Thursday Reading: 2 Corinthians 6 1-2
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 6 2
For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Devotion:
When this letter was written to the Corinthians to highlight the things that were still going wrong in the country and to warn people off from such; it was also a bit of an apology for not being able to be with them as the Apostle had hoped. But when we read back on these epistles we do see echoes of the same situations in the world around us nowadays as well. We do have to be vigilant of what goes on around us and try our best to uphold God’s ways.
What we must always remember is that we do not have to wait until things get too desperate before we act on things. We need to be doing what we can and when we can, not waiting for others to pick up and do things. God gives us the strength we need to do what He wants us to do; if we are willing to take a step forward in faith with Him then we will be able to do His work. I know that I am not the best example of what a Christian should be like, but I continue to try hard with keeping on going with God’s Work and giving people the Gospel as God shares it with me.
I do find it hard to concentrate and give the proper time to reading and learning myself when all I can hear is the tumult of the world; but I do try and I do see to be able to keep going. I know it is not my strength that carries me forward because I am weak. I know it is not my wisdom that keeps these devotions going because I am a technical person and not a scholar (you may have noticed the bad grammar!) But God give me opportunity and the means for sharing my love for Him with you all.
It is that love that God shows me that keeps me going through everything. Knowing that He is with me and is willing to guide me every step of the way is very comforting. But always remembering that now is the time is sometimes hard. I am stepping out in faith with my friends as we start a Christian youth organisation which is focused on sharing the Gospel here and now. Now is the time. Here is the place. You don’t have to go searching to a good place to share God’s Word. Start where you are, but start now!
Points to Ponder:
Are you sharing the Gospel?
Are you searching too hard to find a good place to start?
Wednesday Reading: Luke 2 41-52
Key Verse: Luke 2 46
Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
Devotion:
One of the questions I continue to ask myself is how could the scholars not know that this was someone so very special when they had Jesus as a small boy discussing things with them! When I hear someone talking with authority about God I do like to listen in to try to find out what makes them the way they are. I know it can be very tiring listening to philosophers talking about all manner of ways of thinking and stuff, but then people who do not understand the Gospel think the same about Christians.
We have to be able to reach people at the level they are at and not expect them to be intellectual philosophers or such like. When we talk to others about God we have to talk with them in a way in which they can think straight. Trying to have a conversation with anyone who is upset or frustrated is very hard work because they will throw all sorts of things at you to try and break your train of thought because theirs is so confused. Stick to what you know and try to do it well!
Jesus did have inside knowledge and was able to discuss things at the level appropriate for the scholars with which He was talking; we do not have such depth of knowledge until we have read enough or learned enough or until God shows it to us. Getting hung up in thing which you do not fully understand is not a sin; we all have to learn as we grow. Admitting that you do not know and remembering to study up on what you do not know is going to be your strength.
Jesus was continuing to learn more as He Himself grew up; He was a human being and so had to learn things as we do. He did not let the world stop Him learning as we do but instead had learned to listen to God and not the world. How great it would be not to be so distracted by the world because we too would be able to pick up and learn all that God gives to us each day. Be patient. Be persistent. Be consistent. Be aware of your own limits, but be courageous to continue growing!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you remember when you read?
Are you still willing to learn?
Tuesday Reading: Luke 24 44-48
Key Verse: Luke 24 45
And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
Devotion:
I don’t know about you but I have to read some passages quite a few times before God opens my eyes and heart to what is being said; this was that defining moment for the disciples when Christ opened up their eyes and hearts to what He had been saying all along. It is a difficult thing to understand the Gospel sometimes and it take time for our minds to let go of all the world has corrupted us with before we can grasp the truth that we read. Christ wants each of us to be able to understand how much has already happened in this world and what we can look forward to.
The scriptures, or our bibles, are a record of most of what God would have us to know while we are here on earth. Our bibles contain enough information for us to get to know Him and to get to understand more about Him. This is what God has designed, that we should have encouragement and proof enough to put our faith in Him. By any rights there is enough to prove God exists, but due to our own failings and unwillingness to understand God’s ways, we fail at that understanding.
God continues to encourage us to take what we have learned and what we believe and share it with others who do not yet understand; the object being to allow more people to get to know Him. He also wants us to share what we do know with others that do believe in Him already so that we can encourage each other to go one step further.
Our quest for knowing Christ better should never end. Just because we only have a set number of books in our bibles should not mean that we limit ourselves to what is written down by others. God wants to encourage us through everything in this world so that we can know just how magnificent He actually is. Look around you and see what He has created. Look around you and see the differences in each of us. God is Awesome!
Points to Ponder:
How much of the bible have you read?
How much have you still to learn?
Monday Reading: Matthew 28 16-20
Key Verse: Matthew 28 19
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Devotion:
Even though Jesus had risen from the dead and each of the disciples had seen Him, Thomas having doubted along with others, the doubt was still there that this was all real. The eleven disciples that were left had been told to go to this particular place and Jesus met them there. What their doubt was based on is not said; but I would suppose that they still did not think this was really happening and that Christ was really amongst them, possibly thinking this was a vision of some kind. They all came closer to Him to make sure!
We do not have the privilege of being able to walk up to Christ and grab hold of Him to check if He is real. Instead we have eye witness accounts written down for us to read; this is a true and historical record as described by various people, not just one person.
Our Lord wants us to take these words that have been recorded, take them into our hearts and take them with us to allow other people to get to know them. But it is not just a task of giving out bibles to people and telling them to read all about it. Christ wants us to take our hearts with us, take that deep belief that we have and share it with others. The disciples had to be shown up a couple of times before they were ready to take the name of Jesus with them so don’t ever feel like you are not good enough.
Yes we will all have our moments of doubt and it is in those moments that we need to draw a little closer to God and allow Him to strengthen and encourage us for the next step forward. Don’t be afraid of telling people the truth because the truth will always come out. Don’t feel that because you have had a moment of doubt that you must give up in case you make others doubt. Sharing the Gospel will allow you to draw closer to God; so share it with an open heart and bring them in!
Points to Ponder:
Do you still doubt as well?
Do you continue sharing the Gospel?
Sunday Reading: Genesis 12 1-9
Key Verse: Genesis 12 9
So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
Devotion:
When God calls you to do something there should be no argument about what you do. Our failings come from either not hearing God in the beginning because we are so tied up with legalities or other issues in our lives or from not wanting to listen to Him because we think it is not fair what is being asked of us. Then sometimes we question if we have to go and work things out ourselves when God has clearly asked us to wait on Him. What I am saying is that it is not always an easy task to listen to God!
Abram was getting on in years when God required that he up and leave his own country so that he could set the wheels in motion for what He was going to do in Abram’s life. Abram had no problem listening to God and moving out because he trusted in God and knew of His awesome power. What may have startled Abram at this stage was that God was telling him that all of the land of Canaan would be given to him and his descendants; at this stage Sarai his wife was barren.
I like to think that I am more able to listen to God as I grow older as well because I have learned a lot more about Him and know Him better than I did before. But truth be told, I still have many things which distract me each day of my life, things which take me away from a close walk with God. Maybe I understand better how I can get around those distractions, or maybe they are actually getting fewer; I hope it’s not because I can’t remember them all!
Keeping a positive outlook on our lives will allow us to continue a closer walk with God because we will let less things get us down. Being content with what we have is important and helps us to live for God. I’m sure Abram and Sarai would have loved to have had children by this stage in their lives but God had stopped that from happening up until now; and would continue to hold back until the time was right. I know God will continue to bless me in many ways and I look forward to serving Him better each and every day.
Points to Ponder:
Do you ever think it is too late?
Read on about Abraham!