Sunday Reading: 2 Samuel 24 1-10
Key Verse: 2 Samuel 24 10
10 David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.’
Devotion:
How do you know if you are doing things according to God’s wishes or whether you are doing something because of your own desires? Sometimes it is a very hard line to find and sometimes the only way we spot it is when we cross the line or are pushed over the line. None of us like to be squeezed up against the wall or pushed into a corner where we feel like we have no escape, but if that is the only way that God is going to get your attention, then don’t be too surprised if you do find yourself in the corner!
King David was pushed into a difficult place where he felt angry because of all that the people had been doing against God. His reaction was to do something out of character, something that would make God angry! David was reacting rather than spending time going over things with God and his reaction was to take a census and find out how many men he had that would fight for him! It was his pride that came out instead of God’s will. It was what he thought and not what God was trying to get him to do.
When things get tough we do have to listen more intently to God and we need to make sure that we are not doing something just because we are cross or upset; spending more time in prayer and reading God’s Word more often will help you to work things out. Whilst you may well feel like the last thing you want to do is to get stuck into reading your bible, it is a more sure way of finding out God’s will in your life than guessing! You may not like where God does lead you, but because His Word is true, you need to trust it in where it leads you.
Recently I seemed to be caught in a rough place and it was only through God’s Word that I gained that peace again from Him. It was only through God’s Word that I learned the changes that He wanted me to make in my life. It put me in a very uncomfortable place because it was not at all what I had expected; but once I submitted to that will, I felt that peace come back that only God can give us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel squeezed?
Are you getting deeper into your bible?
Saturday Reading: Romans 2 12-16
Key Verse: Romans 2 16
16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
Devotion:
One of the things people often say is that they will not get into trouble if they don’t know the law; maybe they like speeding at a particular place and they pretend they don’t know the local law, or they like parking somewhere they are not supposed to (just picking on drivers because I am waiting in my car at the moment). But just because we don’t know the actual law of the area we are in, or because we don’t bother to find out, does not mean that we can get away with things because the law is the law and it is our responsibility to obey the local laws – which means we should be finding out what the local law is!
God’s law is a bit different because we do know right from wrong in our consciences because God placed that information in our hearts. So when we do something wrong, we do actually have a definite feeling that it is wrong as God speaks to us in our hearts; we cannot ignore that information because we are ignoring God!
If we do sin and we know it is wrong then we are wilfully doing something against what God has set in our hearts; we are showing contempt to God and His law! If we think we are going to get away with that just because we are different or because we know how we can bend the law or we know someone else will not mind, then we are sadly mistaken. God is Just in all His ways and will not ignore sin! When we do sin we must bring it to Christ and ask Him to forgive us of that sin. Only then can He show His love and separate us from that sin, presenting us as sinless before God. If we wilfully sin we are showing God that we do not have any remorse – we do not care that we are acting against His law!
How do you think your parents (or your boss) would react if you wilfully went against their rules? I’m pretty sure they would not be too pleased that you ignored their rules and even less pleased that you did so knowing that they did not approve of what you were about to do! So how do you think you can get away with doing the same to God who cannot and will not ignore sin? Never forget that God is Holy and cannot abide sin!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you can bend the law?
Do you really think you can change God?
Friday Reading: Matthew 12 33-37
Key Verse: Matthew 12 34
34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Devotion:
How good are you are spotting what country someone comes from by the way they talk? Can you spot which part of the country they are from by their accent? Growing up in a country often gives you a great insight into how people speak in different areas and you get to learn more about people based on how they speak. If you are any good at speaking like other people then you could fool people into believing that you come from another part of the country for a short while; but as soon as you relax into your own ways they will find you out! We can take this experience and apply it directly to these verses.
When we listen to the people around us we do learn a lot about what is in their lives just from what comes out of their mouths. When you are in a position where you meet many people you get to learn a lot about the families that surround you; you get to see how children imitate parents without thinking about it. I have watched our community for long enough to learn that we are all in a desperate need for the stability that only comes from knowing and trusting God.
