Thursday Reading: Jeremiah 5 1-9
Key Verse: Jeremiah 5 4
4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.
Devotion:
There are going to be times when you look around you and you see all manner of people doing the right things and saying the right things but you just know that they don’t mean it in their hearts. Do not be discouraged by such people because there are many more out there that are ignorant of the truth and need to be told the truth. God has given us the task of spreading the good news, the Gospel message, the truth; however you look at it or describe it, the truth must be told!
When I go out to work with children I go out and see a society that has hidden the truth from their children. Why have they done this? Well, as I see it they have done this for a couple of reasons. People do not want to pay attention to rules and regulations when they stop them from being able to do their own thing. The second is that if they did pay attention to the commandments they would be undone – hence they think by sweeping it under the carpet they can ignore it! This leaves us with a generation or two that have not heard the gospel message because of ignorance or fear. We need to fill that gap!
How can we expect people to see the light when they are completely surrounded by darkness? We like to think that we need missionaries sent out into third world countries because they need them there. In reality we are turning out the lights in our own back yards first and leaving our neighbours in the darkness that we are trying to stop in other places. God’s Word need to go out into all the world and not just places we want it to go. Jonah did not want to go into Nineveh because he could not see any light to start with; but if we do not switch on the first light, how are people going to see that there is light to start with?
We can make people rich in God’s Word by telling them the Gospel message. That richness is going to bring more light into their lives than a new light bulb because it will reach inside their souls where God is battling. Do not ignore people just because they choose to ignore God; allow them to see that God is real by living for Him and with Him in open sight, encouraging others to see how good life with God is!
Points to Ponder:
Where do you live your life?
Are you using God’s light?
Wednesday Reading: Ezekiel 17 11-21
Key Verse: Ezekiel 17 18
18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.
Devotion:
I used to find reading through the Old Testament hard work, but the more I get to know God the more I understand His Word as He explains it to me with my daily devotions. I do not pretend to understand as much as others who have given their life to studying His Word and I do not pretend to be able to teach everyone, but I am willing to give out what I understand as being the truth because God gives me understanding as I need it!
The prophets had a wonderful, if frightening, relationship with God because He would have to explain things to them in ways in which the world would understand. They then had to make sure what they had heard was from God before giving that truth to the people. If they got it wrong it would mean death! No second chances! But each one of us who steps forward to give other people God’s Word should see it in the same light – we are giving out God’s Word and we are an example to Him. That means we need to give out the truth and live that same truth.
In this case the prophet was caught between telling the king of his horrible sin or risking God’s wrath by not telling him. No real contest when we look at it like that, but I’m sure Ezekiel would have though hard about this and about the risk to his own life. When we look at good and bad we often think of bad things against bad people as being ok in some way because they are bad people. Some religions even say that their people should lie to other non-believers. But God is reminding Zedekiah and all of Israel that we need to tell the truth!
If we give out a promise it must be kept as a promise. Just because we give it out to our enemy does not mean that we can break it as soon as we want to! Oh I know this is going to cause many people to argue, but then when has God’s Word not cause arguments amongst men? We need to take God’s Word as the absolute truth and we need to make sure that we follow on from this example; we need to keep our promises just as God has kept every single one of them to us – even though we act against Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you trust God’s Word?
Do you think others trust your word?
Tuesday Reading: Hebrews 2 1-4
Key Verse: Hebrews 2 3
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Devotion:
I like the way that our minds are described as being leaky containers; without due care and attention what we have in our minds will all leak out before we realise what has happened! Whilst there are some amongst us who have photographic memories, many of us struggle to remember things and have to depend on written words or even computers or phones to remind us of tasks or events. I know that I am highly dependent on my smart phone because of the reminders it can give to me in my daily life; but it is God’s Word that we should be trying to keep our main focus on.
No matter how busy our lives may become we always need to make sure that we keep God’s Word embedded in our lives and not just as a book that we pick up once a day or once a week to read. If we do not remain strong in our faith then the Gospel is going to continually leak out making us feel like we are not receiving the Gospel when we read it. I believe it is a contempt for what Christ has done for us that makes people weak. Never take for granted what Christ has done for us!
