July 8: 1 Timothy 6 11-16
Key Verse: 1 Timothy 6 11
But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
Devotion:
Focusing ourselves on the things of the world will only get us as far as the world, but focusing on the things of God will open up our lives to so much more! When we say that we want to be able to follow Christ we should be willing to lay aside those things of the world and take up the spiritual things of God. That does not mean blocking out the world and only doing spiritual things, though that in itself may be a very good idea for some to refocus on God, but rather making the spiritual things of more importance than earthly ways.
It does not take a rocket scientist to see how the world has fallen into a state of ruin around us, the news is full of complaints and terrible doings. God’s ways are far above these ways of the world because the worldly ways are limited to what is in the world and what is of the world. God does not set limits on what He can do or what He does do. Instead God continues to lift up people who are willing to give Him the glory above the world and others.
Christ is going to return again some day, that is a certainty! We have God’s promise on that one. And yet so many people continue on as if it is not going to happen in their own life times. We do not know the time and we do not know the date of His return so we need to be ready for it always. Living within God’s recommended ways and within His love will help us to keep ourselves ready for that day of His return.
When we give ourselves to Christ it should not be a loan but a permanent transaction. Christ gave Himself for us once and it was to cover all sin; He did not loan us an eraser to rub out a sin here and another there! Christ did not say that His death was only going to be for the people who were in church every Sunday without fail, nor for the people who paid enough money to keep the church open, nor for the people who did enough work to spread the Gospel. Christ died for every single one of us sinners!
Points to Ponder:
What life do you lead?
Do you encourage others to find God?
July 7: Romans 7 13-20
Key Verse: Romans 7 19
For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Devotion:
I can relate to this passage! I have a reasonable knowledge of God’s Word and I continue to look into it every day as I write these devotions, but no matter how much I am able to identify what is right and wrong, I still get caught up in doing things wrong at times. I know it is wrong and I tell other people that it is wrong because God’s Word shows us that it is wrong. I try not to do it, but still I give in and do things wrong. And we are not alone.
This has been the curse of man from the beginning, that we do give in to sin and that we do know it as well. Most of the time we can take a step backward and see what we are about to do is wrong; we then have the choice to stop before we get involved with the sin… but we don’t always stop.
Look back on your life and take a few of the things that you have done wrong and acknowledge to yourself that you did them, then acknowledge them to Christ. If you have been told of things that you have done wrong as a young child, take them and think about why you would have done them. If you can now get this picture in your mind that you do things wrong even though you know they are wrong, you are a step closer… As young children we don’t stop and analyse before we act, we act and we see what happens. As adults we think we stop and analyse, but what we are often doing is ignoring that analysis just so we can go and see what happens!
God knew we would continue to go and see, right from Eve and Adam through to the end; He knew and He provided for us. Jesus Christ came down to pay the price because He knew we would give in to sinful ways because of our flesh. We may have minds that focus on God most of the time, but we still have sinful flesh which gets us into trouble. We need Christ. We need our Saviour. Thank you Jesus!
Points to Ponder:
Are you always good?
Do you remember what Christ has done for you?
July 6: Psalms 82 1-4
Key Verse: Psalms 82 3
Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Devotion:
It really amazes me how many people will go along with something just because it looks like they may get something out of it or even so they may not have to get involved. Leaving things up to someone else who has other things on their mind may well end up in a horrible mess instead of the harmony they talk about. God wants us to take care of the people around us and not to just leave it to someone else to see what happens.
I see the same few people doing the same support work for the few needy people in the community. I see the same few people taking time out of their busy schedules to make sure that the needy can get some pleasure out of life. Much of the time those are the same few people who come to church and sit at the back or quietly go on about their business without looking for glory or thanks. Why then do so many complain about the lack of support to get themselves noticed?
I love helping people and I love to get involved with things; but getting involved often means mixing with others that want all the glory. It is very hard to let go and allow those people to get their own glory without feeling very hurt. Do they see what they are doing? Do they see how they are excluding others? I guess we will just have to be patient and see where it all goes… In the mean time I am going to continue putting myself on the line to help others without saying anything. When we see how Jesus put Himself out for so many people we need to stop and take notice! He did not do it so that He could be congratulated for all that He did; He did it because He loved the people around Him.
Loving people with open hearts means that you are more apt to help them without question and more likely to get great joy out of what you can do for them. There are many people who do not have the support that we may have enjoyed over the years and they now need our help to lift them up to a place where they can see how God cares for them. If we all ignore those needy people, they will see a God who is selfish and without love because we are God’s children!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know needy people?
What Would Jesus Do?
July 5: John 15 9-17
Key Verse: John 15 13
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
Devotion:
How far do you go to show your love for others? How far is acceptable in modern society? How far will you go if nobody is watching? These are questions that we think we know the answer to and we like to think we will always go all the way. But just like Peter denied knowing Christ three times, we too are going to deny knowing friends on occasion. That is because we are weak and certainly not as strong as we think we are!
The same will be the case for our relationship with Christ as well. We will say that we are there for Him. We shall say that we are there to be used by Him. We shall say that we will always say His name… but when push comes to shove and we get placed in a tight spot, we will be the ones who crumble just as Peter did. Never look at that day with fear and dread because it will be harder to accept when it does get here. Instead look forward to that day when you realise your own limits; you can only go forward after that day!
The more we do for Christ the more we will be able to do in the future. Each time we trip up and fall we gain strength to stand back up and do it better next time. Don’t look at them as points of failure but as points of learning, points at which your life changed to get back with God. You may not be able to stand up the first time; you may need a helping hand to lift you up, but when you do get back up again your strength grows!
It is not a strength that you have to exercise so that you get better at it each time; it is a strength that comes from God and one that need to be accepted so that we can use it. No amount of physical exercise will allow you to get up any quicker after being knocked down in this way, it is the spiritual strength that will allow you to raise you head and say you are still a child of God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you really like exercising hard to get back to fitness?
Why not keep fit through regular gentle exercise instead?
July 4: 1 John 3 13-17
Key Verse: 1 John 3 16
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Devotion:
The more that we stand up for Christ, the more the world is going to object to what we are doing. And if you ever want to find out just how much people are going to object, try starting something new for God in your home town! People may say that it is a great idea and that someone needs to do it, but as soon as you start out and they see you succeeding in working with God the curtains come down and you get all manner of aggravation coming from all sources!
It is no wonder then that Christ would shut Himself off and pray to God the Father in private. How else was He going to get the support that He needed to continue His mission on earth? Christ did warn us that it was not going to be an easy task to step forward and work for Him. We see that the world is a place of corruption and deceit. So why think that we can get away with it? Don’t!
Instead, stand up and be counted. Accept the fact that you are going to get objections. Accept the fact that people will be jealous of your work. Accept the fact that people will not like it when you open the eyes of their friends and bring them to Christ. Accept the fact that you will not be popular in the worlds view. But never forget that your Father in Heaven is watching ever step you take and will be listening with baited breath to every word you lift up to ask for courage and strength. He will give you the strength you need to succeed just as Christ was able to.
Don’t turn away from doing God’s will just because the world objects to you; they are objecting to and rejecting God and you are currently His spokesperson so stand firm. I have heard some amazing talks by people recently which have reaffirmed my belief that there are still many many good people out there who are willing to live for Christian morals and to give the glory to God. There are also many people out there who do not know God but are still good people. We need to include everyone in our outreach otherwise we are only talking to those who know Christ already…
Points to Ponder:
Do you grow weary at the complaints?
Will you stand form with Christ?