Wednesday Reading: 2 Corinthians 11 10-12
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 11 11
11 Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.
Devotion:
Even though we don’t want to go round boasting that we are able to teach others about God, we all have something inside of us that wants to boast that we are passing on the glorious Gospel of Christ. We want others to know that we are doing this, not because of the glory we will get but rather that we share in the duty that we are carrying out for our God. If we did this for the money then we would be very poor indeed, this is not a labour or work but a labour of love.
I know there are some who will get a great deal out of passing on God’s Word to others and many of them deserve so much more because of that knowledge, wisdom and hope that they pass on to others. I would rather know that I can tell others that I do this for God rather than for any special occasion. To be honest I had no idea that something I started out several years back for friends and family when the devotions I was getting from someone else stopped coming through would grow into a mini industry where hundreds of people are able to share in my love for God’s Word!
My Mum used to place a devotion on top of the bin each week just in case the refuse collectors would stop to pick it up and read it. To me that showed more love in that single act than I was showing by giving my devotions to friends and family. That is when I started to try to get the devotions out to more people. I have never been discouraged that anyone would turn them down because I knew that no matter who I sent them out to, ate least one person would try to pass them on to someone else.
I know that God is allowing His Word to go out to more and more people each week and I lift up His name as the One who inspired me to start doing these devotions just so that one more person could get to hear His Word from the heart; from my heart. I give my heart so that others will see just how special Christ has been to me. I try to wear my heart on my sleeve without being too soppy so that others will be encouraged to use their hearts as well. Christ gave us His heart so that we would understand just how important love is…
Points to Ponder:
Do you wear your heart on your sleeve?
Do you share God’s love with others?
Tuesday Reading: 2 Corinthians 3 1-3
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 3 2
2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
Devotion:
There are times when we think that we can read others as we read a book, but this is not what is being implied here. The apostle is saying that the people at the church of Corinth were as good as any letter of commendation, if not, better! I think that if someone said that to me my head would grow a few inches! What a wonderful thing to say about someone else!
As we minister to others, whether it is through talking to them, reading to them, writing to them or whatever form your ministry takes, we are living in hope that others will take what we give them and use it to grow and glorify our God. I write these devotions with the hope that someone new will pick one up, read it and want to find out more about God. I teach the children I am able to minister to, I teach adults who are willing to listen and I reach out to people who I know will not read devotions like these just yet – but my hope is that one day soon they will be encouraged enough through my example that they will want to find out more about this Awesome God I praise before them all.
Even those people who say that they don’t want to hear about God from me do whether they realise it or not. I may not tell them I am doing God’s Work but I certainly show them God’s Work and when they ask me why I tell them it is because God has laid this in my heart to do what I do. I want to be that example toward others where they will realise that all I do is to God’s glory – or at least that is my aim! I know I will get things wrong and I know that I will make mistakes and give in to temptations, but I know that my heart is set on doing what I think God wants me to do.
When I hear that even one person has been blessed by what I have been able to tell them, then I know that I have just done something very special for God because we all belong to Him and we are all His creation! I don’t write these words to have them printed and hung up in places for people to admire; I write these words from my heart and hope they will reach into other people’s hearts like they do mine. God has given me an ability which I am trying to use for His glory, everything else is a bonus!
Points to Ponder:
What gives you great encouragement?
Where do you think God’s Words came from?
Monday Reading: 1 Corinthians 15 12-22
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 15 19
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Devotion:
There are a few bumper stickers which say things along the lines of “you only live once so enjoy it” or “live life to the full” which on the surface seem sound and encouraging; but if man only has hope in Christ in this life only, then surely we have been short-changed! I would rather speak out and say something like “the best is yet to come”. Yes we can enjoy life to the fullest whilst here on earth and yes we should be living it to the full with Christ, but it certainly does not need to end here!
Christ has gone to prepare a place for us in Heaven and He is certainly coming back to take us home; so why should we think that everything has to be done here and now? Our aim should be to prepare for that time with Christ because this life is but a blink of an eye compared to the eternity we will have with Him. I we cannot see past the end of our life then we have given up on the hope that Christ has given us!
