Sunday Reading: Judges 6 16-27
Key Verse: Judges 6 27
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
Devotion:
I am sure that I am not alone when I say that one of the biggest problems I have is putting things off until ‘a bit later’; and quite often it has landed me in trouble doing that. But then all you have to do is think about all the things that you love doing and see how they always seem to happen on time or that you make time for them so that you can enjoy them. Well, just maybe, we have got our priorities in a bit of a twist sometimes… and deciding which things we should be doing is what catches us out much of the time.
We don’t know what would have been going on in Gideon’s mind at the time this all happened, but we could probably take a guess that it would be similar to what we would be thinking if we were in his situation. The country was under subjection and they even had to hide their food from the Midianites for fear of it being taken. If we were in his shoes we would probably be pleading to God to do something before we ran out of puff. But what would we do after we had lifted up our prayers and requests to God? Would we sit back and wait for God to do something?
Taking a leaf out of Gideon’s example here is a good way forward for us. If we are requesting something from God then we should not be sitting back and expecting God to do everything but trying to find out from God what it is that we should be doing whilst we wait for His advice. It is no good waiting for God to send us a letter in the post because that is just not going to happen! We need to be constantly looking to His Word for guidance in where we should be headed.
Gideon continued to do what was required of him in his normal life; hence the threshing. But then Gideon was confronted by the angel of the Lord and was told in no uncertain terms what was expected. Gideon’s response was not one of ‘OK Lord I’ll wait for you to call me back’ but rather to get ready for that call so that when it happened, he would already be ready and able. We have already been given a calling from God to go out into all the world and spread the Gospel. We need to be ready and able for when the Lord does return, just as He has promised us that He will! Being ready for God must be high on our list of priorities, otherwise we have our priorities mixed up!
Points to Ponder:
Are you still waiting for a call?
Are you already following God’s requests?
Saturday Reading: Philippians 4 20-23
Key Verse: Philippians 4 21
21 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.
Devotion:
One of the best things about working for God is that we can always see new life through all that He does in our lives and in the lives around us. Not only do we get to hear all the good news about how He continues to work through His servants around the world but we also get to commune with Him on a daily basis. If we continue to lift Him up for all that He does in our lives then the people around us will get to hear just how much He is in control in our lives.
If we can be a tiny blessing to just one person through lifting up our Awesome God, then we have done something right! But I do like the way that Paul not just shows that He continues to lift up and praise God for everything that He does in his life but that He acknowledges the fact that God is working in circles that we would never think possible – so we know that He is greater than anything that we can think to attain by ourselves!
Here Paul reminds the church at Philippi that they have made it possible for Paul to reach out to the court of the current emperor! They have made it possible for the Gospel to be heard in the highest of places and God has made that possible through Paul being in chains! Our ways and God’s way are so very different because we always try to get into a place where we will be comfortable and where we will get some of the glory as well. Christ, instead, works for the glory of God the Father and that is all.
When Christ was in the Garden of Gethsemane He lifted up His prayers and said that it should be God the Father’s will what happened next and not His own will – even though He is who He is, Christ lifted up God the Father! Our aim should be to lift up God at any and every opportunity – part of that is going to be through making sure that we do acknowledge Him in everything, that we do acknowledge other Children of God and that we do continue to share the Gospel with all that are willing to listen. God’s Word will never go to waste as He has promised that we will continue to hear the Gospel for as long as He wants it to be heard. God does not give up on us and He certainly will make sure that we do get to heard His Word no matter where we are in our lives! His Word will also go out to people of every position and walk in life. His love is for the whole of mankind and not just a select few – so let us share in that love for all people and not just those that we chose to like!
Points to Ponder:
Do you shy away from people?
Does God shy away from you?
Friday Reading: Philippians 4 14-19
Key Verse: Philippians 4 19
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Devotion:
One of the things that I am sure many find difficult is waiting on God for something but no matter how long we are asked to wait for something we need to wait. It is not so much the fact that God is going to give to us but the fact that we need to show that we do rely on God that is important and sometimes He may want us to exercise that patience a little. Paul travelled a lot in bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles and in order to do that he needed some sort of support. He counted on that support to keep him being able to stay away from home and preach and teach everyone who was willing to listen. At times the Philippians were the only ones supporting him and that must have been a difficult situation to be in – knowing that you have but one lifeline!
God did make sure that He touched enough people’s hearts to make sure that Paul was supported by as much as he required. How else do you think God is going to make sure that people get to know about Him? He was in no doubt that God was being this all because he was able to continue in God’s Work and that is why he wanted to remind them just how much we do need to trust in God for everything.