When we start to learn about God and we start to apply what we learn into our lives we do begin to change. Other people then get to see the difference in you and ask questions like “what has made them change?” We need to be bold and take the different life that God shows us with us every step of the way. Only by standing up for those differences will we be able to make a difference in our communities.
“Why me?” I may hear you asking. Well, why not! A difference has to start somewhere and if we are not willing to start, why should anyone else be any different? We could continue giving in to the ways of the world and the ways of other people or we could take a leaf from Christ’s ways and make a difference. Allow Christ into your heart so that He can change you from the inside; what comes out will then be start to make the difference that others will see and seek for themselves.
Points to Ponder:
Do you stick to your own ways?
Are you focusing on God’s ways or your own?
Thursday Reading: Luke 12 29-34
Key Verse: Luke 12 34
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Devotion:
How many times have you got up in the morning and wondered “what am I going to wear today?” I have never had a big wardrobe but I know that I have been there! How insignificant it seems when you look back on life and see the much bigger things that we should be worrying about in comparison to those moments of doubt or madness.
When Christ was talking to the disciples He was encouraging them not to keep focus on the physical things around them but rather to look forward to the things that are more important – how we are going to spend eternity. If we were to worry about a single second in our lives instead of looking at the whole week, year or decade we would not get very far in our lives. Instead we tend to focus on the future and what we can do to make things better. When we consider our lives with God we should not be limiting our thoughts to the here and now but focusing on the eternity with God. Whilst we may not be able to think of times spans that have no ending, we can focus on our spiritual lives instead of our physical lives.
Our physical lives are the lives that have a beginning and an end; when we are born and when we die. Our lives with Christ, our spiritual lives, must then be viewed as when we are reborn with Him (when we accept Him as our One True Saviour) and forever more (which is a concept we probably will struggle with). If it is going to help you to focus on God then think of your life for the next 1000 years with Him instead of it being as without end.
If we are going to limit our thoughts to our physical lives then we are going to keep focusing on our physical lives instead of our spiritual lives. If we are able to release those limitations and focus on what we can look forward to with Christ or what we can achieve with Christ, then our lives will change to being more fulfilling as we embrace all of the guidance and blessings that God can send our way. Why should we limit our thoughts to our physical lives when we can build up so much more for our eternal lives with Christ. Put it in your heart to aim for a full life with Christ!
Points to Ponder:
Are you limiting your potential?
Are you limiting God’s scope?
Wednesday Reading: John 6 52-59
Key Verse: John 6 54
54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Devotion:
One of the great stumbling blocks between religions is the flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ; how people translate this, use it, apply it and govern it in their lives and their religions causes many a conflict. The Jews here at the time were bringing up this same conflict in their hearts as they begun to ask “how can we eat the flesh of this man and drink his blood”, after all have we not been told before that we should not drink the blood of anything living!
What they were struggling with was the true understanding of just who Jesus was and just what He was telling them to do. The actual flesh Christ was alluding to was not the muscles that were clinging to His bones but rather everything that He stood for: The promises made, the covenant of eternal life, the grace He displayed, the redemption offered because of His actions, His ways, the forgiving of our sin and the acceptance that He is God and that there is only one God. The eating of this flesh means the consuming of all of these items, believing that they are true and accepting them into your life! We need food and drink in order to maintain and build up our earthly bodies; we need this food and drink that Christ is offering in order to maintain and build up our spiritual bodies.
We take on the flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus because we choose to believe in all that He has done and what He stands for. We trust in Him wholly because He is our one true Saviour, our Messiah, our King of Kings. Just as we may feel good after eating a good meal, we feel spiritually full after accepting Christ as our Saviour!
God may well supply us with things to allow us to survive physically when we need it; I have seen Him provide marvellous gifts of food and drink to people who need it just to survive. God may well give us places where we can find physical peace and rest but it is also God who is going to supply that spiritual and emotional peace and rest that we desire as well. God wants us to have this all so that we can be a more effective witness for Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you expect things from God?
Do you realise how much He actually supplies?