August 2: 1 Corinthians 9 19-23
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 9 19
For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;
Devotion:
Being a missionary is hard work and don’t let anyone tell you that it is not! As a missionary you are by definition going into a different place and trying to open up the Gospel to the local people. That means that you start as being the outsider and you have to try to gain the trust of the people before they will listen to you properly. You may well get people saying they are listening to you and they turn up to go through the motions, but if you are not seeing the fruits of that listening then they are probably not listening!
The apostle is describing the missional position that he took in order to gain as many people into Christ’s kingdom as he could. In order to gain trust and be able to teach openly and freely he had to become more like the local people and less like himself without losing the identity that he had in Christ as an apostle. He held on firmly to the Gospel and Christ’s teaching whilst grasping as much of the local knowledge and ways of life as God would allow. He was not being restricted by the church, the legalistic hierarchy of the scribes and Pharisees, but was free to show people that he was as close to being one of them as he could.
We need to reach into our communities and show people that our church is not a legalistic society but a group of people who have one common goal and that is to glorify God and to bring more people to know Him. We have to join in with our communities bringing them the Gospel and showing them that Christ is the one who has set us free from any institution and wants us to have an eternal and righteous relationship with Him.
In order to do our best for God we have to be willing to take on the work that Christ shows us is required and not just the stuff that we are comfortable with or want to do ourselves. When God gives you a goal to reach He is going to continue opening doors for you to be able to get to that goal. If the doors start closing then you have wandered off in the wrong direction and He is trying to get you back on track. God will show you communities that are different to your own and He will open the doors as long as you are willing to go through them!
Points to Ponder:
Are you ready to go through the doors?
Will you go through God’s doors?
August 1: Hebrews 10 19-25
Key Verse: Hebrews 10 24
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works
Devotion:
Because of what Christ has done for us we have a reason to be bold knowing that He has paid the price for us and we can have absolute faith in knowing that He has our backs. But it is not all just about our relationship with Christ what He has done for us and our faith in Him; it is also about our relationship with other people, especially with other Christians. The relationship that we develop with other people allows us to love and support each other in community and that helps us to do good works.
I have a hard time doing good things for other people when they are constantly on my back or they are doing things against me. I know I am not alone in having problems with people that seem like they have something against me and that is why Christ told the disciples that the greatest commandment is to love our neighbours. It is from that love that a proper community spirit develops and that is what Jesus was promoting then and now.
One of the best places to generate that community spirit is in a church or other gathering where people can love and support each other. Just being together is not going to do much, we can get together in places and still not like each other, even in churches! But when we start to think about each other and think about other people’s wants and needs, then we can work at making other people’s lives better. When Jesus said that we should love our neighbours, it was not just telling them that we like them but showing them that we will go out of our way to love and support them.
Loving people the way that Christ teaches us will show other people that we are Christians because we are acting like Christ. Going to church, giving tithes, saying your prayers and even going to bible study are things that anyone can do; they do not prove that you are a Christian any more than sharing all your money with those around you does. Loving those around you and treating them as Jesus did will get you on the right track as long as you keep Christ by your side.
Points to Ponder:
Do you attend church regularly?
Do you love people like Jesus does?
July 31: John 18 10-11
Key Verse: John 18 10
Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
Devotion:
Sometimes it is very hard not to react to things when someone does something wrong against you or against a friend. But our reactions are not always biblical because they are by definition a reaction and not an action. I have lived a life away from God more than I have lived a life working with God and because of that my reactions are not always what I would like them to be. I have to work hard at making sure that my mind is set on Christ so that before I do react I take a second or two to think what I am going to do. That is enough time for God to guide me!
Don’t ever think that God cannot or does not have time enough to change you and to change your ways. All you have to do is to be willing to allow Him that second to change you. Peter wanted to get his own way just as we do in our lives. He drew the sword and hit out before allowing Christ time to change his mind. Immediately Christ had to do things in order to fix what Peter had broken… Are you going to be the one who is always forcing God to fix what you break in your life or will you allow Him to make a change before you break things?
