Tuesday Reading: Genesis 4 1-7
Key Verse: Genesis 4 7
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Devotion:
When we know that we are doing things wrong we should not really have any excuse to be upset when everything goes pear shaped; but we do get upset. We expect that things should still go alright even when we are not following the rules… But when Cain got upset that God was not as pleased with his offering as He was with Abel’s offering, God asked him why he was upset. I expect the standard response of “I don’t know” came back; but that is just speculation because that is not what we are told. Instead God reminds Cain why things were not going his way.
God expects us to follow His Word and when His Word says one thing and we run off and do something else, then we should not be too surprised to find out that God will get to see what we have done wrong; furthermore we should not be surprised to find that we have upset God because we have gone against His will. But if we are willing to listen and learn what God expects from us, we can be much better prepared to do His will as He expects us to. But when we run off and start going against God’s will we will find that there is temptation waiting for us.
Satan is not so stupid as to miss out on any tricks. If he knows that we have done something against God’s will then he can use that against us – and he is not going to pass over any opportunity that is given to him on a plate! So we should not be at all surprised to find that the temptation is waiting for us as soon as we break the rules!
God knows that we cannot keep His laws because we are sinners, but He also knows that Satan is even worse and will be waiting to trip us up all the time. That is another reason why He would have us to do His will – because when we are doing His will we find that we are closest to Him and less likely to fall into any temptations.
When we find that sin is waiting for us at every corner we will give in a lot quicker than if we have to go looking for it. And if we are going to follow God’s will, we are going to find that we do get what God has lined up for us; whereas we will find we get what Satan has lined up for us when we are out of the will of God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get upset when others succeed and you don’t?
Do you know what God has lined up for you?
Monday Reading: Psalms 81 8-10
Key Verse: Psalms 81 10
10 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Devotion:
Let us never forget just how much God has done for each of us, not just us as in each person and the very personal things God does as He touches each of our lives; I am talking about the things that God has done from the beginning of time right up until this moment in time. Start looking back at the things that God has done to get the world into the exact position that it is now so that you could be born and living right now, right here…
God has tried to get our attention through creating a whole universe for us to be in. He has then dealt with the tiniest of details so that we could be born in exactly the way that we were with all those troubles and trials and temptations so that we are the person that we think of as me, I, little old me… Someone created by God who has grown up to be introduced to God, whom God has loved beyond measure, has literally moved mountains so that we can be here, now…
So when we read words in our bibles that remind us that God is Our God and that He is the one that chose Israel, chose to make them and example, we need to cast our minds over a whole lot more than just what happened yesterday. God works without being bound by time. The things that He does now have been set in motion before we could think of them and certainly in spite of all that we have done! When things happen because of what we do we see just how far short of the mark we fall because they never quite reach the heights that God’s thoughts reach – never mind His Works!
God wants us to know the truth and He wants to give us the real truth. We need to be willing to listen but we also need to actually listen as well. God is waiting like a patient parent, hovering with that next spoon of food, waiting for us children to open our mouths and accept His daily bread. God wants to feed us in abundance, not just snacks to fill us up at the time, but good, wholesome, solid food that will sustain us when we have to face those rough times. God knows we will feel alone at times and so He wants us prepared for those times so that we will not feel frightened or alone.
Points to Ponder:
Are you hungry for God’s Word?
Are you opening yourself to God’s Word?
Sunday Reading: Psalms 59 6-8
Key Verse: Psalms 59 7
7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?
Devotion:
When King David saw the people around him he could not help coming to the conclusion that there were so many evil people around him; but even though he was surrounded at times he always kept in mind that it was God who was in ultimate control. David would continue to lift up God as his Rock at all times and he would cling to God; more so the worse things got.
Though David was tempted in many things and gave in to many things as well, He continued to make sure that he knew the weakness of the unrighteous people when compared to the righteous people or those that were willing to trust in God. God does look after those that seek Him because He is always willing to show us just how much we mean to Him. But those that look to their own strength and wisdom will always find that they fall short when compared to God.
