Monday Reading: Luke 9 1-5
Key Verse: Luke 9 4
4 And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.
Devotion:
Yes, same verses today again, but a continuation on what Christ was saying to the disciples. We are not given these same instructions today because we are not going throughout the land of Judea and teaching to the Jews; instead we are given the same task but to go out and teach and preach to everyone that is willing to listen. We are going to be faced with many people who will try to rise up against us, try to stop us from preaching and even some that may act to take our lives just because we dare to tell them about Christ – but God wants us to go out and tell others about Him.
We still have that same pot of gold to rely on – you know, that invisible one that is imaginary! Of course we don’t have a pot of gold to go out and spend as we give people the truth about God! Instead we have to rely on those around us to allow us to spread the gospel. We will come up against people that will try to stop us and we will come up against organisations, groups and even governments who will try to prevent us from telling others about Christ – but go we must.
There are always people out there who will be willing to stop and listen – they may be very few and far between in some places of the countries that we live in, but they are there. God gave instructions to the disciples to see who was willing to allow them to teach and to then rely on them for support. If they are serious about wanting to learn then they are going to want to help you to deliver that gospel. Those are the people that we should be willing to teach openly and to only leave when we are sure that they have learned enough to get them grounded and ready to go out themselves.
It is no small thing that Christ has told us all to go out with the gospel. It is no small thing that He started out by telling the disciples to take that gospel. It may seem like a small thing that Christ gave instruction to stay in one place until He is ready to move us on, but it is not! God wants us to make sure that the seeds that we plant are going to germinate, have a chance at sprouting and given enough to start a firm growth before we leave them to fend for themselves. God wants His word to be heard and understood. He wants His word to make a difference – and we are the ones who have to spend time making sure. Yes God will be the one to change their hearts and their minds, but He needs us there teaching whilst the world battles against that teaching otherwise it may go unnoticed.
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to everything first time?
How many times must God tell you things before you listen?
Sunday Reading: Luke 9 1-5
Key Verse: Luke 9 3
3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.
Devotion:
When Christ sent the twelve disciples out to preach the gospel He did not send them out with the full backing of a charity, sponsors, organisation or any other team that would supply their every need; instead He sent them out telling them not to take anything with them and not to fully rely on anyone else other than God. Yes He had given them instruction on how to teach and preach and He gave them power over all manner of things including the power to heal, but He sent them out saying that they should not be anxious for anything because God was going to supply their needs.
Notice that Christ did not say that He would supply them with their desires or that they would have a comfortable life but simply that they needed to go out and give the people around them that had everything even more! They were to go to the people that had everything and give them the gospel – something that they did not have!
I am in the habit of wearing a bracelet with a Christian slogan on it so that when people ask about it it gives me another opportunity to tell them about God. I tend to buy one and wear it until it literally falls off. I managed to wear my F.R.O.G. one for almost two years before it got caught on something and broke; there are times when I look at my current W.W.J.D. and think about the fact that Jesus did fully rely on God for everything as well. He was out ultimate example and He was now giving the disciples the instruction to go forward and do what He had taught them to do by example.
If we are brave enough to take up that challenge and go forward in the name of God, then He is going to step up and support us in our ministry just as He did with Jesus and then the disciples. When we try to plan too much and try to make sure that we have everything sorted just the way we want it we will quickly find out that life is not fair. Life does not play out according to our rules and according to what we have planned out. Life is there and it happens around us no matter what we do so we have to be prepared to get on and just do things at times. As long as we are relying on God and take Him with us, then He will honour our work and give us the strength and wisdom we need to deliver the gospel to those people around us. Fully Rely On God!
Points to Ponder:
DO you like planning everything?
Do you know God already knows what is going to happen?
Saturday Reading: Acts 5 1-4
Key Verse: Acts 5 4
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Devotion:
Many times in our lives we look at what we have and we want more. We look at what we could have and we want even more again! This story about Ananias and Sapphira should be the ultimate warning to each of us whether we are seeking fame, fortune or even God. God is watching over us no matter what state we are in or what we are seeking. If we are seeking anything other than God then we are going to be on our own in our search; but that does not mean that God is not there! He will see everything that we do, hear everything we say, listen in on every thought and emotion that we process.
