Saturday Reading: Luke 19 2-5
 
Key Verse: Luke 19 3
3  And he sought to see Jesus, to see who He was. And he could not because of the press, because he was little in stature.

Devotion:
I’m sure we have all heard the story of Zaccheus a few times to remember it quite well but how many times have you thought about what Zaccheus did? He was a small guy, little in stature to be politically correct, who would not have a chance of seeing Jesus if he were to stand in the crowd. If any of you are small then you know that you will get pushed around sometimes and you will not see everything. Driving in a small car down country roads means you cannot see anything other than hedges whereas a big car or van allows you to see over those hedges into the countryside. We all do like to see things, especially if something catches our interest.

Zaccheus had probably heard about all the things that Christ had done and he had probably heard about a few things He had not done too; all of this made Zaccheus want to find out more about this prophet who was about to walk through the streets. The people who were lining the streets were probably the same ones who would think the least of him being a tax-collector so he knew that he had to do something different in order to see Jesus. He was willing to put in that extra effort to try and find out the truth. How I wish more people would be willing to put in that extra effort to find out the truth about Christ nowadays.

God is the one seeking us so that He can save us, but we are the ones who have to put in a bit of effort as well. If we are going to ignore Christ just because we are “too busy having fun” or “doing other things on Sundays” then we are the ones who will miss out on the truth. Once you are able to see past your inhibitions then you too can find out the truth. Zaccheus took a giant step forward by being willing to make a move against what people thought of him. Christ was willing to see that move and grasp it with both hands and take Zaccheus in to be one of His own. He can do that to you too.

Points to Ponder:
What would you do to find the truth?
 
Do you know how far Christ went?

Friday Reading: Genesis 6 1-6

Key Verse: Genesis 6 5
5  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Devotion:
No matter how hard we try to be good and how hard we try to separate ourselves from those who work against God, we will never be able to do it by ourselves! Seth’s family were living up in the mountains and were referred to as the sons of God because they were supposed to be living a life closer to God, being separated from Cain’s family who were born after Cain’s sin and lived a life apart from God. Seth’s family were not supposed to mix with their more ungodly brethren but they had started to do so because they liked the look of the women... Lust was taking over their lives and they started following their own lusts rather than God’s wishes.

So is it anything new that we find that we do the same in our lives still? Far from it! It does not go into too many details about what else was going on other than it saying that the LORD repented that He has made man. Did God know this would happen, yes; but He did it anyway to show us just how remarkable His love in and how swift and total His judgement is too. If our bibles were full of the details of how, when and where men were sinning I am sure that those words alone would be enough to persuade many to go off and try those things out. Take a look at the media nowadays and see how many people do what they see being done.

That is not God’s wish. We are told how much it affected God to have to watch His creation go off and sin willingly. God wanted us to bury that sin behind us and live for Him; but still be lust after the things we see. And it’s not just women but so many things in our lives now. We are bombarded with all these things in all manner of media exposure too giving us little hope to be able to separate ourselves from that sin. That is why we need God in our lives and He can help us to leave the lust behind and walk forward safely in His arms, depending on Him rather than our own minds which are weak.

Points to Ponder:
What is one weakness that affects you daily?

Are you trying to be strong in the LORD?

Thursday Reading: Romans 8 35-39
 
Key Verse: Romans 8 38-39
38  For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39  nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Devotion:
How many times have you looked up to someone and thought “why can’t I love God like they love Him?” Well that is one answer that will come with time but one that we should never strive to reach because what is the most important thing is the love that Christ has for us and not what we have for Him. The more we get to know Him the more we will be willing to do for and with Him. The more we stand and watch, the less we get involved with. We are the ones that have to make the move back to Christ because His love has remained constant and perfect for us from the beginning.

It is strange when you hear someone say that they will love someone forever and yet a few months or years later they are walking apart. That sort of thing is becoming the norm in life rather than the odd case here and there. Far too many people do not understand what love is but rather fall in lust and live with lust until they tire of it. Love is something far far deeper than lust and something that will outlast our fickle ways. When God talks about love it is certainly nothing like the lust we think of but a love that transcends our mortal thoughts and ways. God’s love is eternal!

So no matter what we get up to, no matter what we give in to, no matter what our world does to us, nothing is ever going to separate us from the love of Christ. We go through many hardships and face many trials and tribulations as we live out our lives, the end of which is death; but nothing is going to come between God and us. We may well let all manner of things come between us and God, but nothing can come between God and us. Praise God for loving us more than we can mess it all up with!

Points to Ponder:
Do you love someone?

Do you know God’s love for you?

Wednesday Reading: Numbers 23 18-20
 
Key Verse: Numbers 23 19
19  God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?

Devotion:
When Balak called on Balaam to come and set a curse on the Children of Israel as they camped he was not expecting Balaam to come and bless them instead; but that is exactly what he did. He did not do this to spite Balak or to come up against anyone but rather because that is what God commanded him to do. Then when call again to come and curse Balaam came to God again and sought counsel to see what could be done because he probably would not have wanted to come against Balak. Once again God gave him the same answer.

No matter how many times we ask God to change His mind that is simply not going to happen. No matter how much we would want Him to change He will not. We are the ones who do not see the big picture and we are the ones who do not know the future. God continues to be in control of our universe and He continues to offer the best possible advice going – we are the ones who continue to reject that advice. God is not going to change His ways because His ways are perfect; why should He change that which is already good?

You may think you can always trust some people but when push comes to shove there will always be a point at which they too will change their minds. That is never going to happen with God. That is why we know we can trust Him always! The way we change our minds leads us to sin. Maybe we made up our minds too quickly in the beginning and need to change them to make things right. Maybe we left our decision making until it was too late and now we need to bear the consequences. Whatever reason, we do not see everything and hence cannot always make the right choices. By following God we will at least be exposed to the right things so we can make better choices with Him.

Points to Ponder:
How many times have you have to do a U-turn?
 
Are you listening to God’s Word?