When I see some people talk about what Christ has done I see a person who is just saying what they have read about and not telling others what they believe in their hearts. Am I judging? No, because I know I have done the same in my life as well – how can I ever speak against others in this way. But if I can raise awareness of this fact in my own mind and speak about it, then I can raise awareness in other people’s minds and hearts.
We do not seem to have any problem believing people who seem to be in charge because we look up to them; if we are not holding God in reverence then how are we ever going to believe everything He is trying to tell us through His Word? When we believe God’s Word in our hearts, it shows! When we do not, it also shows! Do not try to fool yourself into thinking that you can get away with it all the time because it will come out. Believing in God’s word means accepting all of what He has written down and keeping it in your heart. Don’t do it because others are. Don’t do it because your parents say so. Do it because you believe!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know God?
Do you trust God entirely?
Monday Reading: Matthew 17 1-7
Key Verse: Matthew 17 5
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Devotion:
If it was not bad enough that the disciples were to see Christ transfigured before them, they were to see two other men whom they assumed to be Moses and Elijah and then they were to hear God the Father’s voice booming out to them as well! If there was ever a day when they would feel so totally undone and built up at the same time, this was probably it.
We may read things and try to believe them without proof, but when it comes down to it we always seek some sort of proof before we fully commit ourselves to something that we have doubts about. Maybe Jesus saw some doubt in their hearts and wanted to wipe them away once and for all knowing that that tiny bit of doubt would continue working and spreading like a cancerous growth. The disciples knew that nobody would live if they came face to face with God. They knew that people had died just because they had done something against God’s word. How frightened they must have been, knowing that they had heard God Himself!
Jesus personally told them to not be afraid, showing them that God was and is all powerful and all mighty, but that He does love and care for us even in our sinful state. He gave us His own Son so that our sins could be wiped away, making room for us to repent and be forgiven so that we can draw close to Him once again. Christ wanted them to know that and for us to be able to have something else we can depend on as we struggle with our own doubts.
When God and then Jesus spoke to them is was not a wrathful God bellowing down to them from heaven reprimanding them for their sin and doubts but a loving God showing them that Christ was and is The Son of God and that they could trust in Him totally. God’s love goes far beyond our sins, far beyond our thoughts and far beyond our limits. He is a God that cares for us and a God that does extraordinary things for us so that we can know Him better each day.
Points to Ponder:
Do you seek proof for everything?
Is God’s Word not enough?
Sunday Reading: Isaiah 53 10-12
Key Verse: Isaiah 53 10
10 Yet it pleased Jehovah to crush Him; to grieve Him; that He should put forth His soul as a guilt-offering. He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper in His hand.
Devotion:
Nothing we can do will ever fully atone for our sins. In the Old Testament they would offer up offerings with no blemishes in order to atone for sins for a short while but as soon as the people would sin they would be uncovered immediately. The circle of then apologising for those sins and offering a sinless animal would then begin again. What was required was a perfect sacrifice that would not be bound by time.
Christ stepped forward willingly to take that place in our stead. He allowed His soul to be beaten and bruised so that our souls would not have to go through that same pain and agony. He took the full weight of the sins of the whole world upon His shoulders so that we would not have to go back time and time again. But that does not mean that we don’t have to do anything at all…
If we do not fully accept in our hearts that that is exactly what Christ did for us, then we are saying that what He has done is for no reason whatsoever. Instead we must believe in that very truth and accept that Christ was willing to do that because of His love for us. When we believe He has done that we then need to admit to Him that we have committed those sins because without that admission of guilt we are not showing repentance – that is still required!
We do need to keep up with the Gospel message and to be reminded time and time again that this is what Christ did for us because we do have a way of brushing over sins and allowing Christ to pay for everything without us offering our due repentance! We have a way of changing the laws just so that we don’t have to be guilty. Face it! We are guilty! But Christ has given us a second chance by taking that guilty upon His own shoulders for us! Hallelujah!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you remind yourself of the Gospel Message?
How many time should Christ have to remind you?