Tuesday 14 Feb 2012

Tuesday Reading: Psalms 119 97-100

Key Verse: Psalms 119 99
99  I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.

Devotion:
How many times did you ever wonder how you would ever be able to know as much as your teachers or your peers? How many times have you marvelled at the way that others seem to be able to recall information that you could never dream of knowing? Well, as we hear each snippet of information, our own knowledge base continues to grow and we continue to absorb more of that information. There must come a time when we then know more than someone else – but to what end is that thought for?

If we are going to subscribe to every bit of information about weird and wonderful things, then we may well become a knowledgebase or encyclopaedia of the weird and wonderful. But if we aim to subscribe to the truth, then we are going to be more wise than those around us because we will know the truth as opposed to a whole bunch of random stuff that is of little use other than to boast to others with. God certainly does not want us to fill our brains with useless information that will end up crowding out the good stuff! He wants us to learn the truth so that we can fill our lives with that truth!

The quickest way to be able to win any war is to find out how your enemy thinks and then to try to be one step ahead of them at all times. If we learn about random data we are not going to know anything more about winning our war. If, on the other hand, we learn more about how to win wars and how to defeat our enemy, we could then use that information to help us. But by going one step further and knowing the actual truth about everything, we can then always be one step ahead.

One thing I have learned through working with the youth of today is that they tend to pick up things very quickly. Just because they pick up things quickly does not mean that they are picking up all of the truth; far from it in fact. There are so many people out there that want to have their own way that they will go to any length to spread something that sounds good but serves their own good instead of the absolute truth! For me to be able to work with them, I need to know the truth so that I can confront these obstacles that have been shoved in their paths. There is nothing more valuable and better than having God’s Word with me. The truth will always find its way because it is the truth. Just because many get away with lies until after they die does not mean that they followed the truth or told the truth – for that we simply need God’s Word!

Points to Ponder:
Do you think you will get away with your own stories?

Do you realise God’s Truth is already known?

Monday 13 Feb 2012

Monday Reading: Psalms 19 7-10

Key Verse: Psalms 19 8
8  The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

Devotion:
In just these few verses, so much of God’s Word is summed up in the right way. There is no way we can really sum up God’s Word because it is complete, but these verses can best be used to describe what we can look forward to if we are to look to God and His Word in our lives.

Nobody will ever be able to convert our Souls other than God and His Word. No matter how hard we try to convince others that God is real or how much he loves us, that is all we will ever be able to achieve by ourselves – the head knowledge that he is real and the proof that He has loved us from before we knew it. Changing our hearts and our souls belongs to God through His Word. No matter how hard we look at His Word we must always arrive at the same conclusion – that it is the truth and that He is God. No matter how much we compare God’s Word with anything else in the world we must always arrive at the conclusion that God’s Word is perfect and absolutely the truth.

The more that we look at it and study it the more that we will know it is true and know that it is pure. If you have ever tried to find dirt in something pure then you will know how futile it is to look for dirt when there is none to be had. God’s Word is like that for us – we will never find anything bad in it because there is nothing bad there to be had. The more that we seek it and study it the more that we will find that we can actually be cleansed by it because it is so pure. Sometimes there is nothing like being able to jump into a nice clean shower or bath after a hard days work in dirt and grime; God’s Word has more cleansing power than any hot bath will ever have!

What we then have to aim for is to try to ensure that we remember just what God’s Word is! It is the very word of God that has been given by Him to us for a purpose. That purpose is not to make another big book that can be used to prop something up but rather to be used as a reference manual for our lives; not just what we get up to but the very existence of our lives, our souls, our conscience, our everything! To know God’s Word is to know that God is real. To know that God is real must surely be to know Him as your own Lord and Saviour. To know Him as the truth means to admit that He is God, our Creator, our everything.

Points to Ponder:
Do you “read all about it”?

Are you basing things on God’s Truth?

Sunday 12 Feb 2012

Sunday Reading: Proverbs 6 20-24

Key Verse: Proverbs 6 23
23  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

Devotion:
If there is one thing about God’s Word that we can depend on, it is that it is always going to be relevant for our lives no matter how old we are, how modern we are, how youthful we are, whatever! God’s Word stands up as the single truth that we can depend on throughout our lives. It does not change – despite people trying to take various words out of it to be politically correct or to try not to be offensive to other religions… God’s Word itself does not change – it is the people around that change and the translations that they make that change according to their own ways.

