September 11: Ezekiel 33 7-11
Key Verse: Ezekiel 33 9
Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
Devotion:
Have you ever been put in a position where you are in charge of a situation where the outcome could be dire? Not necessarily life or death, but something close to that… It is not nice being the one who is accountable for what other people have to do, but that is what management is all about in many cases; we are placed in a position where we have to depend on how other people perform. This is never ideal unless you are the one who is able to choose the people who are working for you in which case you normally can have a good idea of whether you will be able to get the job done.
God knows that each one of us is different and He would not ask us to be totally dependent on what other humans can or cannot do. It may seem like that at times but that is not what God is leading us through. If we feel like that it could be that we have not thought the situation through properly yet. God wants us to be able to tell other people about Him and not have to depend on other people knowing about Him to get us out of a sticky situation.
But that could lead us into a place where we feel like other people depend on us and that can place strain on our lives. It is in that situation where we have to give the difficulty to God to allow Him to show us how we can work for Him. He wants us to share His word with others as well as to be honest enough to tell people when they are doing things wrong. We must not go round judging them but trying to open their eyes to what they are doing.
What would you feel like if your friend did not tell you what you were doing wrong even though they knew exactly what was going on? How would you feel knowing they kept the truth from you just so they would not have to sound harsh? It can be difficult but we owe it to our friends to tell them the truth. Christ went one step further and said that we need to love our enemies which means treating them like our friends in warning them when they go wrong as well – not judging, warning!
Points to Ponder:
Are you honest to your neighbours?
Do you think God was honest with you?
September 10: Numbers 20 7-12
Key Verse: Numbers 20 10
And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”
Devotion:
When God had taken the people of Israel out of Egypt and Moses had got them in the middle of nowhere, they began to get a bit thirsty in the desert. The people all came to vent their anger at Moses and Aaron saying that it would have been better for them to die in captivity than to die alone in the desert. They turned on Moses and Aaron because they had told them of this wonderful place where God would lead them; not quite the same as they were looking at right now. How many times in our lives do we look at what is in front of us and blame God or someone else because it is not all wonderful and happy and peaceful like the bible says heaven should be like…
Well, to start with this is not heaven. We are on earth and we have to put up with the same stuff as everybody else on earth has to. If the rain stops falling then it stops falling for everyone around us. If an earthquake hits, it is not going to hit next door and leave us alone just because we believe in God! If we are next door the ground is going to shake just the same as it does next door! But God is with us and we should be believing that He has everything in hand.
The people of Israel knew God but were not believing that He was in control because the world around them was not as they thought it should be. Just like Peter started to sink after walking on the water when he saw it was rough sea he was walking on, we too lose track of the fact that this is God’s world and He is in control even when it is shaking and rattling. Moses and Aaron did not have the same depth of belief as they should have had either; God had told them what to do and they had to take it a step further just to make sure!
When God says to us that we need to take a small step forward in order to move forward we should not be trying to make a huge leap just to make sure we move forward. Just maybe God is taking us slowly at first to make a point. God does know what is best for us and He is in control despite all our worries and things we give in to. Believe in God every step and not just the one you can see you are taking.
Points to Ponder:
Do you trust a chair implicitly?
Are you trusting God with everything?
September 9: Luke 9 51-56
Key Verse: Luke 9 55
But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.
Devotion:
It can be difficult at times to keep your head when all others around you seem to be losing theirs. Can you imagine having everyone around you talking about hateful things, gossiping, talking down to others, rejecting your friends and generally being obnoxious? You may be forgiven for saying “but that is how it is today!”
We do live in a world where so many things seem to be going against community, against love, against Christ and generally against most things. But that is the same sort of world that Jesus would have seen when He walked amongst mankind. We may beg to differ and say that they were not as bad back then, but when we compare them against Christ and His ways, then we see a bigger gulf than we see between us and our lot we put up with. And yet Christ was able to see past the feelings we have popping up inside us and reached out to the sinners just as He was reaching out to those who were with Him.
