October 22: Luke 5 27-32
Key Verse: Luke 5 31
Jesus answered them, “it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
Devotion:
When Jesus called Levi the tax collector to come and follow Him, it may well have raised a few eyebrows in the local community; after all this was a tax collector who was being asked to follow Jesus! Levi threw a great party for Jesus at his own house and, of course, many other tax collectors and local people were there to ‘help’ celebrate the party. Yes, they were probably there for the party and not for the reason we can see…
The Pharisees and teaches of the law were the first to complain that all the wrong people were at the party! They expected more of their own kind to be there to make it a religious event, after all Levi was being called to follow Christ! But Jesus was the one to rebuke their reaction and show them the real reason why He allowed the party to go ahead. These tax collectors and their people were the reason why God chose Levi – to reach out into the tax collector community and give them the chance to turn to God!
Far too often we are like the Pharisees and do not invite the people who need Christ the most to our parties! In a couple of weeks’ time we open our doors and invite the whole community to a celebration feast “sausage soup and sparklers” where we give out food and try to engage with as many people as we can – the people who need Christ the most! This is just a part of our ministry to the people on the most needy estate in the capital and we enjoy sharing what we do to encourage people and show them there is hope even when all around them is breaking down.
Christ wants each of us to go out and invite the most needy people into His church. This is not an invitation to a religious institution but an invitation to get to know Christ on a personal level, one which will allow them to see His grace and mercy and show them how much hope there really is in His Church.
Points to Ponder:
Do you follow religious rules?
Are you willing to set them aside and follow Christ’s requests?
October 21: 1 Kings 19 19-21
Key Verse: 1 Kings 19 21
So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the ploughing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.
Devotion:
When I first read these verses, I was under the impression Elisha was not listening to Elijah or what God wanted of him. But stop and go through these verses again… Elisha was not just saying bye to the family but was making a statement showing how much God meant to him. He took the yoke of oxen he was working with (his old life) and the tools of that old life to make a sacrifice to God in front of the whole family.
He made a statement many of us do not do or are not willing to do. His sacrifice of his old life for the new life to come with Elijah and God was of everything of his old ways. If we are not willing to give up our old lives when God asks us to come forward for Him, then are we actually listening to what God wants in our lives? Don’t forget that God is the one who knows what is best in our lives to best serve Him!
It is quite easy to get caught up in what is going on around us and think that is what God wants in or lives; but often we are called aside by a gentle whisper from God to come forward in a new way. What we do at that time is going to be a key moment, or cornerstone, in our walk with God. Elisha was willing to make sure others heard what God wanted in his own life – I’m sure the rest of the family would have wondered whether this was the right thing to do… This was one twelfth of the oxen, yoke and ploughs the family had!
Elisha was probably bold enough to tell the family what was happening and how much God meant to him, after all he has just destroyed his life of ploughing with the family! He did not ignore Elijah but rather took the opportunity to spread the news of his calling into ministry with those who meant the most around him. Too often we ignore the people closest to us instead of allowing them to see just how much God means to us!
Points to Ponder:
Have you ignored anyone who has asked you to follow God in a new way?
How far are you willing to go with God?
October 20: 1 Kings 19 11-13
Key Verse: 1 Kings 19 12
After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
Devotion:
Far too often we expect God to perform miracles according to our expectations – which can be a bit over the top if we are honest. He is not here to make us look good or here to allow us to brag the most about Him. He is here to show people how much He loves them and how much He is willing to do for them. That may sound a bit odd, but God knows what is needed and will supply according to His wishes…
Elijah was able to recognise when God was there, not because of the mad rushing wind or earthquakes, but because of the gentle whisper. If we are waiting for the mad winds or crushing earthquakes, we may well be disappointed! God wants a personal relationship with you, one where He can separate you from the rest of the world and whisper messages to you.
Elijah was fed up with the Israelites because of their rejection of the covenant and he allowed his personal feeling to cloud his judgement. That is not how God works. God wants to show His grace and mercy to all people according to His wishes. If we are not going to stop and listen to His whispers whilst the world around us seems to be falling apart, then we may not hear His real instructions for us.
When you begin to feel like you are the last one working for God and think everyone around you has broken down; stop and listen for new instructions. It may be that God wants you to stop rushing around and be calm in front of the people who need that calmness in their lives – if they don’t have it, they may not hear the whispers of God trying to show them what is most important in their lives.
Points to Ponder:
Do you kick off when people around you do something wrong?
When was the last time you did something wrong?
February 23: Hebrews 8 7-13
Key Verse: Hebrews 8 9
It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
Devotion:
If people continue to break the laws, the law-makers soon look for ways in which they can change the laws or the punishment to dissuade people from breaking those laws again. When we look back over the Old Testament, we may well think to ourselves God was very patient the way He continued to give Israel instruction after instruction for so long; but then if we look into our lives nowadays, we wonder how Christ can put up with all the things that we do. It’s all a matter of self-judgment really because we need to take a long look at what we are doing in our lives before we can think about what others are doing or have done. But God has also given us the bible so we can see what others have done wrong in the past and try to avoid doing that in our own lives.
We (mankind as a race) have been the ones walking away from God all the time. He has faithfully set forward the law and has given it to us multiple times too... and yet we still choose to diverge from those laws which were written in stone! God made a covenant with Israel and they in turn started out by honouring that covenant from their side; unfortunately, they were the ones to break their end of the covenant on many an occasion, leaving God no choice other than to carry out a just sentence upon them.
Christ has made an excellent covenant with everyone promising He will save each one of us who turn to Him. It is not that we have to live in hardship or work ourselves to death in order to gain our reward; Christ simply wants us to believe in Him and follow His commandments. They are not grievous commandments and we no longer have to make sacrifices to atone for our sins – He has done that for us too! Our commandment is simply to do what is right for all that He has already done for us.
Points to Ponder:
Do you set limits on your friendships?
Are you treating Christ as your best friend?
February 22: Hebrews 8 1-6
Key Verse: Hebrews 8 6
But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
Devotion:
As you read through the Old Testament you get to know about the priests who would have to stand before God and give sacrifices for the sins of the people of Israel. It may seem unfair that one man should have to stand up and do all the work for all the sins of the whole country, but this is the way God said things must happen. When the people listened and obeyed God, things would go along smoothly and when they rebelled, they would have to pay for what they did wrong. When they followed God without question, He continued to help them without question and made them into a great nation. As you continue to read through the bible you find out how they squandered their inheritance and ended up being a broken nation because of their belief they could cope by themselves. When the priest failed the people, the country would have to pay as a whole as they sunk into sin...
We are still very much like that, but we have one great advantage nowadays – we are dependent upon a High Priest who will never fail us! That does not mean we will not sink into sin because as soon as we start to believe we can go it alone we sink faster than Peter probably did when he tried walking on water. So long as we reach out and depend on our Saviour Jesus Christ to lift us up, we will continue to be safe and secure. Our substance is Jesus Christ. Without Him we would be lost in sin. With Him we have a Priest who will never let us down; One who has already paid the sacrifice for our sins and One who continues to secure our paths.
We serve a Priest who no longer has to give sacrifice according to the law given to Moses because He has already paid that sacrifice. His new promise to us is that we will be eternally secure if we believe in Him and what He has done for us. Our bibles tell us of everything we need to know to reach out and grab hold of Christ’s hand as He holds it out to save each one of us.
Points to Ponder:
Can you always depend on everyone?
Are you trusting the one whom you can actually depend on?