Friday Reading: Isaiah 40 1-11
Key Verse: Isaiah 40 11
11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Devotion:
Each of us is going to have to face struggles in our lives, not just because we are all different or alone at times or whatever; it is because the world is actually a corrupt place. When we start out we may not be very corrupt, but the longer that we live, or try to live, on this planet we continually grow more corrupt with the world around us. We may try to separate ourselves from the world and we may try to live our lives for God, but we still do get affected by everything around us. It is a struggle. And as a Christian we face a huge struggle because we refuse to give in to the things that the rest of the world will brush off as being normal.
The more that we try to lift ourselves up the more that we will trip up and fall and each fall will bring another bit of disappointment and despair along with it. We need outside help in order to be able to rise above all that the world will hurl at us. We need a helping hand to guide us every step of the way. That hand, that guide and that wisdom all come from God, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
As long as we are willing to trust in our Good Shepherd we will find strength where the rest of the world gives in and fails. We will find guidance when the rest of the world is lost in the maze. We will find wisdom being given out where the rest of the world is grasping at straws that fail under the strain when tried.
Christ continues to show us all that He has done and to try to explain to us that what He accomplished on the cross was enough and will always be enough. We just have to put the ways of the world aside and fully trust in Him. We do have to be aware that Satan is around and that he will be doing all sorts of things to try and detract us from the truth that Christ has laid out for us in His Word. The evil one will continue to drop things in our path that will distract us and make us fail in our walk with God. Why will we fail? Because we are weak and we give in when we find things get a bit tough. We give in when we think we see an easier way. We give in because we are weak. But Christ is strong and able to do anything with us – trust in Him and Him alone!
Points to Ponder:
Where do you find your strength in times of trouble?
Do you cast your burdens on Christ?
Thursday Reading: Matthew 18 11-14
Key Verse: Matthew 18 11
11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Devotion:
How many times have you spent ages trying to find something that you have lost? Or how many times have you had to spend more time than you have to fix something that is broken – ending up being very late for an appointment? I can remember getting ready to go out on a date only to get into the car and find that it would not start because the petrol in the tank was all on one side after I parked on a steep slope! Unfortunately my date did not believe me when I told the truth…
God knows what we get up to and He is willing to forgive us – if we are willing to tell Him the truth. He already does know the truth and so will not ignore you when you do some forward with the truth. God just wants us to be as honest as we can with Him because He has been totally honest with us from the beginning of time. How can we ever find anyone else that has ever given us so much, been so honest, required so little and is always been looking for us whilst we were lost?
You know how good it feels to find something that has been lost for a while. You know that special feeling that you have when you find out the truth. You know what it is like to have gifts given to you or to have other people give you supplies that you need without asking for anything in return. God’s gift to us goes further than all of those special moments put together. God want us to know the truth, know that He is there and that He is actively seeking us because He knows when we are lost.
Having a breakdown service look out for you when your car breaks down is a very nice thing. Can you imagine how special it is then to have someone looking after every step of your life, seeking you, watching you, protecting you and picking you up when you fall? God is that very special person who is doing all of that right now for each one of us. He is the one who allowed His Son to come to earth and look for the lost people. He sends people out to share the gospel so that we can be found again. He does not want us wandering off into the wilderness where we will be lost and in danger – He wants us close where He can protect us more easily and where we will be able to respond to Him because we can actually get to hear Him when He calls!
Points to Ponder:
Do you come when you don’t hear anyone calling?
Do you know Christ is calling you right now?
Wednesday Reading: Luke 9 59-62
Key Verse: Luke 9 59
59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Devotion:
When you ask someone to do something for you, what is the answer that you want from them, and what is the answer that you expect from them? The answers may well be different for those two questions, but when we ask someone to do something it is because we actually do want them to do something for us and not to turn us down and refuse our request – why else would we be asking them in the first place?
When Jesus went about seeking disciples He asked people from various positions in life so that He could get a variety of answers. These answers would prove invaluable for us in the future so that we can look back and discuss how we should be more willing to follow Christ when He asks us. When we read further in the Gospels we find out that Christ has asked each one of us to go forward in His name and to spread His Word. When we then compare the result of these questions with the result of our answers to His request for us to go forward and preach the gospel – how do you think He will view our replies?
