Thursday Reading: Colossians 3 23-24
 
Key Verse: Colossians 3 23
23  And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men;

Devotion:
Wouldn’t the world be a much better place if all people would simply obey such rules as this? But, no matter how much we try to convince people of the benefits of serving Christ, there will always be a multitude of temptations that will take them away from that work for Christ. I suppose it would be like shining a brass plate that is out in the weather, it shines easily if you continue to work with it, but leave it for a few weeks and the job of cleaning and shining gets a whole lot harder. That is how we need to view our work for God. If we leave it to stagnate for a while we will find it hard to get back to yet if we do a little every day we will continue to find it a pleasure and so rewarding.

Our work needs to be focused on God and not on man for as long as we do continue to work for man the only reward that we will ever succeed in obtaining is a reward from man. But when we turn our work to the Lord’s work then we can and should expect our rewards to come from Him! Doing His work because you have to is not right, doing work for Him because you want to is what He seeks from each of us. There is nothing worse than someone who works for you just because they have to and does it all with a long face and heavy heart. Having someone come in to work wanting to please you not only lifts your spirits but also makes for a much better environment.

Our attitude towards God’s work needs to be that of a worker who wants to work for and please God. If we have any other attitude then we may well find that we are more of a hindrance than a blessing! Should you have a job that is not the best (as many have in times like these) you should not change your attitude towards work to suit the environment but rather try to change your spiritual attitude towards the work because you know that working well will please God. Think of the joy you may bring just by praising God in your work because then people will also share in the blessings you get from pleasing God.

Points to Ponder:
Does work get you down?

Do you keep God in mind with all your work?

Wednesday Reading: 1 Corinthians 7 20-23
 
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 7 22
22  For he who is called a slave in the Lord is a freed man of the Lord. And likewise, he who is called a free man is a slave of Christ.

Devotion:
Each one of us will lead a very different life but all of us are expected to live a life that is pleasing to God. This does not mean that we all should change vocation and become priests or monks but rather that we continue on in our role in society with one big difference – we live it with Christ and not as ourselves. God wants to be a part of our life and not just an after-thought that we keep returning to one a week or even once or twice a day. He wants to be a continual part of our lives. This is what the apostle was trying to put over to the people of Corinth, that they should make God part of their lives no matter what they actually did in life.

Of course with Christ being part of your life you will have to get rid of many things life the sins that you are used to but you will be surprised how easy that can be when you do have God helping you through the Holy Spirit. We must not be concerned about what level we are in society nor about how rich we are nor about what standing you have with your friends but rather be concerned about how well you live with Christ. For as long as we remain a slave to any physical life or any social life then we are fixed for a short term career and a certain end. When we let go of that life and embrace Christ then we embrace an everlasting freedom that nothing can come close to.

Christ has already shown us that He was willing to give this all to us just because He loves us. We can embrace everything that He has given us and accept the free gift of eternal freedom that He offers us too. To do that we just have to make Him a part of our life by entering into a permanent relationship with Him. Do not worry that you will not be able to keep it because He is the strength behind it and He will never let you go – that is certain. Let go of your certain end and embrace your certain future. That is why Christ gave His life, so He can save us too!

Points to Ponder:
How tall do you walk?
 
Are you allowing Christ to walk with you?

Tuesday Reading: Psalms 62 8-12
 
Key Verse: Psalms 62 11
11  God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God.

Devotion:
How many times do you have to hear something before you believe it to be true? Most of us have a discerning mind and can identify things that are true and not when they are clearly so, but there are always things we come across where we do not have a clear understanding and we then doubt. God’s instructions for us are simple, don’t trust the things that man makes up because they will invariably be untrue but rather trust wholly in God because what He has said stands firm.

I like the way that it is put here, that God has said it once and that we have heard it twice. The more you study God’s word the more you realise that He has said just one thing and that is the truth; the truth does not have to be repeated over and over again to wait for us to get it. God said the truth once. Yes we have our bibles that have His word in them and we can therefore read it over and over again until we do understand it – but He did not have to say it over and over again to make sure that He got it right! It was right from the beginning!

The one thing God wants us to do is to follow His word. When He was leading the Children of Israel in the desert He refused to walk with them because of their attitude towards Him, so He walked in front of them clearing the path. His mercy exceeds our expectations. His mercy is beyond our understanding. And yet, it is as sure as anything can be. The more we are willing to work with God, the more He is willing to allow us to work for Him and with Him. If we set our minds on Him, we will get a whole lot further that we expect because His mercy will lead the way!

Points to Ponder:
What does it take to lead you?

Do you every consider God’s mercy?

Monday Reading: Isaiah 26 3-4
 
Key Verse: Isaiah 26 4
4  Trust in Jehovah forever; for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.
 
Devotion:
Have you ever thought about how much you miss just because you do not know about it? A staggering thought and one that makes you think just how small a piece of this world we are... But one that need never worry you if you are willing and able to trust in God. We are reminded many times in God’s word that we need to trust in Him and through verses like this we know that we will receive His love and peace by doing exactly that.

Not everyone will receive that peace of God because not everyone is willing to receive it. Sounds a bit silly that people would turn down such a wonderful thing, but until they know that peace of God they do not know just how much they are missing out on. That must be part of our walk with Christ – to allow others to somehow see that we have that peace that only God can give us. Our souls will be forever refreshed by that perfect peace for as long as we continue to trust in God. Our minds need to be stayed in The Lord; in other words we need to keep Him constantly in our minds, in our thoughts and hence in our actions. God’s love is there for all to enjoy but in order to gain from it we must believe in Christ and all He has done for us. Just by believing that God is real is probably not going to get us any more than fear that there is a God who has a history of showing His wrath! But by knowing Christ we can then know the love that He has for us and that is what will give us the peace that He wants us to enjoy.

If we try to justify our peace through the good times that God give us then we may well find that we cannot understand why people talk about the peace of God. We need to trust in God is both the good times and the bad times because there are always going to be bad times that we go through. Our world is so full of sin that we will always be exposed to those bad times even when we are walking with God. But God is the one who will give us the strength to walk through those bad times and to come out the other side stronger and wiser than when we went in. That will give us a better understanding of His eternal love for us.

Points to Ponder:
How much strength do you gain through exercise?

How much exercise is God giving you?