Thursday Reading: John 3 18-21

Key Verse: John 3 19
19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Devotion:
God sent His Son to convince the world of their terrible sin and to save us from that sin. He is our light that shines brighter than any other and we certainly should not be hiding Him under any bushel or bed; instead we should be lifting His name on high so that everyone will get too hear about the truth! We may not be able to convince people that it is the truth, but as long as we are lifting it up for them to see, God will convict them in their hearts through His Word!

It is the sin of the world that separates us from Christ and it is the sin of unbelief that prevents us from knowing Him personally. It is that sin of unbelief that separates us from heaven and only that one sin that cannot be forgiven. Christ died for ever other sin in this world so that He could forgive us of absolutely anything else – and that He will… if we believe…

This is when things get a bit difficult because as we lift up the light of Christ we allow people to see the terrible state that they are in and that sin of theirs looks worse in the light than in the dark. This is why we all love the dark before we realise just how much Christ can forgive. That is why we continue to seek out that darkness and continue to hide from the truth. It is only when we can finally see that Christ’s blood on the cross can wash away every speck of dirt that we then want to be seen in the light. But convincing someone to come out into the light whilst they are filthy can be difficult!

As long as we continue to hold up Christ and to show people that it is not us that have cleaned ourselves in any way but rather Christ who has washed us white as snow, then we have a chance of convincing others. When people can see that we are still sinners but we choose to follow Christ instead, then they too will begin to see that they have this wonderful choice as well. Lift up Christ as high as you can so that they too can see He is willing and able!

Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are clean?

Do you forget how sinful you were?

Wednesday Reading: Luke 11 33

Key Verse: Luke 11 33
33  No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

Devotion:
This is said by Christ on several occasions in slightly different contexts but the idea that we have something to show others is what I would like to bring focus to. Often we think of ourselves as being nothing special or of limited use and do not realise just how much God can use us. God has made each of us as different people with different ways of thinking and different ways in which we can tell others of the gospel.

Christ had an amazing way with words and was able to tell many people the truth in a manner that they could accept without question. We may not be that astute with words but we certainly can tell others about what we do know and understand. I do not have the wherewithal to remember large numbers of verses because words just don’t seem to stick in my brain in the right order, but I do know that I am able to talk to others and even put pen to paper to show others the truth. I know this is God given because it has only been in the last decade that I have been able to do this.

I was kind of hiding my God given talent under a bushel for a while but as soon as I did start to tell others about my Saviour I began to realise that I needed to do that more often. The more that I am able to talk to others about Christ and the more I am able to write devotions praising our Saviour, the more I am encouraged to do so. To me God’s Word is something that needs to be shared daily and not sold daily. Jesus got rid of the men in the temple who were abusing the position for monetary gain and wanted people to get back to lifting up and praising God.

God’s Word is very special and will change people’s lives; but if we do not show other people that it is here and it is what we believe, then how are other people supposed to ever get to hear about it? God has made sure that the bible is a continued best seller, but it is because of people who are willing to tell others that it is continuing to be so. God has made that possible by using us for His glory. Don’t turn down a good thing!

Points to Ponder:
Do you ever think of giving out God’s Word?

Has God not changed you?

Tuesday Reading: Luke 8 4-8

Key Verse: Luke 8 7
7  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

Devotion:
I would like to focus on one thing from the parable of the sower today and that is that fact that the thorns choked the real produce! I come from Zimbabwe where the thorn trees are quite something with thorns that are huge and resilient to almost everything. The thought of being pricked by one of those brings back memories best forgotten and hence why we used to avoid those thorn bushes and trees unless absolutely necessary!

So why then do we allow all manner of strange things into our own lives instead of focusing on the things of God? Well we do live in this world and this world is a very diverse place; we don’t always get to choose the environment in which we work and play. But if we find ourselves having to be in an environment that could be hazardous to our health, then we should be taking the appropriate precautions. Whilst we may think that some precautions are far beyond what we actually need to take, it will only be after we have been saved from peril that we realise that they are actually good to take!

Our spiritual lives are even more precious than our physical lives because it is our soul that will continue living after we physically die. It is that spiritual life that needs the care and attention so that it is not choked and does not die before it’s time. God continues to sow the seeds and continues to make sure that the appropriate environment is available to us – we choose the environment that we wish to be in and in doing so we are choosing the schooling for our souls.

If we choose to live a spiritual life without God then we can expect nothing else than to have an eternal life without Him – something that we would never knowingly choose if we could look forward and back in time. We need to choose to live with our God in a place where He can actively care for us and not in a place where He has to continually fight for our very survival. We need to choose life, but to do that we need to choose God’s ways fist of all.

Points to Ponder:
Do you like thorns?

Are you allowing God easy access?

Monday Reading: 1 Peter 1 22-25

Key Verse: 1 Peter 1 24
24  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

Devotion:
When we open our hearts to God and love Him with a pure and open heart we will find that that same heart will be able to love others in a similar manner. The more that we allow God’s love to fill us the more of that love will be shown toward others as well. It is His Spirit that indwells us and allows us to love others in ways in which we could not before we got to be a child of His. It is because of His saving grace that we have His Spirit and that love that he shares with us.

His love is everlasting and knows no bounds. The love that we ascribe to or describe with our own words is always limited by time of by person. We place those limits on our love so that we can box it up in some way instead of allowing it to grow like God wants it to. God does not place limits on His love otherwise we would face those limits and be confounded as to why it has reached the limit. Instead His love is open ended and without limit.

Jesus went to the cross to die for sinners! That means His love was shown to the sinners of this world! How often do we turn our back on others just because we do not like them at that moment? Christ did not do that on the cross, but rather gave His life for all. His life was a very short life compared to the average life span of man in general, but He lived that life in love. We can see flowers spring up in spring time and wither away in the heat of summer. We see grass turn dry so quickly without water and yet each time we see what glory the rain can bring back to everything around us.

Allow God’s love back into your life so that you can be refreshed and replenished just as the rain replenishes the earth. Allow God’s love to shine through you because of the goodness it brings into your life. Allow that goodness to shine forth so that others will see how great our God is and look for that same food for their own souls. Our God is a living God who maintains things much further and wider than we can reach to. Allow Him to work wonders in your life too!

Points to Ponder:
How often do you water the plants?

How often do you take on God’s food?