God asked us expecting a positive response. He expects a positive response because He knows how much work still has to be done before He can return to take us home. He has promised to come back and end things when the Gospel has been fulfilled – that means that we still need to go forward and preach just as He has asked us to do. That request has not been put aside and forgotten about just because we have ignored it for a while!
Do you really think that a bank would lend you money and then forget about the load just because you have not thought about it for a while? Well why then do we expect God to put aside things just because we have not thought about them for a while? God set many things in motion, right from the beginning with Adam and Eve, through to choosing the Hebrews to be His people, through to converting Paul to preach to the gentiles and on to requesting us to do so as well! God continues to fulfil His side of the bargain and He expects us to do the same for our parts…
Points to Ponder:
Do you make deals you know will not last?
Do you really think God will break His Word?
Tuesday Reading: Exodus 19 3-6
Key Verse: Exodus 19 5
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Devotion:
When we look back at how God instructed Moses to go to the Herbews and to tell them all about what He was going to do for them we can wonder at many things. Could you imagine what you would have thought as you were told about how God was going to radically change everything in your life? I think the biggest thing for me would have been that God was going to take me from being a slave to men to being a member of His family!
When I make a decision to take someone into my family or when I meet someone who I consider as part of my family (be it real or extended) then those people are changed from that moment onward. They are part of my family and they will be treated as family instead of acquaintances. That seems to be a hard thing for others to accept but to me it is totally logical and normal. I see how God chose people and treated them as part of His own. I see how God instructed others to go forward and treat people as their own. Why then do people have a problem with this?
God does not do things in half measures and when He instructs us to go forward and do something for Him then He does not expect us to take a half-hearted approach to it and take a stab at doing something – He wants us to make an effort to do this with our whole hearts! When God says He wants us to love Him it is because He has already loved us with everything, not with half measures, but with everything!
God is not a god of half the world but The God of everything in heaven and earth! That is not a half-measure but a total commitment from God and He expects us to be able to make a totally commitment for Him as well. When Jesus asked for disciples to follow Him it was not in half measures but as a total commitment. Why then should we expect to get away with half measures in our lives? Don’t expect to get away with half measures unless you want God to answer your prayers in half measures. And then if you expect Him to answer in half measures, don’t expect Him to answer the half that you want!
Points to Ponder:
Do you ask for half a meal or a whole meal?
Are you expecting God to answer all your prayers?
Monday Reading: 1 Peter 2 9-10
Key Verse: 1 Peter 2 10
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Devotion:
How many times have people called you “odd” or “peculiar” or “strange”? I know I have been called a fair few things in my life but not too many people call me those names to my face – they may well have a few choice words to say about me when I am not around or when I am out of ears reach! But these words are used here to promote the Jews and not to demote or put them down in any way.
God chose the Hebrews for a reason and that was so that He could separate them from the rest of the world and show just how special it is to be called one of His! When we begin to see just how much God did for them when they placed their trust and faith in Him then we should be running forward and begging God to come into our lives and change us as well! But we still act much the same as Jonah and run off in the other direction saying that we should not be mixing with the other people because we are not like them! Well guess what, God made us human being too!
What God did was to show us that being a chosen vessel or a chosen people is a really important thing! He set Israel apart from the rest of the world so that they could be an example for all of us. He tested them, their faith, their endurance and more besides – but He also blessed them, supported them and cared for them is such a way that they should have stood still and know God!
When Christ changes us, He starts from the inside and works His way out. He changes our hearts so that we want to go forward and do things differently. He changes our thoughts so that we lead different lives that will glorify Him. It does not matter what we have done in the past, how much we have broken the law or broken other things; what counts is that we accept that Christ is the Son of God and that we trust Him to forgive us for everything in our past – and that means everything! When we trust Him to do that we must then trust Him to change us so that He can use us – and He will if we let Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have obstacles you think stop God using you?
Have you asked Him to forgive you?