Thursday Reading: Genesis 15 1
Key Verse: Genesis 15 1
1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Devotion:
Abraham (or Abram as he was then) had seen a lot happen which would probably have dented the resolve of many a person and just about the time when most people would give in a just take what comes, God steps forward once again and gives Abraham the words that he would need to hear. When we feel like we are at the end of our tether we would love to hear someone come forward and tell us that there is no need to worry because they have actually got everything under control!
Some days we get bombarded with a load of things that others are going through and we wonder why the world has gone so far as to look like it is breaking apart at the seams. Well, it is! Sin and man’s lust for that sin have all but ruined the world and continues to drag us deeper in with every step. It is God who has remained constant during all the time and Him alone that we can trust to be able to break us free from the bonds of sin. He has already done what is required; we just have to believe in our hearts that that is exactly what He has done for us so that we can enjoy the same encouragement that Abraham was receiving here.
You too will feel like God is calling you by name when He steps forward to help you by the hand. You too will feel the awesome power of God as He holds you firmly and lifts you out of the mire. The world may continue to crash and burn around us as more and more people give in to sin instead of trusting in our Lord and Saviour. As He uses the words here “I am thy shield” we too can know that God, through Christ Jesus, has already stepped forward as our shield and continues to protect us as long as we are willing to hold Him up as that shield!
And the grace and mercy does not stop there because we can then begin to see just how much of a blessing and reward it is to know Christ as our Saviour. It is not all about how much money you can put in the bank or even how much pleasure you can get out of life. It is about how much more we can look forward to when we see that we have a certain eternal future in heaven with our Lord. Christ will continue to see that we are protected whilst we live here on earth so that we can have the resolve to continue on in His name, giving Him the glory so that others may draw closer to Him as we do.
Points to Ponder:
Who do you look to for love and protection?
Are you fully relying on Christ?
Wednesday Reading: 2 Corinthians 4 13-18
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 4 17
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
Devotion:
One of the most special things about the death of our Lord Jesus is that He was raised up from the grave to defeat sin once and for all! Our faith in that grace gives us a peace within that goes beyond reason; that faith allows us to continue on when others around us are fainting in times of trouble and trials. The hope we gain in this knowledge and love allows us to face those dark days with a courage that will build others up as well as glorifying God.
The suffering that we see other Christians go through should always give us hope because we should always be placing those trials directly into God’s hands and then hoping patiently in His promises toward us. We may get down because of what we go through physically or emotionally, but spiritually we should be being built up and strengthened every step of the way. If the trials we go through only last for a few seconds then the faith and trust that is eventually built up inside of us will not be as enduring and strong as when we face trials over extended periods of time.
Christ went through trials that we find hard to imagine so that our hope can be built up more than if He had just endured a mild telling off. When we face the hardships they build us up far more than little blips in our paths. The faith that is built up within us is far stronger because of the level of trial that Christ went through and what we then go through as well.
The afflictions that we go through are nothing compared to what Christ has gone through for us and they are even less when compared to the joy and peace we get afterward. The more we face the more glory God gets as we are able to work through those trials with God. After our afflictions have passed we can look back on them and see that they lasted for such a short time when compared to the joy and peace we get from glorifying God. When we cannot see them we fear they may be eternal, but when we have passed through them we know they are short. Let us look forward to the end of our afflictions so that we can glorify God again!
Points to Ponder:
What affliction do you fear the most?
What is it compared to the joy and peace God gives you?
Tuesday Reading: Romans 5 1-5
Key Verse: Romans 5 3
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Devotion:
We have a wonderful peace that we have obtained through what Christ has done for us on the cross; we are broken and without peace when we are in a life of sin whether we know it or not. God cannot be at peace with a sinner in that state of sin because God cannot abide sin but when we turn our backs on that sinful life by turning toward God we invite our Peace-Maker into our lives. We are then brought into this peace, not by what we can do or by avoiding sin, but because of the grace of our God!
We are led into this state of peace as pardoned offenders, pardoned by Jesus Christ Himself. As we find ourselves being drawn into this peace we are strengthened internally because we see how much Christ has done and we then see how much He loves us. That gives us a hope that we see as being very real because we see the results of that hope.
