August 12: Proverbs 14 1
Key Verse: Proverbs 14 1
The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.
Devotion:
I don’t normally like verses which seem to specify a gender but this one is playing at my heart… Not because it is aimed at females at all but because of the meaning deep inside that it provokes. We all try to make something of our lives and we use all manner of things to achieve that. We also try to bring things into our lives that mean something or that can help us to attain certain levels in our lives… or at least that is the ideal that we live by.
In reality we all lose track of what we are doing and where we are going at times. What we do with that knowledge us losing track is as important as finding out the truths and keeping to them. As young people we try to listen to things we suppose are true and learn from them; but we also pick up the bad habits of those around us and break things along the way. Are we to blame when we lose it all because of following some reprobate? We made the choice…
So what truths do we need to be seeking in order to make our lives worth living? The truths that will make a difference! We do not have to turn the world upside down in order to find out what God wants from us because if we listen properly to Him, we may well find that we can make history once again. Children learn quickly to imitate what they see, we need to make sure that what we see is righteous and that we will die shortly.
If we cast aside the knowledge that is freely given to us we will find it very hard to negotiate what we have here. We may as well take what people are trying to teach us and flush it down a toilet. Does that sound harsh? Yes! That’s because it is very hard to listen and learn from God as we bring people shouting and screaming about the world instead. Thank you God for giving us the intelligence to work through this stuff. Thank you God for giving us a way of learning from you even though we are focusing on this world…
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to God?
Do you seek God’s Wisdom?
August 11: Luke 12 22-28
Key Verse: Luke 12 23
Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
Devotion:
How hard is it for you to read a few verses like these that talk about giving up everything so that you can focus on working for and with God? How much are you willing to give up in your life just so that your walk with God can be closer and fuller? It can be very hard to accept that God wants you to do something when your whole life is surrounded by so many of the luxuries of modern life or the things that we all think are normal nowadays. Modern living is very different between the western world and third world countries, and yet we don’t always remember that.
Christ would like us to remember that we are all human beings and that we should all be trying to love each other as neighbours; and yet the world is full of wars and fighting. We are remembering what happened 100 years ago in World War 1, but still the world continues on in fighting and people keep on wanting more worldly content. Christ did not come to earth as a world leader but came as a carpenter’s son, giving that all up to carry out His ministry when God required it.
When asked, the disciples gave up their lives to follow Christ. But when we look back on their reactions to His death we find that they seemed to have second thoughts and were about to return to their old lives to continue on. What God wanted was for them to continue on as apostles for Christ telling people about the wonderful Gospel story.
We may not be asked personally to give up everything like the disciples, but we are asked by Christ to take account of what we do in our lives. If we are going to be living for the world then we will struggle to live for Christ. If we are going to focus on earthly riches and earthly ways then that is what we will get as a reward, earthly riches. But when we boldly step forward for Christ we will receive blessings from Him that go so much further. The world will not understand what we receive because the world cannot see what we receive; but do not give up hope in Christ!
Points to Ponder:
How do you measure your life’s worth?
Do you rely on Christ?
August 10: Matthew 14 22-27
Key Verse: Matthew 14 27
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
Devotion:
When God sends you forward to do something for Him, what do you do? This is a very difficult question to answer until you have gone through the motions and done things a few times. Each time may well be different as we grow in our faith and obedience, or we may well fail at some things which we think are just too much. When the world throws more than we think we can handle at us we do get down and even start blaming others for what is going on. Sometimes we may well even blame God!
But what we should always be remembering is that when God asks us to do something, it is because He knows we are the person to do that task. He has already set things in motion so that we can achieve what He has asked of us. He will make sure that we are able to do it, but we may well have to ask for help along the way. This is just God making sure we know that we can get help for anything. The disciples had no problem going on ahead of Christ, but they had a real big issue with the storm that came along!
They were experienced fishermen (some amongst them at least) and they knew how to handle the boat, but they were still afraid because they thought they were alone. When they saw something walking toward them on the water they did not know what it was. Their inward fear of the storm totally clouded their minds and they thought the worst, they thought they were being approached by a ghost! Fear has that effect on us. Fear will cloud our thoughts and we start thinking of irrational explanations for things that are happening!
If we thought things through properly in our lives we would see so much of what Christ has done for us and come to the conclusion that Christ is always with us; but fear blocks those trains of thought and we imagine all manner of things. Faith is believing in the unseen. We may not be able to see what God has laid out for us, but we should believe in Him totally and expect Him to supply our needs especially when He has asked us to come forward!
Points to Ponder:
How does fear effect you?
Do you rest in God or fear the world?
August 9: John 7 16-19
Key Verse: John 7 16
Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
Devotion:
Jesus confronted the Jews as they sought to get rid of Him. He did not shout about them in the streets but went directly to them in a setting where they would feel comfortable, in their own synagogue. He went in and taught them as He was led by God The Father. Were the words His own? Yes they were because He is God. But what He was saying to the people was that they should stop looking at Him as a man and while they continued to do so then the words He spoke did not come from any mortal man, but from God.
If any one of us gets up in front of people and starts to tell them about God we have to be sure that what we are saying come from God and not from ourselves. Yes we will all interpret God’s Word differently as we go through it, but if what we are saying is coming from our own minds as we make it up, then it is pretty useless. When we know that it is based on the solid truth that is found in our Bibles then we can be sure that it is God’s Word and not our own.
Yes it is a fine line to say whether it is our word or God’s word because we are all very different and what comes out is going to sound different from each of us because of those differences. We have a unique mind that God has given us and we think things through in a different way to the person next to us. That is why it is such a good idea to sit and talk about what we understand through reading the bible. If we all went off on our own merry way then we would all get this idea that we knew it all! Not so!
Jesus knew that that is how our minds work and so set out to remind the Jews that the words He spoke came from God in Heaven and not from what someone else was saying. The Jews had got used to being in charge and telling people how things should be done. They had made an art of taking what was written and possibly changing things slightly in order to get their own ways. That is not what Jesus is about. That is not what God is about. Christ wants us to spread the Gospel, the truth!
Points to Ponder:
Where do you learn from?
Are you telling others your mind or God’s Word?
August 8: Psalms 127 1-5
Key Verse: Psalms 127 1
Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
Devotion:
Looking to God for provision does not just mean turning to Him when you have run out of things. Looking to God for strength does not mean turning to Him when there is no more strength in your body. Looking to God for everything should be part of every minute of every day. God is always with us and wants to be able to help us always. Whether it is raising a family, raising a building and raising awareness, God wants us to walk with Him and not just come running when it all falls down around us.
The best families are those that have God firmly seated within the family and not as something that they go out to do once a week. If we are not constant in our prayers and works for God then should we be expecting His constant blessing? We know that God has promised to be with us, but that does mean being constant in our conversation with Him. In order to gain the most out of a relationship that relationship has to be worked on constantly and not ignored until it’s time for something different!
We know we cannot be in all places at the same time, but we also know that God can be. So lifting up our situations to Him constantly means that we will know they are in the best possible hands all the time. Don’t look to the world to fill the gaps in your own life, rather fill them with God to make sure they do not account to nothing in the end. Far too often we fill our lives with trinkets and useless objects just so we feel better at the time; God wants us to feel good all of the time which means having something that is going to last, always.
It is not very wise to try and build a family by making old people first of all. It is much better to make a family with children who will grow up into the family and keep it together. God wants us to work at building up the church with all types of people and not just those that we can relate to. It may be hard mixing with people of different ages or backgrounds, but unless we start, we will not get very far.
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep junk?
Are you ignoring God’s riches?