Sunday Reading: 1 Corinthians 3 16-23
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 3 19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”;
Devotion:
The one thing that I learned very quickly fifteen years ago was that I could not rely on my own intelligence to tell others about God. I started out as being someone who was a bit awkward getting up in front of others to talk about anything which did not do a lot for my confidence either. But I learned very quickly that even though many thought me to be intelligent, that counted as nothing when compared to God’s Word!
Yes I could pick up on things quickly, I could understand what was written down, but that did not build up my spirit; it was God working inside of me, showing me the spirit of the writings and sharing His love for me that made the difference. By opening up your own heart to others, they will come to see how much God means to you and will be more willing to accept the truth as you give it out. But make sure it is not your own vain words that you give to others!
I love the way that Paul knew so much from the law of Moses and that He was a man who had made it his ambition to make sure others knew what he did, and yet Christ turned him round and showed him a bit of His heart so that the truth may sink in. I love the fact that Paul counted all of that as nothing against the love of Christ. Paul did not waste what he had learned, but took it and taught from his heart from that moment onward, building on the foundation that Christ had laid!
We cannot just take what Christ Himself said. We cannot just take what the prophets foretold. We cannot just take someone else’s word for it… What we have to do is to take on the whole Gospel and to keep it with us every step of our lives. Christ has given us the truth via many people over the ages and does not want us to ignore parts of it just because we may not like them. The Word of God is just that; the whole Word of God. Take it all and apply it all, in truth and in whole.
Points to Ponder:
What do you tell others about?
Is God the Father and the Holy Spirit included in your words?
Saturday Reading: 1 Corinthians 3 9-15
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 3 11
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Devotion:
We are all called to be workers alongside God so that we can take the Gospel to everyone who does not yet know about it; but we should not forget to take the Gospel message to those that do know Christ already. It is no use building a good foundation and then erecting a building on top of that that will fall down at the slightest wind. What we need to do is to build diligently all the way through.
Nobody else can build a foundation like Christ can because He has accomplished in us all what no other man could ever do. That foundation may well be laid, but if we are not bold enough to tell people of that foundation, then they will never know that it is there. What is then built on top of that will not have the same respect as something that is built on a foundation that everyone knows. The building may look good, but everyone will wonder at the state of the foundation all the time.
You see, telling people about the Gospel is not a once off thing that we do on a particular Sunday or at a particular club or at a huge national rally; telling people about God is something we need to be doing constantly, keeping them informed and encouraged every step of the way. Being a Sunday Christian will not reap the same rewards as being a committed Christian willing to share the Gospel every day. We need to be the ones willing to share and grow always.
How we teach is very important as well! I know that God’s Word is the best possible tool that we can use to tell others about God, but if we are going to make it boring because we only read it out, or because we are not showing others how much it means to us personally, then are we not building on a foundation that is not there, or building using inferior methods? God would like us to be the best we can, conveying His Word to others showing them it is the most important thing in our lives… It IS!
Points to Ponder:
Are you doing your best?
Are you watering down God’s Word?
Friday Reading: Hebrews 12 7-11
Key Verse: Hebrews 12 9
Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
Devotion:
One of the most controversial things we face nowadays is just how far we are allowed to correct a child when they do something wrong. What I don’t want to do is get into a discussion about how much, how far or even how really; what I do want to cover is the fact that correction in some form or another must be served otherwise children will not learn anything new!
As youth workers we tend to have to face up to the whole spectrum of children who have either faced harsh punishment or at the other end, the children who have not had any correction to speak of. It is very clear to see the results of the correction or lack of correction through the way the youth will act. We do have an uphill task with most youth not just because they do misbehave, but because they don’t actually know how to handle discipline if they have not had any at home.
God has shown us that we do need to show love and respect but part of that love and respect is that we need to show others when they have got it all wrong; and that means standing up and saying something! If you were to run off and start sinning as much as you could just so that you could get your “money’s worth” out of the grace and forgiveness of God, do you really think He would stand by and allow you to run riot? So why should we then think any different as parents or leaders?
I spend a lot of my time getting to know the youth and children that I work with because I can then know how to react to each of them when they may do something wrong; equally how to praise when they do something right! Unfortunately as society and communities stretch to breaking point, the relational ties between youth and their parents also gets strained and stretched too far. As Christians we should all be more willing to step forward and help to patch up those over-stretched relationships and bring a bit more harmony back to this world. God would rather that we do spend time sitting and talking to prevent problems than rushing round and picking up the pieces!
Points to Ponder:
Do you wait to pick up the pieces?
Are you willing to strengthen bonds first?
Thursday Reading: Proverbs 19 17
Key Verse: Proverbs 19 17
He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.
Devotion:
One of the most admiral things that I have seen anyone do was the simple gift of a big sandwich and coffee to a homeless person during a day out Christmas shopping; and I’m afraid to say that it was not me doing the giving! There is nothing like a true show of kindness like that to put everything into perspective for you. I was not well off at the time, but I could afford to eat and even to share what I had with others and yet someone with less gave more than me. It really did bring home the lesson about the widow giving her all at the temple!
God wants us to be compassionate and to love others and show mercy. The heart of that has got to be because we actually do love people; that means looking out for them always and not just when it suits us. God does not necessarily want us to give everything we own away to the poor but rather to bring them up to a better place. By showing them love and compassion we enrich their hearts so that they can regain some sort of confidence in humanity. Many poor people have lost that compassion because they see people being quite mean to them.
Christ continued to remind us that we do need to love our neighbours. Who are you neighbours? Well they are not just the people that live next door but the people that are in your community; and that includes the poor who do not have a place to stay and those that do not have food to eat. God wants us to have open eyes as well as open hearts!
God is not slack in rewarding those who are not selfish and those who are willing to show love and compassion – especially when they do so whilst giving glory to God! I am sure that that widow did not go away with an empty soul but rather was richer than any of the other people in that temple on that day. It may not be that God supplies us with monetary rewards but with spiritual rewards instead. I love God because He is absolutely fair!
Points to Ponder:
Do you share what you have?
Do you pick whom you share with?
Wednesday Reading: Acts 20 28-31
Key Verse: Acts 20 30
Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
Devotion:
God has given us charge over many things in this world, but not everything. He has entrusted us with everything though and that is an awesome responsibility for us to handle. Must the same as a shepherd is given charge over the flock but has to take care of more than just the flock, such as the fencing and other amenities needed to keep the flock going, God has given us many things to take care of. His biggest charge that He has shared with us is the church body, something we have to share responsibility for.
Christ has bought the church body with His own blood in that He died so that every one of us may have eternal life; that means we are His and He alone can save us. But what we do as individuals amongst ourselves is very important as described by Paul here. We need to be very aware that there will be people coming into church that will have other things on their minds. They may well be seeking the truth but not finding it and they may well lead other people astray whilst they rummage around in the flock.
If we remain strong in Christ then we shall be able to help hold this flock together instead of splitting it apart. God does not want to have us throw people out of the church or even drive them out by not caring for them but rather that we should hold on to His flock and encourage them back into the Gospel and into His ways. One of the purposes of a church body is that we can encourage each other and support each other; that is God’s design, not mans.
Paul was constantly reminding people of the dangers that we face in this world. He was warning and guiding people every step of the way, after all he was one of those who were trying to infiltrate churches in the early days just so that he could take away the church ring leaders. But when his eyes were opened to the simple Gospel message he turned around and followed Christ with all his heart.
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep an eye out for stragglers?
Are you helping to hold Christ’s church together today?