Saturday Reading: John 10 25-30
 
Key Verse: John 10 28
28  And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never ever perish, and not anyone shall pluck them out of My hand.

Devotion:
It is a really sad fact that there are so many people in this world who are set against God and His Word and the truth. It is very encouraging to us when we do find others who are willing to lift up their prayers and their voices to God such as we do but equally discouraging when those same activities are used against us by those who do not see the truth. When we get upset about someone or something that discourages us think for a moment about what Christ must have been through as He tried to tell people of Himself. Think what it would have been like to have people want to stone you because they thought that their own minds were stronger and more sure than yours... We get upset by others just because we think we are right and others are wrong – but can you imagine knowing the truth and seeing others who simply refuse to accept that truth.

Well, we are surrounded by people like that and it is God’s calling to step forward and show others that we will always uphold the truth even when they try to knock us down. We must stand up for God’s Word and make sure that others see that what we believe is not just another novel but the truth as given to us by our Very God. In order to do that we may well have to find out more about His Word so that we can defend ourselves by quoting His Word. It is not going to do us any good if we try to defend God’s Word with our own word because that could be equated to giving a baby food from a spoon that has not ever been washed!

In God’s hands we are safe. In God’s hands we are perfectly protected. He is never going to let us go so why should we let go of His Word? We need to stand firm knowing that His Word is the absolute truth and that we just need to trust in Him; after all He is the one who is protecting us...

Points to Ponder:
Do you like arguing?

Are you upholding God’s Word?

Friday Reading: Jude 1 1-4

Key Verse: Jude 1 1
1  Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to the ones called in God the Father, having been set apart, and having been kept by Jesus Christ:

Devotion:
Another reminder that we are all called by God to do that which is right... Jude was a brother of James and he realised that he was set apart from the world so that he could do God’s will. That is the turning point in anyone’s life when they realise that they are no longer held by the trappings and temptations of this world but are set free through Jesus Christ. From that moment on we must realise that we are no longer trapped but set free to be able to do God’s will. We still have the choice as to whether we will do God’s will and more often than not we take a long time in deciding whether we will and even give in many times after that... but we are still free...

But with that freedom comes something that we do not expect. Satan will continue to try and prevent you from getting to know Christ in the beginning but once you do he goes out of his way to try and trip you up at every opportunity that he can. Yes he knows that he is beat but he also knows that we are still the weak ones and that we give in just as Adam and Eve gave in so easily in the beginning. So he continues to send all manner of people and temptations our way so that we grow weary and we think about giving in. The one thing that we must remember is that we are free; we have been set free from this world by what Jesus Christ has done for us and because of that we no longer have to listen to Satan and his worldly followers.

The more people that Satan is able to convince the more of an uphill struggle we face. The older the world gets the more people seem to fall into his evil trap and the harder it is for us to work against the world and it trappings. There is absolutely no way that we will ever be able to defeat Satan but we have a Rock upon which we can stand who has already defeated him! Christ has already won the battle against Satan and as long as we are willing to stand on Him and follow in His footsteps then we will not have to give in to the evil ways of the god of this world!

Points to Ponder:
Are you easily tempted?

Do you find the worldly ways hard to give up?

Thursday Reading: Romans 1 1-7
 
Key Verse: Romans 1 6
6  among whom you also are the called-out ones of Jesus Christ:

Devotion:
After reading the first three verses yesterday, did you continue on with the next few verses? Paul had given account of his own calling to be a preacher and an apostle and now he continues to exult Jesus Christ before turning to the people who would be reading this letter. Just to make sure they knew how important their own calling was (no matter how small) he reminded them of who Jesus Christ was. Besides being the Very Son of God, He is the one who did all those miracles not because He could but because it would glorify God. He was the one who laid down His own life so that we would be able to receive His grace and be called to do His work.

So does that mean He only called out the disciples, apostles, preachers and prophets? No, far from it. He called each one of us who is willing to listen to the gospel. He called each one of us to take a step forward and to say “Yes Lord, I will do your will”. He called each one of us to come forward and just say that we are willing to do something for Him. It does not mean that we will all be preachers but rather that we are willing to allow God to use us in the best possible way for His glory. Christ called out people as He walked the earth. He called forward men and women who were willing to be examples by which we can learn more about Him. They were not all preachers but they certainly are recorded in the bible so that we can learn about Christ!

Maybe all He wants you to do is to step back from your earthly ways and to walk closer with Him. Maybe He just wants you to show other people that you are willing to change your life so that you can be closer to Him. Even these steps, though they be small, will lift up His name to glory. It’s not all about shoving God’s Word down people’s throats but about getting them to know the real Jesus Christ so that they will be more willing to listen to His Word instead of turning it aside just because it is His Word.

Points to Ponder:
Do you make friends easily?

Are you showing others you are a friend of God?

Wednesday Reading: Romans 1 1-3
 
Key Verse: Romans 1 1
1  Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, separated to the gospel of God

Devotion:
There are times when you sit down to read your bible and instead of being able to read through a chapter or two you sit and think about the words from a few verses. It was one of those nights for me last night when I tried to go through Romans; instead of making it through a few chapters I was sat thinking about these first few verses over and over again. If God wants you to know something He is going to make you think about it; whether it is for my benefit or for yours, today we look at the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Paul first describes himself as being a servant of God, called to be an apostle and separated to the gospel. We can look back at one of the first places that Paul was mentioned in our bibles and that is when he was persecuting the Jews (Acts 7 58). What other thing than God could have turned a man round from being that sort of person to one who is now calling himself a servant of God? What but the Word of God has the power to turn a man from being against God to being a servant of God? This is why he goes on to say that he is separated to the gospel. He turned from his ways to God’s ways because of the gospel; he turned his back on the world and towards God. What an example!

But Paul does not simply stop there but continues on reminding the reader that it was all done because of God’s promises in the beginning. God made those promises to the prophets and the Law was written down from Moses times so that we could get to know it, just like Paul finally did. And what was it all about? Jesus Christ, the Very Son of God. Not wandering round as God amongst His people but born as a human being, lowered to our level, born just like we are born and living just as we live. Why? So that we could know His love and know His promises are exactly that, promises! Think about it... all that God has done just for you... just for me...

Points to Ponder:
How do you read God’s Word?
 
How much do you think about God?