Monday 30 May 2011

Monday Reading: Romans 9 14-16

Key Verse: Romans 9 16
16  So then it is not of the one willing, nor of the one running, but of God, the One showing mercy.

Devotion:
Once we have remembered the fact that Christ is the Son of God, we then have to put into place all that He, being God, has done in our lives. It is not the fact that He has allowed us to live but rather the fact that He has kept us alive. We need only look at the world around us to realise just how corrupt man has become and how we would face certain death if we were to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – and yet God has conducted our lives to the extent that we are where we are today. Praise God!

We get so caught up in the things that we do and the way of the world around us that we dare to think that maybe, just maybe, there would be a chink in God’s armour somewhere where He would allow some sort of unrighteousness into His life – that is just how corrupt the world has convinced us to be. God will not allow any unrighteousness into His kingdom nor will it even come close to Him. God is Just. God is righteous. But God does have feelings. You would think by the way that we act that we do not think that God has any feeling, or that we do not care about His feelings!

God is the one who has chosen to have compassion on those that He chooses. He is the one that chose the house of Israel as the centre of His people. He did that because of all the things that He could show us through what they have done. Through them we can see the things that we will get up to, we can see our disobedience, we can see our failings; God has done that because He wants us to see the truth before we get caught up in the evil of this world. It does not matter so much that we are the ones who have chosen to follow Him, but rather that He was the one who chose us in the beginning; thus affording us the chance to follow Him in the beginning!

Points to Ponder:
I ask again, are you in control?

How much has God given you?

Sunday 29 May 2011

Sunday Reading: Matthew 21 33-40

Key Verse: Matthew 21 40
40  When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

Devotion:
There are many points in our bibles where the Israelites are talked about as being part of a vine and this is the place where this comes together. This parable is told in other gospels as well so it is something that all the disciples would remember; but now we know the history of what happened we can relate it better to those events than they did when they heard it. Hindsight always is the best sight, or is it?

There are so many places where hindsight is the best because we can then work out what should have happened and hopefully will not allow that to happen again. Each air crash that happens is followed by a period when investigators pour over the evidence left behind and try to recover the black box recorders which will then tell them what happened – but only after the event. Hindsight definitely allows people to rectify things after they have happened, but it will not bring back people from the dead. This is what we have to remember when we bring this parable into remembrance.

If we leave things until we have to look back and see that we were wrong, we are going to miss out on our Lord’s return. We will then be faced with having to admit to the truth or to cover it up and try to continue fooling ourselves into some sort of feeling that we might be safe. The only place that we can ever be safe is in Christ’s arms and if we turn our back on Him now, reject Him or persecute those that He sends in His name, then we are going to have to face up to His wrath when He does come back. God has not given this earth to do with it as we please but has rather set us in charge of it until He returns. If we are going to think that we can ignore the fact that we are His and that He is our God, then we will only fool ourselves into believing that we do not need Him.

Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are in control?

What has God given you to do?

Saturday 28 May 2011

Saturday Reading: Acts 16 25-32

Key Verse: Acts 16 25
25  And toward midnight Paul and Silas prayed and praised God in a hymn. And the prisoners listened to them.

Devotion:
Have you ever felt moved by music? Well, you could say that everyone here in this story was very moved by the music! Paul and Silas were in prison and being the Christian men they were they accepted the situation they were in and began to lift up the name of God through praise! No you don’t all have to sit down and sing a hymn right now – though it would not be a bad thing! The hymns that we sing now are not the same as they would have sung back then! Instead they are a more modern interpretation of the type of things that would be sung about back then. History and life dictate many of the words to the hymns that we sing now and as life goes on so those songs change... but praising God will never change!

God was not about to sit around and let Paul and Silas rot in a prison cell; instead He allowed them to be given the perfect opportunity to praise Him and then use what happened to glorify Him. This was not something happening by chance but rather the will of God. How else was He able to get through to the guards other than by something earth shattering – quite literally in this case! You can imagine some of the things that they would hear every day being in a prison and so for the Word of God to be able to get in, God would first have to set the scene and then have to do something that would shut up the noise from the inmates!

