Sunday Reading: Matthew 7 13-14
Key Verse: Matthew 7 13
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Devotion:
It may sound a bit depressing to find out that there are only a few people who will find the narrow gate and hard way that lead to life but when you look at the availability of both destinations then we have to ask ourselves why we don’t get it. God has given us full and honest directions by which every person will be able to find life eternal; and yet so few do choose to go that way.
It really is not that difficult to follow directions when we read them. It is more the desire to follow the path to destruction that is our greatest hurdle. God did not say that His way was going to be easy; that is what the evil one has designed. The path to destruction is nice and easy to find, easy to follow and has no obstacles in the way. The unfortunate part is that we don’t see any problems until we have gone too far and have lost our selves totally.
God, on the other hand, gives us a clear picture of the goal and what we can expect when we get there. Satan is not going to explain what you get until after you have made your decisions because he knows that you will not like what he has to offer; that is why the path is so open and easy. God’s path may well be full of obstacles when we look at it but they are obstacles that we have placed there and not obstacles from God. Satan is also going to litter that path with as many obstacles as he can so that we do find it harder than his path – how else can he hope to lead so many people to destruction rather than life eternal?
Believing on and trusting in Jesus Christ is the only way that we will be able to make it to heaven because there is no other way to Salvation than through Jesus Himself. It is Jesus that personally gave His life for our sins and Him personally that was raised from the dead to defeat death once and for all. Jesus wants us to be encouraged to continue on aiming for a life with Him rather than to give in and settle for a life of sin and a certain death after that. Jesus does not want us to be put off by the hardships that we may face because they do not come from God – but He does allow them to come our way when we need to learn from those times.
Points to Ponder:
What obstacles do you see in your way?
Do you trust God to guide you through your obstacle course?
Saturday Reading: John 5 24-27
Key Verse: John 5 26
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Devotion:
I do like the way in which Jesus gives us His Word; it is a simple truth that we do have eternal life if we believe on God and Him as the Son of God. It is not a case of you may get it if you continue to be good but that we already have access to it because we did believe at one point in our lives. And then we read this verse itself and must realise that it is true because Jesus has the same power as God the Father to give eternal life to whoever believes on His name. This is not a small gift of a few more years on earth or a few more pennies on your pocket but a gift of eternal life for our souls.
Jesus did not stand there and tell us all that He loves us so much that He is going to make sure we all get to heaven because He knows that some people will still choose not to believe in Him. Jesus did not say that we will still be ok if we do not believe. Jesus did not say that this will all happen on such and such a day or at a particular place. Instead Jesus was very open and honest saying that if we do not choose to believe then we will have to face up to the consequences of that choice. He said that we need to believe it in our hearts and that we have to be ready right now in case He comes back right now.
This is an eternal gift that He has promised us and one that He has delivered to every single person that believes on God as the one and only true God. If we confess that same belief with our own mouths (be it verbally out loud or quietly within ourselves) then He will give us that gift of life eternal with Him in heaven. It is a sure thing not a fairy tale and certainly not something that we have to test out before believing because if we try to test it first we may well miss out entirely.
God gave Jesus the ultimate authority to judge us because it was Jesus who took on our sin debt at the cross; He paid for our debt so He is the one who has the power to judge us for what we do and what we believe. He is the one who looks inside our hearts to see what we believe and to make sure that we are not trying to pull a fast one just to be safe. Jesus wants our attention continually and not just once a week when we feel up to it because He is giving us a gift that is forever and for always…
Points to Ponder:
Who do you look to for security?
How deep is your love for God?
Friday Reading: Psalms 42 1-2
Key Verse: Psalms 42 1
1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
Devotion:
Have you ever thought much about what happens when you get a bit too thirsty? You may experience all manner of aches and pains when your body is actually being starved of the water that it needs to survive; some of those affects will not be nice and will get us down. So what about your souls thirst for the gospel? What about your spirits thirst for spiritual food?
Far too often we forget about the important things in life and allow the worldly view to take over an be in control more that the spiritual view that we need. Never ignore your spiritual needs because they are more important than the physical needs because the physical needs only last as long as we are living on earth – our spiritual needs continue forever and are not limited to this earthly body.
