Wednesday Reading: Jude 1 5-7
Key Verse: Jude 1 7
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Devotion:
How many times have you said “that will not happen” or “they would not dare to do that” only to be proven wrong? It does not come as a surprise in many cases to see things happen and yet we still don’t want to believe that they will happen. Well, when God promises, it is going to happen! We may like to think that God is not going to carry out His punishment to those that do not believe or those who reject Him, but that is exactly what will happen – that is God’s promise. If we don’t believe it then we can go back in time and see what God has already done when He promised; and we will not like what He has done!
God is a Just God. That means that He will not turn a blind eye to sin. How can He when He allowed His Son to pay such a terrible price for that sin. Yes we do have that forgiveness that He has promised us, but in order to obtain that we have to trust in Him and believe in Him, bringing that sin to Him in repentance. Only then will He forgive us.
Those angels that have chosen to work against God will have an eternal place just for themselves and it is not going to be plain sailing there either! Even though we are made in God’s image and Jesus paid that price on the cross, if we do not accept and believe that that is what He has done then it is to no effect in our lives. In other words we will not see the benefits of that mercy because we are rejecting Jesus Christ as the Son of God!
When we look back in our bibles we find that even though prophets were willing to plead with God, He still had to be Just and to punish those who refused to believe. The people of Sodom and Gomorrha paid for it in a horrible way because they were treating God in a disgusting manner. The children of Israel talked back at God and refused to trust Him; they had to pay for that by not obtaining the land of milk and honey that was promised to their children instead. Don’t take my word for it, read all about it and know the truth!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you ignore God?
How many times before you are guilty?
Tuesday Reading: Revelation 14 9-11
Key Verse: Revelation 14 10
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Devotion:
It should be very sobering to read such words that have been written for our express warning by great men of God, and yet we just ignore them as if they were random graffiti written on walls in derelict areas in town. But these are the words that we should fear the most because they talk of things still to come. Most of the bible tells us of all the things that have already happened and those things that God has told us about the past, but these are the words that tell us of things yet to happen.
God was not trying to frighten us into believing Him by getting John to write things like this down but wants us to know what will happen when we continue to ignore Him. We can see what sort of lives the people around us lead when they continually reject Christ; because we see a great difference in the lives of true Christians and those we reject God. We also see all of the world in a very different light when we know what God has done for us in the past. So why then do we quietly ignore what lies ahead?
Is it because we fear that we will not be able to cope? We should not because we will be in a much better place whilst the world has to cope with their choice of rejecting Christ. Instead we should fear what will happen to the people around us and we should be warning them of what they have let themselves in for. We don’t necessarily have to tell them of all the most horrible explanations that we can find but rather encourage them to seek God because He is seeking them. But when they continually reject that approach then it has to be time when they are told the truth as well. It is not a nice truth to look at…
We certainly do not like to see the dead bodies that litter streets in time of war, but it is the truth. We don’t like to see the starving people in poor countries, but it is the truth. We need to stop living our lives as we see fit and listen to the dire warnings that God has given us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you switch off the TV when you see horrible things?
Do you ignore God when you don’t like what He says?
Monday Reading: Psalms 75 6-10
Key Verse: Psalms 75 8
8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.
Devotion:
How often we do forget that God is in charge of all things and that He has a plan which He has set in motion since before we were around. It is little wonder then that things continue to happen in much the same manner as they have done for so many years – because God is still requiring that His plan is acted out from the beginning through to the end. This cup signifies all that God has for us to endure, be it good like the fresh wine or pretty rough like the dregs at the bottom of an old wine, we still have this life to live.
Our lives are not going to be plain sailing just because we believe in God. They are not going to be without worry or strife just because we have said that we trust Christ at some stage in our lives. Our lives have to be lived according to what God has in store for us. If we run off in the other direction away from God then we may well be faced with a whole lot more garbage than we expect and we will certainly have a whole lot more than God had planned in our lives! So the answer must be to stick close to God so that we can get what He has planned in our lives and thus get the best for each one of us.
