Tuesday Reading: Matthew 7 15-20
 
Key Verse: Matthew 7 16
16  You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?

Devotion:
When I was young I used to think that just planting a fruit tree would be good enough to make sure of a bountiful crop of fruit each year. Indeed in the houses that I lived as a child we had many fruit trees and I would see so much fruit growing on them. Little did I think about all that has to go on behind the scenes to make sure that the trees would bear fruit. I began to learn just how much does go on whilst learning about things at school but never got to know too much because I chose a path of technical work rather than biological works in school. It is amazing how many things are involved in getting our fruit onto our tables at home!

Nowadays many children are growing up learning that fruit comes from the super-market and that it is available all year round without thinking about how much is involved. I fear that there would be some who would not be able to identify various common fruit trees until the fruit appeared on them. But greater fear comes from knowing that those same people are growing up and not knowing from where the truth actually comes. Too many people are growing up with the words that Christianity is just another religion and is only there because people want it to be there. Too many are having the truth hidden from them because of the surroundings they are growing up in.

We need to be the ones that take a step forward and show others that we are following Christ for a reason. We need to show them that we are like fruit trees that can bear fruit. We need to show them that we are different by showing them that we believe what our bibles tell us and follow God’s instructions by following God’s Word. We need to show them that we are different because we know that what we are doing is what God wants us to do. It is by these differences that people will know that we follow the truth. Without those differences people will not see that we are anything other than just another tree in the forest – how will they know the truth about where we know God from unless we are willing to show them by our example. If we don’t look any different to any other person how could they ever believe God is real?

Points to Ponder:
Whose example lead you to Christ?

Are you giving others the right picture?

Monday Reading: Matthew 6 31-34
 
Key Verse: Matthew 6 33
33  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
 
Devotion:
How many times have you wondered what you are going to eat, drink or what clothes to put on. Yes, we all do think about these things each and every day... and that is the point of what Christ is saying here; everybody thinks about what they are going to eat, drink and put on. These things are earthly thoughts because everyone thinks them. We all do have to because we all do have to eat, drink and hopefully get dressed each day too; it is the way that we stay alive and live with our friends... but if we are going to make them the centre of our lives, then our lives will be based on nothing more than earthly desires.

What Christ is reminding us of here is that we do tend to get carried away with living and we do tend to leave Him out of our lives too much. We need to make sure that our lives are centred on Him and not on our earthly desires. When we look to earthly things instead of looking to Him, then all we can expect is an earthly reply to what we are seeking. But if we look to Him then we can expect a much better goal and still gain our earthly needs. God knows what we have need of and He knows how best to supply them to us. If we are going to run around doing our own things then we are not allowing God to supply our needs because we are not allowing Him to work in our lives!

It is far too easy to go after earthly goods and desires, giving in to people who follow earthly ways just because it means we can get a bit of short term enjoyment. What we have to do is to focus our lives on God thereby giving Him the time and space He needs to work with us. If we are going to ignore Him or give more time to other things (or people) than to Him, then we cannot expect Him to be able to continue working in our lives. Let the world be what it is. Let the earthly people be earthly people. Don’t get trapped into following them and leaving God behind otherwise you risk losing a whole lot more from your life!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like living?

Are you living with God or just visit Him occasionally?

Sunday Reading: Galatians 3 10-14
 
Key Verse: Galatians 3 14
14  so that the blessing of Abraham might be to the nations in Jesus Christ, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Devotion:
Today is Mothering Sunday here in the UK, a day when many will seek to be with their mothers to (hopefully) thank them for all that they continue to do in our lives. It is a day when we try to show our mothers just how much they mean to us. Some of us cannot be with our mothers but we can still show our love to them in many ways.

You could try to be like the Scribes and Pharisees and stick to the law and continue to do everything according to the law, but then you would be totally stuck within that law. You would have to be guided by it, live according to it and know that you would never be anything more than another person breaking the law! Imagine if you lived your life like that, not caring about the love around us nor about what others have done for us – just doing what the law required... If the E.U. would have its way we would all live according to the law just so that we would not upset anyone but never truly be able to show our love either.

If we, however, live according to what Christ has shown us, we can know about the love and care that surrounds us all the time. We would recognise all that our parents have done for us and continue to show them the love and support that they have shown us over the years. God has continued to support us as well as our parents and their parents; right back to the beginning of time. Christ declared that love loud and clear for everyone to hear. We just have to recognise it and respond to it. You don’t have to be trapped by the rules and regulations otherwise you will be nothing more than part of those rules. Today, be free in the knowledge that you are a child of your mothers and act accordingly. From here-on in, be free in the knowledge that you are a child of Christ and respond accordingly. Showing love is natural and required so that we can know the love that has surrounded us from when we were born...

Points to Ponder:
Are you trying too hard to be politically correct?
 
Are you responding to God’s love?

Saturday Reading: Hebrews 8 6-12
 
Key Verse: Hebrews 8 6
6  But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much He is also the Mediator of a better covenant, which was built upon better promises.

Devotion:
Is there such a thing as a better promise? Is not a promise something that is going to last forever and not change? How can another then be better than one which is going to last forever? Well, it is not the fact that the next promise is going to last longer or be any more of a promise, but the fact that it is a better thing that is being promised... the content of the promise is better!

God made a covenant with the Jews and stood by it. The Jews were the ones that turned that covenant into something that they could live with rather than following the rules – they tried to re-negotiate the contract after it had been signed, sealed and delivered. Now we see that sort of thing happening all the time in our modern world where people are trying to re-negotiate contracts just because they have realised that they do not like them after trying them out; but the fact remains that they agreed a contract and that is what should be stuck to.

God already knew that man would try to re-negotiate the contract after trying it out and not liking it. He already knew that man would try to re-structure things so that it would be less work for him to do to keep up his end of the contract. God also knew that man would not be able to keep up his end of the contract not because he did not want to but because he could not. God wants us to realise that fact – we are simply not good enough to keep our end of the bargain! That is why He entered into a new covenant with us, set, not by human minds and hands that could get things wrong, but by Heavenly hands that would get it right! God made sure that Christ laid down the contract from our side so that we would no longer get it wrong. He gave us a perfect substitute so that we would never have to try and find that blameless, perfect sacrifice ourselves. God supplied both ends of the contract so that it would stand forever more. All we now need do is to live by that covenant, agreeing with it and upholding it as the truth...

Points to Ponder:
Have you always kept every word you have said?
 
Have you always kept every word you have said to God?