But when someone turns round and says that they rejoice in the trials and tribulations many people question their motives or their sincerity, after all, how can anyone be happy with trial and tribulations? It is not the trials or the tribulations that we are happy with; it is the outcome of those trials that we rejoice in! Facing the trials is hard work just the same as anybody else facing those trials; but we begin to see how God answers our calls for help and those answered prayers give us more hope and build up our faith. That renewed or bolstered faith gives us a certain peace within by us knowing God is real and cares for us.
We begin to also see that even though we cry out for help immediately, the answer does not always come when we want it to by rather when we actually need it to. We also begin to see that God gives us the strength to be able to face those trials and the assurance that He is doing something about them. What He is doing is building up our faith and patience knowing that we need the experience so that our faith is strengthened and that our love endures all things; just as His love has endured our sins for so long…
Points to Ponder:
How much do you sin?
Are you trusting God?
Monday Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3 1-5
Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 3 3
3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
Devotion:
When we have worked hard at getting something just right the last thing we want is for someone or something to come in and undo or destroy all the work that we have done! I’m not talking about the pride that we have in getting something right but rather that satisfaction in knowing that what we have done is right and stands as a good example to us and for others to follow on. But just as we continue on in life and are able to get to such positions once in a while, there is going to be someone waiting to trip us up or to bring someone else in to break up what we have done – Satan is always there ready and willing to break everything we build up in Christ’s name…
I have seen it many times in working with youth; you get to the point where you have managed to get them to see what is good in life and they start out on that road. Then a few weeks or days later you see them back in the same position as they were beforehand; then you get to hear why they are there through what someone else has said. The evil one is going to use everyone and everything at his disposal to try and break down the works that we do for God because he knows that we are weak and give in to temptations – especially when we feel down or low.
It is when we feel down or low that we need to reach out to the strong people in our lives but we have to know the difference between those that are strengthened by Satan and those that are strengthened by God. Whenever we see or hear someone encouraging us to do things we need to compare them with what our bibles tell us because if we see that they are encouraging us to work against God we can be sure that they are not strengthened by God!
Nobody wants to work for nothing! I may volunteer to go above and beyond what others would volunteer for, but I do it for God and to support the few people that I see standing up with God and plainly telling the world that they stand with God! I love wearing my hoodie that says “I hang out with Jesus” because it will always cause someone to comment on it for good or bad, giving me a chance to tell people what Jesus is with me every step of the way. During our rough times we do have to be very aware of the evil one because he works quicker than we can think…
Points to Ponder:
Do you like being put down?
Do you stand up for God when others put Him down?
Sunday Reading: 1 Corinthians 15 51-58
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 15 58
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Devotion:
It is a wonderful thing that we can know that we have an eternal life for our souls after our physical bodies die; but it is also a wonderful thing to look forward to that we may not have to die! We simply do not know when Christ is going to come back and take us all so we do not know whether we will have to face death or not – but even if we do have to face death, we are not beaten because we have life eternal to look forward to. Death has lost its sting…
But for those people who are always seeking earthly pleasure and earthly rewards, they will face that final day wanting more, wanting to know why, wanting, wanting… People who do not know Christ and who have not accepted all that Christ has done for us will have to face the truth and wonder why they never did anything about it. Just as we face consequences when we have not completed a task before a deadline, we too have to face the consequences when we have not accepted Christ as our Saviour. The only problem being that we normally see and know of deadlines as they approach in life, but we do not know when Christ may return.
The sting of death is that sin that separates us from God. Sin keeps us away from God and if we continue to live in our sin without ever accepting Christ as Saviour, then we will only ever have to face up to that sting when we die or when Christ returns. But if we accept all that Christ has done for us and believe in Him then we know that He has already taken that sting for us. A bee can only sting once and once that sting is used up, nobody else can be stung by that bee. Christ stepped forward and took that sting so that we will not be affected by it. But if we do not believe in Him we face the rest of those bees in the hive, all of which have a sting to remind us of what we have done!
We need to remain strong in the knowledge that Christ has paid for our sins and that we can move on forward right now. We do not have to break down and cry over what we have done any more. We do not have to worry that we will have to face Him and accept any punishment because He has paid for it. Any work we now do under that banner of belief and trust in Him is worth every ounce of strength we use. Let us move on, working effectively and faithfully.
Points to Ponder:
Do you know Christ as Saviour?
Are you working effectively for Him?