Tuesday Reading: 2 Timothy 2 22-26
Key Verse: 2 Timothy 2 22
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Devotion:
Following God some of the time is just not good enough! If we want to be able to avoid the evil one and all that he throws around us then we have to live our lives for and with God all of the time. Yes there are times when we feel like we are strong enough to resist what Satan can dangle in front of us and we go walking toward him to see what else is out there, but when we do that we are opening ourselves to so much more than we realise!
When we are youthful and feeling good we also like to think that we can do things and that they will not affect our walk with God because we are young or because we feel like we are strong enough… wrong! Those are the times when we trip and fall and find out the hard way that we are still humans and that we are still sinners. We need to turn toward all the good traits that God has shown us and that will encourage us to walk with God and not taint our lives with evil things. Going along to be with slightly questionable people just because they are enjoying themselves is not what God is telling us to do… yes we do have to take the Gospel with us and face some horrible places and faces as we reach out to others, but we should be relying on those who follow Christ with a pure heart.
God has given me some very special people in my life who are a great example and encouragement to me daily. When I am feeling down or feeling weak I can always speak to them and be encouraged to know that God is always there for me. We have so many words in our bibles that remind us of the fact that God is waiting patiently for us to walk with Him; but we also have many words that remind us that we are running out of time too.
Don’t try and leave it to the last second because we don’t know when that last second will be. Don’t try to walk on the wild side just to see if we can have what looks like a good time because the good times are those spent with God and not against Him. Don’t expect to be taught and give nothing in return because God wants us to teach others what we know as well! Don’t bully people into being Christians because that will not endear them to anything other than rejection! Christ want us to love others openly just as He loves us; always walking with Him and His saints.
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are strong enough?
Or do you know you actually need Christ?
Monday Reading: Acts 3 19-21
Key Verse: Acts 3 19
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Devotion:
One thing I did not cover yesterday is the absolute necessity for repentance. Sometimes we do get tied up in things and forget about the simple message that God is giving us, so I did not mention it yesterday. Today it is all about repentance, making sure that we remember the importance and sear that thought into our hearts and minds for as long as we live.
Repentance is not something you do once a week in a small booth because your priest says it must be so but is something between you and God, something very personal and full of meaning. It is a solemn time between you and God when you admit to the things that you have done wrong against Him and against others. That time when you can draw closer to Him by doing something that you may think will separate you at first!
God wants us to be honest and open with Him. When we try to hide things we are damaging ourselves as well as breaking our relationship between us and God. We are saying that we would rather live a lie than to be honest with God… well take a few seconds to think about that again… God sees everything and He knows everything so how are you ever going to try to achieve that? That is why God wants us to be honest – so that we will realise that He does see everything and that we want to change our lives to be more akin to what He wants from us.
When we bring our sins to God it is not a show and tell scenario where we are going to be paraded before everyone so that they can all see what we have done wrong, but rather a time when we can reveal our faults to ourselves by opening them up in front of God and Him alone. God knows when we are sorry for what we have done and He knows when we mean it and say sorry. He also knows when we come to Him and say sorry just so that we can get out of trouble without having to change our lives and aim for Him ways instead of our own sins. Be honest. Be open. Be solemn.
Points to Ponder:
Do you say sorry and mean it?
Does your repentance come from your heart?
Sunday Reading: Luke 13 1-3
Key Verse: Luke 13 3
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Devotion:
We have some pretty strange ways of looking at the world and what happens in the world. When we see something bad happen we always want to be able to blame something or someone else for what has happened. We don’t like to think that bad things just happen because that leaves us open to those same bad things. When Jesus was trying to show people that they were sinners, He used the example of the oppressive authority of the Romans to show then that when they dare to do anything against God, they can expect an appropriate punishment.
Just because we do not look at ourselves as being such great sinners does not mean that we are going to get away with a word of warning when the final judgement comes. We will get the punishment due to us as described by God and we certainly will not like that! So blaming others for sin, blaming others for discomfort, blaming others for almost anything is not what God wants us to be doing. He would rather that we look at our own lives and get things right starting with ourselves. Once we have ourselves back on the right track then we can reach out to others and invite them in too.