As long as we are more like Paul and keep our goal set on God’s Work then we can be sure that He is going to provide for us to do that. We may have to put up with many things on the journey but we can be sure that His will be done! If we are not the ones that are looking for support then maybe we should be the ones giving the support just as the church at Philippi was doing. They were in a position to be able to support Paul as he went preaching and teaching. It did not mean that they had to leave home and go and work by his side but just to be able to send him a bit of support now and again so that he could keep up God’s work.
Giving to missionaries should be a great part of every church because without missionaries going out and taking God’s Word to those people who would not get to hear it otherwise. It is just one way through which God spreads His Word. How else would there be churches in each of our areas if it were not for someone who came to your area some time ago?
Points to Ponder:
Do you know any missionaries?
Are you willing and able to help support them for God?
Thursday Reading: Philippians 4 13
Key Verse: Philippians 4 13
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Devotion:
And then there is the one verse which always gets underlined in my bibles! W. Barclay wrote “Prayer will never do our work for us. What it will do is strengthen us for work which must be done.” (or something like that) This is a cross-stitch that my mother made for me and continually reminds me each day when I get up because of the prominent position it has in my flat. Without this verse to remind me of the importance of such a quote, the quote is just another thing that someone has said which would otherwise go straight over my head (like many things do).
God does not want us to be as strong as oxen so that we can face anything without a care but rather to be brave enough to face anything just because we do know that He is going to be with us. When the Israelites were looking to God, He would support them and He would show them just how awesome He was by wining many of their battles before they actually went into war. He would tell them that they had to trust in Him and that He would deliver the enemy into their hands; but the first step would have to be that they looked to Him, lifted up their prayers to Him and then trusted in Him.
That is what God continue to look for from each of us; that willingness to bring our wants and needs to Him in prayer and to then look to Him for answers and support through those prayers. It is His initial love for us that has made this all possible and it is because of His continuing love that we now know that He will give us that strength so that we can accomplish more in our lives. It is not because we grow stronger and more able to do things but rather that we rely on Him more to continue supporting and strengthening us so that we can face more.
It is not the want or need for more that should drive us forward but rather the knowledge that we will be able to face more and do more because He continues to give us more resolve to achieve more so that He can get the glory for what He has done for us. If we are not going to acknowledge that it is Christ who is behind us then we should not be expecting His support; rather like expecting to have a regular gift from God without ever thanking Him for what He is doing for us! It is not a requirement that God should give us anything but it is instead out of His love for us that He continues to give us all that He does. Remember, it is His gift to us and He does want us to be stronger but we must remember it is from Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you remember Christ when things go wrong?
Do you still remember Christ when things are going right?
Wednesday Reading: Philippians 4 10-12
Key Verse: Philippians 4 11
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Devotion:
You may have guessed that this chapter has a lot to offer by now! How wonderful it is to be able to go back on your old notes made and to see how your thoughts about verses have changed over time; being able to build up more knowledge and wisdom is what reading God’s Word should be able in my mind. I have always looked at this passage as being a declaration of Paul’s being content with what he has, but in reality it starts with him giving thanks for what the people from Philippi had done and that was to give him a special spiritual gift.
Most of our lives we like to look out for physical gifts and we are normally very pleased to get them. We look for them at birthdays, Christmas and any other celebration we like to have – you could say that we now expect them to come around year after year. And then when we get to the time when they stop or we don’t get what we want, we feel down or rejected in some way. Whilst we do not have a description of what it was that Paul received, it was the fact that he had received something at all and that it had appeared to come from the heart rather than out of a feeling of necessity.
There is always something very special about receiving an unexpected gift and when we know that it has come from the heart of the giver it is worth so much more. The most treasured gifts I have received are not the biggest and best looking but the ones that people have personally made for me or have given to me on the spur of the moment. And then there are those very special gifts which are just words.
If you can find it in yourself to be pleased, satisfied and content with the things that others are willing to share with you, then you will find that you are going to be much happier with your lot in life. If you are going to expect gifts to come in all the time then you are always going to find yourself in want for more. Paul had been through the ups and downs of life and now he was coming to grips with just how special some of our gifts in life are, and not the big expensive ones but those small and special ones given in love. It is these gifts, whether given or received, that make our world go round and they should never be discounted nor be ignored but lifted up in thanks for what they actually are. God’s gift to us may seem very small to some people, but it comes with the deepest and fondest love from our God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like giving gifts?
Have you remembered to thank God for His gift to you?