Wednesday 3 Aug 2011

Wednesday Reading: Romans 8 10-13



Key Verse: Romans 8 13

13  For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die. But if you through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.



Devotion:

There is no getting round it, we all get older every day. As we do grow older we become more aware that our life is a limited life in that this body we call us will one day give in and die. This does not mean that we ourselves die because the real us is the spirit or soul that resides within this physical body. The physical body may well start giving in a indeed complain bitterly as we get older, but the spiritual us inside continues to grow each and every day.



God knew exactly what He was doing when He created us and He knew just how much He had to make us different from things like apes in order that we could live our lives with Him. We are the ones who abuse our bodies with sin and that is why we have to pay the price – death by age!



Christ arose from the dead in order to show us that we too will have an immortal body one day. He did this showing us that we do have an immortal part to us right now – how else could we survive with Him in eternity? Because of these promises and these truths we can stand up and know that we will be able to live apart from our physical bodies that are riddled with sin. That being so then, why should we ever give in to sin anymore? Well, it’s just hard! We have lived our lives surrounded by sin and we continue to grow up being surrounded by it. We don’t actually know much more than this – so we get caught up in the sinful world and accept it as being the way we are. We need to put aside that part of our lives and live for Christ, embracing every aspect of what He has in store for us!



Points to Ponder:

Do you feel trapped?



Will you allow Christ to set you free?


Tuesday 2 Aug 2011

Tuesday Reading: Luke 8 19-21



Key Verse: Luke 8 21

21  And He answered and said to them, My mother and My brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it.



Devotion:

This chapter in Luke starts off by telling us the parable of the sower who was sowing seeds, each of which fell into different ground with different outcomes for the seeds. Jesus then went on to explain to the disciples how we are like those different grounds and the Word of God is the seed, but what came next was probably something that nobody was expecting, especially from their Lord. When Jesus was told that His brothers and mother were wanting to come and see Him He said these words in Luke 8 21.



Why would He seemingly deny His kinsmen as brothers and sisters? Well He does not deny them as much as saying that His mother and brothers are those that He chooses when they choose to follow Him. What He is saying is that any one of us who are willing to come to Him and ask for forgiveness will be treated as brothers. What better relationship could you ask for than to be called a mother or brother of Christ?



We are told in John 7 5 [For His brothers did not believe in Him] that His brothers did not actually believe that He was the Christ, the Son of God. They were no doubt persuaded by what was around them, both people and physical things, such that they could not see how their brother could be God. Mary and Joseph, however, had no doubts because of what they had heard from the angels – something that may well have been very difficult to come to terms with. But just because something is difficult to come to terms with, it does not mean that it cannot be true. God continues to use all manner of circumstance and happenings to lead and protect us – we just have to listen to that advice through His Word!



Points to Ponder:

Do you struggle with believing things without seeing them?



Are you struggling with what God does in your life?


Monday 1 Aug 2011

Monday Reading: Ephesians 4 13-16



Key Verse: Ephesians 4 14

14  so that we no longer may be infants, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the dishonesty of men, in cunning craftiness, to the wiles of deceit.



Devotion:

As we grow as Christians we do become stronger and more confident in our lives; the more that we are able to learn about our God and the more that we find out how much He does for us, the more confident we become in our Christian walk as well as in our normal lives. You could say that we grow up from being babes in Christ to children in Christ, then teens and then adults. Each step we take we grow more and as we learn more we exercise our spiritual lives more. We move from being tossed about by the spiritual realm to being able to stand up and be confident in things spiritual – but it takes time and effort!



The best way to continue growing is to make sure that you move forward in love. Not just your own compassion and care for others but also your relationship with Christ. Christ is Love. He has demonstrated absolute love towards us and He should therefore be the centre of our lives – the corner stone that holds everything together.



Just as we continue to grow in our minds we also need to grow in our hearts – without that love we are nothing, but with that love we are everything! It’s just like saying that we have a body but we have no heart – without that heart pumping the blood round our bodies we are nothing but dead. Not only do we need our hearts to be alive, but we need the love of Christ strengthening ourselves from the inside; without that love we are like a body without a heart – we are there but not much use to anyone!



Points to Ponder:

Are you alive?



Is Christ at the centre of your life?


Sunday 31 Jul 2011

Sunday Reading: John 14 18-21



Key Verse: John 14 20

20  At that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.



Devotion:

One of the most amazing things that I cannot get used to is that our Lord and King would want to live with us! What would you do if the Queen/President/Prime Minister of your country would want to come and stay with you for a while? Would you change your life and ways a bit to try to make them feel more at home or at least lift them up to show that they are important? But what we have in The Holy Spirit is our God wanting to come and live with us for the rest of eternity… and how do we treat Him?



God has shown us His love for us by creating this world for us. I marvel at its construction and the beauty that is shown to us each day. I marvel at the confusion of scientists that claim to know how the world came into being when the simplicity of creation is plain for all to see. I marvel at the natural wonders of this world, this solar system, this universe; the unending nature of what we see, the enormity of everything in comparison to the seemingly insignificance of little old me!



And then I stand amazed that God has chosen to pick me to be a faithful servant who is willing to do His work. I see the me that I grew up to be and I see the things that I have done in my past, and yet God still chose me. He chose the one who failed in many things over the ones that excelled; the chose the one who broke the law instead of the ones who kept the worlds laws. He chose the one who He knew from the inside and not the ones that we all know on the outside. God really does know what He is doing – even if we cannot figure it out yet. I thank Him for choosing me even before I chose Him!



Points to Ponder:

How big are you?



How great is God?

Saturday 30 Jul 2011

Saturday Reading: 2 Corinthians 13 7-9




8  For we have no power against the truth, but for the truth.



Devotion:

One of the biggest hurdles to get over in the beginning is to admit that you are a sinner – to actually admit that you have it all wrong and that you are rotten on the inside is not something that any of us want to do. When people first tell us that we are sinners we may well get upset with them and turn away from God thinking that these Christians are all self-righteous people. But when we do then get to know the truth and that we are sinners, we have no more problems accepting that fact. The truth is the truth and you cannot make it ‘not the truth’!



The next problem then becomes what we do and how we work against said truth. We are no longer slaves to those sinful ways because we have been set free, but letting go of those ways and heading back to Christ can be an uphill struggle when we are faced with the world around us. Is sucks us in as if it were a black hole and the only thing that will keep up from sinking deep in that hole is The Word of God.



We are essentially caught up in a struggle that will either see us fall into sin or walk proud with Christ. If we try by ourselves to lift ourselves up and walk with Christ we will very quickly learn that we fall at the slightest hurdle! But if we give Christ the task of keeping us safe then we will be sure that we can be kept safely in His grip throughout our dangerous walk in this corrupt world. It is His strength alone that will get us through. He can give us the strength to face up to so much more than we can imagine – but taking that step of faith may be a daunting first step for you, but one that you will never regret.



Points to Ponder:

Do you have a safety rope?



Is Christ your safety rope?