Saturday Reading: Isaiah 31 1-5

Key Verse: Isaiah 31 1
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and lean on horses and trust in chariots, because it is great; and in horsemen, because they are so very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor do they seek the LORD!

Devotion:
I am sure that all of are guilty of trusting in the things that look the best or look the strongest. Why? Because that is normally the best thing to do; we look for strength and surety and follow it. But as with the old saying “all that glitters is not gold” we have to try and make sure that what we are following is actually true. What would be the use of going out of your way to follow something only to find out that it is a gaping hole and totally useless. We only have to look at recent financial events to see how people were persuaded to put their trust into something that sounded so good, only to find that the institution went broke overnight! That is the type of situation that Isaiah was trying to warn the Jews about and it is a timely lesson for us too.

At times our own world (not earth but our own little part of the world) seems to be broken or crumbling and we try to shift things around to hitch on to the back of something stronger in the hopes that it will pull us out of our problems when it truth we are running away from our Protector! God continues to be our Saviour and Protector, no matter how bad we think things are getting. At times He will allow various issues into our lives knowing that it is going to prepare us for what lies ahead. Is Israel's case He was fulfilling His promise. We have been shown that even the biggest institutions will crumble like dry cake before God. We have seen nations and kingdoms come to an end. Egypt used to be the power to be reckoned by, and yet now we look at the ruin of the pyramids and marvel at what used to be.

We need to make sure that our faith and trust is in God alone. He, trough Christ, has given us redemption. He, through the Holy Spirit, gives us guidance. We need to stop trusting in the powers of this world over Him and put Him first in our lives. Only then will we be sure of being able to ride out the storms that are approaching; only then will we be sure of making it to Heaven with Him.

Points to Ponder:
Which mighty power do you look up to?
 
Are you trusting in the Almighty Power?

Friday Reading: Isaiah 28 23-29

Key Verse: Isaiah 28 23
23  Give ear and hear my voice; listen, and hear my speech.

Devotion:
Have you ever wondered how some things were discovered? I’m not talking about the things like radio and television but rather the more mundane things like flour to make bread. It may be easy to work out how man was able to send signals over radio waves because we know the history of that, but some of the wisdom that man has does not have firm foundations written down. How did man know that he must crush the grain in order to combine it with other ingredients so that he can make bread? Isaiah’s explanation makes so much sense – God taught us in the beginning!

Yes farmers have made a bit of an art out of growing crops and harvesting them. Here in the UK we see farmers gather together and either share combined harvesters or rent them when it is time to harvest. Things are done on such a large scale that there is often more crops left behind on the fields than we can grow in our back yards; the amount of money needed to gather up those few crops (in comparison to the huge amounts gathered by the harvesting machine) would not make it profitable for the farmers – hence they often leave them for others to gather. Again that action of leaving behind some crops for the poor and needy to gather has been going on for thousands of years and is encouraged in our bibles. Once again, God has given us the wisdom to help ourselves and others.

Why then do we only take the parts of the bible that we want to and leave behind the rest? Why should we not take note of every part of God’s Word? He has given us all of it for a reason – so that we can learn what is right and true. We have so many books telling us how to do so many things in life from growing your own crops to destroying nations with weapons. How many of those books are sold for vast amounts of money because people need to know what is in them? Still God’s Word is the book that is at the top of the list of all books – yet so few people take notice of what is actually written within its covers. How do we think we are going to learn unless we take notice of what is says. Make this the year that you read your bible cover to cover!

Points to Ponder:
How many books do you read?
 
How often do you read your bible?

Thursday Reading: Isaiah 26 1-8
 
Key Verse: Isaiah 26 8
8  Yea, in the way of Your judgements, O Jehovah, we awaited You; for Your name and for Your memory is the desire of our soul.

Devotion:
If you are looking for a new start this year, then now is the time to make sure that your life is firmly fixed in God’s Hands. No matter what happens around us and no matter how far man can sink in his own problems, Christ continues to remain as firm as even. He has promised us from the beginning of time that He will forever look out for us as we place our trust in Him; and that He does! His strength is without equal. He is the creator of our world. He is the creator of the universe!

No matter what we try to rely on in our world, things seem to fall apart. Buildings that were thought to be able to stand all manner of problems fall and crumble in His sight. Banks and institutions that seem as ‘safe as houses’ reveal their weaknesses when the going gets too tough for them... At the centre of this all is man. We like to think we are the best (and I do sincerely take my hat off to all those that are the best in their fields) but we all have our flaws. But God has no flaws... If we perceive flaws in Him, then we do not understand Him and have made our own assumptions – He is without error!

With His breath He can bring down the most powerful and most respected or He can raise up the least; but one thing remains throughout all – His judgement is true and faithful! If you try to cheat Him or His people, you are doing nothing but cheating yourself because there will come a time where you have to answer to what you are doing. Each one of us does make our mistakes and because of that we still have to come forward to Him and admit to our faults and ask for His forgiveness. As long as we come in all sincerity, He is just and able to forgive us. There is nothing more inspiring and uplifting than knowing that we have a Saviour who is able to keep us. He does that because He loves us. Let us not disappoint Him this year. Let us come forward and rest in His arms as our loving Father.

Wednesday Reading: Malachi 3 1-2
 
Key Verse: Malachi 3 1
1  Behold, I will send My messenger, and He will clear the way before Me. And Jehovah, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He comes, says Jehovah of Hosts.

Devotion:
As we see out the old year and prepare for the new, think about what has happened over this past year and just how much could be achieved in the New Year! Each one of us has so much potential to go forward and tell at least one new person about Jesus Christ this year. If each one of us do that, then the potential for new Christians has just doubled... We are not the ones to go forward and tell people about how bad they are or how they are doing things wrong, we must go forward and tell people about Jesus and show them His Word. It is His Word alone that will convict people of their own sins and bring them to Christ, not our word...

John the Baptist went before Christ and told the people about Jesus. He told them that they must be the ones to repent themselves before Christ. He encouraged each one who did by baptising them and making sure that they continued to hear God’s Word. He was simply preparing the way for Jesus. How many people have you heard in the past year that told you the plain Gospel truth without embellishing it with the grandest of stories? How many people have simply told you that Jesus came and died for you?

The Word of God will sift out the good from the bad and allow people to see their own folly. The Word of God will allow people to be strengthened and to build up their faith. The Word of God is what needs to be taught much more this year than last. People are struggling all around the world with the sins and temptations that are now rife throughout society and need to be encouraged by God’s Word. Nobody will be able to stand up and say that they are sinless when presented with Jesus Christ. Nobody will be able to stand up and say that they have done it by themselves... if only we can get them to hear that truth to start with! Make a difference in the New Year by making a plan to tell someone new about Jesus Christ.

Points to Ponder:
Have you even looked at yourself as being like John?
 
No matter how minor you think you are, you can make a big difference?