The world is a very different place to what is was when Jesus walked amongst the Jews. People live very different lives to what they did back then. It is not just the fact that Jesus paid the sin debt we owe that has changed the world but the way that people are. Yes we still have many of the same faults but society has gone far beyond the corruption that was seen back then and is now blaming each other for things that happen.
We need to move away from the blame culture and start by showing people a bit of God’s love. When we can rise above the sin by trusting in Christ to lead us in His ways then we can start to show people why Christ did what He did for all of us. We can then show them that we are fully trusting in Christ for our salvation and that it is a solid anchor onto which we hold. But far better than that, He has a firm grip on us and we can grow in Him because of that! Give Christ the glory for all that He has done so that we do not get trapped into blaming others for what we do!
Points to Ponder:
Do you blame others when they fail?
Where were you when they needed help?
Saturday Reading: Psalms 19 11-14
Key Verse: Psalms 19 11
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
Devotion:
God’s Word has not just been given to us so that we can know the truth but also so that we can be warned away from our sinful lives before we go there. It also warns the wicked people to turn away from their wicked ways and turn toward the ways of righteousness. There is great reward for keeping to the ways of God and if more people were to do so then the world would be a better place for all of us!
There is so much conflict with various religions and beliefs as each tries to have their own way that Christianity gets caught up in the middle of these fights and is tagged as another religion. I am not talking of the religious institutions that some would call Christianity because they seem to lose their way and follow man’s rules instead of God’s rules. Religion makes man feel comfortable and so he sticks to what he thinks it should be instead of being challenged by what God is actually saying.
By looking at what God’s Word actually says we are then challenged to make sure that what we do falls in line with what God requires of us. Christianity should no be about what one church says or what another does but about what God says; what is in the bible is what God has made sure has been written down. These devotions are brought to you because God has made sure that His Word has been sustained over time and it is that that I try to bring to you with some explanation. I too get a lot out of these devotions when I read them back a few months later because I see how much God has led me when I wrote them.
If we want to be able to stay away from sin as much as possible then we have to make sure that we stay as close as we can to God’s Word. That does not mean that we will be able to keep it always because we are sinners at heart; but it does mean that we will think twice about what we get up to because we have God’s Word in our minds and in our hearts. I used to think that I was OK until I got to reading my bible regularly and then I found out that I was just like so many people that have gone before me. God can help!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you look to for moral support?
How often do you turn to God for help?
Friday Reading: Psalms 19 7-10
Key Verse: Psalms 19 10
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Devotion:
We can look at all the trimmings of the world around us and think how great and how wonderful certain things are. I love to see the advances in technology that are happening nowadays. But none of this is of any comparison to the marvellous and wonderful testimony that we have in God’s Word because every single one of us has ready access to it! God’s Word has remained constant from the beginning and will be the same to the end. The very fact that it is constant and has been able to convert so many people from so many different countries, civilisations and ways of life is in itself the greatest testimony!
The fact that it has remained unchanged serves to show us that it is the truth and has always been the truth. Something that can stand for so long without being forced to change is real! Yes man continues to try to put his own styling on it and continues to try and bend the rules to suit himself – but God’s Word does not need to change! When we see something that is real and true we stand in awe of it because of the corruption that surrounds us. God’s Word stands as pure and relevant today as it has ever been!
When we do lift up God’s Word to its rightful place then we see just how it has been able to stand the test of time. The various other books from other religions have come and gone and undergone revision after revision until man is satisfied with it, but God’s Truth stands firm and solid and will always be so!
Jesus based His earthly ministry on that same truth that we have today. He came to prove it and showed us just how marvellous it is. He stood by the Word and wants us to be able to do that same, standing firm in the truth so that we will not be dashed against the rocks. Satan continues to buffet us as he tries to break the truth – but nobody can ever change the truth otherwise it would not be the truth!
Points to Ponder:
What do you hold as the truth?
Are you really trusting God’s Word wholly?