January 13: John 15 1-8
Key Verse: John 15 7
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Devotion:
The only way we are going to be able to bear fruit for God is to stay in His vine. That vine is Jesus Christ as He reminds us in this passage. He is the one who we need to continue to grow and to continue to be useful. As soon as a flower is picked it loses its source of food and will shortly die, but as long as it remains on the plant from which it sprouted it will continue to grow for as long as it can be used. The purpose of the flower is to make sure pollen is spread between plants so that more flowers can grow. Just like that, our purpose is to spread God’s Word so more people may come to know Him.
The root of the plant is not normally seen and yet without it the plant would not exist, nor would it be able to sustain itself should the root be cut off. Jesus is our root and we need Him in so we may continue to exist and continue to grow. Each tree or vine can grow into rather complex structures having many branches which themselves have many branches giving way to the final leaves and flowers and fruit; but all of those end points require that the root remains firm and it is a single point of entry. All the branches come down to that single trunk which depends on the unseen root.
If the plant or vine needs more food so that it can grow more fruit or leave, it does not have to ask and wait for a response before knowing whether it is going to get more food; it simply asks for the food and receives it. In the same way, Christ wants us to know we can rely on Him to give us food when we need it in order to grown more ourselves. The more a plant calls on the root for goodness the more it is able to blossom and show the world just how wonderful its root is. The more we are able to blossom with what Christ gives us, the more glory we are able to give to Him. He will never withhold anything when we are working for His glory! Let us constantly remember that we can rely on the God who keeps us and sustains us throughout everything.
Points to Ponder:
Do you like fruit?
Where would you be without Christ?
January 12: Matthew 21 18-22
Key Verse: Matthew 21 19
Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
Devotion:
It is interesting to look at the differences between this recount from the gospel of Matthew and that from Mark where is says: (Mark 11 13) “And seeing a fig-tree with leaves afar off, He went to it, if perhaps He might find anything on it. And when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season of figs.” Mark faithfully recorded that the fig tree was actually out of season and yet Jesus still cursed the plant; why? Well, often in our lives we give what we think are valid excuses for things we don’t want to do. Jesus was making a point for the disciples and used a simple plant to make sure they remembered.
As Christians we cannot be in or out of season like plants are. We cannot say we are not going to spread God’s Word in the winter or during the holidays or during term time... we have to be prepared and willing to show everyone, always, that we are God’s children. We need to bear fruit in all seasons. Jesus did not preach only during the summer or only during the winter; He continued His preaching for the whole time God wanted Him to preach. When God bid Him to do something, He had no problem with doing it there and then when the time was right and not only later when He felt like doing it. Too many times in our lives we like to choose when we think the time is right rather than following God’s Will and because of that we are not bearing the fruit as well as we could.
We need to have faith Christ He knows when it is best for us to do His bidding. We need to rest in Him and know what He is asking of us is because there is a need and a reason for it there and then. Jesus was hungry at that time; He did not want to have to wait until the right season before the fig tree should bear its fruit... Just like He does not want to have to wait for us to think that the time is right for us! We need to have absolute faith in Him to know that we are safe in His hands and trust Him wholly to know what is best for us. He is willing to give us the strength and wisdom as soon as we ask...
Points to Ponder:
Do you stop eating when you are away from home?
Do you stop being God’s child when you leave church?
January 11: Galatians 2 11-14
Key Verse: Galatians 2 13
The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
Devotion:
How many times have you said you were going to do something for the new year or some other time, only to be led away from what you said by those around you? How many times have you given in to peer pressure rather than stand up for what you said you would do? I’m afraid we are probably all guilty of this many times in our lives; with all the best intentions we say we are going to change or say we will make a difference but end up giving in to our old ways because all our friends do.
Being able to stand up for yourself is hard when all around are doing their own things. Being able to stand up for what is right when all around are accustomed to doing wrong is probably harder. When we get stuck in a rut of bad habits or stuck in a rut of bad choices, it is difficult to pull yourself out of those situations. Friends who keep you from making a difference are simply doing that for themselves because it is easier to give in to the old ways rather than make that difference.
