November 28: Psalms 77 1-10

Key Verse: Psalms 77 1
I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.

Devotion:
As Christians, the days we find trouble us the most should be the days when we spend the most time in prayer to our God. If God seems to have left us, then we need to seek Him and find Him because we are the ones who have got lost and not He. There will be times when we can look back in our lives and think of the times when we have had troubles and to bring to remembrance the comforts that we found back then, but there will also be times when we will not find previous comforts which may be used to comfort us once again. In those times it is God who will supply us the comfort we seek – so long as we do seek them from Him.

We do have so many examples of how people have found comfort and strength in God in our bibles and in our lives too. These are the things we have to bring to mind to encourage us to seek out that same comfort from Him. At times when we feel overwhelmed, we need to bring our feeling to God and allow Him to lighten our burden. What we should never dwell on is the thought that God would be punishing us for not following Him. He allows us to bring our own punishment upon ourselves when we walk away from Him; He has no need to bring anything on us. He is the one waiting for us to ask for help so that He can help. He is the one waiting for us to ask for forgiveness so that He can forgive.

Never should we give in to the fears that will eat away at our dependence on God because He is always faithful and true to His Word. We need to demonstrate our faith in His faithfulness by turning to Him in all our times of need; He wants us to turn to Him. When we start to feel weak, we need to draw on His strength and allow Him to build us up again so that we can face our adversities with Him by our side. He has shown us time and time again throughout history how we can depend on Him in the direst of circumstances, we just need to depend on the fact that He is here for us, always. It is only our weakness that allows us to think otherwise!

Points to Ponder:
What gets you down the most?

What are you not bringing before God?

November 27: Psalms 73 3-17

Key Verse: Psalms 73 17
till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

Devotion:
One of the biggest questions which is asked of Christians is “if there is a God then why does He not care about Christians” or some other variation of that question. People look at non-Christians and Christians and see more non-Christians seem to be successful and live a “better” life than many Christians. They then make the assumption non-Christians are better off because of the pleasures which surround them. That is how we judge people, we look at their physical wealth and their social positions and judge their success based on how they compare with others in the same fields.

The Psalmist listed many ways in which he was tempted to envy the prosperity of the wicked; seeing how they were seemingly at ease with life and wanted for very little. This is something we face all the time because we are thrust into a world where physical wealth and well-being means so much. But as he looks through the things that they have he sees the ungodly vices that go along with their lives. He sees the pride which surrounds them and traps them further into their lifestyles. He sees their ungodly ways which are ‘normal living’ to them. He sees the covetousness which entraps them too and how they want for more and more as they get more.

He sees how they speak against God because they cannot see any need for Him in their lives. He sees how they ignore God’s Word and His will and plough on through their lives as if they are in charge. He sees how they question whether God is real and whether He does know what is going on. He sees how they seem to be at ease in this world of theirs... Should we question whether God is real? Should we doubt His omniscience? All it takes is a good long look at God’s will and His Word before we too can see just how far short of the mark we are all. When we see how far short we are, we can only imagine how far short others may be who question God...

Points to Ponder:
What do you think of your life?

Is it anything like that which God would like you to have?

November 26: Hebrews 3 1-6

Key Verse: Hebrews 3 4
For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

Devotion:
Much of our bible is written by Moses and of him. He was the one who got the instruction from God and had to then make sure the children of Israel heard all that God would have them to hear. He was the one who made sure they kept God’s Word and made sure that they all knew God’s Word. Such a task would seemingly be impossible nowadays because of the diversity and distribution of the populous of the earth. We now have our bibles which are faithful reproductions of God Word from the days of Moses right through to the days of the apostles – the Word of God as exposed to each faithful servant during those times.

Once Moses was elected to his position, he remained faithful to the children of Israel, being the advocate between God and them. When they faltered, he stepped forward for them to beg for forgiveness. When they were following God, he was there encouraging them to do it correctly. We now have an Advocate who is faithful to do exactly that for all men. Moses was the one who maintained the house of Israel, but Christ is the one who created and maintains His house. God is the creator of all things, including Moses. Moses was an excellent example of a faithful servant who carried out the will of God. Jesus Christ is a perfect example of a faithful servant carrying out the will of God, His will.

We need to take a leaf out of Moses book and do our best to uphold God’s house against adversity. We will face all manner of things that may discourage us, but as long as we are willing to keep our faith in Christ, He will ensure that we are able to withstand those adversities. We need to make sure we do not try to uphold things by ourselves, but go back to the Creator and Finisher of the church, Jesus Christ. With Him, all things are possible. Moses was steadfast in his faith; he persevered right up until the end. That is how we need to aim our lives, with steadfastness and perseverance to uphold God’s will to the end.

Points to Ponder:
Are you determined?

How much do you rely on The Truth?

November 25: 1 Corinthians 3 5-9

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 3 9
For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Devotion:
Paul’s question to the church people at Corinth was designed to make the people think about the station of people in the church. Whether people were lifting up others above their station or whatever, Paul’s words were to make sure the people of Corinth knew that people were just people! Yes, some people have wonderful gifts and can speak with such authority about Christ, but that is all they can do. Christ is the one who has given those gifts to those people in the beginning and they are simply making the best possible use of them for God’s glory.

No matter what position we may have in the church or society we are still servants of God. If we try to lift ourselves or anyone else above that position, then we are no longer following what Christ was teaching. Yes, we have a great deal to learn from ministers who are willing to give us the truth from the bible, and we have much to learn from other people who are willing to teach us in other matters, but that does not lift them above the position of servant of God. It must be said that the more we can learn about God from them, the greater servant they must be.

Each one of us has our position as a servant of God and each one of us contributes toward the church in some manner. We may think we are nothing, but a house has to be built with many bricks, most of which will go unnoticed – but we know they are there and they are important for the building! Each one of us has a task which we need to complete so the greater task can be achieved; we all have to work together in order for God’s goals to be achieved. We are not the ones who give others inside understanding nor are we the ones who save others; we the ones who forgive others in Christ’s name, but we are the ones through which others can hear about God’s Word so He can give them understanding, so He can save them and so He can forgive them.

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like a brick in a wall?

No brick will go without their reward from God?