Tuesday Reading: Acts 20 22-24
Key Verse: Acts 20 23
except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.
Devotion:
How far are you willing to go when you face danger or strife ahead? Let’s be honest, most of us will turn round and run off in the other direction; we are more like Jonah than Paul knowing that we are weak and that we will give in when faced with hardships. I hate to think how useless I would be if I were to be face with any torcher!
Sometimes being faced with walking up a long hill or having to walk instead of driving down the road is just too much for us at the time, we would rather give in and have to face paying that extra bit for fuel next time than having to face the half hour walk. God has warned us all that we will face hardships because of all the rotten things in the world now. Adam and Eve found out the hard way what that was all about in the beginning and we continue to face the world as we live now. But that does not mean that we should just give in and go with whatever takes our fancy!
Paul knew that rough times would be ahead, but he continued on forward because he knew that God was going to be with him and that God needed him to spread the Gospel. We have a task that has been ordained by God and we should be doing everything we can to make sure we follow His will. Bending with the wind, taking a blow, riding the storm, whatever you want to call it, we will face things we do not like; but know this: God is with you every step of the way.
Depending on God is hard when we are faced with excessive hardships but making sure we do take those few steps forward in faith will allow us to see how faithful He is and how much He can do for us when we allow Him to! The joy will come when we see the results of our work. The joy will overflow when we see the joy that Christ can bring into other people’s lives. Look forward to what God can give and don’t be side-tracked by the rough picture you see ahead.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get over-whelmed?
Who do you ask for help from?
Monday Reading: Exodus 17 1-7
Key Verse: Exodus 17 5
And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go.
Devotion:
When the people of Israel were ready to give up and even blame Moses for their hardship, lack of water and general dire outlook they perceived, God stood by them. Moses was listening to God and continuing to obey Him every step of the way, doing his best to get things right and please God; not forgetting that he was human and did make mistakes as well… But the people did not have that direct link with God and grew weary when they were thirsty, being ready to stone Moses for bringing them out into the desert.
This was just another step in God’s plan to make them realise that He was and always will be their God, all powerful and all knowing, full of grace and mercy. Moses turned to God and He gave him the means by which the people would see God in action. Now Moses could have taken these words and thought they were too silly to obey; I mean, hitting a rock with a stick is not exactly the normal thing to do to get water. But Moses knew God’s power and he knew that God would do what He had said.
We have to show God that we will trust Him when the times comes by listening to what He say, no matter how much it may go against what we think is normal. We have to trust Him with our lives because He is the one that has given us those lives to start with. God called the people out into the desert and was not about to let them die after they took that step of faith. When God asks us to do something and we take our step of faith, He will not let us down; He will continue to be with us every step we take in His care.
If we try to analyse things we will very quickly work out that we are not worthy. This is the picture you may get when you read this passage, that the people are not worthy because they are not trusting God fully; but God’s faithfulness should never be put into question because it is absolute and true. We are not worthy. Just as they were not worthy. But God loves us just the same, just as He loved them. God will continue to love and support us as long as we have stepped forward trusting Him in the beginning.
Points to Ponder:
Do you grow weary working for God?
Do you know how much He has already done?
Sunday Reading: Psalms 95 8-11
Key Verse: Psalms 95 11
So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’
Devotion:
When I was a young lad I used to try and see how far I could push my brother until he hit me, and probably did the same to my parents and a few other people too! I like to think that I don’t go there much nowadays but then I read this passage which made me think a bit more… How much do we do unintentionally to God and overlook it because it does not seem to affect anyone else in our lives?
When the Israelites were walking through the desert, God made sure that the generation of people who had hardened their hearts toward Him did not get to benefit fully from the Promised Land. God had lead them there but was not about to give in and allow the unrepentant people to take on this new land. If we try to brush things under the carpet then we are acting in just the same manner as they did in the desert, we are hardening our heart toward God! We have got this entire history written down for us so that we can know that God was not pleased with them; let us never ignore it!
