Wednesday Reading: 1 Corinthians 5 1-8

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 5 3
3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

Devotion:
There is going to be a time in each one of our lives when we will have to face up to telling someone that what they are doing is against God’s Word. It may well be made even more difficult if you have feelings for that person because we don’t like to have to tell the people that we love that they are wrong. The apostles were given a great commission to take Christ forward and make sure that people got to hear the Gospel truth. We are given that same task as Christians in that we must take God’s Word with us and we must uphold it.

As Christians we are sometimes caught in between some very hard places, one of those places being pride. How are we ever supposed to admit to things if we are not going to set aside our pride? How are we ever going to ask for forgiveness from our Lord if we are not going to first admit to those sins in the beginning? Sin is something that always has a way of leaking out and something that we should never try to cover because we will only prove to ourselves and to everyone else that it is a futile task to try and cover up sin just because we don’t want others to hear about it!

The effects of sin in our lives are far worse than we can imagine at first. We imagine that it will only affect the way we have been in the past or the way that we present ourselves. But sin works deep into our souls and sin will always make itself known. Sin will make us cover up more sin and bring on more sin. Sin will dig us into the deepest hole we can imagine that fills itself with sin. And if you don’t believe me, then just look up and find out where you have been…

Christ came to earth to pay for our sins and He willingly did that because of His amazing love for us. That does not mean that we can now cover up all our sins and pretend that we don’t go there! That would be telling Christ that what He has done was for no reason! Sin needs to be shown the door so that we can live for Christ and not to try and live to cover it up ourselves!

Points to Ponder:
Do you try to sweep things under the carpet?

Do you know Christ already knows about it?

Tuesday Reading: 1 Corinthians 4 1-6

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 4 4
4  For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judges me is the Lord.

Devotion:
If you had to pick one person who would stand up for you and judge you, who would you pick? To me that would be an insanely difficult choice because the people that I know are so very different and probably think of me in very different ways; not all those people being privy to my personal life and my personal feelings. By that very same reasoning I should not expect to be able to judge others. We can stand here and look at how others are acting and consider that their ways are not right, but unless we are proving them against God’s Word in a proper manner, then we are attempting to judge them in our own ways.

Yes, God did set apart judges in the old days to make sure that people would follow the laws. We have a full judicial system now that is supposedly set apart to do that for us now – but which law they follow is up for some discussion. Gone are the days when the judges would fall on the side of God’s law rather than man’s laws. Gone are the days when men would have to pay fully for what they have done – or at least that is how we tend to view the system because of the corruption that we can see and hear about. But being in that position to have to judge others means that we ourselves would have to know the law. The more that man tries to intervene and change the law, the more horribly mixed up man becomes and starts tripping over his own feet trying to justify his own laws. Our laws are not perfect, but God’s are!

We have grown up in this society where we have been exposed to corruption and many vain things; it is little wonder then that we do tend to give in to many things that we can see are not right. It is our Lord and Saviour who is able to strengthen us and keep us from giving in to those temptations if we are willing to allow Him to work in our lives.

I have been guilty of judging others and I have paid for doing that. When you realise that you have been guilty of anything, that guilt will work hard at your soul as God tries to remind you of your own failings. That is not you judging yourself, because you have already failed at that point. It is God working in you to bring you to conviction. Only when you start listening to that conviction will you be reminded of how Just God is. He is our Lord and Saviour but He is our Judge. He is our redeemer but He is that one who has already lain down the law. We cannot and must not change that law, but we can follow it willingly!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like being judged?

Are you using God’s Word as your guideline?

Monday Reading: Romans 14 1-8

Key Verse: Romans 14 4
4  Who art thou that judges another man's servant? to his own master he stands or falls. Yea, he shall be held up: for God is able to make him stand.

Devotion:
What is it that sets us aside from another believer in Christ? Is it not the fact that we think and act differently? If we were all to be the same then life would be a bit stagnant – but one thing we do have to remember is that just because we are the way that we are, does not mean that someone else has got to be that same sort of person. Christ has made each of us to be different and has given us different minds, different hearts and different strengths and weaknesses. Together we can make a much better whole than we can working against each other for together we cover much more ground than apart.

I have long struggled with the way that some people are and the way that they lift up Christ, but what we have here is our clear reminder that we need not judge people just because they are different. Each one of us is going to have to face Christ and to answer for the things that we have done. The things that each one of us do will be looked at by our Lord when we come face to face with Him. If we have believed in Christ and trusted Him as our Lord and Saviour then we shall and do have a certain future with Him; but just what we do between now and that day when we meet Him face to face is still going to count!

The more that we are able to meet other Christians and learn how they lift up Christ, the more we are able to see how many different ways Christ continues to work in people’s lives. Does this mean that we should accept what other Christians do and not to ‘interfere’ in their lives? That I will leave up to you but it is my belief that Christ wants us to be able to support each other and to be able to help strengthen each other towards the truth.

Now there is only one truth and that is the Word of God. If we do not accept that as the truth then should we really be calling ourselves Christians? Jesus made sure that He upheld the scriptures at all times and even used them to rebuke Satan. God’s Word is exactly that, God’s Word! Don’t try and tell me that we have to please others and leave God’s Word behind because that is simply not so! If our brothers or sisters in Christ are not following God’s Word then we should be reminding them of that fact, but if they are following His Word but just going about it in their own way, then we should be supporting them just as we expect support from others as well. God is the one supporting His people… be one of them… follow Christ!

Points to Ponder:
Do you think some Christians are weird?

Are you following Christ’s teaching?

Sunday Reading: Ruth 4 9-12

Key Verse: Ruth 4 11
11  And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:

Devotion:
Just as this story is a reminder of the love that we should have for God, it also reminds us of the failings of men, of their greed and their pride. How so, I hear you ask. Well think on this. When Boaz approached the kinsman of Elimelech, he had his intentions that were personal but honest and open. The kinsman, when he heard of Elimelech's parcel of land which was now in Naomi’s trust, was quite eager to take up that inheritance so that he could expand on his own land. But what he did not want was any of the things that came with that!

Is that not how we are with our lives in Christ? Do we not see many people who are willing to be called Christians if they are able to be left alone or to continue on in their own ways? But what happens when they are called to go forward and do something that they don’t like the sound of? Many people will turn away from Christ because they believe that their lot is too much to accept or that God requires too much of them! How small their minds are in not seeing all that God has already done for us! How small their minds are in not looking at the bigger picture and the requirement to do what is right and not what is selfish instead.

Boaz was willing to take on everything and to do what was right in the eyes of God by following through with the law as laid down by God and recounted by Moses. God’s laws were given so that man could stick to them and do things more pleasing in His eyes. Man was not willing to take on the burden of following those laws if they did not fit into their own plans in life! How sad it is that we put restrictions on God’s will in our lives instead of bending to His ways!

Ruth stood by those laws even though she was not born into them. Naomi stood by the laws and returned to her land to ‘face the music’ and see what God had in store for her. Boaz continued to do what was right in God’s eyes. God was the one who brought those three people together to make sure that His plan for bringing our Lord and Saviour into this world was put in place long before it happened. If God is willing to do all that in our lives, then does He not deserve a bit more respect and support from us?

Points to Ponder:
How often do you shy away from God’s work?

Are you willing to do that extra mile for God?