Tuesday Reading: Psalms 119 89-96

Key Verse: Psalms 119 92

92  Unless Your Law had been my delight, I should then have perished in my affliction.

Devotion:

God’s Word has always been. That’s a statement that we cannot fully grasp because to us it is quite alien in concept because we are limited by time, we grow in time and we die in time. Yes it is true that God’s Word has not always been written down in books or even on tables of stone for that matter – each of those things can be giving a time period in which they became true. But the more that we study God’s Word the more that we should realise that it does not change…

Just because we change over time and because we have our moments in life, we expect everyone else to change and have their moments too. Whilst that is going to be true for humans, we should never attribute such things to God because he does not change. We are the ones that change the rules and re-define things so that we can fit in. God’s Word and His ways have not changed from the beginning of time; that in itself should demonstrate to us that He does not change, has not had to change and will not have to change!

God created this earth so that we could have a place to live within. That means that He also created time so that we would have something to live by as well. Throughout time God has continued to show His love towards us by upholding all that is true and honest. He has given us limits and boundaries to live within and we are the ones who have broken those limits and surpassed those boundaries. That does not mean that those limits and boundaries are up for discussion and for change – it just means that we do things outside of those limits and boundaries.

Does that stop our God from loving us? Certainly not! How can we forget God’s Laws when we have them written down? How can we ignore them when they have remained constant over all time? How can we? Well, by ignoring them in the beginning. Over time we ignore the ones we find hard to keep, we bend the ones we don’t like the sound of and we even write new ones in the hope that people will accept them as the truth – but that does not mean that God will ever accept the lies as the truth. Let us them bring to mind God’s Word, not just when we think we need it, but always and let  us never try to change it just to suit our own ways!

Points to Ponder:

What do you like changing around you?

What have you tried to change in God’s Word?

Monday Reading: Genesis 22 1-2

Key Verse: Genesis 22 2

2  And He said, Take now your son, your only one, Isaac, whom you love. And go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will name to you.

Devotion:

Have you ever had your love or your word tested in a way that stretched you to your limit? There are some things where we all give in, some limits that we will never reach and some trials that we do not want to face. Quite what went through Abraham’s mind when he was first asked to offer his son as a burnt offering up in the mountains is something that I don’t know I shall know until I am able to ask him myself; but what we can gain from this recount of what happened is that Abraham loved God and wanted to prove it beyond any reasonable doubt.

When you are given an opportunity to be able to do something that will show someone just how much they mean, take it with both hands and use that opportunity to the full! I had a chance to show someone that they meant a lot to me yesterday and I grasped it with both hands. I was not sure whether it would work out, but it did and I was able to show someone that they meant more to me than what my words could hope to say. I have never been one for saying the right thing at the right time – in fact I seem to be able to put my foot in my mouth more often than not! But now and again God will give you that chance to show someone your care…

As we read this chapter in Genesis we find out that Abraham had a great deal of faith that God would provide exactly what was required. God had already promised him that he would be the father or a great nation and Abraham stood up to that promise. That promise God gave him in the beginning displayed the love that God had for him, but now it was Abrahams turn to display his love to God. A love that meant trusting, no matter what. Believing, no matter what.

If we are going to want to show our love to others then we should want to be able to display that love in a way that will leave no doubt. I was able to show my Christian love for someone through a unique opportunity, one that I hope will mean more than just words. Loving someone means displaying that love and not just saying so; love will mean not holding back but going forward boldly with truth and purity. If we go forward with any other things on our mind then we are giving in to our wants and desires rather than expanding on what God has shown us is good.

Points to Ponder:

Can you say that you love someone without limits?

Do you limit your love for Christ?

Sunday Reading: 1 Corinthians 13 1-8

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 13 6

6  Charity does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth,

Devotion:

One of the subjects that has concerned me for some time now is this subject about love. Since I came back to Christ over a decade ago I have been through a few rough spots but I have also been show an enormous amount of love, love which has undoubtedly been there all my life, but love that I have not been very concerned with; because when we do not have a right relationship with Christ we will always find an excuse to not share in that real love that we know from Christ.

This does not mean that others cannot know love because I have seen love in many people who are not Christians, but the love that I see in people who really do love Christ is something entirely different. So this week I think I will go over some of those feelings that I have learned over this past decade which ties in with when I first met someone who has become an important part of my life. If it were not for my Pastor, his wife and their son, I should not be in this place with Christ right now. But it was the introduction to someone else all that time ago that made a difference to me even though I have only begun to make sense of that difference over the last year.

When you separate yourself from the world and get back into reading God’s Word on a regular basis, you will be astounded at the life and love that He has brought into your life since your have known Him! I continue to marvel at how much of my life has been affected by Christ even without me realising and it is to Him that I give the glory for the love He has taught me through others.

We think of love as something that can grow and fade over time, something that is sure at the time but that can be uncovered and broken down. That is simply not true because love is something that can only ever be built up. Yes we can distrust others because of their broken promises and through what they do to us, but that love that was built up should never fade if it was real. Love should never know an end. Love should never have weaknesses. We are the ones who give in to other temptations and break our own promises. We are the ones who turn life aside and say that we no longer love. To that I say, when you do find true love you will find that it cannot break. Love does not have to be love that binds two together in marriage. Love is something that binds two people together, no matter what.

Points to Ponder:

Do you think you know love?

Can you compare it to the love that Christ has shown us?

Saturday Reading: John 3 16-17

Key Verse: John 3 17

17  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.

Devotion:

We may well be forgiven for looking back in our Old Testaments and thinking that our God is a God who has come to destroy all that is bad in this world and lift up all that is good. But if we were to stick by those principals then should we not already be part of the dust from whence we came? If we truly do believed that our God was a vengeful God then we should have no hope from the first time that we realise that we have done something wrong – because that is when we should find out that we are undone!

Thankfully Jesus reminded us all that he did not come to destroy all the wicked people but rather came to try and turn their minds away from their wicked ways and show them a truth that would allow them to be able to come to Him in peace. He has not turned His back on anyone but rather has come to give every one of us the chance to turn back to Him. We are the ones who have turned our backs on God in the beginning by making some pretty bad choices in our lives; we do not have to live with those choices because Christ came so that we could change our minds.

Yes there are going to be repercussions for the things that we do do and have done in our lives, but that should not exclude us from the kingdom of God. The only thing that will exclude us is our continued unbelief in the truth! Without that saving knowledge we are truly lost and have no way of finding our way back to Him. But through what Christ has done for us, we can find our way back to God and we can be forgiven for what we have done. It is a very simple choice to make, but may not be an easy choice for us because of the way that we live. Making that choice means turning our backs on our past wrongdoings, the things which we may well have held up high as our goals in life, things that we may well have though should be what we aim for.

God’s ways and the worlds ways are not the same. God’s ways are taught to us through His Son and through His Word. We choose…

Points to Ponder:

Do you choose the world or God?

Are you ready to trust God totally?