Sunday Reading: Proverbs 16 25

Key Verse: Proverbs 16 25

25  There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is the ways of death.

Devotion:

How many things in your life tempt you? If we are all honest then we can admit that we face up to sin and temptation all the time, not just once a day but throughout our days. Whether we give in to those sins or not is a choice that we have to make and a choice that God is watching over us for too. Our biggest problem is that we do tend to think that we can do much better than we can actually do.

Whilst there are going to be many who will jump up and say that we have to push ourselves and to try harder so that we can better ourselves, I am going to take a step sideways and say that we don’t have to do that all the time. Once we get into the swing of “going for it” and “applying ourselves” then we do start to lose track on what we should be focusing on and focus instead on the race rather than the goal. That in itself becomes the dangerous step because we then start employing techniques that we ought well not to do!

There is nothing wrong with applying yourself and achieving great things, in fact we should all take a leaf out of some of the great achievers in life and follow on from their examples; but we need to make sure that in doing so we are not inviting bad things into our lives. Far too many people end up craving for far more than they first thought about because of the temptation that follows success. Too many people are on the verge of dictatorship rather than leadership. Why go there when we know it will destroy others? We are all God’s children and we definitely need to remember that what we do does affect others. Think before jumping in and showing that you can actually swim…

Points to Ponder:

What is your goal in life?

Have you left God out of your goal?

Saturday Reading: Ephesians 4 29-32

Key Verse: Ephesians 4 30

30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed until the day of redemption.

Devotion:

When I look back on my life I see so many cases of me giving in and following the worldly ways when I was young. What is it that makes us think as teenagers that we are able to withstand everything that the world can throw at us not knowing just how much we do give in and go with the flow? What makes us think that we are able to stand up to the devil and all his henchmen when we are just boys and girls?

Hindsight is always the best sight! We can all look back and see the times when we have given in and allowed bad things into our lives and even the times when we have encouraged them too; but how many things can you remember that you can look back on and say “that is the time when I stood up and asked God to help me fight!” Too many times we ignore where our true strength does come from and we try to rely on what we have inside us. Let us never try to fool ourselves into thinking that we are man enough to stand up to anything.

The only one we are fooling when we give in to the ways of the world is ourselves. God can see straight through us and He will not miss a single thing that goes on in our lives. When we accept Christ as our Saviour we are inviting the Holy Spirit to come and stay with us permanently. In other words we have God as our guest forever more. If we then turn round and act the fool we are effectively ignoring the Holy Spirit and even embarrassing Him through what we do. Do you really think God is going to be happy with us when we do that? God is with us because He loves us; showing a bit of love and respect back is not a hard task if we do truly rely on Him to encourage us!

Points to Ponder:

Do you mess with others?

Do you mess with God?

Friday Reading: Titus 3 1-3

Key Verse: Titus 3 2

2  to speak evil of no one, not being quarrelsome, but forbearing, showing all meekness to all men.

Devotion:

The book of Titus may be short but there is so much we can gain from it; just like other parts of God’s Word we find so much that God wants us to know written into such a short book. And yet man tries to shorten God’s Word even further! What can we hope to achieve by taking away some of His Word or adding to His Word? God has given us all that He has given for a reason – because it is the truth that we need to know.

So when we are encouraged to change our lifestyle such that it fits in with these few verses, it is not just because He wanted something else to be written down but rather that this is something that we need to do! Trying to be a rebel whilst saying you are a Christian is like taking a great work of art and adding your own finishing touches to make it right. You are ruining something that should be the way that it is. You are imposing your rather crude ways over perfection that God has laid down for us. God wants us to try to live according to that perfect way that He has shown us.

The Lord knows that we will never be able to live that perfect life and He has already shown us that He is willing to forgive us for those things we do wrong. He has even demonstrated how much He will still love us. So why do we think that we can go one step further each day and try to bend the truth a little more at a time? We can’t. Don’t even try it. God knows what we are like and He knows what we will get up to. He has given us the warnings and the instructions before we go there so that we can avoid making those mistakes before we get there. All we need do is listen to His instruction.

Points to Ponder:

Do you like to rebel?

Did God ever tell you to rebel?

Thursday Reading: Proverbs 30 11-14

Key Verse: Proverbs 30 12

12  There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their own filth.

Devotion:

These few verses say so much about a generation of people that have not considered God; a generation that have given up on that quest to find the truth and have lifted themselves up as the ones to be praised. Their greed and pride has overcome them and now controls their lives out of spite and lack of concern for those around. And yet this passage could be said of so many generations throughout time and not just to those we think it should suit today.

It is truly sad that we have to admit that these times do exist and that they have existed over such a long period even though God has continued to try to lighten up our lives with the truth year after year. It is the fact that people have ignored the bible that has allowed them to get this far and to be called a generation of deceit. If we are honest with ourselves then we will see that we have been made aware of the times when these words could be said about ourselves because we have all lifted ourselves up above our own stations at some time in our lives.

If we continue to lift ourselves up instead of God then we should not expect anything to happen that is a blessing from God. God continues to look after His own and those that try to say that they are better than God because they can manage quite fine without Him are sadly in denial of the truth. We all need God. We all know that truth. Whether we accept that truth and move forward asking God for His continual support, in another thing. Trusting in God must be absolute and not a half-hearted affair!

Points to Ponder:

Are you living in denial?

Are you really seeking God’s help?