Even amongst the Jews there were religious men that believed in a resurrection and others who would not believe it. The apostles were witness to it and so that is what they preached – who are we to say that an eye-witness account is not valid? Our modern courts depend on witnesses and much of the time they are witnesses who did not see anything directly but as a whole they build up a picture of innocence or of guilt. We have eye witness accounts of Christ being born, living, dying, being buried and of having been raised from the dead and walking amongst us once again!
That fact that Christ has risen from the dead gives us the hope that we shall be too. That fact gives us hope when everything else points to nothing. Man embraces the fact that life will end because he sees it all the time. But man also forgets the past when it does not come back and show itself time and time again. Do we really have to be eye witnesses of people being raised from the dead before we believe the truth? Or are we going to trust someone and take their word on it? Part of being a human, never mind a Christian, is trusting in other people. Yes we do have to be careful who we trust, but if they are upholding the truth and God’s Word, then should we not believe that truth? Christ has risen! We have hope!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have to be an eye witness before you believe?
What are you looking forward to after death?
Sunday Reading: Colossians 1 1-8
Key Verse: Colossians 1 5
5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
Devotion:
Here in Paul’s first epistle to the Colossians we find a very clear declaration of what Christianity should be about. Paul lifts up his praise to God our Father in Heaven being the Father of Jesus His only Son whom he also praises and the Holy Spirit whom he knows that they praise too. His praise is that they have embraced God’s Word not in the strict ways in which the Jews had but according to how Jesus had taught them through the apostles and other disciples.
We have to take on board the Word of God and apply it to our lives, not just to have it as a list of things to be done or to aim for, but as a core objective in our lives. Praising God is just the start of this, but it is also central in that when we do praise God we lift up His ways and that encourages us to follow those ways as well. We know that Christ lifted up prayers on our behalf all the time and so we should one for another as well because that is the example Christ has lain down for us. This is what the church at Colossae was doing.
It was very evident from their lives through the words passed on by the disciples teaching them at the time that these people were full of hope for what lay ahead of them. They fully believed in the Gospel truth and they were full of hope for their own futures through what they were being taught from God’s Word. That hope was building up their own faith and that faith was spilling out to others giving them hope in turn. They were being excellent witnesses of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
What more does God want other than to hear our praise being lifted up to Him knowing that that praise is bolstering our own beliefs and encouraging us to not just believe in Him but to do His good will as well. That is the best way to spread the Gospel; to be a part of it and to make it a part of your life. To live it as fully as one can.
Points to Ponder:
How would you describe your life?
Are you living for God?
Saturday Reading: Psalms 63 1-4
Key Verse: Psalms 63 3
3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
Devotion:
One thing I have learned is that by praising God as much as possible, I get a great deal more out of my walk with Him than when I used to wait until the weekends to praise Him! God is not our God only on Sundays or only during prayer meetings or only when we seek Him… God is God, eternal and forever and always! So why should we limit our times of praise to Him? Why should we limit our praise at all?
Another thing that I find is that by giving my first hours of the day to Christ I prepare my day to walk with Him and not go trying to seek Him when I need Him; it is much better to walk with Him constantly that to try and seek Him when the going gets tough! God prefers us to live our lives with Him than not. He wants us to know that He is always willing to be with us and to help us every step of the way. Having the Holy Spirit indwell us is not a small thing because that then means that God is literally with us every step of the way – every moment!
I don’t know about you but on a hot day (not too many of those in the UK though) I want to be able to drink more water because I am more thirsty. On a very cold day I also like to drink more warm drinks to help to warm me up. I don’t go out of my way to look for water or other drinks when I need them because I tend to try and make them a part of my life – after all I would rather stay alive! A life with God should mean that we seek His Word every step of the way, that we don’t go out of our way to find that Word but instead make it a part of our lives so that it is always there.
Living a life with Christ should mean exactly that – living our life with Him constantly and not only when we think we needed Him. When I see some of the missionaries around me I see people who are constantly depending on God, making that dependence a part of their lives and not just something they call on when they are in need. We need to make that need an everyday thing; making it a constant in our lives and not some spare part. God gave us everything so that we would know He is always here with us – let us then lift our praise to Him constantly acknowledging that He is always with us!
Points to Ponder:
When do you spend time with God?
Is He a constant companion?