Monday Reading: 1 Corinthians 9 1-14
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 9 8
8 Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?
Devotion:
Sometimes we do find it hard to listen to God just as we find it hard to listen to others; because we want our own way or what we think should be right we often get carried away with zeal for what we think the law says. At the time that Christ was amongst us as a human the apostles were faced with many who had made religion the centre of everything instead of God and they seemed more intent in carrying out what they wanted from the law than the law itself.
God’s law has not changed from the beginning of time but man’s own interpretation of that law has changed. We only have to look at the range of different bibles on the market to find out how much man’s interpretation can change because there are some bibles that make light of the law whilst some seem to change it. Are these mistakes or are they deliberate? That is a question for the author or God to answer and not for us to fight over – rather what we should be doing is trying to live our lives toward the law that God laid down, the same law that Christ supported and the same law that the Holy Spirit encourages us in. If we can find that law and follow it then we will be able to follow Christ without a problem.
No matter how man changes words in the bible, no matter how man changes the rules, the original truth stands; we have to seek that original truth and we have to know that truth as God’s Word. Every bible we have has got errors in it because our languages are limited in comparison to the original languages and the original scripts may well be hard to follow because of lack of understanding or lack of legibility due to age. But what God inspired does not change.
God’s law states that we should support our church leaders, ministers, missionaries and all who strive to bring us that truth. Each of them are human and as such they have the right to be human: to eat, to love, to marry, to enjoy life. As ministers of the gospel we are called to bring forward the gospel and that is what we should strive to do. If we wish to put aside any of our rights as Paul did, then that should not mean that all ministers must put aside those same rights. God has given us all life and that means we shall not withhold that gift from anyone unless we wish to go against God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you do any voluntary work?
Do you support missionaries?
Sunday Reading: Luke 10 3-11
Key Verse: Luke 10 7
7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
Devotion:
How many times have you thought about giving up what you are doing and going too to do something else just because things got a bit tough? I’m sure we have all been there and in many cases changed our work, friends or even our lives because things got out of hand or changed too much for us to bear. But when Christ gave His disciples the command to go out and preach the gospel He also made sure that they understood that they had to be persistent but also to think about where they were.
Christ likened their journey ahead as lambs walking into the wolves; and we still face that same journey as we take God’s Word with us because we will find that there are people out there who just want to see us gone rather than have to put up with us telling people the truth about God! If people are so intent on living in the darkness and we walk in with a huge light, then they will be angry and afraid and will reject us. But those who do realise that they do need the light will start to listen and it is those that Christ wants us to be persistent with because He knows the one who will come to Him.
If all we get is constant rejection and constant aggravation then we will become cynical and even hardened against the people. That is not what Christ wants because we then become hard to work with from His point of view. If we start offending people and causing offense because we have been persistent in forcing something upon them they are not ready for, we may well be building up a wall in their minds rather than breaking one down for them to see the light – again, not what Christ is after.
But when we do go forward in Christ’s name and we are accepted then we should continue to stay there and build on the truth, build on those initial seeds and encourage those people to seek God with all their hearts. God wants us to be friends with such people so that they will be able to see more of what God can do with us and through us – what better encouragement than for someone to be able to be with a friend of Christ?
Points to Ponder:
Are you being friends with others?
Do they see you as a friend of Christ?
Saturday Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5 12-15
Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5 12
12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
Devotion:
In society there is always someone who is elected in some manner to be in charge of others so that order may be maintained. Our church life is not any different in that we do have someone who should be in charge of our lives and that is God. If we are not going to allow Him to be in control of our lives then we are going to find that things will go wrong at what we may think are the worst possible times.
God has elected people to teach us about Him and to allow us to grow in the knowledge of the Lord. He have given us these priests and teachers so that we may learn His ways and know what is best for each of us. If we do not look up to them and hold them in the light in which God has elected them then we are not acknowledging God’s order of authority. God has put them there for a reason and now and again they may even have to reprimand us for doing things wrong or for breaking God’s laws. If we ignore those warnings and admonitions then we are ignoring God’s authority.
