Monday Reading: Jeremiah 1 4-10
Key Verse: Jeremiah 1 7
But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Devotion:
When I hear of someone who wants to be able to serve The Lord I usually do my best to encourage them into His service. I have learned that it is not just the people who have gone off to study at university that are qualified to serve God; it is God who chooses who He wants and not us trying to make a commitment that we have to live up to. When God chose Jeremiah it was not after Jeremiah had gone to study with scholars or after he had read the scriptures over and over again; God chose him when he was a young man and certainly did not feel up to the task.
We need to listen to God’s calling and act accordingly. Jeremiah’s first response, like Moses’ first response, was to say that he was not up to the task in hand! I certainly did not think that I was up to the job when I was called to serve as a youth minister but the more that I am able to serve Him, the more that I am able to see that it is not my understanding that has got me this far after fifteen years, but what God has taught me!
The first thing you may do is to panic! Then after that you will probably have many doubts and panic a bit more; but when you place your trust in God and allow Him to guide you, then you see the power of God at work. I can remember the first few weeks of teaching the youth and I would have to spend a long time sitting and reading God’s Word over and over again until it sunk in. There are still days when I need to spend a long time reading over particular verses which I know are important but which don’t seem to mean as much as I know they should… Those are the days when I am far too distracted by worldly things!
When we are able to listen to God with an open heart, we do find that He gives us enough understanding to be able to teach His Word in the way that He wants it done. I certainly do not count myself in any way like any of the scholars who know God’s Word, but I know that God does use me to reach people because I have seen many young people come to know Him over the years. I know I have not taught them all that they know because they each grow at their own pace, some far quicker than I. It is God at work!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel lacking?
How could one book last so many years?
Sunday Reading: Psalms 138 1-8
Key Verse: Psalms 138 7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.
Devotion:
There is absolutely no reason not to praise God with our whole heart! Don’t try and figure things out by saying that you need to save some love for you partner and family. Don’t try to share out your love equally to all parties… I have come to the conclusion that love is something that is true or feigned and that is something that I do struggle with at times. If we are willing to love God with our whole heart, then He will continue to love us in a special way which allows us to love others just as much. In other words, give all you love to God and He will make sure you have enough to love others!
Christ wants a proper relationship with us and not a half-hearted affair; sorry to speak in worldly terms, but sometimes you have to relate things to the most basic thoughts so that we do fully understand them! God wants to love and support us but in order to be able to do that properly He should gain our full love and support as well. Love is certainly not a one way thing because it has to be supported on both sides.
When we cry out to God, He answers our call – because He loves us! Yes He does do many things for us for which we do not ask, but it is those times when we cry out to Him in reverence and fear that He answers so well so that we understand how much He does love us. That is not a condition but a fact of life. It does not matter that God is God, that He is in heaven, that He is holy; what matters is that whatever state we are in, we may come to Him and ask and He will listen!
The Lord is not going to give us wealth and riches beyond our imaginations so that we can live it up in the world; He is going to give us what we need to do our best for Him. If we abuse what he gives us then we should not expect to be able to keep it for very long. But that is where we see the mercy of our Lord, because He does allow us to do and keep a whole lot more than we do deserve! Thank you God for your incredible mercy!
Points to Ponder:
Do you struggle with love?
Are you trying to share it out instead of giving it out?
Saturday Reading: 1 Corinthians 1 26-31
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 1 29
that no flesh should glory in His presence.
Devotion:
What sort of people did God choose to record His Word for the rest of the world be have access to it by? I see people who were close to God, people who listened to Him, people who were given vision by Him. Yes there have been royal and noble people called to bring us God’s Word, but most of the time it is the ‘normal’ people that God chooses so that He will get the glory.