We are not given too much detail about what Peter was doing wrong other than that he was taking the side of the Jews. Making a difference can mean stepping outside of your group of friends and helping or supporting those around instead. Peter was not willing to do that, but Paul knew Christ wanted him to do this. Taking a step sideways and looking at what is going on rather than sticking to the tried and tested ways is what we need to do sometimes. We know Christ has promised never to leave us. We know He has promised to be our protector and our guide. So why not allow Him to do exactly that by placing yourself in His hands so we can move forward and help a few more people than just those in our special group of friends. Being a Christians means we should be able to allow many more people to see Christ’s light shine through us than just our friends. Helping them may well mean stepping outside of our comfort zone; but never forget Christ is always with you wherever you go!
Points to Ponder:
Do you stick to your friends?
How often do you show others you are one of God’s children?
January 10: Acts 13 44-47
Key Verse: Acts 13 47
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
Devotion:
Paul and Barnabas had quite an eventful journey not just because they went to many places but because of the different attitudes people had to them. The Jews as a whole opposed the doctrine the apostles preached; they did not believe Jesus was their Messiah and they certainly did not want preaches walking around preaching that! On this occasion they had quite a huge crowd turn out to hear them speak because word had got around the first week they preached and many more wanted to come and hear the truth the following week. This suggests the people had become disillusioned in some way with the teaching of the Jews.
You can convince people of one thing and make them follow that suggestion right up until the point they hear or figure out the truth; from that point on they will no longer believe the lies because they have seen the truth. Many people may well have been convinced God was real through the teachings of the Jews, but the Jews themselves were now withholding the full truth from the people because it meant they would no longer have the power and authority that they had enjoyed for so long. It is not only the Jews that are at fault here because we can see this happen with many churches over the ages. Man gets to a point where he thinks that he is more important than God...
We are nothing compared to the truth. That truth is Jesus Christ came to earth to live, preach the truth and then ultimately die for our sins. That truth is Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our Salvation is through Him alone. That truth is exactly what He told us and exactly what Paul and Barnabas were teaching others. That same truth is what we need to tell others of too because we are now acting as lights to that truth just as Paul and Barnabas did then.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you tell the truth?
How often do you act like the truth?
January 9: John 8 12-16
Key Verse: John 8 12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Devotion:
It is hard to believe some people when they start talking about how much they have done or how good they are themselves; we seek proof from people who are uplifting themselves. Our bibles tell us of so many miracles Jesus did, and yet they are by no means all listed. As John put it, there is probably not enough room in the world to keep the books if all of the things that Christ did were written down! If we ever wanted proof, there is only one place where we can find the central written depository of that proof – that is our bibles. If you had written proof of all your friend had done which proved what they had done, you probably would not have any problem believing what they say – as long as it agreed with what you had written down!
On the other side of the coin, you may simply not like hearing about what your friend has done because it makes you look less good in some way. If they are able to list so many things that they have done and yet you cannot, you suddenly don’t look as great as you first thought you were... Our bibles and Christ’s Word will have that effect on us too because we will see how bad our lives are compared to His. We also suddenly see how much we owe Him for what He has done for us on the cross.
The Pharisees were up against these same things. They had heard others talking about Jesus but they had also learned a lot of rules and regulations from their religion. Their religion had conditioned them to such an extent they did not want to believe Jesus. He made it sound too simple! Through their religion they thought they were the good guys and told everyone exactly that. For Jesus to come before them and show them they were not so good anymore meant they would no longer be the men on the top of the hill! That too meant they did not want to believe. We have all manner of things like this in our lives which stop us from believing God’s Word and we do find it hard to let them go; but we must let them go if we want to continue walking by Christ’s side. Let go of the things which tie us down and take on the truth of God’s Word.
Points to Ponder:
Do you always believe what people tell you?
How much more proof would you need than the truth?