Thursday Reading: Hebrews 1 4-6

Key Verse: Hebrews 1 5
5  For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

Devotion:
Jesus may have come to us in the form of a human being, but as we are reminded here He certainly was a whole lot more than just a man; He is the Son of God! There are religions who will hold up prophets, priests and various other positions in church as being preeminent in society and may even bow down before them in some show of worship. Jesus Christ is creator of our whole being, the heavens and the earth and all that surrounds us; because of this fact we need to make sure that we bow down to nobody but our Creator.

Jesus was very much a man during His ministry but He was nothing like man in that He did not sin and He certainly made sure that His Father got all the glory rather than Him taking on anything. It was only when Christ knew that He was coming back home to be with God in heaven that He asked God to restore the glory back to Him and that would only be after He had risen from the dead.

We must not give in to the ways of the world or other religions and start bowing down to or worshipping anything other than God otherwise we are falling short of the basic Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses and to us. There is none other than our Creator who deserves our worship. There is no created being, no matter how powerful or persuasive that deserves to be called out King.

Equally there is no way that we should be using the Lords name in vain. How can we bring down the glorious name of our Saviour to a basic and vulgar cuss word or an expression of horror / delight or other thing? This is our Creator God we are talking about here and not just some famous name. If we don’t dare to use the names of famous people or people in charge as cuss words, then why should we ever consider it acceptable to abuse the name of Jesus?

If God the Father lifted up the name of Jesus and called Him His Son, then who are we to think of Jesus in any other form other than His rightful and proper position ordained by God in Heaven. Jesus is now sitting with God in Heaven, however awesome or incomprehensible that may seem to us. When we get to heaven we too can join in and worship Jesus in person. For now though, let us lift His name on high, as the name above all names on earth!

Points to Ponder:
Who is a famous person in your life?

Is Jesus held in His rightful place in your life?

Wednesday Reading: Philippians 2 5-11

Key Verse: Philippians 2 9
9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

Devotion:
When Jesus came to be on earth it was not just so that He could teach people from the ground up but so much more than that. Jesus came down to earth to be born, to live as a man, to die without cause and then to raise Himself up again so that He could defeat the debt that we owe for our sins we continue to do. He did not zap anyone from heaven to make an example of them. He did not perform miracles from heaven so that people would look up to heaven. He did not cast out evil from heaven so that we would not have to face discomfort.

Instead Christ lowered Himself from His heavenly seat, from that sinless place, to be born as a human in a sinful world, surrounded by sin and temptation. He did not come down to be born within palace walls as a king should be. He did not come to have people serve Him as a king should have. He came and was born in a stable, born as a man, grew up and served others, continued on to live for others and then to lay His life down for others. All throughout that time He listened to God the Father and obeyed His every commandment!

There is no way that we can resist this world unless we have Christ guiding us and keeping us from that temptation. He is the one that is still serving us by encouraging us every step of our lives because He wants us to know that He died for us and He wants us to know that we can have our sins forgiven if we bring them forward to Him. There is no other man on earth who can accept those admissions of sin and can forgive them because no other man on earth has lived a sinless life and then died as our sacrifice!

God the Father is the one who lifted Jesus’ name above all others by saying He is His beloved son. Jesus is our Lord and Saviour and He is the one who has done this for you, personally! There will come a day when every person on earth and in heaven will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He gave His life for them and for us. At that moment all glory will be given to God!

Points to Ponder:
Do you know Jesus?

Do you know what He has done for you?

Tuesday Reading: John 11 35

Key Verse: John 11 35
35  Jesus wept.

Devotion:
“Are you serious! One verse! The shortest verse! Come on!” I hear a few saying…

One book has made all the difference. One chapter can make all the difference. One verse can make all the difference. One word can make all the difference. It is not always the volume that is going to make the difference, but the words that we use. When Christ was faced with adversity, strife or temptation, He chose His words wisely and carefully. He did not rush into extended explanations that were designed to flood the senses but instead chose His actions and words such that we would get the point very clearly.

We need to take a leaf out of Christ’s book, his life on earth, and start to realise just how important our words and actions are to others. It is so very easy to blow up and shout and think that that is going to make all the difference in the world, but if truth be told, that outburst may well be what turn others against us instead of drawing them to the same conclusions as we want them to see. Christ was emotional. There is no getting round that. But that did not mean that He allowed any emotional outbursts to rule over His life; instead He took time to think and time to make sure that His words would match His perfect heart. He took time to make sure that the people around Him would know the true meaning of what He was trying to say. Even when He said that the people around Him would not hear the truth in the words, the people that He wanted to hear heard those words and wrote them down for us to read. God’s ways are perfect.

We may never be able to reach such perfect ways or to be able to control our mouths in the same manner that Christ was able to, but we can stop and think about our actions and words before we let loose. It may be just one word that will change someone’s life; do you want that one word to ruin their lives or to build them up? We have the choice as to how others will see and hear us and we need to ask God for His perfect guidance so that we can glorify Him through our actions. He knows what others need and He can use you to deliver those needs if only you will stop and listen to what He has to say – and then act in that same way…

Points to Ponder:
Do you stop and think?

Have you stopped to listen to God?

Monday Reading: Matthew 26 38

Key Verse: Matthew 26 38
38  Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

Devotion:
Sometimes it is not the being ‘puffed up’ that is our problem but being totally deflated instead. I’m sure that we have all been at that stage where we think we cannot reach any lower or that we have nothing left inside of us. That is the stage when we do have to stop and think about how far we have let things go because that is the stage where we know there is nothing more…

We are not alone in having feelings like that. If I were to say to you that I have been there it may sound like a hollow word; how can I know what is going on in your head or in your soul? Well, don’t take my word for it but take Christ’s word! He was exceedingly sorrowful, to such a degree that we would probably have given up long before that. But Christ did not give up, He gave it to God. He went to have a quiet word with God His Father in heaven and laid it on the line, personally.

God wants us to fully understand that He does know all about us, that He does care for us, but that He DOES want us to come to Him in prayer, lifting up our woes to Him so that we know that what comes next, comes from Him! If we just leave things then we may begin to think that it is just luck, coincidence or some other random event; but when we know we have placed our problems firmly in God’s grip, then we know that what happens next comes because that is where our problems are. If we try to keep them up by ourselves, we will fall flat on our faces and end up in even more doom and gloom!

Don’t ever think that you are not important enough to lay down your heart to God. Don’t ever think that you are too big to come forward as a child and lay down your problems before God. That is exactly where He wants us to be, and if He has to allow us to trip up and fall to get our attention – don’t be surprised when you do trip up and fall! God is trying to get your attention. He has been trying to get it since the day you were born and He will continue until He stop and come to Him! He wants to love you with everything He has, but you do have to stop so that He can wrap His arms around you!

Points to Ponder:
Are you too scared to stop?

Have you stopped running yet?