Far too often we do look on the outside and brush over what we find on the inside; hence we get things wrong and fail at many tasks with other people. I have learned the hard way to stand back and wait to see what people are like on the inside before I get involved with them in whatever I am going to be doing. It is not that I am judging them but rather waiting for them to show me what they are like before I make a fool of myself. I never like turning anyone away who is willing to tell others about God because we are on the same side, but sometimes they are seeking other things before seeking God.
If we are willing to listen to God then we will find that we gain more insight into the gospel than some so called scholars who would tell you how many courses they have been on to learn about it! This is because we would be learning from God and not from man. When God teaches us it will be to give Him the glory.
One thing I do find interesting is that people who have been used of God in the past have picked up fame and even fortune as they bring forward the gospel. Does this mean that they are doing something wrong because the rest of us are poor? Far from it! It means that others are rewarding them for what they are doing for them. God says that we should not bring glory to ourselves in His presence; or in other words, don’t lift up yourself instead of God. Lift up God first of all, and if others lift you up don’t bask in the glory but give that glory to God alone! And no it is no difficult to divert praise toward God instead of gloating in it…
Points to Ponder:
Are you praised for working for God?
How much do you praise God for allowing you to work for Him?
Friday Reading: 1 Samuel 17 48-51
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 17 51
Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
Devotion:
I could just imagine what David’s brothers must have been saying to him when he came to the army camp. But when he went out and ran toward Goliath as they continued to cower from the giant, I’m sure they would have been totally shocked! How could their little brother do such and act as this… and to do it in front of them too!
But David knew something that the others had forgotten; God was with him and God had already overcome Goliath, they just didn’t see that yet! Just as we don’t see how God has already overcome the world, they could not see how a diminutive figure could do anything against a giant of a man! Their focus was on what they knew they could do with their own strength and training. Their focus was no longer on God and His might and power – so everything else looked a whole lot bigger than it should have!
If we focus on God and His power and strength, the world will shrink back to its real size, a speck in the sand! There is nothing our God cannot do. There is nothing that He has not already thought of. There is nothing that can ever come up against Him that will make Him wonder how He is going to deal with it! In our modern worlds of technology there are so many things that we come up against that frighten us because they look far too complex to handle, and yet God already knows.
If push came to shove, would you have the courage to totally thrust your life into Gods hands? Would you be willing to go forward with absolute faith just as David did? I think most of us would be in the same boat as his brothers because we can see how much it may hurt. But we need to put aside our earthly fears and look to our God with fear instead. He has overcome the world and He alone knows what is happening next! Have faith and walk with Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have faith enough?
Don’t wonder at your faith, marvel at Gods power!
Thursday Reading: John 16 25-33
Key Verse: John 16 33
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Devotion:
I think that I may have been a bit frustrated if I were chosen to be a disciple by Jesus at that time; to have to figure out what was being said, what was meant and to constantly look for further meanings in everything must have been hard. As a man I tend to miss a lot of things in life because I don’t get them, but as a disciple of His nowadays, I do like to try and understand Him better each day.
We do have many excellent reference books that can show us what other people think about the writings we now call our bibles, but if we want to truly know what it is all about, we do have to consult God. He has promised us that he will guide us through our faith with and in Him. He has promised to explain things to us when we listen and trust in Him. But He has never said that it was all going to be plain sailing all the way!
On many occasions God has reminded us that we do face opposition and that we have to look beyond what we face in order to be encouraged. If we were to dwell on every hardship we faced we would not last very long. Christ tried to encourage His disciples by telling them that they would never be alone and that we could always call on Him at any stage in our lives. Our comfort must come from the fact that we do have God with us at all times, even when we face hardships!
We may not understand things as they happen, but they will be explained to us. We may not like what we face, but facing them will strengthen us and allow us to grow in our relationship with Christ. When we face opposition we can call on His name and see how He answers us; that brings a deeper trust and a more faithful relationship is built up between us and Him. God has already beaten the world and all of the opposition, we just have to remember that and trust that He knows where to lead us when we get to a dead-end!
Points to Ponder:
Do you despair with opposition?
DO you fully trust Him always?