We need to trust in God and praise Him continually; that way we will be sure that we will hear when He requires something from us and we will be able to obey His Word in our lives. But if we are going to be too caught up in the world to listen to God then we will find that we get what the world deals to us instead of what God wants in our lives; that is going to be two very different lives!
God’s lot for each of us is that we trust and obey Him, that we believe on Jesus Christ His only begotten Son and that we live our lives according to His Word as shared to us by the Holy Spirit. That is what God has planned for us and He has planned so that we may have the best life according to His plan. That does mean He will allow us to enjoy ourselves as well because He wants us to be happy – being unhappy and rejected is not going to bring us closer to Him after all. Instead God continually encourages us to draw close to Him in our daily walk with Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you concentrate on getting work done?
Are you concentrating on God’s work too?
Sunday Reading: Proverbs 13 2
Key Verse: Proverbs 13 2
2 A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.
Devotion:
If there is one stereotype that I enjoy to think about it is that the Irish should be good at speaking; personally I love the Irish accent, but it should be their ability to talk about great things that makes the biggest impression on me. So to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day I thought that I would make a tentative link to the Irish in my heart.
What comes out of our mouths is either going to build up or put down. If we are not careful then what we think is meant to build up may well be breaking down before we realise it even if we do mean well. It does not take great skills to talk to others and it certainly does not take any skill to upset someone with a careless word. It not so much a case of trying our hardest to build up people all the time but rather what is in our hearts that will normally come out. We may have the best intentions to say the right thing but if we do not feel it in our hearts then what comes out will most likely be from the heart.
If we keep on putting our feet in and saying the wrong things even though we may not mean to, we will give the impression of upsetting people all the time rather than building them up. That is certainly not where we should be aiming as Christians because God has told us that we should be showing love to our neighbours. If we settle God’s Word in our hearts then the way we act will more likely be in line with Christ’s teachings because that is what is in our hearts. God wants us to know His Word but more importantly He wants us to be able to express His love through what we say. Jesus Christ gave us the example by living the way that He did and saying some pretty amazing things. Not everything was well received because there are people out there who did not want to hear the truth because they were avoiding it at all costs!
When we show honesty with God through being more open with Him and keeping in constant contact with Him, then we will fill our hearts with His love. It is then that love that will come out of our mouths and also through our actions. When we keep God in our hearts, He will shine through the way that we live and the way that we talk… we then become effective witnesses for Him and He can use us more.
Points to Ponder:
What do you think is in your heart?
Are you letting God’s love shine through?
Saturday Reading: Psalms 136 1-9
Key Verse: Psalms 136 1
1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Devotion:
Giving thanks to our Awesome God is always right! No matter what has become of us, no matter what has happened in our lives, no matter what we see around us, we should always be able to give thanks to God; if nothing else because His mercy is always there! We may be the ones who go astray and find that we are faced with horrible situations, or others around us may go off and do strange things and we get involved with cleaning up the mess… but God’s mercy for each one of us stands because He is always willing to forgive anyone who is willing to repent of their own sins.
We cannot expect God to forgive others of their sins if they themselves are not repentant! God forgives those that bring their own sins to Him because that is how we are going to show a repentant heart. That is not to say that our preacher cannot stand up and ask for forgiveness for us all, but if we do not join in and acknowledge that we are part of that sinful congregation that needs forgiveness, then we have a problem.
God is the one who can do anything because He has all power over everything. He is the one who has made the heavens. He is the one who has made the great oceans whose power we cannot tame. He is the one who gave us the Sun whose energy we draw on every day without end. He is the one who created every one of those tiny spots of light that we see in the night sky – the more we look the more we find. God created it all so never doubt that He alone has power to do anything!
And despite all of that power and might, God is the one who loves you. He is the one who targeted His love toward you. He is the one who forgave you when you first asked forgiveness. He is the one who came to you to introduce Himself to you. He is the one who has done all of this just so that you can be at this point in time right now enjoying looking into all that He has done for you. And even when we trip up and fall before Him, He is willing to stretch out His hand and pick us up if we ask Him for help. His mercy knows no bounds!
Points to Ponder:
How strong are you?
Do you think you could create just one sun?