Sunday 11 Dec 2011

Sunday Reading: Matthew 7 1-5



Key Verse: Matthew 7 1

1  Judge not, that you may not be judged.



Devotion:

This is one verse that has troubled me many a time because I know what sort of state I was in before I came to know Christ. I also know what sort of state I let myself into after knowing Christ. I also know that He is Just and Merciful to show His unending love for me that through this I may be forgiven for what I have done wrong by bringing those things before Him. Christ is able to judge us because He is pure and without sin. We should not be able to judge others because we ourselves are sinners, some more than others; but that should not stop us from upholding God’s Law!



Just because we have done things wrong in the past we should not be excluded from doing things right. Just because we have made mistakes in the past this should not exclude us from living for Christ! Part of living For Christ is that we should uphold His Law and uphold His Ways. If I can now live for Him instead of living for this world, then I shall be able to uphold His law as well. This does not mean that I will be able to do everything right from now on, but it does stand me in good stead if I am willing to rely on Christ to lead me through life instead of plodding on without regard for Him.



God gave us His Word so that we would understand it properly. That means that we do have to study it to find out what it really does say. Too often we sit back and allow other people to gently prod us now and again with a nice saying or a nice word from our bibles but do not bother to dig deeper into God’s Word to find out what it really says. When Christ said that we must not judge each other He was saying that we should not rebuke others for things that we ourselves get up to – that is hypocritical! Christ can rebuke us because He has not been there! If we are strong enough to stand up to doing what God requires of us, then should we not be strong enough to stand up and tell others that they are not doing the same. Is that judging? No, that is showing someone else you love them enough to point out their mistakes and so long as we are not doing the same or worse, we are doing God’s Will!



This does not give us “carte blanche” to go out and tell others off for doing all manner of things wrong. It gives us the right to uphold God’s Word and His ways. Now, if only I can do that as eloquently as others have shown me, I should be ok!



Points to Ponder:

Are you doing your best?



Are you doing God’s will?

Saturday 10 Dec 2011

Saturday Reading: Philippians 2 1-2



Key Verse: Philippians 2 2

2  then fulfil my joy, that you may be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind.



Devotion:

How do you show your love and respect to your friends and family? Do you allow them to run riot and do what they like without saying anything, or do you try to encourage them to do what is right? Do you tell them when they are doing something that you do not agree with, or do you stand back and allow them to continue on in their own ways? How do you show love and respect to your fellow Christians? Do you allow them to run riot and do what they like, or do you try to keep them on the straight and narrow?



We do need to show love and respect to all of those people around us and part of that love and respect should be us being able to stand up and say what we believe to be right. That belief must not be based on our personal feelings or emotions but rather based on our Solid Rock that is Christ Jesus. Christ has shown me over the last few months that He is willing to show me love and respect but at the same time He is not going to allow me to run off and do my own things instead of upholding His Law. When we are faced with people around us who do not believe or who are weak, we are the ones who need to stand firm in the arms of our Saviour knowing that He will give us the strength to uphold the truth so that He may get the glory that He does deserve at all times.



When we read that we need to be of one mind in our Lord, it is not that we need to pacify others or placate them by bending the rules; it is that we need to all stand firm in the Word of God. We have been given the Word of God for a reason – because it is the truth and because it is what we need to base our lives on and within. I too stand corrected because I too gave in to human emotions and tried to keep everyone happy instead of standing up for my Lord and my Saviour first of all. I know how Awesome my God is because I know what He has done for me. I pray that you too will see just how much He does mean to each one of us…



Points to Ponder:

Do you really want the truth?



Are you standing by the Real Truth?

Friday 9 Dec 2011

Friday Reading: Philippians 4 1-9



Key Verse: Philippians 4 8

8  Finally, my brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think on these things.



Devotion:

Sometimes it takes a harsh word from someone to make you stop and think about what you are doing whilst other times you can be reminded through very simple and kind words. We all like to be able to please others and we probably do what we can in order to make as many people happy as possible, but as long as we are trying to please some people we are most assuredly going to upset others. The choice of what we do should not be to try to make as many people as happy as possible but rather to do that which is right in God’s eyes.



