Tuesday Reading: John 15 1-8
 
Key Verse: John 15 7
7  If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you.

Devotion:
The only way that we are going to be able to bear fruit for God is to stay in His Vine. That Vine Jesus Christ as He reminds us in this passage. He is the one that we need in order to continue to grow and to continue to be useful. As soon as a flower is picked it loses its source of food and will shortly die, but as long as it remains on the plant from which it sprouted it will continue to grow for as long as it can be used. The purpose of the flower is to make sure that pollen is spread between plants so that more flowers can grow. Just like that, our purpose is to spread God’s Word so that more people may come to know Him.

The root of the plant is not normally seen and yet without it the plant would not exist, nor would it be able to sustain itself should the root be cut off. Jesus is our root and we need Him in order that we may continue to exist and continue to grow. Each tree or vine can grow into rather complex structures having many branches which themselves have many branches giving way to the final leaves and flowers and fruit; but all of those end points require that the root remains firm and it is a single point of entry. All the branches come down to that single trunk which depends on the unseen root.

If the plant or vine needs more food so that it can grow more fruit or leave, it does not have to ask and wait for a response before knowing whether it is going to get more food; it simply asks for the food and receives it. In the same way, Christ wants us to know that we can rely on Him to give us food when we need it in order to grown more ourselves. The more a plant is able to call on the root for goodness the more it is able to blossom and show the world just how wonderful its root is. The more we are able to blossom with what Christ gives us, the more glory we are able to give to Him. He will never withhold anything when we are working for His glory! Let us constantly remember that we can rely on the God who keeps us and sustains us throughout everything.

Points to Ponder:
Do you like fruit?

Where would you be without Christ?

Monday Reading: Matthew 21 18-22
 
Key Verse: Matthew 21 19
19  And seeing a fig tree in the way, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only. And He said to it, let no fruit grow on you forever. And immediately the fig tree withered away.
 
Devotion:
It is interesting to look at the differences between this recount from Matthew and that from Mark where is says: (Mark 11 13) “And seeing a fig-tree with leaves afar off, He went to it, if perhaps He might find anything on it. And when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season of figs.” Mark faithfully recorded that the fig tree was actually out of season and yet Jesus still cursed the plant; why? Well, often in our lives we give what we think are valid excuses for things that we don’t want to do. Jesus was making a point for the disciples and used a simple plant to make sure that they remembered.

As Christians we cannot be in or out of season like plants are. We cannot say that we are not going to spread God’s Word in the winter or during the holidays or during term time... we have to be prepared and willing to show everyone, always, that we are God’s children. We need to bear fruit in all seasons. Jesus did not preach only during the summer or only during the winter; He continued His preaching for the whole time that God wanted Him to preach. When God bid Him to do something, He had no problem with doing it there and then when the time was right. Too many times in our lives we like to choose when we think the time is right rather than following God’s Will and because of that we are not bearing the fruit as well as we could.

We need to have faith in Christ that He knows when it is best for us to do His bidding. We need to rest in Him and know that what He is asking of us is because there is a need and a reason for it there and then. Jesus was hungry at that time; He did not want to have to wait until the right season before the fig tree should bear its fruit... Just like He does not want to have to wait for us to think that the time is right for us! We need to have absolute faith in Him to know that we are safe in His hands and trust Him wholly to know what is best for us. He is willing to give us the strength and wisdom as soon as we ask...

Points to Ponder:
Do you stop eating when you are away from home?

Do you stop being God’s child when you leave church?

Sunday Reading: Galatians 2 11-14
 
Key Verse: Galatians 2 13
13  And the rest of the Jews also dissembled with him, so as even Barnabas was led away with their dissembling.

Devotion:
How many times have you said that you were going to do something for the new year or some other time, only to be led away from what you said by those around you? How many times have you given in to peer pressure rather than stand up for what you said you would do? I’m afraid that we are probably all guilty of this at some stage in our lives; with all the best intentions we say that we are going to change or say that we will make a difference but end up giving in to our old ways because all our friends do.

Being able to stand up for yourself is hard when all around are doing their own things. Being able to stand up for what is right when all around are accustomed to doing wrong is probably harder. When we get stuck in a rut of bad habits or stuck in a rut of bad choices, it is difficult to pull yourself out of those situations. Friends who keep you from making a difference are simply doing that for themselves because it is easier to give in to the old ways rather than make that difference.

We are not given too much detail about what Peter was doing wrong other than that he was taking the side of the Jews. Making a difference can mean stepping outside of your group of friends and helping or supporting those around instead. Peter was not willing to do that, but Paul knew that that is what Christ wanted him to do. Taking a step sideways and looking at what is actually going on rather than sticking to the tried and tested ways is what we need to do sometimes. We know that Christ has promised never to leave us. We know that He has promised to be our protector and our guide. So why not allow Him to do exactly that by placing yourself in His hands so that we can move forward and help a few more people than just those in our special group of friends. Being a Christians means that we should be able to allow many more people to see Christ’s light shine through us than just our friends. Helping them may well mean stepping outside of our comfort zone; but never forget that Christ is always with you wherever you go!

Points to Ponder:
Do you stick to your friends?
 
How often do you show others you are one of God’s children?

Saturday Reading: Acts 13 44-47
 
Key Verse: Acts 13 47
47  For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, "I have set You to be a light of the nations, for salvation to the end of the earth."

Devotion:
Paul and Barnabas had quite an eventful journey not just because they went to many places but because of the different attitudes people had to them. The Jews as a whole opposed the doctrine that the apostles preached; they did not believe that Jesus was their Messiah and they certainly did not want preaches walking around preaching that! On this occasion they had quite a huge crowd turn out to hear them speak because word had got round the first week they preached and many more wanted to come and hear the truth the following week. This in itself suggests that they had become disillusioned in some way with the teaching of the Jews.

You can convince people of one thing and make them follow that suggestion right up until the point that they hear the truth; from that point on they will no longer believe the lies because they have seen the truth. Many people may well have been convinced that God was real through the teachings of the Jews, but the Jews themselves were now withholding the truth from the people because it meant that they would no longer have the power and authority that they had enjoyed for so long. It is not only the Jews that are at fault here because we can see this happen with many churches over the ages. Man gets to a point where he thinks that he is more important than God...

We are nothing compared to the truth. That truth is that Jesus Christ came to earth to live, preach the truth and then ultimately die for our sins. That truth is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that our Salvation is through Him alone. That truth is exactly what He told us and exactly what Paul and Barnabas taught. That same truth is what we need to tell others of too because we are now acting as lights to that truth just as they did then.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you tell the truth?
 
How often do you act like the truth?