August 27: 1 Corinthians 10 23-26
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 10 23
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.
Devotion:
When it comes down to defining what food we should be allowed to eat and what we should not be, the bible is quite clear about what can be eaten; what is not clear is the beliefs and feelings of others. If we go round to a house full of vegetarians we should not expect them to cook us up a meat sandwich, and we should not expect them to like it if we bring our own steak pie or the likes! That just makes sense when we look at a simple example like that; so why do we have such a big problem with all other things?
Just as we should not expect to consume food that has been offered to any idol if it is going to offend someone in any way, we should not expect to be able to get up to doing things which will offend other people. It may be our right to do things according to the law of the world, but Christ teaches us that we should be thinking of other people and not just ourselves. If what we do is upsetting others or offending them, we should not do it!
The law may well support us and we may well be able to prove it, but it is not always the right thing to do because of the ill feeling that we are going to cause because we do not need to try to prove to other people that God’s law is the law to follow in spite of their feelings. What we can do is tell other people we agree to disagree but that we will not go ahead because we know it will upset them.
We should be showing others that our God is a God of compassion and not a God who will not accept what anyone else says. We need to show people that love goes beyond what they seem to understand. God wants us to show others forgiveness, peace, love, mercy, kindness and a humble spirit. It does not mean that we have to roll over and allow them to walk all over us, just that we can give God the glory because we know He has even more mercy than we do!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think of others?
Do you always try to have your own way?
August 26: Deuteronomy 10 12-14
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 10 14
Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it.
Devotion:
Moses had a hard time trying to keep the people of Israel serving God. He showed his anger on seeing how the people quickly turned away from God when he was up the mountain by breaking the tablets of stone the Ten Commandments were written on. But he wanted to make a difference because he knew God was real and knew God loved the people. So he set things right again and God then told him to bring more stones so that the commandments could be written again, but this time to be held in an ark for safe keeping.
God gave Moses the essence of the law and that is to love God, to know that He alone is God and that means showing Him the respect and reverence due only to God. We should also be willing to serve God in whatever capacity He calls us to serve Him in; that can be hard. Not just to work for Him either but to do it with a willing heart and to put everything into serving Him. We also need to listen to what God wants, know what His rules are and to obey them. That means being willing to follow His law as He had given it to us and not as we think we should be doing.
God is God! That means He is in charge, not because we say so but because everything belongs to Him in the first place. He has made the universe and all that is in it. He has given us life and continues to love and support us. He has chosen to do this and that is why we need to revere Him as our one true God. That is why we should be willing. That is why we should listen. That is why we should obey.
I know it is hard to listen to the rules when nobody else around you is listening to them. I know that it is hard to be quiet and listen to that still small voice of God calling out to you. I know because I am human just the same as us all. I try to do my best for God and I try to serve Him with my whole heart; that puts me up against many people who believe we should serve the world, but I know that God is my protector and my shield. I know that my God is the rock upon which I can keep my life and my faith.
Points to Ponder:
Do you know God is God?
Do you actually treat Him like God?
August 25: Micah 6 6-8
Key Verse: Micah 6 8
He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Devotion:
Micah was given prophesy from God telling of the things that Israel were doing wrong and what they should not be doing. He was given reminders of what God had already done for them and this chapter starts off with the Lord asking Israel to say what was wrong with what He had done. We know that God did not do anything wrong and I’m sure that they did know that in their hearts as well, but they were not acting like that!
How many times do we start going off the rails because things are not going our own way? How many times do we go off and do our own thing because we can’t see why God has asked us to do something else. We do not have to understand why God has asked us to do everything, just be willing to listen to Him and obey Him. We don’t have to spend our whole day offering up sacrifices for the things that we have done wrong. We don’t have to do any of those things.
What is God asking us to do then? God is asking us to change your life to be more like a Christian life; to live a life more like Christ and less like the rest of the world. God is asking you to love the ways that Christ showed us to live and not to love the ways of the world. God is asking us not to boast about all that we have built up but rather to walk humbly with Him. And this is all quite a big ask for most modern young people because their world is build up in expectation of what the world has to offer over the next few days or even minutes!
God would rather that we aim for the long term goal with Him and not to live for the second expecting the world to change around us and expecting things from the world. The world is a corrupt place and the longer it lives as it is the more it will become corrupt. Being more Christ like means stepping back from those ways, the ways man has built up to satisfy himself, and walking with God and in His ways. I hope you don’t have that Veggie-Tales song stuck in your head today like I will have, but hey, if it reminds you to walk humbly with God then it is working!
Points to Ponder:
Do you live in the world?
Or do you try to live in Christ?
August 24: Isaiah 51 4-8
Key Verse: Isaiah 51 4
“Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation: For law will proceed from Me, And I will make My justice rest As a light of the peoples.
Devotion:
God does not expect us to sit and do nothing with His Word. He does not expect us to just read it and keep it in our hearts. He expects us to be able to share it with others in some way or another. He has told us enough times right from the beginning that His Word will get to everyone and as more people get to hear about God we get closer to the time when Christ will return to take us home.
Even in the Old Testament God was telling the prophets that salvation was on the way, it had already been planned and nothing was going to stop Christ from completing the promise. This same Bible holds even more promises and even more truths that we should be willing to accept and not just because we have seen the others come true but because we know it in our hearts. This is not some big experience that we are seeking but a wholesome relationship with God, the same God who promised us salvation for those who seek it, the same God who promised us eternal life for those who believe.
Look around and see what the world has to offer and see how things fade and die; then look up to heaven and see what God has to offer and see how eternity will never fade and die. We have a solid foundation upon which we can build our faith. That foundation is Jesus Christ, the one who came to earth to lay His life down so that we could have eternity with Him. That same promise has stood for as long as the earth and will continue long after the earth. Man’s greatest accomplishments crumble and fall down, even if it take thousands of years before they do. But God’s promises stand forever.
The Bible contains the law, the history, the promises, the truth; all of which God has given for our understanding and for our building up of wisdom. Take your Bible today and listen to His Words, but listen from your heart and know them as the truth. Then take a minute to share this truth with someone else…
Points to Ponder:
Do you like sharing stuff?
Do you share God’s Word?
August 23: Mark 3 20-27
Key Verse: Mark 3 24
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Devotion:
When we go about God’s business there are going to be some that object to what we are doing. Some will be because we are stepping on their toes and some of it will be because we are taking away their authority. People like to build up their own authority so they are in charge and in control. Some people are simply not willing to give God control of their lives and will not go down that path. But knowing that God is in control and that He has His way in your life is actually very fulfilling!
There were people thronging to see Jesus at this stage, so much so that they did not even have space enough to be able to eat. This clearly upset the authorities and they immediately blamed it on Satan saying that Christ had the devil inside of Him – that was the only way they could explain why Jesus was more popular that their church. What they did not realise was that Christ was working at building up the church and not dividing it.
When we try to get our own way we often step on toes and trip each other up; that leads to conflict and getting things wrong. That leads to us upsetting each other and not being able to work with each other. That will then divide the church as we know it! Christ did not come to divide the church but to separate the church from the world so that it could grow unabated. The people in charge thought differently because they felt like they were losing control and did not want that to happen.
Sometimes we do have to step a little bit out of our comfort zone so that we are open to new ideas and new ways of working with God. Sometimes it is the old ways that are holding us back because we get stuck in those ways instead of rising with Christ. If you are scared about change then compare what you think you should do with what is in God’s Word. If what you are suggesting will go against God’s Word then it is not coming from God. He will not break the church apart. He will not break down what he has built up. He is working toward building the church with us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you always agree with other church members?
Do you compare what you do with God’s ways?