Friday Reading: Philippians 2 9-11
Key Verse: Philippians 2 11
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Devotion:
There are lessons to be learned and there are no end of people that need to learn those lessons – starting with me. Read that out aloud and agree with it to start with… The apostle exalts Christ because of the person that He is and looks to us as being those in need of that example that we should need to seek to follow.
So we know that it is Christ who is going to strengthen us and yet we still find it difficult to trust in Him wholly because we cannot see the way out. Imagine being told the path through a complex maze before you even get to see the maze and then being expected to know you way through when you get there. Whilst that may not be a problem for someone with a photographic memory, most of us are going to struggle after the first set of turn left, then right then right again then miss the next turn and… we get lost!
That is why we need to have Christ with us every step of the way because without Him we are going to get lost and we are going to falter and we are going to fail. It does not mean that we will get everything right when we walk with Him though because we always make mistakes and we have to live with that fact. But what it does mean is that we should be more willing to listen and learn from what He tells us each step of the way.
Our problem is not so much that we don’t want to follow Christ but more of a fact that we don’t actually take Him with us. Yes we tell others that we are Christians when they ask and we even go to church and maybe even help out at youth clubs and that is our life. But what if that life is not quite full? What if we tell all our Christian friends what we do but we don’t tell those lost people. What if we stick to our own and don’t include the lost? If we are not going to sow any seeds then we should not really expect to be able to collect a harvest of any kind! It is not going to be our cunning or our generosity or our energy that is going to make the big difference – it is the fact that we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord that is going to make the difference. When people see that we are different, they will want to know why we love life so much – that is the point at which we can tell them that it is not us but Christ in us. That is the point the God can work in their hearts because He has finally managed to use us to allow someone to see a glimmer of light!
Points to Ponder:
What do you think of yourself?
Do you think others see you or see Christ through you?
Thursday Reading: 2 Corinthians 4 1-7
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 4 5
5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
Devotion:
After Christ had gone back to be with God our Father in heaven the disciples suddenly got a real taste of what it is like to work for the Lord. Previously they had been working with Jesus in their midst and probably had all manner of encouragement from the fact that He was with them, but now they faced people on their own (not literally because they already had the Holy Spirit and they also had each other). There are going to be times in our lives when we do have to face others by ourselves and it is those times when we have to know that it is Christ who strengthens us and not we ourselves.
No matter how good you think you are, or how fit you are or how prepared you think you are, Satan will always throw a spanner in the works and that is what is going to hurt us most. Just when we think all is going well we get some news that we were not expecting or we get to hear something that just levels us. But in every one of those trials we can know and should always remember that it is through God’s grace and His mercy that we can continue to take Him and His word with us wherever we go.
If we want to be able to continue in God’s strength then we should be aiming at making sure that we walk in His ways first of all. If we are allowing all manner of strange things into our lives then we will most likely give in to those things and those ways when push comes to shove. When the going gets tough we look to those things instead of the hidden things of God because it is those things that we have got used to seeing and hearing. We do need to separate ourselves from the worldly ways because God does not walk in worldly ways but we should be walking in His ways!
We need to stop and think about what sort of people we are – but not to think too deeply because we must always remember that we are forgiven, cleansed and made whole through Christ Jesus. It is not just His strength that allows us to continue but the fact that He has forgiven those that believe on Him and who have asked for that forgiveness. It is because He is supporting us that we can continue to work for and with Him every day – and that should be our aim, to be with Him constantly!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get tired of working?
Are you working for God yet?
Wednesday Reading: Matthew 23 1-12
Key Verse: Matthew 23 7
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
Devotion:
One thing I have learned is that other people are normally pretty good at spotting when I am either not telling the truth or hiding something that I don’t want known. I used to wonder how much Dad could always tell when I was not telling the truth until I became a father and saw how easy it was to spot when your child is hiding something. So now that I have learned that parents do actually know what is going on, it comes as no surprise then to find out that our God and Father does actually know everything! So why then have people over the ages continued to say one thing and do another?
Christ knew that the Scribes and Pharisees were saying how to keep the law, forcing other people to keep the law and yet were up to no good themselves because they were not doing what they said should be done! As a parent I also learned very quickly that when I said something had to be done a certain way, I would have to make sure that I did it that way or my children would pull me to pieces for doing one thing and saying another!
If I have been able to see those truths in my life, then how can I ever try to hide anything from my God? He is the one who knows every single thing about me. He is the one who knows the number of hairs on my head (and yes it gets easier each year as they grow fewer and fewer) but He also knows that love that means so very much within us.