God will not let the right opportunity pass without doing something. We need to be ready to be able to take up what He gives us and to use it to glorify Him. God continues to give us those moments but unless we are listening for them we will miss them time and time again! If we surround ourselves with things of the world then we should not be able to hear the things of God when they do come right in front of us! God does try to get through to us, but we tend to exclude Him through the things that we do instead of listening out for His will in our lives. Stop, look and listen!

Points to Ponder:
What do you get up to?

Does that exclude God?

Friday 27 May 2011

Friday Reading: Ephesians 5 17-21

Key Verse: Ephesians 5 18
18  And do not be drunk with wine, in which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit,

Devotion:
“Let’s Party!” How many times have you heard that and got excited about going out there and having a good time. But having a good time is very different for different people. To some it is going to be a case of letting everything go and getting filled in excess with drink and drugs and generally not knowing what they are going to be getting up to... but to others it will be going out with friends who are of a like mind and having a good, but honest and fun time. We should not have to think that we have to break all the rules just so that we can have a good time – God wants us to be happy and to enjoy life, but He does not want us to run off in the other direction and bring sin into our lives... for the more we bring sin in, the more we exclude God!

There is no reason why you should have to listen to songs that are full of swearing, hatred, lust, greed and other spiteful things when there are just as many good and righteous songs out there which will actually lift up God rather than slate Him at every opportunity! And there is a difference between getting hooked into the beat of a song (even if the words are something to do with God) instead of being hooked into the actual words and making sure that God does get the glory!

Yes people and music change over time. Yes our grandparents did not like the music that was coming up with the youngsters at that time (and no I will not embarrass anyone by saying what songs they were). Yes we as parents do think some of the music out there is “just not music” because it is alien to us. What it should come down to is what is the music saying about God! If the music is painting the picture of Christ being a rock and roll type guy who will let His hair down then I’m sorry but that is just not right! This is the Son of God you are talking about here. He is Just! He is Holy! If your songs do not lift Him up as that then what do you expect He thinks of them? [end rant] There is nothing wrong with enjoying music, but there is something inherently wrong about bringing God down to your level!

Points to Ponder:
What music do you enjoy?

What do you really think God thinks of your music?

Thursday 26 May 2011


Thursday Reading: Psalms 34 11-15

Key Verse: Psalms 34 12
12  Who is the man that desires life, and loves days, that he may see good?

Devotion:
Ok, here is something that we all either aspire to or secretly would like in our lives! A long life; not just to grow old but to be healthy and to be able to enjoy those many years! If we want to be able to achieve something like that in our lives then we have to be prepared to do what it will take. That does not mean that we should go out and find all manner of drugs that will extend our lives and does not mean to find the “secret of life” so that we may steal it and live forever. God has told us that we do have a limited life on earth and nothing is going to get around that problem – it is God’s will.

So in order for us to be able to enjoy a longer life we should probably be a bit more useful! It is no secret that the most useful things in our lives are looked after the most – we do like to keep things that are useful and not to waste them on things that do not count. That may be our way of looking at things – but it is also a way of understanding something of God. When God knows that we are going to be able to be used more effectively, He will continue to use us as often as He can. That does not necessarily mean that we are going to live forever just so that we can do His will – but it does mean that we will be able to enjoy doing His will for as long as we are able and willing!

God does watch us and He does know our every move. So if we are the ones misbehaving and getting up to all things rotten we should not expect anything other than stern words from Him when He catches us doing those things wrong! But when we are doing His will in our lives then He is able to look at us and help us to fulfil those things that we want to do for Him. If that is going to get God to help us, then should we not be aiming to do that? God not only hears us when we follow His will, but He will make sure that we are able to do more of His will because we are willing in the first place. If we are willing to help others then others will probably be more willing to allow us to help out when we can – but it is making sure that we do stick to doing those things for the right reasons and not for our own gain – don’t forget that God can see straight through our personal greed!

Points to Ponder:
What do you do best?

Do you seek out God’s ways in your life?