Thursday Reading: Proverbs 17 17
 
Key Verse: Proverbs 17 17
17  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for the time of trouble.

Devotion:
This is one of those verses that you read over quickly and do not give much of a thought for until you are looking for something and suddenly God opens your eyes to the verse content! When we look for friends we do not tend to look very deep at first because we are glad to have any friends at first. If, however, we continue to just accept people as friends without caring what they are like, we will pretty soon be influenced by them and start to do the things that they do. I can look back at my school days and think of all the bad decisions that I made about who to hand around with and see just how much trouble I got into with them!

A friend is someone who is going to stick with you, both during the good times and in the troubled times as well. You will be amazed at the number of people who will be willing to be your friend when you are well off and like to share your wealth – but take a second look when you are in troubled times and see who your real friends are. We are like that too because we are easily influenced my earthly things. It is only when you find true friendship that you forget about circumstances and stick with the person. As Christians, that should be our starting point... We should ignore the earthly circumstances and concentrate on the person and on God.

A brother or close family member is someone who is going to stick with you at all times. When you get desperate, they will be there waiting. When you can’t find help, they will help. When you think all is lost, they find you. Family members are closer than friends could ever be because God is the one that instituted the family unit in the first place. A friend may well cave in when their arms are twisted behind their back, but family members stick together. As Christians, we are born into God’s family and it is there where we should bring up our earthly family as well as accepting other Christians into God’s family. When we are part of God’s family we then find out just how much God is willing to do for us!

Points to Ponder:
Have you made bad choices before?

Have you look to God as your Father?

Wednesday Reading: 1 Timothy 6 6-10
 
Key Verse: 1 Timothy 8
8  But having food and clothing, we will be content.

Devotion:
I wonder, have you ever dreamt about winning the lottery or some other great monetary prize; have you ever thought that doing so would take all your troubles away? We only have to look back on a few people as examples to see that so many people cannot cope with having a whole lot of money because they allow that money to rules their lives rather than continue on in being content with their lot. But it is not just money that does that to us...

As soon as we start to lust after anything in our lives we will find that that thing will take a hold of our lives and start to run our lives rather than just being a desirable thing in the background. If we allow ourselves to start coveting after such things, even before we have them, they will still run our lives without us realising it. When we allow ourselves to be caught up in wanting more than we have, we find that we are always wanting and no longer happy; whereas if we find contentment with what we do have, we will have a much happier existence. If we are content with what we have, we will find that we are able to enjoy things more and will lead a less stressful life too.

It is not to say that we should plainly accept anything that comes our way but rather to be content with what we do get. It is not the be all and end all to have the biggest and best because that will only give us momentary happiness. We must rather aim for happiness that is eternal and that is certainly not going to be given to us through any physical means! We may be able to build up enormous wealth but unless we are able to use that wealth to its fullest extent we will always find it lacking in some way... and then we die, leaving it all behind. Being content does not mean giving up on building things up, it means being happy with what you are able to achieve and sharing that happiness with others whilst seeing that God has given you what you have...

Points to Ponder:
Are you trying too hard?
 
Are you working with God?

Tuesday Reading: Jeremiah 6 15-18
 
Key Verse: Jeremiah 6 16
16  So says Jehovah, Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths where the good way is, and walk in it, and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it.

Devotion:
One thing we must remember is that God’s promises will come to pass. We always take a look at His promises of love, support and encouragement and remember that they will stand the test of time because that makes us happy. But how often do we take a look at the much more serious side of this and remember that God has promised that the evil will be destroyed? That is something we don’t like to remember because it is negative, but remember it we must!

We don’t have to look far around us to see just how many people are being enticed away from God’s Word by the world around us, by the people around us who do not care about God. Just because they do not care or believe does not mean that God is going to ignore them too. Not one person will ever escape their final meeting with Christ because that is His own promise to us. Just because someone has never bothered to find out about God does not mean that they will escape His justice – we cannot use ignorance as an excuse when everyone has God’s Word through the bible.

There has got to be times when we do have to ignore the modern ways because they are enticing us away from God’s Word. There must be time in our lives to catch up with God’s word so that we can learn His ways. Turn back to the old ways to find out why people did what they did; they turned their backs on the world so that they could focus on God! There is nothing sinister or evil about God’s ways and we have to make time in our lives for His ways otherwise we too will be carried away with the ways of the world and leave God’s ways behind. If we want rest we need to rest in His arms alone.

Points to Ponder:
What do you like doing best?

How often do you do things God’s way?

Monday Reading: Exodus 33 12-14
 
Key Verse: Exodus 33 14
14  And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.
 
Devotion:
I am sure that Moses was struggling to understand just who was going to show them the way to go through the desert and how they were going to survive it all, but he had faith in God to provide. Moses was being bold here with his discussion with God and wished to have a definite answer as to who would go with them. God promised Moses that they would be safe and would be provided for because they were God’s own chosen people. There is nothing wrong in confirming with God what you understand His promises to be; in fact we must be bold with our prayers and show God that we do understand His ways.

God’s answer to Moses’ request was simple and profound: “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest”. Not only was God confirming who would go with them, but He said that it would be His Presence. If you want to make sure that a job is done properly, it is oft said that you should do it yourself. God was saying that He Himself would be the one to go with them, lead them, protect them and make sure they found the Promised Land. Not only that, but that He would give them rest. This “rest” was not just rest from fatigue but everything that God had promised His people.

When God tells us that He will give us rest it is not just a simple nap in the afternoon or even a good night’s sleep. God’s rest is eternal rest, rest from enemies, rest from evil, rest from all our ailments, rest in heaven. We always try to define things in our own world and by our own measures so that we can understand the extent of things whereas God was promising eternal rest, something that we cannot hope to understand until we can understand the enormity of eternal life first. God’s promises are never half solutions or a short respite from anything; His promises are eternal and rock solid.

Points to Ponder:
How do you make sure things are done your way?

DO you depend on God?