Friday 7 Oct 2011

Friday Reading: 1 Corinthians 10 11-13




13  No temptation has taken you but what is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the temptation also will make a way to escape, so that you may be able to bear it.



Devotion:

No matter how much we face here on earth, we always do still have a choice. We may feel like we are trapped in a life that is bad, evil and corrupt, but God has already set in place an escape route for each of us. He has already given us a way that we can avoid the evil that surrounds us; and that means that we don’t have to go there in the first place! But how many times do we remember that before we go there? How many times do we remember that we have a choice before we make the wrong choice?



Unfortunately we live in a world where we are going to be distracted by so many things that we may forget to stop, look and listen. Just like a child forgets to stop, look and listen before crossing the road, so we forget to do the same before jumping head-long into the world around us. Just as a child would find out the hard way that a car hitting you would be too late, we often find out that we are already too late when we think about it. But God, in His infinite grace and mercy, continues to give us escape routes. He has given us the chance to bring our sins to Him and ask for forgiveness – even after we have done them. It does not mean that we can go ahead and do anything we want and then go and say sorry – because I hardly believe we should be able to fool God if we are not sincere in our apology!



Because God has given us these escape routes it means that He wants us to use them. He does not want us to remain ignorant nor to not use them because we feel bad about using them. God gave them to us for a reason. We need to use them! God is not the one who is going to trip you up by placing temptations in front of you. God is not the one who is going to dangle the carrot before you face. God is the one who is showing you that there is an alternative and that there is a way that we don’t have to follow. He knows how weak we are and He knows how easy we are. But His infinite grace and mercy is more than enough to put aside those faults right now.



Points to Ponder:

Do you ever blame others for what you do wrong?



Are you asking God for His favour?

Thursday 6 Oct 2011

Thursday Reading: 1 Corinthians 15 39-44




43  it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;



Devotion:

When we observe things we can normally come to the conclusion that things are different! If we had chicken and beef placed in front of us then we would be able to tell them apart – so long as we had learned the difference to start with. But what would happen if we had never been shown the difference between chicken and beef? What would happen if we had never known the difference between good and bad? The obvious answer is that we would be a bit confused!



What God has given us is a body that has a conscience and the means by which we can tell the difference between good and bad. Through His Word we begin to learn all that is good and all that is bad. Our society is built up on His Word and His commandments – that is because He has continued to try and teach us right and wrong. Very quickly we then begin to see all the things that we do wrong. We often get confused, upset and even depressed by all that we do or all that is going on around us. Is it any wonder then that we come to a conclusion that God should not forgive us for what we know we have done?



Fortunately for us we have the perfect way out of that problem. We live our lives as plain old humans and we live a life that is full of sin and corruption – that is just the way we are. But when we die we leave all of that behind us. All the sin and corruption that we have built up is allowed to be removed – so long as we know Christ as our Lord and Saviour. He has promised to take away all of that sin and corruption is we trust Him to. He has promised to give us a perfect mind and body so that we can join Him in Heaven. Never be scared that we are not good enough for Heaven because He alone can make us clean!



Points to Ponder:

Do you get down through all you do wrong?



How would you like to leave it all behind?

Wednesday 5 Oct 2011

Wednesday Reading: 1 Peter 2 9-10



Key Verse: 1 Peter 2 9

9  But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light;



Devotion:

God is the One who has chosen us. We have not created Him but rather He has created us. How could we ever come up with a God who is so pure when we ourselves are so wicked in comparison? How could we ever dream of a God that loves us so much that He gave us everything? We are different; as Christians we are separate from this world, we are a tribe that has been bought through His blood.



No longer are we required to live our lives according to the world around us. He has set us free from the trappings of this world and He has allowed us to come to His light and His ways. We grow up sinking deeper into the darkness of this world and yet He switches on the beautiful lights and invites us in to dine with Him. He continues to shine that light so that we can see the way we are and turn away from what we do and lift Him up instead.