They are doing God’s work for a reason – because they have a love for the Lord to carry out His wishes not just in their own lives but in the lives of all those that God has allowed them to care for. We have to lift them up in this light so that we show God that we accept His authority in our lives. If we do accept their authority then we should be able to live in peace with them because we will not have to try to argue everything out.
But then we also have to realise that God has put us here for a reason too. He may well call on us to warn others when we see them doing something wrong. God wants us to share His authority and to allow people to know when they are breaking God’s Law. If they never learn what God’s Law is then they will never know when they are doing things wrong. If we are able to show them, in love, when they come up against God’s Laws, then we will be able to share God with them more effectively because they will know God’s limits just as we have learned them.
Points to Ponder:
Do you like being told off?
Do you listen to God’s servants when they tell you off?
Friday Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5 6-11
Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5 8
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
Devotion:
Even though we are Christians and we should be preparing for our eternal home in heaven we do have to continue living in this world until that day comes. And as such we have to be prepared for what may be ahead, knowing that this world is an evil place when we look at it and compare it with heaven. That is why we have to put on some sort of protection so that we may avoid the evil things that we will find in our paths.
The people that refuse to listen to God will continue to live in darkness, partly because they will never get to see the light and partly because they will prefer the darkness because the light shows up their bad ways. Just as a person who drinks a lot would prefer to drink in dark and shady places so as not to be embarrassed by being drunk in public (though we may think otherwise when we see what state they are in), the person who is drunk in this world (as opposed to drunk in wine) is going to love the dark places of this world so that they are not shown up by people who love the light and like doing things right!
As long as we have hope and faith and aim for that eternal dwelling that Christ has promised us, we can continue to live in this world and not have to be a part of this world. Just because we live here does not mean that we have to be like the rest of the world! God has not created us to be drunkards or to love the evil ways of the world – God has created us to love the light and the righteous ways of His. Following those righteous ways will lead us to Him and to Salvation.
It is He who laid His life down for us so that we may be able to live with Him eternally. It is He who has given us the gift of eternal life as long as we are willing to follow His Word because that is where His Word will guide us. Whether we live a righteous life and try to never sin or whether we give in to sin and then carry on, we can still turn back to Christ and ask for His forgiveness because we will give in to sin at some stage. God does not want us to have to hide in the dark but to be released from that burden and live and walk in the light with Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you prefer walking in the dark or the light?
Are you allowing God to be your guiding light?
Thursday Reading: 2 Corinthians 5 1-8
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 5 6
6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
Devotion:
Our hope is in Christ and that hope is based on faith that our knowledge of Christ is true; we know in our hearts that God’s Word is the truth but as humans we always have doubts. But there is another way of looking at things and that is that being here on earth in our earthly bodies and fighting worldly ways allows us to see more the glory that awaits spurning us forward in our hope, building up that faith.
We know that when our life on earth is done we have an eternal life with God in Heaven and that is a certainty based on our belief in God’s Word because it is through that Word that we have the promise that Christ has gone to prepare that place for us and then to return and take us home. The more we live in this world the more we find out how wrong, sinful and unrighteous it is and the more we look forward to that heavenly peace and comfort; like being able to take a shower and wash off the dirt from a days work and step into a clean set of clothes.
We long for the eternal knowing that this mortal life will come to an end; the end of which is uncertain and not known to us. That gives us concern because we think we cannot plan things to work the way we want them to. But if we willingly submit to God He will direct our life on earth so that we do get done all that is required before we get to be in glory with Him. It may be a struggle we face and it may be harder than we think we can bare, but trusting in God we will be able to complete our earthly mission before we are clothed immortally!
We cannot see what God has in store for us and we cannot predict what God is going to do, but we certainly can walk by faith, trusting Him to guide us every step of the way. That walk by faith is core to our Christian life because through it be are strengthened, through it we become the example and through it we can live for God. We do not need the future told if we are willing to trust in God. We do not need the stars or any other thing to show us the way if we are willing to walk with Him by faith.
Points to Ponder:
Do you look forward to being clean?
Do you know just how clean God will make us?