November 30: Hebrews 2 5-9

Key Verse: Hebrews 2 9
But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Devotion:
Despite the crucifixion being many years after the words this passage refers to (Psalm 8:4) the words ring so true; God had a plan and was going to stick to it! This displays the love of God toward all mankind, especially the Israelites at that time and the author of this letter to the Hebrew people reminds them of the roots of the promise made so many years ago.

In order for God to carry out His promise to the people, Jesus had to become “a little lower than the angels” – this was pointing to the fact Jesus was brought to us in human form so He could carry out His task of Salvation for us, yet without taking on the true human traits of sin! Christ remained without sin, without blemish, without blame… yet He took on the debt of our sin, our mistakes and removed the blame from us once and for all. He did this as an open invitation to one and all.

But it does not apply to everyone because many people will not accept this gift He is laying in front of us. They don’t accept it because the gift has not been explained to them and their choice is clouded by the sinful ways of mankind. It is our task to open up the gospel to others so they do have the chance to make a more informed decision rather than rejecting the truth just because it seems easier at the time!

If we choose to do nothing about the gospel, then we have made the choice to ignore the truth… we have made a choice, despite our laziness! But that does not exclude us from the choice, we still have the choice to accept the truth. God made the choice to allow His Son to become human and hence be open to the corruption and sin in this world. Jesus made the choice not to follow earthly ways but to keep in constant communion with God the Father. He made the choice so we could have the choice…

Points to Ponder:
Do you put things off all the time?

Will you open up the choice to someone else in your life?

November 29: John 17 20-26

Key Verse: John 17 26
I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.

Devotion:
When Jesus was preparing Himself to come forward as our sacrifice, He had some deep and meaningful conversations with God in heaven. He knew the date and time of what was to come, but unlike that, we do not know when we will face death. He was able to spend time before His Father and prepare for what was to come – we do not have that luxury – we need to prepare now before we face death and before it is too late.

Jesus had done a lot of work teaching the disciples what they needed to know and He asked God’s blessing on them; but He extended that request to everyone who was willing to believe in Him as the Son of God. This is an open request for everyone who was to come after that date – this means you and me!

Jesus knew what it was like to be one with the Father and wanted more people to experience that feeling and the assurance it gives us. When we believe and trust in Christ, we change. It may not be a conscious decision to change but other people will be able to see we are different and will question what it is which gives us this assurance and hope. That is the opportunity we need to share the Gospel with anyone who is willing to listen!

The worldly people will not see what believers see in God and they will not understand what all the fuss is about; unless we stand firm in Christ and they see the difference between our ways and the way of the world. It is that light which shines through us which people are able to see Christ by; don’t hide that light behind a bush but rather allow it to shine brightly for all to see! Our task is to make Christ known to every person we are able to show the light to. It is not our task to bash people round the head to make them think of Christ; it is our task to allow Christ to shine through us so people can see Him for themselves!

Points to Ponder:
Do you allow people to get to know you properly?

Do you allow people to know you are a Christian?

November 28: Hebrews 9 23-28

Key Verse: Hebrews 9 25
Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.

Devotion:
No matter how much we do here on earth, it is never going to be enough to get us into heaven without us first accepting Christ as our Saviour, the one who paid the ultimate price so that we would not have to pay that price! Throughout the bible we see how sacrifices were needed for people to show their repentance and sincerity of their love toward God. But not everyone was able to offer the type of sacrifices the bible describes…

The tabernacle and temples made in our early human history show how much God meant to people, but to some extent it also drew a line or barrier between simple folk and the requirements. Some temples have stood the test of time and remain as reminders for us of how much people gave up to have the hope of being able to get to heaven. They all required human effort and a dedication which we don’t seem to see much of in today’s societies!

Christ gave up His life once and went back to heaven once; this was not an annual occurrence like the priests going into the temples and tabernacle to offer up sacrifices again and again. This was a single accomplishment which was and is able to cover all of our sins. The priests made their annual sacrifices with the blood of animals, not their own. Christ gave up Himself and His own blood to be the ultimate sacrifice.

How would you feel if Christ had to give Himself up every year and be crucified each time just so we could live? How would you like to die every year just so someone else could live? It does seem extreme when we look at it in this light, but this is what Christ was willing to do; God only expected a single perfect sacrifice to be made and Jesus stepped up to the mark to be there for us all. He did this to bring salvation to us all who are willing to invite Him into our lives!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like the site of blood?

Aren’t you glad Christ shed His blood in our stead once and for all?

November 27: 1 King 8:46-51

Key Verse: 1 King 8:50
And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy

Devotion:
Solomon is known to us as being the wise king and these prayers lifted up to God at the time are a good example of his wisdom of the faithfulness of God and His willingness to forgive us when we submit to Him. We can relate to these words because we too face this sort of circumstance when we make enemies and treat them the way described here.

If we, being human, are willing to think about forgiveness even though we continue to sin ourselves, the how much more does God show forgiveness when we sin toward Him? When we have done wrong and we come forward asking for forgiveness from other people, we expect forgiveness in full – assuming we are sincere in our repenting! When we bring our sins to God and ask forgiveness, we should not expect anything less than being totally forgiven – assuming we are sincere in our repenting!

This prayer is lifted to God in heaven and pleads for forgiveness for anyone who is coming forward and asking it. Just as God showed the people mercy when they were lead out of captivity in Egypt, so too is Solomon asking God to extend His mercy once again… even though people have gone away, mixed with unbelievers and done many bad things…

Jesus Christ came to be the final sacrifice for all of our sins in the past and the future; He willingly gave His life to pay for our sins once and for all. Because of this, we should be willing to come forward and ask Chrit to forgive us for what we have done wrong. It is our act of coming forward and showing we are sincere in asking for forgiveness that will count. We do need to come forward and admit to the things we do wrong – because we all do things wrong – and expect nothing less than absolute forgiveness just as Solomon asks for here.

Points to Ponder:
How many things have you done wrong today?

Have you admitted to those things and brought them to Christ?