Saturday Reading: Colossians 1 12-17

Key Verse: Colossians 1 16
16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Devotion:
I have been asked on more than one occasion lately why I worship my God in the way that I do and why I try to tell others about Him. To me, He is everything and I am nothing without Him; but just saying that to someone who does not know Him seems to leave them a bit confused because to them we have not answered their question properly. But these verses help me to give others a bit more of an insight as to why I worship Him in the way I do!

It is because of God’s grace and mercy that we are invited to join Him in heaven and not through anything we can do. It is only God that can deliver us from the clutches of the evil one and it is only God that has paid the price for our sin debt once and for all. It is because of what Christ has done for us that we are able to be happy with Him. It is because of His blood shed on the cross that we can obtain eternal life. It is because He paid the price for our sins that we are able to live.

Jesus Christ is God in person. Jesus is God we can see. Jesus Christ is the first born who was, is and forever will be the one who has done it all for us. It is no little thing that Jesus Christ has always been; being present right from the point of creation through to the end of time yet to come. Every single thing that exists on earth or in heaven exists because God created it; not just the physical things but principalities, governments, and all things exist because He has allowed it so.

But the most amazing thing of all of this is that God has allowed everything to exist because it can and should be used to glorify Him with everything. When we can start to explain just how much God has done for us and how much we can do for Him, just maybe others will put two and two together and realise that the all-powerful God that we worship is the same God that has created everything for us. Then maybe they will begin to understand just why we put so much into our relationship with Him.

Points to Ponder:
What has God done for you?

How much do you do for God?{emailonpulish/}

Friday Reading: Colossians 1 9-11

Key Verse: Colossians 1 10
10  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Devotion:
The apostles had learned how important prayer was; not just a prayer when you need it but constant and heartfelt prayers lifted up to God. It was not just prayers lifted up asking for help for others but also prayers lifted up to God asking for knowledge and wisdom; and again not just any knowledge and wisdom but to be able to identify and even to be filled with that wisdom to understand God’s will. Now they did not have bibles that they could read to be able to gain such knowledge; instead they were given that knowledge and wisdom by God so that they could pass it on to us – what a way to answer prayers!

In order for us now to gain most from our bibles we have to lift up our prayers to our Father to ask for wisdom to understand why the Apostles wrote what they did and what it should mean to us. God wants us to live a closer life to Him through understanding more about Him and His ways. As we draw closer we can understand more about what He wants from us in our lives. As we grow closer to Him we also start acting more in line with what He requires from us.

As we start to act more in line with His will in our lives we also start to find that our lives are changed to be more like His – and that should be our ultimate goal, to be more like Him. And as we act more like Him we find that we gain more understanding of His ways. In short we grow closer to Him, act more like Him, gain understanding about His ways and become better witnesses for Him.

The best thing about all of this is that even when we feel like we have reached the end of the road or that we are about to fail in so many things, God has more than enough power, might, strength, knowledge and wisdom to strengthen us to be able to do His good will and to lift up His name and glorify Him. That is God’s will – that we can be more effective witnesses for Him by being more like Him and relying on Him for His strength to keep us glorifying Him.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you need building up?

How often do you rely on God?

Thursday Reading: 1 John 2 12-14

Key Verse: 1 John 2 13
13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.

Devotion:
Have you ever wondered who you should be talking to God about? Have you ever decided in your own mind who it is that should be hearing about God from you? Well let us think about how the sower would cast their seeds in the early days; they did not have the expensive machinery that we see nowadays that digs a furrow and places seeds in the right depth of soil and covers it up all in one go. Instead everything was very manual and seeds were cast in the right direction – with some seeds going where they were needed as well as other seeds probably landing where there were already seeds…

Our job is not to dissect society in the manner that we see fit so that we can apply the seed how we think it should be done. Our lot is to cast the seed to everyone that is going to receive it. Yes some of those people will not want to hear it, but some of those may well think about it because God knows they actually need it. Christ has told us to go out into all the world, not just the fertile plains!

John wrote this epistle to people in general. Yes it was targeted at the early Christians or believing Jews but it was not limited to them because he wanted it to go out as far as possible. In the same manner we must not try to limit the expose of God’s word to others as we reach out. We need to make God’s Word known to others but we also need to spend time talking with those who know it already because it will be during those times that we both learn and teach.

I am very aware that there is a large cross-section of people reading these words today; we are not all the same and we are all at different stages of our learning of God’s Word. But that must not stop us from learning. If you have been a scholar of God’s Word for many years, then I hope that these words encourage you as much as they encourage a new Christian who is actively seeking every drop of wisdom and knowledge they can get. We have to continue to be like sponges, soaking up every drop of God’s Word we can share with others, because that way we know we are learning more about our precious Saviour every day.

Points to Ponder:
Who do you look to to learn more about God?

Do you ever think of yourself as a teacher?

Wednesday Reading: Matthew 13 1-23

Key Verse: Matthew 13 19
19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Devotion:
One of the biggest stumbling blocks I had as a young person seeking God’s Word was that I had difficulty understanding it. There were very few people who seemed to want to spend time with me to explain God’s Word in ways that I could understand; but when someone did explain it in simple terms I understood and trusted in Christ. From that day on it has been a struggle to understand more of this Word until I began to study it. Now whilst that may sound strange to some it will sound like common sense to others because we all approach God’s Word in different ways.

As Christians we not only have a duty to spread God’s Word but we also have a duty to understand it; how are we going to teach others unless we do understand what we are about to teach. We don’t need all the understanding of a great preacher in order to tell someone about Christ because they may be seeking a simple explanation like I was in the beginning. Someone at school took time to explain what Christ has done for me and why He had done it for me – a nice simple explanation that I could take and grow with. It may have taken a few preachers to explain the finer points of God’s Word, and I still marvel at how much I do learn from others, but it was those seeds in the beginning that made it possible.

When we try to tell others about God we are going to come up against all sorts of people just like this parable explains. We will come up against those that just don’t get it and reject it before we can get that seed into the soil; but we will also plant a seed in soil that is just waiting to receive that single seed. We may well not know what the soil is going to be like until after we have cast that seed out because we cannot tell what is under that initial layer of dirt. God is the one who does know what is deep inside each person’s heart and our job is just to cast that seed forward, water it and see what happens.

We could just cast it out and see what happens. God will take care of the seed that is cast to the people He knows will receive it. But if we are able to water that ground and care for that ground then that is what we should be doing as well. The more we can care for it in the beginning, the better chance it has of taking root earlier on.

Points to Ponder:
Do you mention God to others?

How often do you continue to talk about God?