Monday 12 Jul 2010

Monday Reading: Proverbs 29 1
 
Key Verse: Proverbs 29 1
1  A man who hardens his neck when reproved shall be suddenly broken, and there will be no healing.
 
Devotion:
Is it right to harden yourself so that you can withstand more or to soften yourself so that you are more malleable? You’re right, it depends on what you are up against. When you are facing hardships that may well face you again, hardening yourself could be a good thing so that you can face up to those hardships a bit better next time. But if you are hardening yourself against things when others are trying to show you that you are doing wrong, then you are doing nothing better than preparing for your own downfall.

Parents, friends, teachers and other Christians are just some of the people from which we should be taking council because they are the ones trying to teach us what is right and trying to steer us towards the more righteous path, hopefully. If we are going to listen to them then we have to be a bit more flexible in our approach otherwise we will not take on what they are trying to tell us. If we do take in on board then we are learning what is right. If we harden our spirits against these things then we are like a person trying to tighten their bow more than they should. It may look like it is getting better, stronger and harder; but as soon as it is used we quickly find out that it breaks!

God wants each of us to continue to be useful in our lives. This means that we have to be willing to listen to Him and His ways so that we can alter our own ways to be more in line with His ways. Hardening ourselves against His suggestions does nothing more that prepare ourselves for breaking point when He wants to use us in the way that He has designed us. Being a Christian is more than just being strong enough to withstand evil, being a Christian is more about being a useful tools that Christ can use! We cannot fight against the evil one by ourselves because we will never be able to stand up to him alone, but if we are willing to stick by Christ’s side then we will see how He can overcome the evil one.

Points to Ponder:
Do you consider yourself to be hard?

Are you hardening yourself against Christ instead?

Sunday 11 Jul 2010

Sunday Reading: Job 9 1-12
 
Key Verse: Job 9 4
4  He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and been blessed;

Devotion:
How many times have you thought that you knew what you were doing only to be confused just when push came to shove? How many times have you started something only to find that you could not finish it because you did not know how to? I think most of us can say that we are guilty of thinking that we know more than we do at some stage in our lives. As children we would probably go out of our way to say that we knew more than we did just so that we could impress others – but how easy it probably was to trip us up!

Job had everything to think about. He had lead a very decent life and one where He continued to see God bless him in so many ways only to be tripped up and seemingly cast aside just when he probably thought that he had made it! Even though he had all this against him and his friends even came out and said that God was doing this – he refused to be caught up in blaming God for anything. He continued to acknowledge God alone as the author of life on earth. He continued to lift up God even though he was being dashed against the rocks... What faith!

When times get tough and we are up against things we don’t all act like Job and continue to bless God for everything; there are times when our faith falters and we start to wonder if there is some other way or if there is something else that can help us out. In times like these we have to depend on the experiences of others that have come before us and draw on the faith that they were able to show knowing that they were lifted up by God and blessed. We need to stand fast to the fact that God is God and that He is in control on this earth. We need to stand fast to the fact that He is in control and that He does know what is best for us – even when we think we know better! Lifting up God into His rightful place as our Saviour and King is the only right thing to do.

Points to Ponder:
What do you excel in in life?

What can God not do?

Saturday 10 Jul 2010

Saturday Reading: John 3 14-15
 
Key Verse: John 3 15
15  so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Devotion:
Jesus made sure that people knew what had been written so many years before He came. He taught from Gods Word because He knew it! This is just one of those places where we are told by Christ of the things that happened during the times of Moses to remind people that He is the same today as He has always been. So many times we hear other people say that God is no longer alive or that He is different today than He was; the simple fact is that we change so much but God remains the same.

God has been trying to remind us of the same message from the beginning – that we just have to listen to what He says and we have to obey the simple commands that He has given us. He knows that we are not able to keep all the commandments that were given to the people at the time of Moses. The fact that He gave those commandments to them was to try and get it into their heads that they could not uphold God’s law by themselves – no matter how much they did. God reminds us of the same thing today; but we have a more sure word today because Christ has already been to this earth and He has already given His own life for our sins.

His simple command that He is reminding us of here is that we need to look to Him... and that is it... Nothing about making big statues, making huge buildings, doing strange things or sacrificing our best... Just look to Him. If we do that, then we are telling Him that we believe that by looking to Him we will be saved – we are believing in Him. He does not require us to build statues because then we would focus on them. He does not require us to build big buildings – though it is good to be able to gather together and worship together, so we do. We do not have to sacrifice anything otherwise we are saying that Christ’s life was not good enough! Look and live. Simple!

Points to Ponder:
What have you tried to do to become a Christian?

Are you simply believing?

Friday 9 Jul 2010

Friday Reading: Psalms 116 1-2

Key Verse: Psalms 116 2
2  Because He has bowed down His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him in my days.

Devotion:
As we go through life we do begin to work out just who we can depend on for various things and just how much we can call on others to help out when needed. We also work out who the people are that are going to listen when we talk and especially those who will do things just because they heard of a need. We can thank the Lord for such people in our lives because He is the one who gives them the heart to do what they do – but more than that we can thank the Lord for being there all the time too.

The more that we find a person is nice to be with or the more we find that they are kind and considerate, the more we like to be close to them and the more we include them in our lives. The more that we are like that to other people the more we will find that they want us to be in their lives too. Just one mistake or bad judgement can change all of that in an instant; because we are fickle. The Lord stands by all of His judgements because they are just and perfect. The Lord never turns His back on people who trust Him and He certainly listens to all those who call on His name.

There are things we can do that may well fool some people into believing that they should trust us, or things that they do that fool us into believing we can trust them. Deceit is always prevalent in dealings with men because we all have a certain amount of deceit within us. Christ has no deceit within Him and He certainly will always let us know the truth.

A true friend will always be honest with us and allow us to know the truth and to trust in them. A true friend will always support us when we seek that which is righteous. A true friend will always let us know when we move away from righteousness and move towards deceit. A true friend is a friend like Christ. Christ is our best friend and needs to be treated as that and not just a casual acquaintance.

Points to Ponder:
Who are your best friends?

Is Christ close to your heart?

Thursday 8 Jul 2010

Thursday Reading: Psalms 147 3
 
Key Verse: Psalms 147 3
3  He heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds.

Devotion:
When you first tell someone that God can comfort them in a way that they cannot understand or in a way that you cannot explain they tend to look at you in a funny way; but that is just unbelief. When you get to know God you get to know just how much He can help, support and strengthen you. Just as when we get to know a person really well we get to know when we can depend on them, when we get to know God we know we can depend on Him. That is where there is a big difference; we get to know when we cannot depend on other people but on God, we can depend 24/7.

It always amazes me how people can say that they find comfort in physical things because I know that finding comfort from the physical is short term and certainly fades very quickly with time. It amazes me how others will say that you have to ‘just move on’ when you know that what is upsetting you will not just walk away. And then you get the people that say that you must find the strength within yourself to cope... I guess they are going to fly apart any minute now! The only true comforter that we have is God because He is always with us. Our friends and families are very important to us and they should never be ‘replaced’ by anything; but God is the one who has given us our friends and families and He is the one that is supplying us with comfort over and above that which we ask for.

As we lay my mother to rest today I do know that there is one thing that has kept me going over the past year and that is God’s strength. There have been times where I have broken down but every time I feel weak I feel stronger afterwards. God has given me so much strength and support especially over the last few days that my heart goes out to those people who do not know God. I know that I will cry today but I also know that I will be comforted in a way that defies the natural world. God is with me and I want Him to be with you!

Points to Ponder:
Where do you seek comfort in hard times?

Are you depending on God?