Jesus came to earth not to destroy and break down anything and everyone that did anything against Him, but to reach out to every soul and try to bring them in with love and care. When we start to move in that same direction then we will be able to see how easy it is to forgive people and to look for the good instead of rejecting the bad and the ugly. When people are gossiping around and about us we may well get cross and retaliate in some manner just so that we may feel a little better inside ourselves. Christ wanted to show those sort of people love and support so that they may see a new way.
I want to be able to reach out to all people in my area and lift up the name of Christ in love so they may see how special He is and how much he has done for all of us. I am not talking about a God who will not call a spade a spade when the time comes; I am talking about a Saviour who wants to encourage people to find out the truth and accept it before it is too late.
Points to Ponder:
Have you changed your ways?
Are you following Christ’s example?
September 8: Isaiah 42 5-13
Key Verse: Isaiah 42 9
Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Devotion:
This chapter outlines a prophesy that God will provide someone to come and be servant to the people, including the gentiles, bringing justice for all instead of just the chosen few. Christ came to fulfil this prophesy and made a lot of people stop and think about what they were doing; but it also made a few others dig their heels in and say that they knew the right way and not Christ! We have to be very careful of the direction we choose because we may well find that we think we know better when we are running off in the wrong direction. Listening to God and following His instruction is paramount in our lives!
I have chosen these latter verses because they highlight the fact that God does need us to tell others the Gospel; not that they will not hear it if we do not but because He has placed us here and now to do the job. When we listen to Him we find that He is directing us to help spread His Word. It is not always an easy task because we are coming up against people who will declare they know best and will put us down; but as long as we stick to the truth we will be able to rise above it in Christ’s care.
Christ did not come to earth so that we could make statues of Him and worship them. He did not come to promote the cross so that we can bow down before that. These are signs of our relationship with Him and what He has done for us; don’t lift them up in His stead! Christ is our Saviour and He is the one who came to save us from our sins. He paid it all for us because of His great love toward us. He is going to show us where to go and what to do… if we listen…
We need to lift up our praise to our Saviour and King so that everyone gets to hear how great He is. He came and conquered the evil one once and for all. He came and did all that was required. We need to lift up His name and allow people to see just how much he has already done and how much more He wants to do for us all. Let us praise His Holy name! Jesus!
Points to Ponder:
Are you ready for change?
Will you listen to Christ?
September 7: Isaiah 31 1-3
Key Verse: Isaiah 31 3
Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together.
Devotion:
When we read through what the prophets were told by God we sometimes see a very different picture than the picture of Christ most people like to paint. Many will paint a picture of God as being an all loving God who bends over backward to make sure we can survive just about anything! Well, that He is. He is an Awesome God who does and has done so very much for us all that we would be forgiven for seeing Him in that light.
What the prophets were not afraid of doing was telling the truth about what happens to those people who go against God! When we live our lives for the world and not for God we are saying to God that we can do it by ourselves and that we don’t need Him! I don’t think I want to be the one standing next to you when you declare that the world’s way is better than God’s way; and we have to be very careful when we do go forward in our own strength because we may just be rejecting God instead of embracing Him and His strength.
I am not saying that God is going to strike you down with a bolt of lightning when you stand up and say that you can do it; but I am saying that God will have something to say about you going off by yourself. Isaiah warned that the Egyptians were on a very slippery slope because they took their own kind to be gods amongst the people and they promoted worshipping others gods instead of our God in heaven. That is just not going to work because God wants people to see that He is all powerful and all knowing. Enough said?
I guess not because we still go out and try to do things by ourselves. We still think that we can do things better because we have done so for such a long time! I know I have been doing youth work for God for many years, but I also know that I have to depend on Him for the wisdom to continue that work. I know that I have to spend time alone with Him to listen to what He has in store for me. I know He loves me and wants me to succeed. But I also know that if I run off and do things they will most likely fall flat on their face because I have not lifted up God as God of all!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like to succeed?
Do you listen to God?