Saturday Reading: Luke 17 7-10
 
Key Verse: Luke 17 10
10  So likewise you, when you shall have done all the things commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, for we have done what we ought to do.

Devotion:
I know that many people nowadays have not had the experience of having a servant around the house so many cannot relate to this sort of parable without some sort of an explanation. The servant, in those days, was expected to do certain duties for which they were paid for in some manner. Nowadays we all try to work for a living and when we are working we are expected to do the work that we are supposed to do because we are being paid for it... But there are certain duties for which we do not get physically paid for and those are things such as bringing up families and caring for others. For these sorts of things we do not expect any reward and we do what is required not because we have to but because we want to.

There are always things within any walk of life that we do because we want to rather than those that we have to do. In any job we often find that we are able to do more than is required and we do it because it makes us feel good. If we are doing things like that just to get some sort of reward then we may well end up being very disappointed when we find that we are not getting the reward that we wanted but rather the reward that our employer  thinks we should get. When we set the standards of reward rather than the employer we can only get disappointed!

God has given each one of us the ability to do things in our lives. We may find that we cannot do those things throughout our lives because we grow old so doing what we can when we can is a good policy. God also expects us to do certain things because we have accepted Him as our Master. We must not be the ones dictating what we should get as a reward because God alone knows what we actually do deserve. We could never repay the debt that Christ has already paid for us so why should we expect God to give us amazing profits when we do what is required?

Points to Ponder:
Do you do just what is required or all you can?
 
Are you serving God?

Friday Reading: Luke 13 23-30

Key Verse: Luke 13 25
25  And once the Master of the house has risen up and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us, and He shall answer and say to you, I do not know you; from where are you;

Devotion:
The difference between being curious about something and actually getting involved in that thing is vast. Christ was trying to show those around Him that this difference can be the difference between eternal life and eternal frustration. That difference is between having knowledge about Christ and having a personal relationship with Him – they are on two different sides of the coin...

We must not be asking things like how many people will be saved or what will my friends do but rather focus on your own self and your own relationship with Christ. How is it going to benefit you to know who is going to heaven and who is not if you do not know where you are going. All you will have is a lot of head knowledge about others and absolutely no benefit to yourself. When we set our focus on Christ instead of everything else around us we will begin to see just how important it is to get to know God. We will see how important it is to change our own lives to be more like God would have us to be. What use is it being the chief of priests if you do not personally know Christ? That may sound odd but there are those who have made a profession out of it rather than getting to know God themselves.

When the time comes when each of us will face our Lord, we need to be sure that we do know Him and that He knows us because if He does not know us, we will be the ones left outside when all others are being invited in. Imagine going along to a party and being turned away at the door because you never bothered to get to know the person when others did... It is not about whether you will get to be first in the door but the fact that you can actually make it into the door that counts! Make sure that you do spend time with God and get to know Him rather than listening in to other people’s conversations all the time...

Points to Ponder:
How much do you know about God?
 
Are you getting to know Him rather than getting to know of Him?

Thursday Reading: Luke 11 24-26
 
Key Verse: Luke 11 24
24  When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks through dry places seeking rest. And finding none, he says, I will return to my house from which I came out.

Devotion:
One thing we cannot do successfully is to get someone to accept Christ when it is not their own choice... Yes people will listen and they may well even pray for forgiveness and look like they are Christians, but unless they are the ones accepting that truth within their own hearts, then they are still as open to the evil one as before, if not more! This passage reminds us of how important it actually is for each of us to enter into a personal relationship with Christ and not to just go with the crowd.

There is no way that we can stand up against Satan or any of his accomplices because they are more powerful than us when we stand alone. As soon as we stand with Christ, however, we have nothing to fear and can be sure that Christ will protect us and keep us safe. It is much like a country who faces a civil war and accepts help from an outside alliance to quell the civil war – so long as the outside help continues to stay, the country is in safe hands. As soon as the outside help goes back home or is asked to leave the country sinks faster and deeper into civil war because they think they have overcome the enemy when all they have done is beat them down for a short while.

If we are going to help someone else to see that Christ is our Lord and Saviour, then we have to continue to also show them that they must make that choice for themselves. Bullying someone into saying that they believe will do nothing more than tidy up their house for a short while. We also need to be sure that we do have Christ on our side and not just have Him in tidying things up for the moment. Unless we make a firm commitment to continue our relationship with Christ we are simply using Him to tidy up and then going back to depending on ourselves for the things that God would like to do for us. We don’t need a decorator in to tidy up, we need someone who is going to live with us and care for us!

Points to Ponder:
Are you just looking for a cleaner?

Or are you looking for long term care and assistance?

Wednesday Reading: Luke 7 29-35
 
Key Verse: Luke 7 34
34  The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, Behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!

Devotion:
When someone does not fit into our view or our plan in life we tend to give them some sort of derogatory title so that we can view them as an outcast of some kind; thus giving us a way of keeping them out of our lives. This has been something that has been going on since the beginning of time and not just in mans last few hundred years. We tend to look at certain traits in human life as being things that the last century has given us because of the way in which life has changed so much but the deeper we look the more we find that life style has changed, but life continues in much the same manner.

Our bibles still hold firm today as they did when they were written. They will continue to hold firm right up until there is no more need for them – after Christ returns to take us all home. Until that day we need to remember that what we have in God’s Word is there for our guidance throughout life. Just because they walk everywhere instead of jumping in a car or plane does not mean that they were entirely different people – it does mean that they lived very different life styles...

The more varied our lifestyles become, the more varied we expect people to be too. The more we get into different lifestyles the more we expect our friends to be into the same lifestyles too. The more different our lifestyles become, the less tolerant we become towards those who are not willing to live the same lifestyles as ourselves. Jesus made sure that He stood apart from the crowd and gave everybody the same chance no matter what lifestyle they lead. If we do not allow others to live their own lifestyles whilst still living for Christ then we may well be working against God. He wants us all to come to believe in Him, not for us all to live the same lifestyle as John the Baptist lived in the desert; He just wants us to make sure that He comes first no matter what lifestyle we lead...

Points to Ponder:
Do you categorise yourself in life?
 
Are you making sure God comes first?