Friday Reading: Psalm 14:1-3

Key Verse: Psalms 14 1
1  The fool has said in his heart, There is no God! They acted corruptly; they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.

Devotion:
Just the first sentence of this Psalms says so much about us “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God!” Every person who claims that there is no Judge or Governor that rules over the world, that there is no God taking careful note of the affairs of men, is sorely mistaken. That is what he is saying in his heart – but what is it actually in his heart? Is it that he is saying that he is not satisfied that there is or is not, but he really does not want there to be because that would mean that he is in the wrong? He is a fool because he has not taken into account all of the truth and is simply turning his back on it hoping that it will go away!

No person will say that there is no God until they have become so entrenched in their sin that they do not want to give it up. God’s Word alone will be able to convince that person of the truth, but they go out of their way not to hear the truth and to stay away from people who are willing to share that truth. They want to be able to stay entrenched in their sin because it feels good to them whilst they can still say that there is no God. Sin is like a disease that has spread throughout all the population of the world and is preventing man from getting better. When some try to find out the truth and get better, those around rally and make sure they don’t otherwise they too may find out the truth!

Whatever good is in some people, it is not from themselves but because God has put it there. He continues to make sure that people will hear His Word all around the earth. He continues to make sure that someone is willing to tell others of the truth... yet there is not a single person on earth that is good – we all have done something wrong in our lives. We face an uphill struggle that is insurmountable by ourselves. That is why God allowed His only Son to pay for our sins so that we can have help overcoming the insurmountable. It is only with His help that we can survive. There is a God and He lives!

Points to Ponder:
What are you doing with your sin?
 
Are you asking God for help?

Thursday Reading: Jeremiah 17 5-11
 
Key Verse: Jeremiah 17 9
9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

Devotion:
If you are going to trust in your own wisdom and righteousness to try and work your way to heaven, you are going to be in for a big disappointment. No matter how hard each one of us tries to make ourselves look good and seem right, we will never be able to convince God. We may be able to fool all those around us into believing that we are a different person, but we can never do that to our God who sees right through our pretences! The only thing we will ever succeed at is making ourselves look good for that moment!

If, on the other hand, we are willing to trust in the Lord and to make our source of wisdom and righteousness Him, we will be able to do so much more. As soon as we let go of our own might and take on the might of God, we leave behind the worldly things and take on a new life in His grace and mercy. Letting go of your world may well be the hardest thing you can do but it certainly will be the best thing! We do not have the strength to fight against Satan or against kings and queens – but with God fighting on our side we suddenly take on a whole new might!

Our own might will always give in to world things because we are brought up in this world. It will seem like the whole world will show you that it is right and you will follow on... because it seems right at the time! All it takes is for us to think that we are in love for us to realise that we do not actually know our own hearts. It is only God who can see into our hearts and release us from our burdens. It is only God who can see past our misty eyes and guide us to the right way. If we are going to want to follow Him, then we are going to have to stick close to Him otherwise our misty eyes will lose sight of Him before we can figure out which way He is trying to lead us! It may not be an easy walk that He is taking us on so we may well have to work at it to keep up, but our rewards for walking with Him will be more than we can have imagined...

Points to Ponder:
What do you regard as your strengths?

How often have you been led astray by your heart?

Wednesday Reading: Psalm 32:11
 
Key Verse: Psalms 32 11
11  Be glad in Jehovah, and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Devotion:
Throughout the Psalms we see many places where King David expresses just how much God has done for Him. He does not hold back the thought that Christ, The Word of God (as expressed in John) is responsible for his gladness. He knows that the peace of God is what allows him to be glad in his life. He knows that believing in God is what has got him as far as he has got and that God is his Saviour and supplier. What more reason should you need to celebrate other than that you are one of God’s children?

We are not limited here to our physical happiness because we do get down and do have trouble with many things in our lives; we are talking about spiritual joy and spiritual righteousness. There is no way that we can look at ourselves as being physically righteous because we continue to sin – no matter how hard we do try. But just knowing that Christ is willing to forgive us of our sins allows us to move on from them, releasing the burden that comes with them. With our spiritual righteousness we have a new-found strength in the knowledge that we are safe and secure in His arms. If we compare ourselves against the Law (God’s Word) then we see just how sinful we are but we can also know that Christ has already paid for our sin and we are safely in His grip.

How else are other people going to know of our inner happiness unless we tell them about it? They may not be able to see the fact that we are at peace because of their own burdens, but by telling them of our peace and righteousness, we can give them the knowledge that they need to find God’s Word too. We may well be the ones catching the fish, but God has given them to us and Christ will make them clean. Because of this knowledge we need to remember to worship Christ is spirit and in truth always giving Him the praise and the glory. With that encouragement we too can shout for joy because of all that Christ has done for us and all that we can look forward to.

Points to Ponder:
How do you show people that you love them?
 
Do you allow people to know that God loves you and you love Him?

Tuesday Reading: Psalm 32:8-10
 
Key Verse: Psalms 32 8
8  I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you, My eye shall be on you.

Devotion:
If we are willing to listen to God’s Word we will see that He is willing to teach us in so many ways and in so many things. He teaches us through history where we can see what has happened to those who have followed Him and those who have not. He teaches us through what has happened to Israel, His chosen people. Though He continues to keep them as His children, they have had to face hardship when they have rejected Him. We have also seen His amazing grace and mercy when they have turned back to Him. We have seen how He loved every person, both Jew and otherwise when He came to earth. There can be no doubt that His love covers all sin through what He has done and shown us.

His word teaches us what is right and wrong and gives us plenty of rules by which we will be able to lead a better life. It gives us instruction about what is going to happen in the future when we will have to face up to what we have done ourselves. He wants every one of us to be able to listen and learn so that we d not have to be lead by the nose just as a farm animal is. What good would His love be if we were not given all we need to love Him back?

That choice that we have gives us the ability to follow what we can learn or to ignore it and continue being lead around like a farm animal. When a farmer has a dog that understands well and is able to help him with herding sheep, he does not hold it on a lead but lets it run around to help him. The dog is willing to help and obeys his master. If we are willing to learn and to obey, then we to can be used of God in ways that we thought were not possible. When we follow His commandments we will show others that we are the ones getting it right and we are the ones enjoying His grace and mercy. We have the choice to learn and be loved... The other side of that is that we reject Christ and try to get things right by ourselves. I am yet to see a sheepdog that has not had to be trained...

Points to Ponder:
Do you learn from those around you?

Are you listening to what God has to say?