The choice of words in this letter was very simple but hopefully made a huge impact on the people concerned as they read it. I know that simple words work because I too have been there. It is not a case of making choices to try to keep as many people happy as possible because that will never work. If we do really want to keep people happy then we have to tell them the truth and that truth may well hurt sometimes. The truth is what is going to allow people to see that God is the most important in our lives and not people’s feelings.



How many times did Moses get himself into deep water by trying to keep the people happy when God was telling him to do something? We see this echoed throughout history and all the way through our bibles – that man gives in to human emotions and feelings and loses sight of the focus that God wants from us. It may be a small phrase that is used “be of the same mind in the Lord” but it is something that we need to strive to achieve. The only way we can truly do that is by making sure that we stick to what we know is the truth, and that has got to be God’s own Word.



Points to Ponder:

Do you upset people?



Are you upsetting God?

Thursday 8 Dec 2011

Thursday Reading: John 20 26-29



Key Verse: John 20 28

28  And Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!



Devotion:

What does it take for you to say “My Lord and my God!” (and I am not talking about taking the Lord’s name in vain!) When things are going our way in our lives we tend to drift along with a bit of a relaxed attitude to life which is most often looked upon as you being quite content with life. Whilst sometimes I wish that I could always be at that sort of state to be able to be relaxed in life I fear that that would open my life up to too much temptation. God knows what each one of us need to be able to keep strong in our faith and to trust in Him.



Sometimes that I going to take the form of a loved one getting into deep water where you will have to take a strong stand and do whatever it takes to support them. Other times it may well be you getting into deep water just so that God can focus your own mind again. And then there are those precious moments when the Lord comes forward and says “reach out your hand” and touch me to see that I am real! For our Lord to be the one who stands there and asks us to reach out to Him so that we can see that He is real means that He is the one that has loved us from the beginning and He is the one who is always standing by and repeating “I love you” to deaf ears.



Thomas had so many doubts that had reached a point where he would not believe unless he was able to see things with his own eyes. Imagine what chaos the world would be in in we all had to see everything with our own eyes before we would believe! God wants us to be believe just because He has told us the truth. If we are able to accept His Word as the truth, the absolute truth, and keep all of it in our hearts, then He knows that He has a person who is showing faith. It is when we try to take things into our own hands that we find out that we lack that faith because we cannot see how it can be possible through the corrupted eyes that we are looking from. God wants us to be able to open our eyes to His truth and to accept it as that – the truth… just reach out and touch His Word…



Points to Ponder:

Does your faith ever falter?



How much do you depend on God’s Word for?

Wednesday 7 Dec 2011

Wednesday Reading: Matthew 2 1-12



Key Verse: Matthew 2 2

2  saying, Where is He who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.



Devotion:

Well, if you haven’t noticed all the Christmas decorations going up by now then I’m pretty sure that you have had your eyes closed. This is the time when we see big changes in our streets and in the shopping arcades; when commercialisation sets in and starts to try to take over Christmas once again. You may turn round and side with the advertisers and say that they have to make a living. You may turn round and side with the businesses and say that they have to make a living. But how many of you will side with the churches and say that they have to be full?



When we look around us we see all manner of things to remind us that Christmas is almost upon us. We hear the music change and may even get to start hearing a band or two spark up with a Christmas Carol or two on the streets. We hear about Christmas plays being put on in churches and we hear about them in some of our schools that may still be allowed to do that. But sadly the times are changing and so many institutions are being refused the right to bring forward the real meaning of Christmas. So do we turn round and say “let the companies have it” and walk away?



Heaven forbid if we should turn our backs on our Lord and King! Let us never forget why we do celebrate Christmas. Let us never forget who it was that was born around Christmas time over two thousand years ago! It is Christ that needs to be in our Christmas this year. It is because of Him that we are here and able to celebrate again this year. Yes there are all the shops, fairs, parties, trimmings, food, cards and all manner of things that we now associate with Christmas – but none of that would have been possible if it were not for Christ in the beginning. So this year whilst everyone else is running around re-charging the commercial engine that is now Christmas, let us step back and remember the real reason why we have Christmas and celebrate it with our Lord Jesus Christ.



Points to Ponder:

Are you ready for Christmas?



Have you remembered Christ?