Monday Reading: Proverbs 3 9-10
 
Key Verse: Proverbs 3 9
9  Honour Jehovah with your substance, and with the first-fruits of all your increase;
 
Devotion:
Too often do we forget to thank people for what we receive; too often do we take for granted the things that we have and too often do we take our Lord God for granted. We need to take a step back daily and think of all that God is able, willing and has provided for us. When we see just how much there is that He has given us then we need to thank Him for all that He does for us. The obvious way of thanking Him for all that He gives us is to give back to Him part of that treasure that He supplies in our everyday lives.

This is not to be only taken literally and for us to give tithes on everything that we earn but rather to give to God part of our substance. So what is giving to God? Yes it is tithes but it is also giving to His people. If we live a privileged life then we should be able to support those who are not living such a life as we are; the poor and needy, the lonely and the vulnerable. We need to think about the ways in which we can help in making sure that His Word is spread and taught everywhere. We need to think about ways in which we can encourage others and always seek out ways in which we can glorify God.

These things should not be an afterthought after we have sorted out how much He has given us and then give what we think others deserve but rather to give according to what we get in the first place. If we are getting a small wage, then giving large donations will not increase our wage but rather leave us short. It’s not just the wages coming in but the blessing He gives us all the time. We can share other things than money with others because love and support will often go a lot further than just money. God wants us to live together supporting each other in love as we can afford. God wants us to be able to show others just how much He does give us on a daily basis.

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel rich?

Are you including God’s rich blessings?

Sunday Reading: Proverbs 2 16-20
 
Key Verse: Proverbs 2 19
19  All who go in to her do not return, nor do they take hold of the paths of life,

Devotion:
Being enticed by another person to go and do something that is not normal for you may well sound like fun or like an adventure, but unless you know what you will be getting up to you will want to think twice before you go. Yes we do like to go on adventures when we do not know the physical things that we will be doing but when those things are spiritual in nature we have to wonder if they lead to Christ or to destruction. Every one of us will face someone in life who wants to tempt us in a bad way; unless we are going to uphold God’s Word and compare what they ask to that we may well fall into a very deep trap.

We don’t only have to look at sexual temptation here because there are many things in life that will do as much damage as that. Some may not look at taking a second partner as anything but a bit of fun but those moments that you share together are fixed in your life forever; they cannot be rewound or erased. Yes God can forgive them if you are truly willing to admit to them and ask for forgiveness, but you know that they will still be there and may well be eating away at your soul.

Any temptation that is going to remove us from God should be viewed in the same light. We may get intense pleasure from those few seconds that we have but when the realisation starts to sink in about what we have done, the gnawing away at our souls starts. We do not have to go there in the first place. We do have the choice. We don’t have to give in. We do have God on our side and He is willing to strengthen us and guide us away from those temptations so long as we are willing to trust in Him. That is the big thing; having the will and courage to trust in God instead of trusting in the loose, idle and even evil words of those around us that will be used to tempt us away from our God.

Points to Ponder:
What do you give in to?

Do you get your strength from being with God?

Saturday Reading: Proverbs 2 1-5
 
Key Verse: Proverbs 2 1
1  My son, if you will receive my words and hide my commandments with you,

Devotion:
This is the instruction given by Solomon to his son Rehoboam initially but now to all of us that follow on. The instruction is simple and repeated time and time again and even upheld by Christ Himself. The instruction is that we need to accept the Word of God as being the truth and to make sure that we hide it in our hearts and not just read it like another book. God’s word is so full of instruction and advice that is sound, just and true that if we do ignore it we fall into the category told many a time in the Psalms and proverbs – we are fools to ignore it!

God has given us the instruction and a set of rules by which we can lead a good life and a life that will inherently uphold Christ and glorify God. If we are able to work towards that in our lives then we will find that our lives are worthy of being called a Christian life. It is not difficult to listen to instruction and to learn from it; but the choice as to whether we wish to leave behind the temptations of this world is the sticking part. We are surrounded by people who do not take in God’s Word because they have been tempted away from it through the things of this world. It is very easy to let go and go with the flow of the rest of the world around us... That is when we will find that it is hard to get out of that flood and to try to get back to God’s Word.

Following God’s Word from the beginning is a whole lot easier and that is what we need to aim to do. I am sure that we have all seen people trying to swim against a big wave or flood, or maybe we have been there ourselves – that is a very difficult thing to do. If we have a foothold, something firm that we can anchor ourselves with first, then we have a much better chance and standing firm in that flood. If we are not ready for it, on the other hand, we may well find we are swept away in the flood along with everyone else. At first we may even think that it is great fun – but we do not see where it is headed...

Points to Ponder:
Are you ready for the flood?

Is Christ your anchor?

Friday Reading: Romans 15 1-4

Key Verse: Romans 15 2
2  Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good, to building up.

Devotion:
Why do you help people? Is it because you know that by helping them they will help you in the future, or is it because you want some reward from them or is it just because you want to help without thinking of any reward? We, as Christians, are all called to help others, not because they will help us nor for monetary reward but simply because that is what God wants us to do. There will be times when we do not like what we are doing but by helping them we know that we are helping God’s children.

When we do help others we will find that they will get the reward. Yes that is stating the obvious but that is what it is all about; it is not about us getting the reward but that through us others will get the reward. When we are able to help someone else and allow them to know that we do it because we know that that is what God wants us to do then we are doing it for God’s glory and not our own. There are many people out there that are worse off than us and they need our help. Even if we are in a bad situation we will always be able to find a way of helping someone else and giving God the glory.

The main thing to think about here is that we must not think of this as an instruction that we tell others but one that is coming directly to us. It’s not a case of we should tell others to go out and help others but that we should start the ball rolling ourselves and go out and help others. We need to lead by example and it has to start with us. We are the ones who need to seek out others who need help and to show them how much God cares for them through what we can do. That is why we have God’s Word; so we can take it with us and show anyone who is willing to listen that He cares for us and has done so from the beginning. God is our Lord, our Saviour and our Friend.

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel helpful or helpless?

With God with you what can you not do?