Wednesday Reading: 1 Corinthians 1 9
 
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 1 9
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called to the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Devotion:
No matter where is the world you are you must be able to see that God is faithful! Take a quick look at what happened yesterday and think about what you actually asked of God... Every day I can see just how wonderful He is through the things that He does in my life. Every day I thank Him for all that He does and all that He has done. He promised us so much in the beginning and He continues to uphold every promise that He has made. Why then am I surprised that He answers my prayers? Why? Because I am the one who is not faithful. I am the one who has cracks and flaws in his life...

I am currently in the Lake District on the edge of Lake Windermere having a rest from all the trappings of my working life. The place that I have ended up in is a wonderful place with a partial lake view but more importantly a quiet place where I can commune with God. You see we live lives that are so tied up and wound up in work and play that we tend to forget about the importance of being faithful to God. He has never turned His back on us and He never will. But when we get tied up in our lives we do sometimes lose our way with God. Running away from work may not seem like a good thing to do but when you run into His arms, it is always right!

The most important relationship that we have is our relationship with Christ. If we want anything else to have any chance then we have to make sure that that relationship is secure which means that we need to be safely in His arms. Sometimes there is nothing better than to be in the arms of the one that you love because that will give your spirit the lift that you need! Just being here in this most beautiful part of England allows me to see God's awesome love and feel His arms faithfully wrapped around me!

Points to Ponder:
What did you see yesterday?
 
How do you reach for Christ?

Tuesday Reading: John 21 20-22
 
Key Verse: John 21 22
22  Jesus said to him, If I desire that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.

Devotion:
How often have you got so tied up in what someone else was doing that you did not get to complete your task or even failed at doing it. When we see others failing we do like to be able to stop and give them a hand if we can; but by doing so we do sometimes fall back ourselves too. God has given us the task of loving our neighbours but His first task is that we love Him above all else. Without that love for Him we have very little that we can give to others and He wants to make sure that we are firm in Him before we go ahead and try to help others.

Imagine being caught up in a flood and jumping into the water to try and help someone before suddenly realising that you never learned to swim yourself! It may seem a stupid thing for us to do knowing that we cannot swim, but that is the way we work in our lives with God. We need to be firmly grounded in His Word and in His Love before we can reach out to others and be sure of helping them. It does not mean that we have to ignore all else until we are at the level of a Pastor but rather that we need to make sure that we do not get out of our depth. It is not a big thing to admit that you do not know the answer because you can always say that you will find out and bring it back... just as we may run off to fetch a rope to save someone.

Christ wants us to follow Him. He knows where our weaknesses are and He knows where our strengths lie so trusting in Him for everything is the logical thing to do. That is the sure way of being able to help others. It will not help anyone to be caught up in the same mess that you are trying to save someone else from because that makes the problem bigger. It would not be good to say that you knew how to help and then to fail miserably and dash everyone’s hopes. God is the one who gives us the strength and wisdom to help ourselves and to help others. To be able to do that we need to learn from Him.

Points to Ponder:
Are you a willing student?

Will you call for help?

Monday Reading: Genesis 2 7
 
Key Verse: Genesis 2 7
7  And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
 
Devotion:
Yesterday whilst listening to Ravi Zacharias he said something which has kept me smiling more than usual, and what he said comes from this single verse in Genesis. When God made everything, He spoke things into existence, but when God made man, He took up dust from His creation and formed it and breathed life into it! If there is nothing else that separates us from the apes of this world it is that God fashioned us on purpose and breathed life into us!

We are very special! Each one of us is totally unique. Each one of us has been created by our amazing God. Each one of us has life breathed into us at the very moment of conception so that we can grow into a totally different being from our parents. Yes we have the genetic markers from our parents and we have their physical attributes; we even grow up to be like them as we learn our social and spiritual lives from them... but we are different! God has created in each one of us an individual that is fully capable of knowing Him and following Him. We are the ones that choose to run off in the other direction like Jonah. We are the ones who choose to follow the ways of the evil world rather than His ways. We are the ones who break our own moulds!

If you want to know how much God loves you then you just have to look around. Everywhere that you look is something else that God has created. All the wonders of this world are there because God has allowed them to be so. The more that scientists try the figure out, the more that they realise there is to figure out. God’s creation is far more than just something that appeared. God’s creation is a finely balanced ecosystem that baffles scientists as it continues despite their assumptions and their rules. God’s rules are not bound by human imagination because He is the one who is in charge! Go out there today and take a long look at what God has done for you!

Points to Ponder:
What do you see as the most wonderful natural wonder?

Have you looked in the mirror lately?

Sunday Reading: Acts 20 22-24
 
Key Verse: Acts 20 24
24  But none of these things move me, neither do I count my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus Christ, to testify fully the gospel of the grace of God.

Devotion:
Just how far are you willing to go for other people? Therein is a fully loaded question! It should never be looked at just as a question of how far you are willing to go for other people but rather as a question of how far you are willing to go with God! If you are going to try to run the gauntlet of life without God then that would be akin to walking a tightrope without a safety harness – you know that you will fall, you just don’t know when.

Paul, as with other disciples, found out that following God would not always lead to an easy life. He found out that he would be persecuted just because he believed in Christ and that was just another thing that strengthened him. God knows what is going to strengthen each one of us and He tries to guide us in that direction so that we will be able to be soldiers for Him. It would not be fair on us if He did not do His best to get our attention. It would not be fair on us if He did not try to make sure that we do get what is best for us. But in order to get that best, we have to be willing to trust Him in everything that He will allow into our lives, not just the dainty things that we may like!

I am sure that Paul was very used to speaking his mind and Christ used him mightily as a preacher who would be willing to go out and talk to people at their level. God wants people who are willing to talk to those that need it not always as a preacher but sometimes just as a friend. God wants us to be willing to make sure that we take Him with us where ever we do go. God wants His presence to be a permanent feature in our lives and not just one we exercise on Sundays. God wants us to be whole with Him. If you want to find out the meaning of life, take God with you and He will show you!

Points to Ponder:
Are you searching?

Are you taking God with you?