When we try to hide things from God we have already lost because He was there when we tried to think about hiding it! God is not going to ignore us while we make up some story to tell Him about how we lost our way or misplaced things. God is the one that has allowed things into our lives, giving us stewardship over the things around us. He is expecting us to be honest with Him as He is honest with us. We cannot hide anything from God so should not expect to get away with anything.
There are things that I struggle with in life but when I place my faith and trust in my God then I am able to do, see and experience so much more than when I am alone. If you are seeking something then you must make sure that you include God because trying to exclude Him is just not going to work. Ananias and Sapphira both thought that they could get away with God not watching and had to pay the price for their sins. When we include God in our lives we are opening our lives to His control and when we are willing to listen to that advice and guidance that He is giving us, we can benefit from His wisdom!
We expect people to be honest and open with us when we invite them into our lives; when we invite God into our lives we are the ones that have to start being honest and open with God. Only when we are open and honest will we be able to break free from the temptations of the world that entrap us into sin and deceit and live for God as well as with Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you try to hide from God?
Are you still feeling trapped by sin?
Friday Reading: James 3 2-6
Key Verse: James 3 6
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Devotion:
Have you ever taken a good look at the control surfaces on any aircraft. When you compare them with the size of the aeroplane as a whole you begin to wonder how they can keep control and change directions so quickly; after all we can wave our hands through the air without the rest of our bodies being shoved around! A boat is moved by something even smaller because water is denser; though when we wave our hands through water we begin to understand how we can swim. Then we can look at the tiny bit that is placed in a horse’s mouth and can be amazed at how that is used to control the whole horse.
We can also look at things and see how aircraft, boats and even horses could be totally out of control if the small control surfaces were to break loose; and so it is with our mouths. They may be small and used for several things but if we lose control of our mouths then we lose control of our whole body! Don’t believe me? Try it!
It does not take the biggest things in our lives to change our whole lives and that is going to work both ways – changing for the good as well as for the bad. But notice also that in order to keep things in control there may well have to be a constant stream of tiny changes; changes that have to be done in the right order and at the right time in order to keep things running smoothly. Then you have to look at who is going to be the one in control, the one making the tiny adjustments at the right time, the one who has an overall picture of everything around so that they can plan their moves.
It should be at this stage where we realise that we do have problems because we cannot control even the smallest parts of our lives without making mistakes. We then see that we don’t have enough of a view of what is going on around us. We actually do need God in our lives! He has the ultimate view of all that is going on as well as knowing what is best for each of us. He is able to control the smallest things in our lives just as easily as the biggest things in the universe and He will if we allow Him into our lives. God wants us to be in control of things so that we can enjoy life; being out of control is not enjoyable.
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel out of control?
Are you allowing God to be in control?
Thursday Reading: Ezekiel 14 1-6
Key Verse: Ezekiel 14 3
3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Devotion:
It is very hard to believe that someone wants forgiveness if they continue to do that which they are seeking forgiveness for. If we continue to sin and are seeking forgiveness for that sin then should we be seeking forgiveness in the first place. We should be willing to put aside our sin and then ask for forgiveness. I am not saying that we have to stop sinning before we can seek forgiveness because we do need outside help to get us out of the rut of sin in the first place; but we do need to show that we are willing to change first of all.
Many times that is going to be us showing that we are willing to let go of certain things in our lives before we ask for God to fix things that are broken. We cling to worldly things in the hopes that they will be able to somehow make changes in our lives so that we will not have to fully rely on God. We may find it difficult to fully rely on God because we may feel like that will be letting everything go or using God as a crutch; but when we sit down and read God’s Word we find that that is exactly what God wants us to do. He wants us to let go of the world so that we can see His power and His might in action. As long as we cling to the world we invite doubt about God’s power in because we begin to think that maybe it is the result of the worldly items around us that we have what we have.
We may not look at those things around us as idols until we realise that we are giving them the glory instead of giving the glory to God our Creator! God is a jealous God and does not want to be put in second place to something else that He or man has created.
We do focus on some pretty strange things in our lives instead of focusing on God. We allow physical objects to become more prominent than God. We rely on money or other wealth instead of God. We depend on our own abilities instead of following God’s guidance. Yes it is hard to fully rely on God, but that is what He has been asking of us from the beginning.
Points to Ponder:
What do you depend on?
Do you see God as your sole soul keeper?