We will lift up ourselves and we will say that we are good or strong or whatever, but we must always remember as David did, that God is our strength. When we say that we can do things without God or say things that are designed to tempt God or to say to Him that we are in control, He will not be worried because we are but dust to Him. And yet, even though we are nothing, even though we are sinners, even though we fall short, God continues to show us that He loves us and wants us to be righteous. Even when we think God is not listening or when we think that God cannot hear us or see us – He is there, watching, waiting, listening…
If you want to be able to understand this relationship that we have between God and us then I challenge you to read a large portion of the book of Psalms in one day. If you have an audio bible, then just sit back and listen to the Psalms from 42 through to 71. As you read or listen to them you will begin to understand the difference between people lifting themselves us and those who lift up God. We do break God’s heart continually as we run off thinking we can do things without Him when we should always be remembering that God walks with us because we do have the Holy Spirit with us continually…
Points to Ponder:
Have you embarrassed yourself by saying things that were overheard?
How much do you say that would embarrass God?
Saturday Reading: 1 Timothy 1 18-20
Key Verse: 1 Timothy 1 19
19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
Devotion:
Let us never forget that we are always going to have to face Satan when we bring forward God’s Word. He is always going to be the one trying to stop us from reaching out to others with the truth. So when we see someone reaching out to others we need to be there to encourage them and support them because they have dared to go up against Satan. God may be the only one that can protect us from Satan, but without encouragement things can break down.
Timothy was being encouraged to keep up the good fight so that he would be able to continue helping and supporting the people that needed it most. But he was also being reminded that when we are in this fight, taking our eyes off the target will normally mean that we fail in our next step. If we are getting ready to shoot a bow at a target, closing our eyes is about the worst thing we can do!
When we are in this fight for God we need to keep our wits about us and continue to depend on all the abilities that God has given us. One of those is our consciences! God has given us the ability to know when things are wrong before we get into trouble. He has given us the ability to know whether things are right or wrong before we know the absolute truth about those things. This conscience allows us to be better prepared for the battle and better prepared for what is going to happen next.
As soon as we lay down our sword (the Word of God) and ignore our conscience (our God given gift) then we are no longer fully prepared for the battle that we are in and we may well find that we trip up and fall. And when we do trip up and fall it may well look like a shipwreck rather than a simple trip because everything else collapses and we are exposed on every side. Shipwrecks or car crashes are not good things to be in because they happen when we are no longer in control. God would rather that we stay in control by allowing Him to guide us every step of the way – and for us to listen to that instruction constantly, obeying it and growing in faith and strength through it!
Points to Ponder:
How many ‘shipwrecks’ have happened in your life?
How many of those times had you lost focus on God?
Friday Reading: Psalms 19 7-9
Key Verse: Psalms 19 8
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Devotion:
God’s Word is pretty amazing when you think about it. Not only has it stood the test of time and passed through many generations relatively unchanged (I say relatively because of man’s incessant need to change things and make them ‘better’ than they were before). God’s Word does not need changing because it was perfect to start will. It is what converts our souls and it brings home the promises of God in the way nothing else can by teaching both the wise people and the simple people.
The rules that God has given us through the bible are there for a reason and that is that we may know how much God cares for us, How strict He is when we don’t care, how righteous He is and how certain we can be about believing every word that is written in it. The more that we are able to find out by reading His Word, the more we are able to bring light into our very dark lives – and God’s Word certainly gives us that light!
The more we learn about God and His ways the more certain we should be that following His rules is the only way that we will be able to live. It’s not just about following a whole string of rules but taking those rules and bringing them to life within your own life by allow them to build you up and even to break your evil ways down as well.
With the knowledge about God must come a whole lot of respect because of all that He has promised us and continues to make sure that those promises continue to be upheld. The more we read it the more we realise that it continues to stand up no matter what goes on in our lives. We may allow all manner of garbage into our lives but none of that is going to corrupt God’s Word because it is pure, honest and the ultimate truth!
So if you are looking for something that is going to build you up in your life, then stop looking at the world’s examples because all they will do is to keep you happy for a short time if anything at all. God’s Word works on a permanent basis!
Points to Ponder:
What do you get out of reading God’s Word?
Are you trusting it as the truth?