fails!
I love God and I love working for Him. I continue to try to be a blessing to others because I can see how much closer they get to knowing God through a small blessing from me. When they get to know God they will get real blessings and then I will be happy. While people around me dampen my spirits through what they say, they can never stop God from working and blessing; that keep me trying and going!
Points to Ponder:
What stops you from living for God?
What can stop God?
September 18: 1 Peter 2 18-25
Key Verse: 1 Peter 2 20
For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
Devotion:
We can all relate to getting told off for doing something wrong. Many of us can relate to being beaten for doing things wrong. But how many can relate to being beaten for doing things right? When you step out for God and try to do your best for Him, you will come up against people who will do some pretty rotten things to you just because you are working for God. It is not the things that people do to you that will matter after a while because you get used to many of those things, it is the things that they do wrong against children because of what you are doing that really hurts.
Should that stop us from working for God? Should we turn our backs on God because we fear what may happen to our children or the people around us? I would urge you to think about the consequences of not working for God before you start feeling sorry for anyone. Think about the people who may not get to hear about God when you stop telling them. I have learned that God will find a way and that nothing is impossible through Him. I have also learned that if I am faithful to Him He will have no issue with being just and faithful for me.
Don’t try to be the judge and bring justice to the world because we have no right to be judge over anyone. Try to give every case to God so that real justice will be shown. Don’t think that you can do what God has designed for Himself! Allow Him to guide you into doing the things that He asks of you so that he can bring the true justice into the world. It may cost us a little in order to allow real justice to come through, but it will be God’s will!
Christ came to give everything so that we would be able to see that justice. He saw many people hurt, punished, down-trodden and even killed because of what He was doing. But He continued forward knowing that God was taking care of those people and that justice would reign. Be brave and move forward with Christ and see what He can do!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get discouraged by others actions?
Do you aim to see God’s will be done?
September 17: Acts 9 26-31
Key Verse: Acts 9 31
Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
Devotion:
We all seem to like things going along in the same old ways as it always used to go! We don’t always look at change as a welcome thing. We rather prefer to keep the balance and carry on just in case something breaks! And that is exactly what happens in our churches as well; we try to keep things the same so that we are more comfortable, and when things do change we try to water them down a little before they take hold and make us change!
When Paul hit the scene it was a bit of a shock rather than a little change! Paul was the one who was persecuting the church people and he was the one trying to wipe them out before they took hold. So seeing him now get up and say that he believed in Christ looked more like a trap than the truth. I don’t think either side would have known what to do with him at first; but once they realised the change was real their reactions were quite different.
How many would have still been blaming him for all that had gone on before? How many could not let go of the past? How many wanted him to bash others over the head to wake them up? How many wanted to hide in a hole fearing the truth? We all react to change in different ways because we all aim for different outcomes instead of listening to God and waiting for his direction for us all. And yes it is hard to accept some of the things that God wants to change in our lives, especially if we don’t get any glory… I have learned a long time ago that seeking glory for doing work for God is never going to work!
Paul got all sorts of attention when he worked with God instead of against Him. If we are willing to work for God as well, then we should be willing to put up with the things that will come our way as the ‘objectioners’ stand up and have their way! Be prepared for attention, but don’t expect it all to be good. Be prepared for open feelings, but expect hate as well as love. People are not always just. They want their own ways and they don’t always accept change… But keep going for God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you stop when people object?
Will you keep going for God?