Monday 21 Nov 2011

Monday Reading: Luke 12 13-21



Key Verse: Luke 12 15

15  And He said to them, Watch and keep yourselves from covetousness. For a man's life is not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.



Devotion:

One of the biggest things that will probably always take our thoughts away from God is the various trimmings in this world; those luxuries and frivolities that we all wish we could have or give in to just when we think they will cheer us up. Satan was the first one to fall into that trap and ever since then he has been trying to bring as many people down with him into that trap. Right from Adam and Eve he has tempted people with the little things that we don’t tend to take much notice of until they are in our faces – then we suddenly lose focus on the right stuff and focus purely on what we can get out of that temptation for the next few minutes!



Jesus tried to make people aware of just how much they were depending on things of the world instead of in God. He came to open our eyes to what we were letting into our lives and what we were focusing on. We are the ones who politely turn away and look back at the things that Satan is trawling through our lives; we are the weak ones giving in to those temptations.



But it does not have to be that way because we have a Saviour and a Guide who is willing to ensure that we walk the right path with Him. He have given us His Word so that it may light our paths and point us back in the right direction. He has made sure that we have a continual companion so that we shall never have to fear what more the world can throw at us… and yet we still give in when we see something nice and shiny! Our lives do not need to be measured by how many of those nice shiny things we can collect. Our lives do not need to revolve around the money and belongings that we cannot take with us when we go to be with God. We do need to focus on the things of God so that our eternal life can be as rich as possible! You could try to argue that you need the money, and you may well need it to pay for many things, but to make it the central point or focus in your life will only help to separate your walk from the one Christ would have you walking…



Points to Ponder:

What do you focus on?



How big if God in your life?

Sunday 20 Nov 2011

Sunday Reading: Proverbs 5 15-23



Key Verse: Proverbs 5 21

21  For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah, and He watches all his paths.



Devotion:

There are going to be times when you try to hide what you do because you don’t want other people to know about what you get up to; when those times approach you may well shut yourself in your room or house and close everything up just so that nobody is going to hear or see what you do. Oh how we so very often forget that no matter how much we try to shut out the outside world we will never be able to shut God out of our lives; everything that we do is visible and known to God!



God has given us the correct ways of doing things so that we will not have to be tempted into following or finding those vices that tempt us. He has given us the means to fight against those vices and the way of getting out of the temptation when it arrives knocking at our doors! I thank my God that He continues to allow me to find strength and guidance with and in Him daily so that I do not have to give in to so much that surrounds me. I see the young people that I teach fall into those traps that I now see coming a mile off – those same traps that I did not see when I was young because I was not focused on God.



God gives us the knowledge and ability to see those times approaching as long as we are willing to listen and to learn. If we are going to shut ourselves away in a box then we should not expect anything else to happen other than those same vices that we shut ourselves in with. We cannot escape from those vices we shut in with ourselves because we have already assumed that we will be doing them. If, however, we always remember that God is by our sides then we should be able to step away when those vices approach, knowing that God can keep us and protect us. One of the best ways of making sure that we remember that God is by our sides is by inviting Him along wherever you go – just knowing that you have a Friend and Saviour constantly by your side will give you more encouragement that you may realise.



Points to Ponder:

Do you like hiding away?



How much does God see you get up to?

Saturday 19 Nov 2011

Saturday Reading: Psalms 56 8-13



Key Verse: Psalms 56 11

11  In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid of what man can do to me.



Devotion:

If ever we can take encouragement from what others have written for us in our bibles it is from the times when people faced their enemies and, instead of giving in and falling in subjection to them, they stood up proud and lifted up God. David was here being taken by the Philistines and yet he continued to lift up God and say how he would always depend on God. He even goes as far as saying that he will not worry about what man can do.



