Saturday Reading: Psalms 27 14

Key Verse: Psalms 27 14
14  Hope in The LORD; be of good courage, and He shall make your heart strong; yea, hope in The LORD.

Devotion:
There will always be times in your life when you feel most alone and those times are not always going to be when you are alone but may well be when you are surrounded by people. It is awesome that we can know and depend on God always because even when we feel like we are at our most vulnerable we can be sure that our God is watching over us. How can I explain this a bit more? Let’s take a very good friend, one who is always willing to help you out, to listen to you when you want to complain and to offer you advise when you need it. Now what would happen to us if that friend should leave us to go to another country or to start a new life? Our life may well get turned upside down because we suddenly realise that the depth of that friendship was not real. Our trust in others may well be destroyed because of a simple thing like that.

But that is when God can show us a point or two. He will never leave us nor forsake us. That means that no matter what, we are safe in His hands forever. You may turn round and point fingers at all the bad stuff that is happening in this world and all the pain and suffering and say that God should not allow that if He does love us. Well, let’s take a look at the other side of the coin... Where were you when He asked you to come to Him? Did you come to Him? Where were you when He offered you eternal life? Did you come to Him and accept it? If you have never made a friend of God then how is He supposed to be there as a friend for you? If you have never trusted Him as a friend then why do you try and call Him a friend?

God continues to open His arms and call us all in. He continues to try to show us how loving He is. If we are not going to accept that Jesus Christ is God as He said He was, then we will never trust Him as our friend, never mind as our Father. If we will not trust Him as God, our Heavenly Father, then we cannot yet hope for Him to say that we are His friend that is constantly looking out for us. But always remember. He is the one who willingly gave His life to be your friend to start with...

Points to Ponder:
Who is your best friend?

Do you trust Christ?

Friday Reading: Exodus 14 10-14

Key Verse: Exodus 14 14

14  Jehovah shall fight for you, and you shall be silent.

Devotion:

I received this verse on my mobile phone this morning and thought I would dwell on its words. My brain is not up to much today having a headache but we must continue to give out God’s Word whenever we can; not because someone has said so, not because it is our duty, and not even because it is the only way that people will get to hear the truth. We should be doing this because we want to. I want people to be able to hear the truth. I want people to be encouraged that God’s Word is that truth we all seek in our souls. I want to be able to give people the option of hearing God’s side of the story and not the corrupted combined works of man. I do my best to uphold God’s Word as the truth because that is what I want to do for my God.

We can go back through our bibles and find so many places where He has instructed man in what is in man’s best interests. We can go to just as many places and see that man has chosen his own path instead of listening to that will of God. In each place where man has chosen to follow the will of God we see how God has allowed man to prosper and yet in each place where man has chosen to follow his own will we see how those times have ended in man getting himself into a pickle and having to call on God for a way out.

My plan in life is to no longer walk away from God and seek my own ways but to walk toward Him and with Him so that I can try to live my life closer to His will for my life. I certainly will not get it right all the time and I will certainly fall along the way, but I will continue trying. I know that when push comes to shove God will always be there for me. That does not mean that I will not fall and break a leg now and again, but it does mean that I know that God is with me – that comfort can only come from God and I am happy that I know Him in my life. He is my God and I am His!

Points to Ponder:

How are you doing?

Are you listening to what God actually says?

Thursday Reading: Matthew 17 24-27

 

Key Verse: Matthew 17 27

27  But lest we should offend them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. And when you have opened its mouth, you shall find a coin; take that, and give it to them for Me and you.

Devotion:

Not all of the miracles that Jesus did were what you may call ‘in your face’ miracles, some were quite private and directed at certain people. Just because many people did not witness this miracle does not mean that it was any less meaningful than any of the other miracles. This miracle can show us so many things – just as others can show us more. The first thing that it shows us is that Jesus was and is God. We think of the odds of something like winning the lottery as astronomical, but yet so many people still have a god. The odds of throwing out your fishing line and catching a fish are bad enough for me, but to then catch a certain fish who just happens to be carrying round a coin in its mouth that just happens to be the amount due for two people to enter the temple... well, let’s just say that something like that could not be planned even if you had a pet fish!

Jesus made a very simple and yet poignant point. The people who were collecting the temple tax from people that were not so much strangers as not being part of their own families. They would not turn round and ask their own children to pay the tax to enter the temple, but they would ask others to pay... and they were not even the owners of the temple but simply the people assigned to collect the money. Now Jesus on the other hand is God and hence is whom the temple had actually been built for – and yet He was being asked to pay to enter it! Jesus did not demand that Simon Peter pay the tax because He regarded Simon Peter as His son. Christ was not about to upset the apple cart by making a scene but rather used a simple demonstration of His power to Simon Peter to allow him to remember just who is in charge of this world!

Are you looking toward the people who demand to be looked at or looking toward the One who deserves your attention. Look to God and Live!

Points to Ponder:

Who are you being distracted by?

How much attention do you give to God?

Wednesday Reading: Matthew 17 22-23

 

Key Verse: Matthew 17 23

23  And they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised again. And they grieved exceedingly.

Devotion:

It is not a nice thing when we have to face the death of someone else, never mind your own. If we know that the person who has died is a Christian then we know that they are in a much better place, being in Heaven with Christ. But when we have to face up to the fact that someone has died without knowing Christ then we have to face the fact that they are facing a horrible end the likes of which we cannot grasp. But Christ knew that end and He knew what had to be done to save us from that end. Even though we still have a choice as to whether we want to know Him or not, we do not think of the consequences.

Christ knew full well the consequences of our unbelief and also knew of all the temptations that Satan would lop our way to deceive us. He knew that He would have to show that physical death is only the start of eternal life and He also knew that having to lay down His own life on that cross for our sins was going to be the only way to set us free. He knew that He would have to face untold humiliation before laying down His life. He knew that He would have to teach us to lay aside earthly riches and face Him instead. He knew all the pain and grief to come – and yet He willingly stepped forward and paid it all in full. What love!

I am sure that the disciples did not understand fully what was going to happen, just like we do not grasp the enormity of what He has done. I’m sure that they had not grasped the full extent of what people would have to face should they reject Christ. If we did we would not let anyone walk past us without introducing them to Christ. The zeal of the disciples after they had witnessed the resurrection should speak volumes to us – showing us that what they saw was not only very real but what they had learned and try to teach us was also very real. The bible is the truth – you had better believe it!

Points to Ponder:

What part of life do you not like?

 

Would you be willing to face it to save someone?