June 23: Matthew 10 34-39
Key Verse: Matthew 10 37
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Devotion:
One of the hardest things to accept as a new Christian for me was loving God more than anything and anyone and putting Him first in my life. The first two commandments given to Moses on the tablets were to love God above everything else and not to allow anything else to be a god. Jesus reaffirmed that by telling us that we need to make sure that God is first because our beliefs will get in the way of normal family stuff, or rather normal family stuff will get in the way of God’s business!
When we are willing to make sure that we give precedence to God then we find that He does allow us enough love and time to be with family. When I focus on doing things and say that I do it because of my beliefs I am not really focusing on God, I am focusing on what I can do for Him. If I focus on being in church and being at the right places to be seen with other Christians then I am focusing on what I think I should do for God. Focusing on God means giving your life to Him and being willing to do His will, not what you think is your duty!
If I were to continue telling you about what I think and what I do then would this devotion be about me? Probably… It is not about what others do, not about what others say, not about what we do; it’s all about God. God has done everything for us. Christ gave His life for us. We need to recognise those facts and live for God. When we do live for Him He allows us enough love to share with others.
Of course we are going to get things wrong at time and of course we will make mistakes, but God knows that and sent Jesus to level the ground again because He knew what we would be like. Being a Christian and holding up God first in your life is not going to win friends but it will certainly influence them! God did not come to make us a big happy society but to tear man’s ways apart so we can refocus our lives on Him again.
Points to Ponder:
Do you look for love in others?
Or do you look for God in others?
June 22: Romans 6 5-11
Key Verse: Romans 6 8
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him
Devotion:
There is a very real correlation between our lives and the life that Christ lead here on earth in that we need to take notice of how He lived His life and make that lifestyle our goal. There may be no way that we can hope to live as He did, but trying to live more like Him will give us a better understanding of His life and of our own lives. Understanding sin and how we should avoid it is good and proper but our aims should not end there. Anyone can try to avoid sin and may even be able to avoid most of the sin in their lives; but doing so in itself will not get us into heaven with Christ.
It is because of our belief in Christ and all that He has done for us that we are enabled to enter into heaven with Him. It is because of us leaving our old selves behind and living in true belief that He dies for our sins and forgives us of our sins that we should enter into our new lives with Him. Christ paid for what we have done wrong and is willing to forgive us for what we do still do wrong. We need to bring our faults, mistakes and even wilful sins to Him to ask for forgiveness and wisdom to avoid them in the future.
It is no good asking for forgiveness just so we can go out and do it all again; that is not truly admitting to our guilt, merely setting it aside for a while before we commit them again! God wants us to break our habit of sin. God wants us to turn away from our old lives. God wants us to listen more intently to His answers for our lives. For us to do that we have to be willing to let go of the past and move forward with Him. We need to be willing to set aside the old ways and aim toward a new way with Him in our hearts.
With Christ in our hearts we have a very real power within us to set our lives straight and live for Him. Just as Christ allowed His own death to pay for all of those sins, we should be willing to allow the death of our old selves to change us so we can live for Him. It is not just a case of saying that we will change, but more a life-changing decision that we take to be more like Him as we ask for Him to wash us of all unrighteousness in the beginning.
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep hold of your past life?
Will you allow Christ to really clean you?
June 21: Colossians 4 2-6
Key Verse: Colossians 4 2
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
Devotion:
One of the most important parts of our Christian lives is the need for constant prayers; not so that God knows what we need, but that we know that we are bringing those requests to God. But prayer is certainly not a one way thing where we lift up our prayers and leave it up to God. Prayer is two way and we need to stop and listen for God’s answers to our prayers; expecting Him to answer and waiting patiently for those answers and being thankful for those answers when they do come. We may not always like the answers but we must know that they are in our best interests.
God is good! Never forget that! So don’t lift up your prayers and expect Him to take them away and always give you something else instead because that is you telling God in your heart that you don’t think He will answer your prayers. Expect God to answer prayers that you bring to Him earnestly and within His righteousness. Don’t limit your prayers to your own wants and needs but remember those around you as well. Take time to pray for your country’s leaders as they try to do what is best; maybe they do need prayers to try and get them to open their hearts to God instead of being blinkered by earthly matters all the time.
Take time to pray for your friends and family as they try to do what is best. There is no way that we can always work together because our needs and desires are so different; but God can find common ground where we can live together and grow together as well. Take time to pray for those spiritual leaders we know so they may be filled with more than they give out to others. Just because they are spiritual leaders does not mean that they don’t need refilling as well.
Pray for those who explain the word of God to us so they may be able to explain things in ways we will understand, and pray for a more open mind so that we you can better understand the bible as you read what the great men and woman of the past have written for our benefit. We need that wisdom so that we can share it with others around us, not just Christians but those who do not know Him yet. Pray for grace to live a life that others will see as being different so they seek the truth that we have found. And do not forget to praise God for all He already does!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you pray for?
Are you open to pray for more?
June 20: Luke 6 12-16
Key Verse: Luke 6 12
Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Devotion:
When you seek God and His will in your life, do you go with the crowd and see what is happening or do you spend time alone with God and find out what He actually wants in your life? Far too often people gather in crowds to try and find out what the will of God is. When lots of people are gathered together the crowd effect takes over and people start doing what others are doing… that is not always the will of God…
When Jesus was going to pick the twelve disciples He spent time alone with God to make sure that His choice was right with God and to ensure that the prophecies already made would come true. Jesus could quite easily have chosen others that would have made more of a song and dance of things and gathered bigger crowds, but He instead chose those that God needed to be there, including Judas who would betray Him.
There are going to be times in your own life that you have to choose what is right and not what everyone agrees should be done. There are going to be times when the few in power will overrun the majority. There are going to be times when the devil will get his own way because. The choices we make should not be governed by what other people say should be done; our choices should be made according to what God wants in our lives.
Making sure that we spend time with God and allowing Him to guide us is just as important as being around other Christians so that we can spread the Gospel. What use is spreading the Gospel unless we are spreading it where God needs it? That may sound awful but Jonah did not want to tell the people of Nineveh that they needed to repent, but that is where God wanted him to go. Listening to God is always more profitable than trying to go with the crowd. Take time to listen.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you go with the crowd?
How often do you stand up for God?
June 19: Mark 3 7-12
Key Verse: Mark 3 7
But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea
Devotion:
Sometimes it is going to take some event to get people going; many of us quite sit and rest at home quite happily for the weekend or go out to try and find something interesting to do. When some big event lands on your doorstep it seems easier to go along and see what is happening than to try and stay in at home. People are curious and they want to know what is happening around them!
Jesus made quite an impression wherever He went because He was always willing to heal people that needed it and to glorify His Father in heaven to everyone. When someone starts causing a stir like that we want to go ahead and see what is happening… Jesus may have told them all to keep things quiet and not to tell the whole world what was going on, but when good things are happening they leak out and people get to know!
What I am hankering at here is the fact that we do gather together where there are good things and through being together we get encouragement and support from each other. Why not look at being a Christian as more along those lines? Being together with others will allow more people to wonder what is going on and more people will come to find out what this God is about because good things are happening. I am not saying good things will automatically happen because you come to church and give your money! Good things happen when Christ is involved!
Join together with other Christians and make sure others get to see that the Gospel is something very special and something that we all need to know about. Bring Christ into more people’s lives by being open and honest with them and making sure that they know why you have Christ in your life. Draw people in by allowing them to see the glory of God, not the glory of you…
Points to Ponder:
Why do you go to church?
When did you last tell someone that Christ is in the church?