Jesus has paid an awesome price for us and He continues to stand by and watch us as we live our lives. Don’t allow what you have done wrong in your life to pull you down with guilt and shame, rather give it to God and allow Him to separate your from that part of your life. Jesus came to give His life so that we could live a new life in Him, not so that we would be ridden with guilt and go hide in a box for the rest of our lives. Reach out to God and allow Him to grab you tight so that you can live for Him!
It may seem like a very ‘British’ or ‘proper’ thing to do to keep a stiff upper lip or to keep things hidden from your friends but the only thing you are achieving is sinking yourself deeper in the mire. When we do that it is harder for us to come back out again and don’t be surprised when God turns round and reminds you how dirty you have become. God loves you and wants you to live your life toward and with Him, don’t go and spoil it all by driving a wedge between you and Him now…
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep things private?
Do you end up trying to hide them from God too?
Saturday Reading: 2 Timothy 2 10-15
Key Verse: 2 Timothy 2 13
If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
Devotion:
None of us like to suffer, be it physically, mentally, spiritually and any other means. If we had the choice we would choose the easy life in preference to the hardships, but it is those hardships that will make a difference in our lives. The hard part comes in trying to convince someone who is in dire straits that they have anything to look forward to, but when they come out the others side people will see a difference. This does not necessarily mean that we will come out of everything smelling of roses!
When we give up our worldly ways and take on the ways of Christ, we take on a new life with Him which allows us to see so much more of the real worth of life than before. If we face hardships and keep trying to go through them, we shall be strengthened if nothing else; just like taking exercise, we will learn how to handle things better. But the one that gets me is having faith or lacking faith…
We think of some things as being less important and we tend to disregard those things. Those things then become of no consequence to us and will often fade away and die (in a manner of words). But when it comes to our faith and God’s faithfulness that is entirely different. No matter how faithless we become, no matter how much we lack in faith or lack in our belief in God, He remains the same! I suppose it could be thought of as trying to think a rock away by saying that it is not there… that’s not going to happen!
God remains faithful and remains our Rock upon which we can build everything. No matter what we believe or lose track of in our lives, God is going to always remain there and remain totally in charge. We may think our world is falling apart because things just are not going our way, but God knows the outcome and He continues to uphold righteousness. We do have to take this truth out and remind people of it because, like them, we too will fail when push comes to shove and our faith fails… But God never does!
Points to Ponder:
Do you wish for more faith at times?
Are you remembering God never changes?
Friday Reading: Luke 6 32-35
Key Verse: Luke 6 32
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
Devotion:
I have heard it so many times that this is one of the hardest things to do as a Christian; but when you do allow Christ to work in your life this becomes second nature. We will always meet someone in our lives that wants to break everything or wants to make sure that we do not succeed, but that is just the way of the world. If we had not got involved with sin then we would be very different people today; but we have done so and we continue to get tied down with it every day.
It is not the sin that will make us hate people or prevent us from loving others, so don’t try and blame it on the sin from other people or the example of other people. Each of us has our own choice to make and each of us is responsible for the choices that we do make. We are the ones who will choose if we want to love or hate someone.
The way that we live our lives will be a very big influence on whether we are able to love others. If we live in our own little world we will find it hard to mix with others who are different from us. If we refuse to accept that others think differently we will find it hard to mix. If we want others to do things our way, don’t expect them to like us! If we always want something in return for the stuff we do for others, they will grow weary of us. Loving other people is not all about walking up to everyone and giving them a big hug…
When people work against you, you must try to break those barriers that they set up between you and them otherwise they will be the ones who cut themselves off from the rest of the world. Being able to do good things for the people who think least of you will make a bigger difference than doing good to the people who think most of you. Spread you love to those who work against you and don’t just keep it for those who already love you.
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to love your enemies?
Do you still treat them like enemies?