Monday Reading: Romans 12 17-21
 
Key Verse: Romans 12 21
21  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
 
Devotion:
How many times have you got angry with someone over the past week? I’m not just talking about getting so steamed up that you want to hit something but even being annoyed with someone for not doing things your way or the right way. Well, we all do get angry and wrath is a part of our lives. The wrath in itself is not wrong but the feelings that we allow to take over that are wrong. Jesus allowed His wrath to be shown in the temple when so many people were openly sinning against God; He had every right to do exactly that. Anger is normal, hate is not.

Christ continues to try and encourage us to not allow hate to take over in our lives because it is that feeling that will be our downfall as we allow it to take over. Christ wants us to continue to show love in adversity and to continue to show His love through our actions even when we don’t think we can do it! He is the one that will give us the strength and grace to show mercy even when we cannot find it within ourselves. He is the one who wants us to show His grace and mercy to the rest of the world.

When things go against us we often try to work out ways in which we can get even or work out ways in which we can plot the downfall of our enemies. That is not what Christ is teaching us to do. He would rather that we show other people love and care in times like those than to plot against them. If we show them love and care then they will have to question their actions; hopefully they will then also question what it is that you believe that they are missing out on. That may be the time that we can then spend a little time talking to someone and allowing them to know that God love them no matter how much they do against Him. It is not how much we can love others but how much God already loves every one of us – even the vilest of sinners!

Points to Ponder:
Do you get angry?

Are you ready to show God’s love through your actions?

Sunday Reading: Romans 12 9-10
 
Key Verse: Romans 12 9
9  Let love be without hypocrisy, shrinking from evil, cleaving to good;

Devotion:
What does love seem to be in today’s society? Love seems to be a word that allows you to express your liking someone for that moment and no longer a time-enduring statement of your emotional attachment to another. Love seems to have been taken away from us through ever decreasing (in time) but increasing (in frequency) relationships displayed between people some of whom ought not to even be going there! Love has become a commodity through which short-term feelings are traded.

Whatever happened to the love that we used to express; the love that stood the test of time and still continues no matter how long we live? God has not given up on His love for us because it is the same today as it was in the beginning. Christ showed us the commitment behind His love for us by paying for our sin debt once and for all. God’s love is not a flash in the pan like we seem to treat it nowadays. That is how we can compare true love against what we can only then term as short-term lust...

If we are able to leave hypocrisy and evil behind when we progress in a relationship, then we move closer to love. If we hold on to everything that is good and treat what we have with each other as brotherly love, then when true love does finally show its head we will actually know the difference! Brotherly love is the love that we have for each other as we do love our families. It is a love that will hold fast but not one that means that we have to cut everyone else off after. It is a love that includes and does not exclude. It is a love that is real and enduring. If we can embrace that sort of love again then maybe we will have a better chance at making sure the love gets its true meaning back! Maybe then we can love each other the way God wants us to.

Points to Ponder:
How do you treat love?

Do you think of God’s love towards you?

Saturday Reading: Romans 12 3-8
 

Key Verse: Romans 12 3

3  For I say, through the grace given to me, to every one who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. But set your mind to be right-minded, even as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Devotion:
There are probably many times you have seen many people lifting themselves up above their stature or position just so that others may think of them more highly than they actually are. We all like to think that we are worthy of some recognition but that is where we start to get carried away with our own thoughts. God has made each of us the way that we are so that we fit into His picture in the right way. He has given some of us the ability to teach, some the ability to heal, some the ability to sing out wonderfully and yet there are many more that have been given the ability to praise Him, to love Him, to adore Him. Each one is as important as the other when it comes to God’s design because without them nothing would be according to His design.

To each one of us He gives the ability to have faith. It is an ability that we all have yet so few choose to use it to the full extent. Christ showed us the way that our faith should be exercised and showed us just what can be accomplished through faith; should we not all take on board His example and have absolute faith in Him? Yes we should! He has given that faith to every one of us so that we become one body in Christ. He wants us all to act together as a body is designed to work and not to try to go our own ways. He wants us to use our abilities together and not to try and fight for a higher position than He has given us.

If we all fought for a higher position or felt that we were in some way not getting what we deserve then we would all be feeling like we are being let down or that others are taking what we deserve. Can you see the conflict that this causes? Just take a look around you and you will see the conflict that arises because it is all around us! Be happy in all that Christ gives you and praise Him for your personal gift.

Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are special?
 
Do you know how important you are to God’s design?

Friday Reading: 2 Peter 1 19-21

Key Verse: 2 Peter 1 20
20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

Devotion:
The law is the law. No, it’s not my vain attempt at emulating Sly Stallone but rather a simple truth that we do tend to ignore! God’s Word is the truth and it is not to be interfered with. If you corrupt the law in any way then you either pay for your crimes or you have something that is no longer the law. The same applies to God’s law. If we change it in any manner then we have created our own law and we no longer follow God’s original design.

We are very fortunate nowadays to have our 66 books tied together that form our bibles in such an easy form to carry around; indeed we even have them on computers and mobile phones too – what would some of the early Christians have given for such a privilege! And yet we do not treat our bibles with the respect that is due to them. I am not talking about making sure that your physical book stays clean and fresh, one of mine has been bitten by a dog, one has almost 10 years of notes throughout and another has been living in pockets for some 30 years – certainly not the freshest. It is how we treat the words, not the physical. God inspired people to write down these words over thousands of years so that we would have the chance at knowing the truth!

If we want to know the truth then we have just got to read God’s word; not to take it lightly and read it like a novel but to sit down and study what God wants us to know. Why else would He have made it possible for us to have such detailed words if He did not want us to know them! God wants us to be a light in a dark place. He knows that we are surrounded by people who do not respect His word. Just one small light will go a very long way in a very dark place. Be that light and shine!

Points to Ponder:
What does your bible look like?
 
Are you using it to the fullest?