No longer should we look at ourselves as a people that are stuck in this sinful world. No longer should we look at the life we lead and think that we shall never escape. Christ has already set us free and He has already given us the direction that we should follow; we just need to make that choice. Each one of us has that choice to make – whether we continue to follow our own sinful ways or whether we should turn from those ways and turn back to Him. He created us in the beginning to do things the righteous way – we still can with His help. He has turned on the lights and is showing us the way forward. If we continue to turn away from His light we are turning towards the darkness and the shadows. We do not see what is in those shadows until we are in them – then it is too late. Allow Christ’s light to shine on through so that we can follow His direction!



Points to Ponder:

Do you need a new torch?



Are you ignoring God’s light?

Tuesday 4 Oct 2011

Tuesday Reading: Psalms 33 1-12



Key Verse: Psalms 33 3

3  Sing to Him a new song; play skilfully with shouts of joy.



Devotion:

I love being able to read through God’s Word and see just how many ways we can praise Him. I love being able to be reminded that we should be praising Him for all the things that He has done already – because no matter how many things we find and can tick off our list, we will always find that He has already done more than that! There is no amount of praise that we can offer up to Him that will cover all that He has done for us!



When we look back at our lives we can think of all the rotten things that we got up to and we can think of all the new ways we can do things now; but what does that actually achieve? Well, it does allow us to try and avoid things in the future – but what is going to be so much better for us is if we are able to praise God for the things that He is actively doing in our lives right now! When we have other people do things for us, we have no problem thanking them. When someone does something special for you, you have no problem acknowledging what they do for you – it is just right. So why then do we have a problem with thanking God for all that He does in our lives?



If we never thank others for what they do then that will only discourage them from doing anything for us in the future. If we let them know just how much they mean to us because of what they do for us, then they are going to be encouraged to continue doing what they do. This should not be looked at as a way of gaining more than what they want to give to us but rather as an approval for what they have already done for us. God is the one who has already done so much for us. Christ is the one who willingly gave His own life for us. Should we not then turn to Him immediately and thank Him for all that He has done already? God deserves all the glory for everything that happens in our lives. People that God places around us are there for a reason and we need to acknowledge them for all that they do when we acknowledge God for all that He does. Don’t ever forget to praise others for all they do on God’s behalf. They do it because they want to, not because they have to. Remember them and Him!



Points to Ponder:

Do you remember to say thank you?



Are you thanking God?

Monday 3 Oct 2011

Monday Reading: Luke 19 1-10



Key Verse: Luke 19 10

10  For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.



Devotion:

How the world views us and how we think we should be are probably two very different things. How we see ourselves and how the world sees us are, again, probably two very different things. How we are and how God sees us are not different at all because He alone is the One who actually does know what we are like. He can see us from the inside and not just the façade we put on for others to see.



Everyone around Zacchaeus saw him for what they thought he was, a tax collector, someone not to be trusted because of the dishonest life many of them lead. He was no exception either because he had already taken far too much in taxes than was required of him. That is how they made their money, by taking more than they should so that they could pay the authorities on time even if they had not collected from everyone. Of course that is no excuse for anyone to take what they should not but Christ already knew that Zacchaeus was a man seeking a better life.



What could be better than being rich and owning all manner of things? A life that is honest and blameless – something that he knew he did not have and had no hope of obtaining whilst he continued to work as a tax-collector. If we are honest with ourselves then we too will want a better life and not just a richer life – where then does that need for a better life come from? It is what God has put in our hearts from the beginning and it is something that we tend to destroy or ignore as soon as we are able. God has not come to level anything that is not good because if that were true we would already all be dead. Instead, Christ came to earth so that He could show people that they can turn away from their sinful lives and take on a new life. Zacchaeus found out that he had to change and he had to make things right. If we are willing to make that sort of change in our lives then we should also be seeking God’s forgiveness just as he did. Zacchaeus was a man who wanted change – but he was the one who had to make the move after Christ showed him the error of his ways.



Points to Ponder:

Do you think you are too rotten to save?



Christ can see you for what you want to be!