There are translations out there that seem to almost take God out of the bible and have man in His stead. How can they call themselves Christians when they are following on in Satan’s footsteps and lifting themselves up to God? The only thing I can find in my bible about lifting yourself up in that way is to show that Satan did it wrong. So if we do discount those versions and stick with God’s Word itself then we should have nothing to worry about. It is not any other translation that is better than any other translation; it is that God’s Word itself is what we need to stand upon. Therein we find our problem because there are so many translations out there and many people will get confused before they even start to understand the truth.

Just as we hold up a bright light to see in the dark, we need to hold up our Lamp (which is God’s Word) to see in this dark world we live in. No matter how dark it becomes and no matter how much people try to darken it further, God’s Word will continue to be the single lamp that we need to see in this darkness. God gave the commandments to Moses so that the Children of Israel would be able to identify the truth from man’s own desires and lusts. It is that single truth that we need to stick to nowadays, just as God wanted them to stick to it then. God’s Word continues to show us the truth and continues to show us where we are going wrong. If we do use it as our lamp then we are going to be able to see ahead and hopefully avoid some of those nasty holes that are in our paths.

The whole idea of a lamp is that we use it to see ahead and not to see what we have just fallen into. Prevention is so much better than trying to continually dig yourself out of holes after you have fallen into them. Hold up God’s Word in your life and allow it to guide you forward…

Points to Ponder:
Do you only switch on your torch after you have fallen?

Are you using your Lamp from God?

Saturday 11 Feb 2012

Saturday Reading: Isaiah 59 1-8

Key Verse: Isaiah 59 1
1  Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

Devotion:
How many times have you turned round and said “I must not be doing this right because God is not answering my prayers” and then wondered why things have gone downhill instead of sorting themselves out? Far too many times in our lives we tend to ask God for something a few times and then give in and say “Oh well, it must not be His will”. Have you not heard that God is Almighty? Have you not heard that nothing is impossible for our God? Have you not heard that it is He that has made the universe? If you think for one moment that God is not capable of answering your prayers, then I fear that you have given in to your own limitations even before you have trusted God.

When we are commanded to have faith in Christ it is neither a fickle faith that we need to display nor a half-hearted faith that we need to try and stand on. Christ has said that we should build on a firm foundation, a rock, something that will stand the test of time and, well, everything! The only Rock that we can therefore stand on that will accomplish such a task is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is. He will always be. He was there during creation and will be there when things ‘come to an end’. He is the one whom we should be directing our prayers to because it is He that laid His life down for our sins. He is the One that has given us something to stand on. He is the One who will always be... so why should we seek anything else other than our Lord and Saviour?

He has promised to answer our prayers so long as we bring them to Him. If we ask Him once and forget about it, then have we asked in faith or just because we may have been desperate at the time? Christ wants us to know that our prayers will be answered when we do bring everything to Him in faith. That faith must be built on love that we have for Christ. That faith must be faith and not just a fickle thought. Christ wants every one of us to know Him and love Him and trust in Him alone. He wants us to display that faith so that others will be encouraged by it. Whether you read a love story or stern warning from the prophets, Christ stands as our Rock!

Points to Ponder:
Do you have doubts?

Do you realise on whom you are depending?

Friday 10 Feb 2012

Friday Reading: Romans 10 1-4

Key Verse: Romans 10 4
4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Devotion:
Have you ever tried to see how long you could go doing exactly what you were told and obeying what others had said you should do? It is a very difficult thing to be able to please many people because they are all pulling in different directions and the more we try to please people the more we will figure that out. Sometimes I wonder what the Jews thought of the laws that Moses had given them; whether they did think that they were too hard to follow or whether they realised just how much God had done and were willing to try as hard as they could. We shall never be able to get inside other people’s heads to figure out what they are thinking and why should we be going there?

The Jews had built their religion upon those laws given by God to Moses. The more that they tried to stick to them the more that they may have found out how difficult it could be. After many years of trying to follow those laws we can see the evidence though history that they have moulded some of those laws to their own liking so that they can ‘stick to them’ in their own ways. If you think that that is nothing more than “I’m going to do it my way!” then you are probably correct. Each of us tends to do exactly that in our lives as we try to get those around us to conform to our own ways because that is what we would prefer.

This is not to say that that is why God has said we should follow His ways. God has said that because He knows what is actually best for us. He has proven that over and over again throughout history and we have record of that in our bibles as well. Why then should we try to change things so that we can have our own way? Why then should we try to change His perfect laws so that we can have a more comfortable life? If we are going to follow Him then we have to do that – follow Him and not tell Him to stick with us! Showing God how much you do love Him is not a hard thing, but displaying that love in a proper manner may well take us to places that we would rather not be because of peer pressure and temptations. It should be Christ’s way and that is all!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like having your own way?

Are you trying to bend God’s ways as well?