If we stop to think about that statement then we can put things into perspective in our own lives as well. No matter how much man can try to do to us, he is not able to take away our soul from God’s grip! No matter how much man can try to subject us to torment and pain, no matter how much man can try to break us down, all he is succeeding is breaking our bodies and possibly our spirit. Our soul rests firmly in God’s awesome grip! With that knowledge we can lift up our spirit no matter how much other people do to us. With that knowledge we can be lifted up even in the most dire situations.



As a youth leader you have to face up to some flack much of the time because our youth of today have been given enough rope to hang themselves day after day – and that is exactly what they will try to do because they cannot see any other way forward. We need to be reaching out to them and showing them that they are not alone – this has happened time and time again since a very early age. Man is the corrupt one in this world and it is man who is bent on destroying man. God is trying to show people the truth so that they can be encouraged to follow Him and to enjoy life to the full. Christ came to seek and to save not to break and to enslave. We do not need to rebel, simply to turn back to God and accept His helping hand that He has extended to us from our first breaths in life – that same hand that will always be extended right up until the moment we die. What faith He has!



Points to Ponder:

Do you feel weak and weary?



Are you reaching out to God’s extended hands?

Friday 18 Nov 2011

Friday Reading: Psalms 27 11-14



Key Verse: Psalms 27 13

13  I would have fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah in the land of the living.



Devotion:

Each time we come up against a struggle of some sort we grow a bit more weary and tired of what we have to face. Each time we seem to run into a brick wall, we give up just that little bit more. No matter how hard and strong we think we are, we always seem to get to the point where there is something that is just that little bit bigger than what we should be able to cope with – and then where do we turn?



When we are young we can probably turn to our parents who seem to be always willing to stand by us and help us. When we are old we have to look back to our children and friends to seek that sort of help and support. But throughout this all we always have God by our side who is more than willing and more than able to help us through everything that we face. Just because we cannot see Him does not mean that He is not there! Just because we lack that little bit of faith to believe that He is going to help us, does not mean that He will not! If our salvation depended on the depth of our faith, then we would all be facing a very uncertain future because none of us have the faith that some of our forbearers is our bibles have shown us.



Just when we think things have gone too far and we start to give in, we need to already be reaching out to Christ for His helping hand. He has already extended His hand out to us before we reach the point of our struggles, we just need to reach back and grab hold. Thankfully it is not our strength that will get us through but rather the strength that He can give us that will get us through! Thankfully we are not dependant on our own grip on God but rather the grip of our Saviour which is firm and absolutely sure. That must give us the surety that we need to know that God will continue to carry us through our hardships and through our trials no matter how steep we think the slope is getting!



Points to Ponder:

Have hard do things get for you?



How much more do you depend on God?

Thursday 17 Nov 2011

Thursday Reading: Hebrew 11:1-2



Key Verse: Hebrews 11 1

1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.



Devotion:

One of the biggest problems we have is seeing past the things right in front of our noses. There are all manner of things stuffed under our noses by this world around us and by our so-called friends who think we should be doing others things instead of upholding God’s Word. We are bashed and prodded until we give in to so many things that we should not be – and yet we have such a sure thing in God that we should never have to give in again once we know Him!



Yes it does come down to us having faith that God is going to make that difference in our lives. It does come down to us wanting to make sure that we can do the right thing even when we are so very tempted to go off and break it all down! It does come down to us having faith that God can give us the strength and will power to do it right! And that, for many, is where we fall down because our faith is sadly lacking. I can praise God so much for teaching me so much over the past decade so that I can teach others. I thank Him daily for the strength that He alone has given me to kick against the thorns in this world. I just wish that I was eloquent enough to write such a wonderful prose that would capture people’s imagination and make them consider this point as well!



But God has neither given me a golden pen nor a poets mind. Instead He has strengthened me by allowing many things to happen in my life that I was not expecting. Through that all He has given me the strength to continue on preaching His word and upholding His name. I now try to encourage others by showing them that even when we think things cannot possibly get better, they have already been getting better for many years – we just have not seen it because our faith has dwindled with the adversities we faced…



Points to Ponder:

Does your life get you down?



How has God made you stronger?