Sunday Reading: Ephesians 5 13-14
 
Key Verse: Ephesians 5 14
14  Therefore he says, "Awake, sleeping ones! And arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."

Devotion:
If you want to see what is wrong, turn the light on. That is a truth that we don’t think about, we just do it. If we want to find something in a dark room then we either switch the light on or bring light into the room with a torch or lamp so that we can see and find. If we hurt ourselves in the dark we find light so that we can check what we have done to ourselves. If something goes wrong in our lives then we try to take a step back and see what has happened; in that sense we are bringing light to the fault. If we do something wrong in our Christian walk with Christ then we need to bring light in to see what we have done and how we should go forward from here.

Christ is that light that we so desperately need with us always. If we always had that light then we would be able to see the obstacles, temptations and other follies that lie before us. Instead we seem to stumble on in the darkness until we stub our toes on something and then switch the light on to see why we hurt. God’s light is always there, just like the electricity and the light bulbs are always there, we just have to use them! If we don’t use them then we must expect to fall into all the traps that lie ahead...

There are so many people in this world who refuse to switch on the light in case it offends others in some way or in case others see them in the truth. We must know that the truth is always there. There is nothing that will change that truth... no matter how much other people try to talk otherwise or pretend otherwise, the truth is what it is and the only way that that truth will be known by all is by someone switching on the light so that everyone can see it. We must always be willing to bring that light in with us when we go into dark places. We must always be willing to switch the light on for others to see the truth. Some will not like seeing the truth but people need to know the truth. Switch on a light today – God’s light!

Points to Ponder:
What bad things have happened to you in the dark?
 
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be in the perfect light?

Saturday Reading: Romans 10 10
 
Key Verse: Romans 10 10
10  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation.

Devotion:
When someone asks you if you believe that there is a God what is the first thought that goes through your mind? We should not have to think about whether we believe in God or whether we believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins because we either believe it or we don’t. Harsh words but true!

Our belief in Christ has to be certain, has to be bullet proof... That does not mean that we should not have any questions about Him or about what He has done or how but that initial belief has to be sure. We have to believe it in our hearts that Christ is the Son of God and that He died for our sins and was raised on the 3rd day so that we too can obtain eternal life. That concept in itself is hard for us to grasp because we do not have the wisdom to understand that sort of love completely. Yes we do have people that go to fight wars for us and they willingly give their lives. For that I am eternally grateful and wish there was some way I could tell them that but once you have given your life there is no turning back. For that single reason, we have to be sure about what is going to happen when we do give our lives – or even when we die.

Christ simply wants us to be sure that we know that He is God and that He has already paid the price for our sins. He wants us to come to Him and tell Him that with our own mouths. When we do have that belief held within our hearts that He is God we will have no problem admitting our sins to Him and coming straight to Him. Once we do that we will know that He is and forever will be our God. His love for us knows no bounds and certainly will never end.

When someone first asks you if you believe, that first response is the one that comes from your heart. That is the answer that we have to depend on because when we get to meet Him face to face that is the answer that will come out. He wants to save us. He wants to give us eternal life. He wants us to be with Him in heaven... Why else would He have given His own life for you?

Points to Ponder:
What does your heart say?

What will Christ hear when He asks you?

Friday Reading: Matthew 7 15-20

Key Verse: Matthew 7 16
16  You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?

Devotion:
It is amazing at this time of year to see so many things beginning to bring forth life around us; from the trees bringing new growth and beginnings of fruit to the fields that now have crops filling out. We could say that we have had a hand in many things by doing the gardening and watering and caring but without that spark of life that God gives into each and every thing we would have nothing. His promise to deliver harvests until the end of time continues on around us. But it is not the harvest of fruit and crops that I want to remind you of today but your own harvest.

No I’m not talking about the things you grow at home but what you bring spiritually to the field of life. Each one of us is like a plant in the field of life and each one of us is going to bring forward a crop or fruit of some kind. We continue to do this throughout our lives and we continue to grow with each thing we bring forward. What is feeding us? Who is feeding us? God is. People are. You are.

God supplies everything that we need in our lives to grow. He continues to supply His Word, life, families, friends and even the beauty that surrounds us. He does this all so that we are in the best position possible to grow as much as we can. Now we don’t see plants getting up out of the field and walking off into the shade for a rest, but that is what we seem to do many times in our lives; we leave the field that God has prepared for us to try and find a better place by ourselves. God is the one who knows best and He knows what we need to grow. If we allow Him to work in our lives then we will bring forward all the best things that He has prepared for us to do. If we try to go it alone or follow others then we have to be prepared to not bring forward the best but to also allow others to see that we have left God out of our lives! If you want to bloom as best as you can, then you need God’s provision in your life. Depend on Him! Allow others to see your faith as you grow in Christ!

Points to Ponder:
What do you need in life?

What has God given you today?

Thursday Reading: Philippians 1 27-30
 
Key Verse: Philippians 1 28
28  and terrified in nothing by your adversaries. For this is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.

Devotion:
When we read verses that talk about suffering for Christ we immediately think about violence against us and we even start to shy away from these things simply because we do not like violence – especially against us! But if we read deeper into God’s word we will see two sides to this suffering. The first side being that Christ loves us and wants to protect us and the second being that we can expect people to hate us in some manner because of Christ. We may even think that these seem to be opposite sides of the coin, one bringing love and peace the other bringing hatred and violence.

This verse in our bibles reminds us that we need not fear anything from this earth because God is greater than anything! Yes there are going to be times when we have to put up with ridicule from others who simply will not open their eyes to the truth but that is because they do not understand the truth. There may be times when people will plot against us; but again it is because of their lack of understanding.  People do things against us through ignorance more than anything else. Yes there are going to be a select few who we can always count on to upset the apple cart and work against God, but those are the few.

We need to stand up as Christians and allow the world to see that we stand in Christ’s name and under His protection. We need to stand up and be counted for Christ. If that means that we have to put up with people who would like to mock us or deride us in any way, then so be it; we are aiming at a much better place and need to remember that these small things are exactly that – small things. God offers us His protection. To accept that protection we need to stand up and be counted as one of His!

Points to Ponder:
What do you fear in life?

Do you know what Christ has in store for you?