Tuesday Reading: 1 Timothy 4 11-16

Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4 12
12  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Devotion:
It should not just be that desire to tell people the truth but also that heart-felt desire to do what is righteous. That can be very hard when we are living in a world that surrounds us with all manner of evil and vain distractions, but try we must. God has already told us that He will not allow things into our lives that we cannot stand up to – so when those temptations do come our way we should be ready standing and knowing that they can be turned away and that we can continue to stand up for God in everything that we do.

This particular verse can be looked at from two points of view, one being that we should not allow people to look back on our youth or past and allow them to be able to pick up on all the wrong things we have done. In other words we should not be doing those things wrong so that they have nothing to turn back on! Or the other way of looking at it is to make sure that people do not have occasion to look at the youth that surround us and pick up on the bad things that they do… but how can we possibly stop that? Simply by teaching them what is right, right now, before they go there!

One of the things that has become my passion is to minister to the youth in my area. Whilst I do not get as much time as I would like to be able to spend with them I do treasure each moment I can spend with them now. When my children were growing up I spent far too much time making sure that my work and my business were getting the right attention and did not focus enough on them. Fortunately God was walking with us at the time and was able to keep them mostly on track even when I was failing at times. I praise God for the way that my children have been able to survive this world and now He has given me a charge to reach out to those children that simply do not get the Godly attention they so richly need.

We need to stand by God and trust Him with everything in our walk; and that also means that we need to trust that He will send us in the direction that he needs us and that we will be able to listen to Him when He calls for us. But when He does call we need to make sure that we go forward in faith, in love, in deed, in our actions and above all in all purity. Children in a society that is not walking with God need His protection always and we need His protection to be able to walk close to them to encourage them. Be aware of what the evil one can do and stick with God!

Points to Ponder:
Are you listening to God’s instructions?

Are you obeying those instructions?

Monday Reading: 1 Timothy 1 5-11

Key Verse: 1 Timothy 1 5
5  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

Devotion:
Timothy was given a task and that task was to make sure that the truth was being taught. That is not just a simple “make sure that you tell the truth” but far more than that. He was given a command to make sure that the truth was told because it is something that comes from the heart – that means wanting to ensure that the truth is told, not just because someone else said so but because you want it to happen from your very being. That is actually a big thing when you think about it; wanting the truth above and beyond a normal requirement because you know in your heart that that is what is required but also knowing that you need to make sure that others get to know that same truth that you do.

When Christ told us that we need to love our neighbours He wanted us to treat those people around us as if we love them like our family and friends. Part of that must therefore be wanting them to know the truth as we know it – how can you love someone and then hold the truth back from them? And then we come to the definition of telling the truth.

If we take it as we look at the rest of the world then we see telling the truth as ‘not telling a lie’. But that is just not the same! Not even in the same ballpark! Telling the truth means no withholding the truth. In other words hiding the truth in any way is just the same as telling lies! When God gives us the truth through His Word we are told of all the things that we do wrong as well as all the things that we should be doing right. No matter how much we like to see the good things and the happy things, there is always the rough side of life as well. Words aren’t minced here when we are reminded of all the rough edges in the latter verses and it’s words like that that bring it home to us that we are not to hide the truth from people.

I had always been one for not shaking trees and not causing any strife, but if we go throughout our lives without causing a ripple, then we may as well be the ones saying yes to those same rough things in life that are described here! God wants us to be fully aware of the bad things in life as well as making sure that we remind others of those same things. If we ignore those truths then we are just falling deeper in sin; and if we don’t remind others of those things then we are inviting them into a sinful world ourselves!

Points to Ponder:
Do you tell others of the bad things in life?

Has God hidden anything from you?

Sunday Reading: Hebrews 13 5:8

Key Verse: Hebrews 13 6
6  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Devotion:
No matter how many times our bibles say that we need to be aware of others and control what we say and do to others, we all still fall short of the mark at some stage. Whether it is just a small comment we say to our friends that is overheard or something we let slip on a social network that others pick up on, we all have those moments of embarrassment that we would rather not remember. The only real way of avoiding them is to make sure that we do not go there in the first place!

But that is the hard part because we live in a world where people talk before they think, act before they consider the consequences and generally continue to make gaffs throughout life! So how are we ever going to get round this one then? I put it to you that the answer is what we do with the things around us and how we walk with God. If we are always going to strive to get better things and more glitz and more glamour, then we should also be prepared to put up with all the things that go with them – the jealousy, pride and arrogance. None of those things are what we actively seek, but we have to be aware that that is what we get when we seek certain thing in our lives.

Being content with what God has given us is not always going to be easy in a society that shoves the latest and greatest down our throats. But the underlying reminder has got to be that we should be content with what God is doing in our lives and what he is showing us. He is, after all, the One who does know what is best for us and the one who knows our every need. What we don’t tend to get is that He is already working thing out for us in ways that we will not understand until we get to walk by His side. If we are willing to depend on Him every step of the way, then He is willing and able to support us, guide us and keep us every step of the way.

Yes we will always have ‘normal’ humans in charge of things in our lives and we will have to put up with many things – but that should never stop us from believing, supporting and uplifting God’s Word and His ways in our lives. Christ has been the same from the beginning of time and continues to do things His way – the perfect way. Allow Him space to work in your life!

Points to Ponder:
Do you leave space for friends in your life?

Do you crowd out God?

Saturday Reading: 1 John 4 18-21

Key Verse: 1 John 4 20
20  If a man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

Devotion:
It is so easy to say that you love someone and that you hate someone else. It is easy to get cross with others when they do things wrong. It is easy to say that you don’t want to be friends with someone who is not friendly toward you… The hard parts come when we are reminded that we ought to love our friends as well as to love our enemies. The hard part comes when we have to turn round and accept those people into our lives that we fear or hate because of what they do or stand for.

But with Christ we are able to reach out to others and to especially reach out in love to them. To be able to say that you love someone is kind of easy – but to really mean it is the hard part. I have been so very blessed by God with the gift of being able to love people for what they are and for what they stand for. Yes I do still have issues with people and I’m pretty sure they have issues with me – but that love that Christ shows me gives me the ability to reach out and to love others. Indeed I do get upset with others when they even put down someone, never mind when they say that they don’t like someone.

When I look back in my life I see a whole string of mistakes and errors that could have been done differently and many that could have been fixed if I had reacted back then and not left things until they were too late! But I also thank God that He has given me a patient heart that will wait on Him to find out the truth and to find out what he has in store for me.

A few years back I would rush into relationships and figure out what went wrong afterward. Today I have learned to patiently wait on God to show me the truth behind love and to then aim at following His will in my life rather than my human side! That does not mean that I don’t make mistakes, because I still do – but with patience I wait on God and wait to see how He has planned out my life. His love for me knows no bounds – why then should I put limits on my faith toward Him?

Points to Ponder:
Do you believe and trust in Christ?

Have you seen just how much His love can do in your life?