December 13: Proverbs 2 1-9

Key Verse: Proverbs 2 6
For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Devotion:
How many times have you worked really hard for something and found you could not quite do enough to get it, or that when you did get it, it was not as good as you thought? How many times have you returned saying “well that was a waste of time”? We do tend to judge things by how much we have to do in order to gain them. We also give more honour to things we have had to work harder for. When we get caught up in the way of the world, we then lose sight of the true worth of things but rather give them worth according to how much other people want them...

Sometimes it takes a big change in your life to start to allow you to realise just what things are actually important in your life. After a life changing event, you begin to see things as they really are and not from the tainted view of the world... It is because we have begun to see their true worth. We can then look back and wonder how we ever got caught up in things to such an extent we forgot about the true meaning of so many things.

We need to earnestly and honestly seek heavenly wisdom because in doing so we will find true worth and true meaning. When we find that sort of truth, we can look back and see the work we have done was totally worth it. Just because God gave us a free gift does not mean we can sit back and do nothing about it after receiving that gift; we still have to be diligent about what we do with it. We need to seek, we need to ask, and we need to come forward, because Christ has already promised us He will answer. It is the ones who do come forward that will receive the blessing. It is the ones who are diligent that will know the true worth. It does not take us long to look for money when we lose it; why should it take so long for us to look for heavenly wisdom when we are in need of that too? Walking with God means we do have to keep up... we cannot expect Him to drag us forward as if we are in a trailer or cart; we need to be exerting effort to keep walking with Him!

Points to Ponder:
What work lead to your biggest disappointment?

Are you making sure you keep walking with Christ?

December 12: Galatians 3 19-24

Key Verse: Galatians 3 22
But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

Devotion:
If God’s promise was good enough for salvation, why then do we have the law, way we call the Old Testament? If Christ’s gift of salvation to us is perfect, why should we have all the laws written in our bibles? The answer is surprisingly simple... By reading our Old Testaments we can find out that even God’s chosen people (the Israelites) were sinners, and yet His promise to send a Saviour for us stood from the beginning. How did the Israelites know they were doing things wrong? They knew they did wrong because they had the law given to them from God via Moses. That is the one thing which allowed them to know what they were supposed to do and allowed them to see what they did wrong in God’s sight.

The law was not intended as a means by which the Israelites could discover a way to be justified but rather as a means by which they could discover they were sinners. It is not until we understand that we are sinners we can turn to God and ask for His forgiveness. The bible gives us all of that knowledge and even pointed the Israelites towards the truth Christ would come to be their Saviour. Moses was the mediator at that time, being the person in the middle hearing the woes from each side and trying to find a way forward for both sides. He had to explain God’s rules to the people and also to take the peoples worries back to God.

The fantastic truth is the law promised that by the faith of Jesus Christ we would all be able to receive salvation. It was a promise which spanned time, a promise which would stand true for all those before and all those to come; a promise that whosoever believes on His name should receive everlasting life. But before our faith came, man was kept under the law so the faith that was to come could be understood by all. What a perfect gift God gave to us. What a perfect explanation before the gift. What a perfect end and His gift...

Points to Ponder:
How do you know when you have done something wrong?

Have you read your bible to understand God’s law?

December 11: Psalms 120 1-7

Key Verse: Psalms 120 2
Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.

Devotion:
Isn’t it amazing just how much people tend to lie in our society nowadays? We look at politicians as people who find it hard to tell the truth; we look at layers as people who have to find ways to bend the truth... And we think of this as normal living! Telling lies has become part of our culture and children are learning it from the very beginning of life because of the example we are to them. But God made sure “do not lie” was one rule which made it into the “top ten”: Exodus 20 16 tells us “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.”

If we are honest with ourselves we will all admit to having told lies in the past, be those huge whoppers or tiny white lies, and have had to live with the consequences of those lies. Again, if we are honest, we will admit to thinking our lies are a direct consequence of the lies which others have said or to get us away from some situation. We use them as a tool in everyday life! Oh how God must look upon us with despair as we live our lies!

We may be surrounded by people who tell lies and many who are deceitful too; but that does not mean we have to follow on in the same manner. Whilst we do have a choice as to whether we want to follow a path of lies or follow God’s Commandments, the choice is more along the lines of we can choose to follow a path of safety or a path to destruction!

God is a just God. He has quite clearly given us the instructions we should follow. He has very clearly given us the punishment that will face us when we break His laws. So the path of what we must follow should be quite clear – we should follow His laws to avoid the punishment... He is just and will allow us to receive the punishment due to us; unless we come to Him and repent when He is like a loving parent, willing to forgive! When we do cry out to Him, He will hear us. Unlike us, God cannot lie and hence we must trust everything He has given to us and trust that if we do disobey Him, we have to face up to the consequences!

Points to Ponder:
How often do you tell white lies?

Do you think God would believe your white lies too?

December 10: Psalms 119 1-8

Key Verse: Psalms 119 6
Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.

Devotion:
I often wonder how long it took the writers of the bible to put pen to paper and write down the words God was giving them. Each time I sit down to write a devotion I give my time to God; it is no use putting a time limit on it because that is bound to fail. It could be a quick half hour, or it could be a quick two hours, for both are quick when you are focused on His Word... Yes, I have been late for work in the past because of the amount of reading it has taken me before I understood what God wanted me to say. The point I am trying to make is that we should not limit our time with God by earthly means; don’t set a time limit for God. Rather allow God to explain what He wants to you and in His time. Being with God is very special and being in His Word is just as special.

“O that my ways were fixed to keep Your Precepts!” What a statement! That is giving God the glory for all He does for us and being humble and knowing we always do fall short of the mark, no matter how hard we try. But try we must. And in order to try, we have to know the limits, we have to know the bounds, and we have to know God’s will in our lives – which comes from His Word. We know He is merciful towards sinners such as us. We know He is faithful and just towards us too.

We need to be careful to avoid sin because that is what weakens us in our walk with God. We need to strengthen ourselves by allowing His Word to build us up and encourage us day by day. It’s not unlike an exercise regime whereby we have to keep it up in order to become fit. Once we get used to the exercise, we will find it can be a joy and not a hardship. God has given us the commandments so we can keep them and identify when we go astray. When we can know that we are keeping His commandments, we will know that we do not have to be ashamed and we walk with Him. It is very easy to allow the world to get to grips with us rather than us to get to grips with God’s Word. Fight the good fight!

Points to Ponder:
How often do you do any exercise?

How often do you give quality time to God?