We only need to look at the world around us to realise just how important God is to us and to our whole world. The animals continue to do things as they normally do without too much of a worry about what they have to go through; they have a built-in knowledge and trust that the world is going to give them their needs. That is God’s domain as He continues to make sure that this earth works as it should. Man’s history is not very promising because we seem intent on destroying this planet rather than making it a better place to be – our desires take over and we dive into deeper holes as we break the balance that God built up in the beginning.
The deer does not have financial constraints nor do they have to worry about whether governments are going to tax them too much. That trust is a hidden trust in an all-powerful Creator that continues to supply their every need. We need to take a leaf out of their lives and look toward God in that same light. He is our Creator God and He is the one that continues to supply our needs – we are the ones that cast doubt on everything and continue to break all that He builds up in our quest to fulfil our desires instead of trusting Him for our needs. Needs and desires are quite different! Let our souls rejoice in Christ and seek Him for every need.
Points to Ponder:
Do you follow desires or needs?
Are you trusting God for your needs?
Thursday Reading: 2 Peter 1 5-7
Key Verse: 2 Peter 1 7
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
Devotion:
Have you ever thought about where this brotherly love should come from; like “how am I ever going to love my enemies?” Well I challenge you that it should start with your faith. When we say that we believe in God and in Jesus then we have to show people that we do. That means that we need to show them faith. That does not mean that we have to show them we can go to church every week because anyone can do that. Instead we have to show that we are true and genuine with our faith, that we believe God in our hearts and that we want justice toward others because of our faith. Our enemies do deserve justice!
Where is that justice to come from? It should come from the only Just God; and that means sticking firmly with the Word of God because it is our anchor that we must hold fast to. The world will pull us like an angry wind but our anchor must remain firm with God in His Word. By continuing to learn His Word we are continuing to hold fast to the truth which will allow us to dish out justice even to those we do not like. But dishing out that justice needs to be done in the moderation that everyone deserves. Going in with both barrels blazing will do nothing toward showing Christian love unless the person receiving is ready to accept both barrels!
Don’t get upset when things do not change overnight. Just because you have changed overnight by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour does not mean that everyone else sees that same light that has been switched on in your own heart! But when you do have that light switched on it should change you so that you can show others that you now know a new truth that they too need to find. When we then find that we have changed we can then start to see how we can help others.
Showing others kindness even when we do not like them is going to speak louder than any words or speeches you may come up with. Politicians’ words are always seen as hollow until they actually make changes in the country; then they start to make a difference. For us to show that we are kind is going to make more of a difference than us simply saying we are kind. When we can show that we want to make a difference we can then carry out our words with love because we can then see the benefit for everyone instead of just our own benefits. Jesus came to benefit the whole world and not just the disciples.
Points to Ponder:
Who do you aim to please?
If you do not aim to please God, how short will you fall?
Wednesday Reading: John 13 34-35
Key Verse: John 13 34
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Devotion:
This is one of those verses that we cling to so that we can support fellowship and friendship; but it is so very much more than that and I would challenge you to look deeper into the words today. When Jesus gave us these words it was in the shadow of what was going to happen to Him; much the same as we would love to be able to straighten things out with our own children if we were told beforehand what time we should die. Jesus wanted the disciples to know something more than just the love He showed them every day.
When Jesus said that we should love one another it was more than just fellowship or putting up with neighbours; He wanted us to know that we had to be there for each other, both in times of need and in times of prosperity. Christian fellowship is more than just saying hello, meeting on Sundays and prayer days; it is about sharing each other’s burdens, praying and growing together, putting each other right when we fail or falter and making sure that we aim so much higher than we have before. Jesus did not do things in half measure but went the whole way and loved us with an open heart and a full heart. If we do not do the same then we are falling short of the mark already!
We must not draw lines in the sand and say that we shall not cross them but should be willing to reach far over them to invite people in to learn the truth; and that truth must not be what everyone else says it should be but must be firmly grounded in God’s Word because it is that word that is true. If Jesus had drawn lines we would all be on the other side of those lines because we are all sinners who need Him!
If you want other people to know that you are a Christian then you have to be willing to show them that you are. That means stepping forward, stepping over the line that you have drawn in the sand and going all the way to the line that Jesus draws around you. Jesus invited some pretty strange characters into fellowship with Him and we must be willing to do so as well. Being very careful that we do not slip and fall has got to be our stand point because we are reaching far into the enemies territory when we do reach out to others – but Jesus will be with you when you take His hand and walk!
Points to Ponder:
What do others see in you?
Are you inviting others in or pushing them out?