Monday Reading: Matthew 23 15-17
Key Verse: Matthew 23 15
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Devotion:
Jesus had a way with words where He could reduce anyone to their base parts! He would not stand on ceremony and wait until the right time to bring His petition to the right councillor at the right time so they could make the right noises, hold the right meetings and generally make themselves to be all important. Instead Jesus told it like it was and made sure that people would understand.
If you struggle with the words of this chapter then don’t panic, many of us do! This passage was aimed at the church leaders who were probably well educated and indoctrinated (be it in a good or bad way) to the extent where they would be able to keep the lessor educated people out of their groups just by talking around them. Jesus made sure that the people He was talking to understood in a manner that they could grasp. It is no good talking to a child as if they are an adult because they will switch off and start daydreaming instead. Likewise it is not good to talk down to adults as if they are children because they will reject you before you have finished your sentence!
I am certainly not a scholar who knows the Bible inside out. I am certainly not a professor who can quote verse after verse. I do read my Bible regularly and I do study so that I can bring devotions to as many people as possible; but I reach out depending on God to give me the words that will mean most to the people that need it. I certainly do not know many of you who will read this text, but I know that God knows you and that He has prepared your heart to accept His Word.
God has given me the gift of love so that I reach out to people in love and try to allow them to see how important God is in my life, encouraging them to seek Him too. I cannot shout down people nor reject them because of their beliefs or lack of belief. That is God’s domain and not mine. His task for me is to lift up His Word in love and share it with people as best I can. It is God’s Word that counts, not the church building, not the ceremonies, not the rules dictated by others… God’s Word, and God’s Word alone!
Points to Ponder:
Do you read God’s Word?
Are you still making your own rules and saying they are God’s?
Sunday Reading: Mark 7 9-13
Key Verse: Mark 7 9
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Devotion:
Jesus knew full well what was going on in the church at that time when He was walking amongst them in His human form. We may look back and say that it must have been pretty obvious to many because it is pointed out so eloquently by Christ; but when we look at our churches today we find the same things happening now. We find some churches steeped in tradition and holding on to a past because that is the way it has always been – as far as they can remember. Then we have some churches who are taking on all manner of new things just so that they can bring in the crowds and see more seats filled than their neighbours.
Do people not see what is wrong with this? Do people not see that they have corrupted God’s ways? I’m afraid that many people do see what is happening but are still prepared to go on in their own ways instead of turning to God and asking Him for clear direction! Our lot is not to do our own will but to do the will of God – even if we do not like where it is taking us!
When I am asked of God to do something new I get all sorts of feelings and doubts and concerns and I try to do what I have always done instead of taking full grasp of all that God is giving me and moving forward. It is just a natural things for many of us, that we try to keep to what we feel it comfortable and not to move forward! But when I realise that God requires something of me, I tend to listen now rather than acting like Jonah and running off in the other direction!
I have seen what God can do to stop me from doing my own thing. I have seen what God can do to encourage me forward to His ways. I think I have learned that listening to God is the only real way forward in our lives – so I try… But when we try to listen to God we are also going to have to face the evil one dropping all manner of obstacles in our paths to try and stop us from giving God the glory! Be prepared, be ready but always depend on God and listen first of all!
Points to Ponder:
Are you comfortable in church?
Are you listening to God?
Saturday Reading: Luke 11 38-41
Key Verse: Luke 11 39
39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
Devotion:
How often do you do things just because the people or family before you did them? How often do you do things because that is just the way it was always done? I fear that far too often we get caught up in doing things just because we don’t like change or because we have got into the habit of doing things like that. God does not change, but we do and the world around us is constantly changing. He does not want us to change our love with Him but rather allow it to grow deeper every day. If we get caught up in doing things out of habit we are not doing them out of real love for God!
There is much comfort in being able to do things as they have always been done, but we must make sure that we are doing things for God and not for our own comforts because that is as good as taking an idol instead of God. The Pharisees were sticklers for keeping to the law and making sure that things were done in the same traditional ways as were written down by someone a long time ago. They had actually lost sight of God’s real law and were carrying out what they felt most comfortable with then!