When Peter asked Christ to call him out onto the water he had no problem listening out for that call because that would mean he got something out of it! But when he could not see that he would get anything out of the current situation, quite the opposite in fact, he lashed out in the way he knew. Sword play is typically all about reactions to make sure you are able to defend yourself and to be able to hit out at the right time when someone else’s defence is down. That is not what the kingdom of heaven is all about!
God wants us to know what we are going into so that our beliefs will show rather than out habits and actions. God wants us to think before we talk so that we say what is right and not the first thing that comes into our heads. Yes you can train yourself to say the right thing at the right time just as you can train yourself to fight with swords or anything else; but that does not make it the right thing to do. We need time to develop our relationship with Christ so that we can come out on His side and not fighting for ourselves!
Points to Ponder:
Do you fight for yourself?
Or do you allow Christ to guide you first?
July 30: Exodus 2 11-15
Key Verse: Exodus 2 12
So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
Devotion:
I wonder what it would be like to have all of your past sins catch up to you in one moment? It is bad enough when you get found out by your parents after doing something wrong as a child, never mind having all of your wrong-doings brought into the light! Moses was a man who was born in a time of great oppression and brought up by Egyptians instead of his own people. What he did with that life makes me think that God can do anything with anyone!
Moses was a murderer. He killed the Egyptian in cold blood and justified it because the Egyptian was beating one of his fellow Hebrew people. We could argue that it was done because the Hebrew people were oppressed and had nobody to stick up for them, but then we would be taking the law into our own hands. God was the one listening to the cry of the Hebrew people and He was the one who was going to change things. Moses abused his position of trust as a prince of the people and went a step too far.
But that did not stop God from using him after that. Moses was a man on the run until that Pharaoh died after which God called him out of hiding to go back into Egypt and set the Hebrews free. God had used the situation in Egypt and had prepared Moses for the job in hand. He gave Moses the opportunity to learn the language and the Egyptian ways from inside the court, preparing the way so that he could go back into the court to fight the fight for the Hebrew people.
God does not forget a promise made and will use the circumstances to the best advantage. If we are willing to submit more to His ways then He will be able to use us in ways which do not involve us having to be drawn backward through a hedge! God wants to use us and He would prefer it if we were willing; but if necessary He will do things the hard way whether we like it or not.
Points to Ponder:
Do you always want things your own way?
Are you willing to allow God to work in you?
July 29: Philippians 4 14-20
Key Verse: Philippians 4 17
Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.
Devotion:
As a person who is working for God I can relate to these words by the apostle. There are many people who will say that they want to work for God but not many people who are willing to do what it takes in order to get the work done. I come up against many people who tell me all about what they do or tell me all about how much they do but not many people who just get on and do the work. I like to think that I am the type of person that just gets on with the work and hence I don’t broadcast what I do; so me saying anything about my work does not come so easily for me. I would rather just know that I am trying to do God’s will than talk about it.
There are those that crave the recognition and crave the rewards that may come with what they do. Can God still use those people who seem to seek their own glory? Yes He can! Nothing is impossible with God and He will continue to use those who are willing to be used and even those who do seek their own glory at times. There are those who will boast about how much they give in order for God’s work to be done and God can and does use those people.
It is really about how you see your own relationship with God. If you are willing to be used by God then you should be willing to be used in whichever way He deems necessary rather than the best way you think possible. We are blinkered by this world and we only see as far as the world allows us to look whereas God is not limited and hence can go beyond what we see as being possible. I do try to make sure that I listen to God rather than listening to the world; sorting out which is the world and which is God is difficult at times. Difficult, but not impossible!
Comparing what you do with the instructions that God has already given us is what should make the difference. God has given us plenty to think about through His word, our bibles, which was given to great men and women of God a long time ago. Our bibles tell us of what God expects and what He has shown us to be good and righteous. They are not just a list of suggestions; they are what God shows us to be good and necessary.
Points to Ponder:
Do you tell everyone what you are going to do?
Or do you just do it?