Saturday 6 Feb 2010


Saturday Reading: 1 John 5 19-21
 
Key Verse: 1 John 5 20
20  And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us an understanding so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him that is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and the everlasting life.

Devotion:
It will be a very sad day when we get to meet Christ. Not sad for us because we will know that we will be safe for eternity, but sad for our friends and relatives who do not know God; even for our enemies. I’m sure that if we knew the full extent of what hell would be like that we would not even wish that on our enemies never mind those close to us! The line does have to be drawn and it will one day be drawn by God. After that time nothing will ever be the same and then those who do not know God will begin to realise that what has been said for so many years was and is the actual truth.

He has given each one of us an inner understanding about what is right and what is wrong. Those instincts are born in us and not bred into us. Yes we do learn a whole lot more as we grow up and as our parents and teachers try to teach us, but that inner understanding between right and wrong is what God Himself planted within us. But it is that inner understanding that is pushed into a corner because we don’t want to admit that we do things wrong. It is that understanding that we bury deep inside us so that we can go out and “enjoy ourselves like others do”. But if truth be told, all those enjoyments do have a price to pay; one that we don’t like to think about.

It is the extreme example that Christ showed for us that should be guiding us in our daily walk. It is the fact that He had to go to such lengths just to prove that what has been said is the truth that should shake us up and make us think about what we do in our lives. It is everything like that that Christ tries so that we will come back to God. It is He who leads us back to God but we have got to be the ones who are willing to seek Him too. We have to be the ones willing to reach out for His Word and take it in so that we too can know the truth.

Points to Ponder:
What do you like doing most of all?
 
Is that lifting up God or yourself?
 

Friday 5 Feb 2010

Friday Reading: Romans 3 10-12

Key Verse: Romans 3 11
11  there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God."

Devotion:
You will find many parts in the New Testament where scriptures are quoted from the Old Testament because those scriptures have made an impression on the writer. That is why God has given us the whole bible, so that we may learn the scriptures of old and see how people have treated them and also how they have stood the test of time. Jesus Himself quoted scriptures showing us just how important His Word is, not just what we know about Him but also the scripture as transcribed by Moses and his scribes.

Right from the first man and woman we have always managed to do things wrong. We don’t like to be reminded of that fact and we certainly do not want others to tell us that we are wrong; but the fact remains that we are the ones that have broken God’s Laws on many occasions. If we had kept the scriptures in our minds we would not have done half of the things we do wrong today – not just as individuals but as communities. How sad it is then that we can be reminded so easily and yet so many chose to ignore God’s Word right from the start.

If we were able to grow up and be exposed to God’s Word all of our lives then we would certainly have a very different outlook on life – but we have been exposed to far more of this world than we have of our bibles. It is little wonder then that we follow the ways of the world instead of following God. If you want to change your world around then you have to start by exposing yourself to God’s Word more often because the more we do the more likely we are to be able to follow it rather than be tempted by the world around us! The more that we follow the world, the more useless we become in God’s eyes – again, not something we like to be reminded of, but it is the truth!

Points to Ponder:
How often do you listen to friends, radio, TV?

How often do you listen to God’s Word?

Thursday 4 Feb 2010


Thursday Reading: Deuteronomy 13 1-4
 
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 13 3
3  you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For Jehovah your God is testing you to know whether you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Devotion:
No matter how much you think of someone, if they are telling you lies they are certainly not being your friend! But how are you going to know if they are telling you lies? So many people seem to be genuine and they will give you all manner of things that they say they can do for you or that they have done for others just so that they can have their way with you. People seem to go out of their way to please others just so that they can lead them away from their current friends or beliefs and lead them astray. Why would they even think that they are doing the right thing by doing that?

The obvious answer is that they do not know themselves what they are doing. So many people have already been deceived by the evil one that they now do not know that they are walking away from God and walking to sure destruction. Satan is not someone to make deals with nor someone to trust in any way because he is simply out to deceive people for his own benefit. When people get caught up in bad things they do not see that what they are doing is bad because they have already been deceived. Instead they try to get more people to join in with them without knowing that it is just another human trap they are falling into.

The only way that we are going to find out what is for God and what is against God is by comparing what we hear, see and therefore say and do against God’s Word. If God’s Word pulls it apart or shows it up for deceitful ways then we need to draw ourselves away from those things and come back to God. He is not going to punish us just because we did not know any better – far better to face Him in humility than having to face His wrath because we refused to hold fast to His Word!

Points to Ponder:
Do you know what you do is right?

DO you know what God wants in your life yet?

Wednesday 3 Feb 2010


Wednesday Reading: Hebrews 4 11-12
 
Key Verse: Hebrews 4 12
12  For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Devotion:
God’s Word is for our benefit. He has made sure that people all around the world will have access to His Word so that we may all find the truth. It is amazing the people that God will get to listen to Him just through reading the bible; but what is more amazing is just how much we can gain from doing a bit of reading each day. Just like you can learn a whole lot of information about our world and other people by reading text books, we can learn a whole lot of information about God through reading our bibles.

When you have been out of school for a while you may look back and think about all the things that you would be able to remember back then for exams and think, “what has happened that I have forgotten all that information?” Well, the short answer is that you may well have stop reading about it. You see, the more that we read about things, the more they remain in the forefront of our minds and the more likely we are to remember them. But when we put aside those books we put aside those thoughts and those memories. Unless as continue to remind ourselves of those memories they will be cast into the realm of forgotten memories just as all the others have.

We need to take in God’s Word each and every day so that we can keep fresh in our minds all that He wants us to do. We need to keep fresh in our minds all that He requires of us. We need to remember all that He has done for us and all that we can do for Him. God has given us our bibles so that all of this can be up front in our minds – where it belongs! The more we read it the more we will realise just how important God is in our lives!

Points to Ponder:
What do (or did) you think the most important information is at school?
 
Do you keep God’s Word clear in your mind?

Tuesday 2 Feb 2010


Tuesday Reading: Deuteronomy 8 11-18
 
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 8 17
17  and so that you might not say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.

Devotion:
When we get “on a roll” we tend to start thinking that we can do anything. We start to think that what we are doing is right and that then encourages us to think more of ourselves and so on until we get the picture that we are mighty! Have we not learned yet that it is God that gives us the power and might to do things in His name? Have we not learned yet that He is the one behind the things that do go right in our lives?

The children of Israel were reminded more than a few times just who was in charge and yet they continued to lift themselves up instead of God on many occasions. When we are feeling down or when things do not go our way it is so easy to blame God or anyone else that happens to do something slightly out of normal. When things do go our way we then like to praise God for what He has turned around. But when we continue to enjoy wonderful things we get lax with our walk with God and start to think that it is in some way us that is affecting our livelihoods!

Let us never forget just who God is! Let us never forget just who the one who is in charge is! Let us never assume that we can do things without God because the only thing we can do without God is to run away from Him! God wants us to enjoy our lives in Him and to enjoy living with Him in our lives because that way He can continue to encourage, love and support us in every walk in life. He has shown us throughout history just how much He loves us and how much He is willing to do for us – so let us acknowledge that fact and lift His name on High!

Points to Ponder:
Do you really think you can do anything?

With God everything is possible!