Christ came to help wash away all of those ways and to make sure that we keep a good and honest relationship with Christ so that we can serve Him best of all and not get caught up in serving man or even serving ourselves. If we get caught up in serving man then we are serving the sin that is within us and not serving our God who hates sin!
We need to take a long look at what we have on the inside and make sure that we do not let that come out instead of our worship for Christ. We need to make sure that we do not lift up our ways, which are steeped in sin, instead of God’s ways. God can see straight through us even when we cannot see the wood for the trees so we need to trust in Him more and follow His direction; not follow what man has written down but actually follow God’s wishes in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
Who do you listen to?
Is your own law taking control?
Friday Reading: Isaiah 55 6-7
Key Verse: Isaiah 55 6
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Devotion:
Do you ever think about why so many people leave their worship until they get to church? Do you ever wonder why people will congregate at a building just so that they can worship? God is everywhere! That means that we are able to seek Him everywhere and to call Him from anywhere and to worship Him wherever we are! Yes it is wonderful to be able to be in a big congregation where you can feel so uplifted by so many people singing praises to God, but we need to call on Him always and everywhere, constantly.
For those people who do not yet know God, that one time that they actually go out to church, or that one meeting with a caring Christian may well be the only chance they get to hear about the love that Christ has for them. They will find it very difficult to hear anything whilst they are swamped by the world and its evil ways; so that moment may be the moment that God wants you to stand up and show them what praising God is all about!
I love to wear T-Shirts with Christian logos and words on them just so that people will look and wonder. I will always show them a loving smile; and in some countries that is considered to be showing you are a fool, but hey, that’s not my problem! Showing others what God means to you should be part of your life and not something you do behind closed doors or shut away in a building somewhere. When I am taking a service I love to be able to leave the doors open so that people will feel welcome and want to come in, even if they are late (not always possible in the UK where it can get a bit cold)
We need to be there, encouraging people, bringing them in and showing them that God loves them. We need to be constantly aware that others will feel wary of our ways. We need to make sure we do not treat them like criminals or sinners – even though they may well be. Treat them as God’s children and allow them to know that God loves them and wants them to turn away from their old ways. We certainly do not have the right to tell them off, but we do have the right to show them God’s ways and bring them in.
Points to Ponder:
How do you treat non-Christians?
How did God treat you before you believed in Him?
Thursday Reading: Psalms 9 7-10
Key Verse: Psalms 9 10
10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
Devotion:
When we look at various things in life we begin to think that they are really old or that they have been around forever. When we look back in history to the early times of our countries we find it hard to imagine just how things could have been so many years ago. But all this history that we can’t imagine is a blink of the eye compared to the eternity that God has in store for us. God has always been. He created time and is not bound by it like we are. No matter how hard we think the battle is and how long we think we will have to endure we can always know that God is already there and He has already won the battle!
He is the one who has set up a perfect throne of judgement. He is the one who will make sure that everything is judged according to the perfect set of rules that He alone adheres to. There is nothing that will ever escape His judgment because we all have to face it at some stage. Whether we face it standing next to Christ as our Saviour, or whether we have to stand alone in front of God is the choice that we make now.
For those people who have battled against evil people and evil ways all of their lives, depending on God or calling out to Him constantly, He is the one who will be there for them on that day. Their oppressors will have to stand before God and be judged according to what they have done to His people and to His children. I can remember the days of having to stand and listen to an angry parent when I had done something wrong against their child… I do not want to have to face up to God knowing that I have done wrong against His Son!
As long as we are willing to seek God and believe in His Son and what He has done for us, then we do not have to fear anything! He has promised to be there for us and to keep us and to save us to the uttermost! I thank Him daily that He chose to save me from my sins when I brought them to Him. I thank Him always for caring for me and for protecting me. I know the world has its own plan, but I know my God’s plan is already set and the world cannot change it… no matter what!
Points to Ponder:
Whose plan are you seeking to follow?
Are you really trusting God’s plan?