Thursday 31 Mar 2011

Thursday Reading: Proverbs 18 20-21

Key Verse: Proverbs 18 20
20  A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; he shall be satisfied with the product of his lips.

Devotion:
Have you ever noticed how good some people (politicians or other leaders) sound when they talk. They seem to say all the right things and make many people stand up and take notice or even make them happy. But all it takes is a single sentence that goes against what they say to bring the whole countenance of that person down. Once that damaging sentence is known the favour of that person is lost and everything they say suddenly sounds very hollow or worse it may sound like a bunch of lies.

How we live our lives suddenly becomes very important. We may be able to tell others of the good things and tell them of what should be done; but unless we too are willing to do those things then we may well have to face up to this sort of situation. Our own words may well become those sour or bitter words that we think come out of another person of no reputation – our own reputation is on the line. But it is not just our own reputation that we put on the line because if we are confessing Christians then are we not carrying Christ’s reputation with us? Do we not lift Him up in our stead? If we are doing that and we trip up and fall in the mire that we have created then we are bringing down Christ into that same mire in other people’s eyes.

What we say and what we do are so very important – it is the very food by which we are going to survive by. If we are going to spread mire around then we should not expect anything else other than to wallow in that same mire for the rest of our time. So much can be built up and destroyed by what we say and do – that is why we need to focus on those two things and make sure that we allow Christ to guide us in our daily walk, life and speech. If you want to help others then you first have to help yourself by listening to God...

Points to Ponder:
What is your conversation like?

What does God think of your life?

Wednesday 30 Mar 2011

Wednesday Reading: Proverbs 18 7

Key Verse: Proverbs 18 7
7  A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

Devotion:
How many times have you tried to justify yourself and failed? I am sure that we have all tried to dig ourselves out of a hole at some stage only to dig even deeper and land ourselves into more trouble. You see, when we try to cover up sin with sin, all we are doing is heaping up and even bigger pile of sin instead of burying anything at all. Only Christ is able to take our sins away and bury them deeper than anything or anyone else because only Christ is Just to do so with His mercy.

The thing that probably got us into trouble in the first place may well have been our mouths because we are apt to say things before we think about what we are to say; we blurt out things that may well bring us down because we want to bring someone else down without thinking of the consequences of what we are saying. We even write things down before thinking giving people even more reason to wonder at what is in our hearts. If we are to survive at all then we should first leave our sin nature behind and focus on God.

None of us like to get into trouble by ourselves because we somehow feel that getting into trouble with someone else is less of a big issue. But think of it this way, if there are two of you getting into trouble instead of just one then the problem has just been doubled! Christ is not going to look less on an issue just because there are more people doing it – think back at places such as Sodom; just because the whole city was doing the same thing did not allow them to get off the hook! God is Just. He will not change from being just. If we can’t live with that then we have to change!

Points to Ponder:
Do you invite others into trouble?

Are you tempting God’s people?

Tuesday 29 Mar 2011

Tuesday Reading: Proverbs 12 12-13

Key Verse: Proverbs 12 12
12  The wicked desires the net of evils; but the root of the righteous yields fruit.

Devotion:
No matter how much we try to succeed in our lives, if we are not going to try to do things righteously then all our work will be for no gain whatsoever. We need to focus on what God would have us do in our lives and not to focus on our lusts and desires all the time – it is no good dreaming on the great things that you can do but rather to get out there and do those great things for God because that is where we shall bear fruit. The wicked people will always seek the evil ways in which they can promote themselves because their focus never goes far from lifting up themselves instead of all others.

Christ made sure that He lifted up God the Father at all times instead of Himself. He had every right to lift Himself up but He made sure that He did not. There is nothing wrong with accepting the praise from others but praising ourselves instead of the one that should get the praise is pushing it! And that is one of the biggest traps that we face in our society because we are surrounded by so many who do lift themselves up at every opportunity saying that they are the best and that that is the only way to succeed. Well, if it was then Christ would never have succeeded in His ministry here on earth!

You will always notice how people will talk themselves into a corner unless they are lifting up others. As soon as we try to promote ourselves we will find that others will see the promotion for what it is, pride and greed. We will not see it as that because we are focused on lifting up ourselves to the goal that we have placed in front on us. Christ set His goal and that was to glorify God the Father. That is what He achieved and that is what we need to focus on doing in our lives as well. To God be the Glory!

Points to Ponder:
What is your goal?

How far up is God in your goals?

Monday 28 Mar 2011


Monday Reading: Mark 15 29-32

Key Verse: Mark 15 31
31  And also the chief priests mocking, with the scribes, said to one another, He saved others but he cannot save himself.

Devotion:
How often do you get embarrassed by the things that you do? How often are you put in a position where those around you laugh at you through no fault of your own? I am sure that we can probably all come up with a time when we have been mocked and we have not thought that there was anything wrong in what we were doing, but what about the times when you have been ashamed at what you have done or had to do and then have had to put up with the mocking?

When we think of Christ on the cross we can think of the amazing sacrifice that He showed us – the fact that He was willing to lay down His own life on the cross for us. I’m sure we would all have thought of the pain that He must have gone through by being nailed to the cross as well. I am sure we would all admit that He did not do anything wrong to be on that cross and that we should be there in His stead... but how often do you think of the humility that Christ faced? We have descriptions of the mocking that He received on the cross such as these in Mark, but how about the humility that He faced as He walked as a mere human being when we know that He is our God!

It is not too often that we see great dignitaries or royal personages lay aside their positions and come to be basic commoners like the rest of us. But Christ did so much more than that because He is not only our King but He is our Messiah! And not only did He do this for you and me but He did so willingly! Yes He could have lifted Himself down from that cross and He could have destroyed all of those around Him; but He chose to stay on the cross as a human and lay His life down for us! What an Awesome God we serve!

Points to Ponder:
Do you get embarrassed easily?

Are you beginning to understand how much Christ loves you?


Sunday 27 Mar 2011

Sunday Reading: Revelation 1 8

Key Verse: Revelation 1 8
8  I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Devotion:
Sometimes God uses everything around you to make you take notice of things and yet other time He will patiently wait for you to see the light; but throughout all of this you must remember that Christ is the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last. Christ is not limited to time as we are and for us to recognise that fully we will probably have to die to see what it is like to live forever – that is why we have to make sure that we take notice of what Christ says right now and not keep putting it off.

We are bound by time. No matter which way you look at it and no matter how much you try to figure out time, we are bound by it and live within it. We have been giving a limited lifespan on earth and it is a lifespan that is sufficient for us to be able to see that God is real and to see that we need Him in our lives. That lifespan is sufficient for us to be able to see and learn the truth – or as much as Christ would have us to know – so that we can get to know Him and realise just how much He loves us. That lifespan should be spent wisely and not wasted away. That lifespan is precious and needs to be recognised as such.

Just because we are limited by time does not mean that we cannot reach our God who is not limited by time. Our prayers are heard by Him all the time and they will be answered by Him too; our prayers lifted up earnestly to Him that will not seek for our own glory but rather seeking His glory and His praise. No matter how we look at it, Christ is always going to be here. Christ is real and He is here. As we lift up our prayers, He is with us, listening and searching our hearts. Being the Alpha and Omega means that He can be and is with us in all walks of life and at all times. I praise God for being the Beginning and the End; the Almighty!

Points to Ponder:
How often do you pray?

Do you pray from your heart?