I now find it hard to accept people looking up to me in any way; I find it hard to accept that people would look at me in any other light other than a loving brother in Christ. There is something very alien to me about people seeking to be called anything other than brothers and sisters in Christ and so when I see anyone lifting themselves up other than to be joyous in sharing God’s love I always go on the defensive. Christ would not have anyone lift themselves up to be called anything other than believers under one Father, one God, one Lord of all. He is our God, our Father and the only one who deserves our love and respect in every way possible. It’s hard to differentiate between the dismay and the sorrow that I have for people who do seek such recognition in man’s eyes when all we need do is share the love that Christ has shown us.
Points to Ponder:
Do you seek fame or fortune?
Are you willing to lift up Christ?
Tuesday Reading: Psalms 133 1-3
Key Verse: Psalms 133 1
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Devotion:
When we look to God as our Father we then must also look to other believers as brethren in Christ. In other words, no matter where we are, what language, race or any other difference we may have from one another – as long as we believe in the same God and the same Son, then we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Just as we should look to our real brothers and sisters for love, unity and support, we also should be looking to our brothers and sisters in Christ for those same links of love and support.
One thing we all do look for is that love that we can find for each other and it is not just the love that you have for that one special person when you do find them but rather the love that you can share for and with people who are of a similar outlook. Christ has encouraged us all along to share in this love that He has shown us we can have for each other; that love is so very special and needs to be nurtured and not hidden behind political correctness or other social inadequacies! I call them social inadequacies because it is the social pressure that has gone nuts and does not allow us to share that love in ways that are pure, true and honest.
When we are free to share that love with others we then get to realise just how much more Christ loves us; we also get to know that love is so very honest and true – something that is missing from societies today! Christ has shown me just how special that love is through giving me many people to love in my life; people who I can love openly and with all the purity that Christ encourages. It is that love then that shows us what true unity can be, not just unity because we belong to a church or that we live in the same area but that we can share in that very special love that Christ has given us to share.
It is very hard to describe such love until you have known it; and then trying to put that into words so that people who have not known it yet can begin to understand it is equally difficult. Yes there are always going to be people who will look at what you have and immediately think that you have something that may be unclean because it looks too good to be true so we do need to exercise caution. Love, though, is absolutely honest. Love is true. Love is without hatred and without deceit. Make sure that you keep love in it’s true light as Christ has shown us how and not to have it dragged down into the depths by man and sin.
Points to Ponder:
Do you know real love?
Do you know God’s love?
Monday Reading: Luke 9 57-62
Key Verse: Luke 9 62
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Devotion:
In these verses we hear of a few more types of excuses that we have when we don’t want to do God’s work. Some of these say that they will get round to it, but not just yet… How many times have we used that as an excuse to put something off until another day or another time? How many times do we use all manner of excuses just so that we do not have to do something right now?
But then we can turn this over again and think about it from the other side again; how many times do we use excuses to cover up something just because we did not want to do it or even because we just wanted to do it? Just because we had a moment of weakness and gave in to the temptation does not mean that we have to give in to the war against sin. Yes we are all going to sin at some stage, but we certainly do not have to give in to it, we certainly do not have to ruin our lives by going against God!
I am sure Jonah came out of the fish as a very different man, not just physically after being inside a fish for three days and nights, but as a man who knew that he did not have to give in because God stood up for him! Can you imagine that? God, our Creator, our Sovereign God, standing up for me, standing up for you! We are the ones who break the laws and let Him down. We are the ones who turn and run at the slightest test. We are the ones who run the other way when God asks us to stand up and be counted… and yet He stands firm and lifts us up!
We are the ones who have to stand up now. We are the ones who God is calling. Are we the same as Jonah and turning away as if to say that we do not hear Him, or are we going to turn up when He asks and do His will? It is not just the people that God is calling to teach and preach that should be listening. Every person who has admitted to being a Christian, a believer in God, a believer in Jesus Christ; every single one of us must stand up and acknowledge God and Christ and the Holy Spirit. For us to do anything else means we are turning our back on God and working against Him. God may not have called us to be preachers and teachers; He may have just called us to be the one who tells a friend “yes, I believe in God”. We cannot imagine the intricacies of all the works that God has planned in our lives so we should be willing to listen to Him every step of the way so that He can have His works done as He has planned them.
Points to Ponder:
Do you act like Peter?
Are you listening to God’s steps?