December 16: Matthew 19 23-26
Key Verse: Matthew 19 26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Devotion:
Jesus send a harsh reminder to us all after the rich young man came to ask Him about getting into heaven – no matter what we have or what we can achieve here on earth, it is our relationship and belief in Christ which will make all the difference. In fact, our earthly riches may well keep us from getting into heaven because with great riches often times comes greed.
It may seem impossible we could ever get into heaven because of the things we have done in our lives, but this is not a barrier to God. It may seem impossible we could get into heaven when we compare ourselves to others we look up to, but this is not a barrier to God. I may seem impossible for us to have access to heaven because of all the laws we have broken from the scriptures, but it is not up to our interpretation of any of the laws – it is up to God.
God made it possible for any one of us to gain access to heaven because He gave us His Son who willingly gave His own life as the ultimate sacrifice for us; but it is still up to us whether we do access that gift He has given us. No matter what we do on earth, if we do not place our faith and trust in Christ and accept what He has done for us, we are always going to fall short of getting into heaven. This rich young man was saddened because he was enjoying a great life because of his wealth – what he was missing was the love he should be showing Christ!
If we are not willing to give up on our greatest earthly loves or wants, then we may not be getting into heaven with Christ. He wants us to show our love toward Him means more than anything else we have on earth. Some of us chase after money, some after techy goods, some after people, some after sports… if we are not willing to put those wants into second place after God, then do we deserve a place in heaven?
Points to Ponder:
What do you choose as being most important in your life?
Will you allow Christ to take that place instead?
December 15: Luke 1 26-38
Key Verse: Luke 1 38
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Devotion:
Mary was chosen by God for several reasons, but the one I would like to focus on here is her innocence. Mary was a young girl who was engaged to be married to Joseph and had not been with any man yet. Can you imagine what was going through her head when the angel told her she was going to have a baby which was not going to be Josephs! How would she be able to explain this to Joseph, never mind the family or friends…
But her faith in God and her obedience are what shone through here. No matter what the gossip would be like, it would be nothing compared to turning her back on the will of God – so she accepted what the angel said would happen and would have to explain this to people by telling them the truth; even though many would probably not believe her!
The angel said “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” I wonder if Mary remembered the words from the prophet Isaiah who had foretold the birth of Jesus hundreds of years previously when the angel said these words. It is easy for us to link the words from Isaiah to these words is the gospel of Luke after the fact, but at that time the link would only have been made through the Holy Spirit explaining it; indeed, if we did not have someone explain the link to us, the Holy Spirit would still make sure we understood the link – the prophesy coming true just as God had promised.
Mary was young and would not have known the ways of the world; her innocence would be key to her accepting what the angel was telling her. If she had been older and had been opened to the ways of the world, she would have questioned things more and may well have doubted like Zechariah had. But instead, she was able to accept the words because she would have been taught how great God is and how nothing was impossible for God. Oh, to have the innocence and acceptance of Mary in our relationship with Christ!
Points to Ponder:
Do you doubt things because of what friends tell you?
Are you willing to accept God’s Word as the truth?
December 14: Psalms 119 97-104
Key Verse: Psalms 119 101
I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word.
Devotion:
There is so much for us to learn from our bibles and the more we read them the more we remember the scriptures; those same scriptures which make us wiser than people who would work against us and against God… but still we have doubts about how much we know and whether it will be of any use! If we simply remember one key passage from our bibles, we can tell people the passage and share or enthusiasm with them. People will be encouraged by something simple like that!
But when we open ourselves up to worldly ways we tend to forget about the bible and don’t share what we have learned with others; like we are withdrawing from our position of strength and siding with the evil one instead. As long as we are willing to try and keep away from the evil ways, we will be more apt to remember the scriptures we have learned and more able to then pass on those words of wisdom to others.
It is not our words which are going to make the biggest difference but the word of God which will make the biggest difference when we use it and tell others of it. The more we remember it the more likely we are to obey it, or to go along with what we have learned from it. The more we keep the words of our bibles in our hearts, the more we are going to be encouraged by it and the more likely we are going to be able to avoid the evil ways.
The most important thing I remember about the scriptures is that the more I learn, the more I love the bible and the more willing I am to obey what I read; this is how God draws us closer to Him and enables us to spend quality time with Him. I can remember being told the word of God was sweeter than honey and wondering how it could be. But the more I get to learn, the more I love it and the sweeter it becomes to read it every day.
Points to Ponder:
Do you like to read?
How often do you read your bible?
December 13: 2 Timothy 3 14-17
Key Verse: 2 Timothy 3 17
so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Devotion:
This letter to Timothy warned him of the persecution which would come his way just because he was willing to tell others about the gospel. The same warning must be taken seriously by us – the bolder and more willing we are to spread the gospel, the more persecution may come our way! This is not God testing us but the evil one trying to dissuade us from spreading the gospel.
Paul went through many trials as he continued to teach others the gospel and about salvation through Jesus Christ; some of those trial being listed earlier in this chapter. His warning to Timothy was not to try and dissuade him to doing what he was but to encourage him because Paul had made it through all of those persecutions. We may not be able to avoid the persecutions and trials, but we will have God with us every step of the way!
People who work against God may well look like they are getting stronger when we have to face the trials, but they are the ones deceiving other and also being deceived themselves. The more they work toward their earthly goals, the deeper they get themselves into the evil ways they are peddling and the further they walk away from God. We need to take note of what they are doing and make sure we do not fall into the same ways or traps they have; we need to take all we have learned from the scriptures and continue to keep passing this knowledge and wisdom on to others – this is God’s will!
The scriptures come from God. They were passed on to us through people who were willing to listen to God and get those words written down for all of us to share in. We can safely use the scriptures for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training other in righteous ways. It is through this we are made ready for our own journey with Christ.
Points to Ponder:
Do you like talking to others?
How often do you talk about God with others?
December 12: Galatians 3 19-24
Key Verse: Galatians 3 22
But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
Devotion:
If God’s promise was good enough for salvation, why then do we have the law (the Old Testament)? If Christ’s gift of salvation to us is perfect, why should we have all the laws written in our bibles? The answer is surprisingly simple... By reading the books from the Old Testament we can find out even God’s chosen people (the Israelites) were sinners, and yet His promise to send a Saviour for us stood from the beginning. How did the Israelites know they were doing things wrong? They knew they did wrong because they had the law given to them from God via Moses. That is the one thing which allowed them to know what they were supposed to do and allowed them to see what they did wrong in God’s sight.
The law was not intended as a means by which the Israelites could discover a way to be justified but rather as a means by which they could discover they were sinners. It is not until we understand we are sinners that we can turn to God and ask for His forgiveness. The bible gives us this knowledge and even pointed the Israelites towards the truth: Christ would come to be their Saviour. Moses was the mediator back then, being the person in the middle hearing the woes from the people and God’s reaction to those woes; he was trying to find a way forward for both sides. He had to explain God’s rules to the people and also to take the peoples worries back to God.
The fantastic truth is the law promised that by the faith of Jesus Christ we would all be able to receive salvation. It was a promise which spanned time, a promise to stand true for all those before and all those to come; a promise saying whosoever believes on His name should receive everlasting life. But before faith came, man was kept under the law so the faith, which was to come, could be understood by all. What a perfect gift God gave to us. What a perfect explanation before the gift. What a perfect end and His gift...
Points to Ponder:
How do you know when you have done something wrong?
Have you read your bible to understand God’s law?