November 4: Isaiah 60 1-7
Key Verse: Isaiah 60 2
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
Devotion:
Here is another passage of prophecies from the book of Isaiah that promises of the spreading of the gospel far beyond the realm of the Jews. It promises all who call upon the name of our Lord Jehovah will receive His light as well as display His light. For as long as we seek to read and follow the gospel, we will allow others to see God’s light through us. When we seek and follow God, we are seeking to give Him glory for all He has done, all that He is doing and all He has promised to do.
If God has given us the chance to show His glory through us, should we not be jumping at the opportunity? Should we not be seeking every opportunity to allow God’s light to shine through us? He has promised to support and guide us when we seek Him. He has promised to bless us when we lift Him up. He has already show us that He will do this by giving up His life on the cross before we even turned to Him. He was willing to make the first move to show us His love – we need to return that love by glorifying Him in everything that we do.
God calls us to rest in His arms so we will be able to receive full benefit of all He wants to give us. How can we receive His blessings unless we are willing to come forward and receive His love? As we come to Him and give Him our hardships and our burdens, He will lift them up and give us rest. As we come to Him and receive His promises, we lift Him up and allow others to be encouraged to do the same. We glorify God through coming to Him and receiving His love. We glorify God through coming to Him and lifting Him up just as He lifts us up.
What more glorious a picture than us being able to fly freely back to Him as a dove flies back home through the open window of the coop that has been waiting, always open, to receive it back?
Points to Ponder:
How often do you switch on the lights in the dark?
How often do you let God’s light shine in this dark world?
November 3: Job 19 23-29
Key Verse: Job 19 26
And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;
Devotion:
Job was a man who clearly understood God’s Word. He understood a Saviour would come, a Redeemer who would deliver his body to heaven no matter what would become of his physical self on earth. If ever there was anyone who may have begun to think otherwise it should have been job at this time – he had lost everything in his life and had faced things which would make normal people give up. His faith in God continued throughout this time. He stood firm on the foundation that is Jesus Christ because He knew Christ would come one day and would bring Him to heaven.
This is the type of example we need to hold up when we see things going wrong around us. We need to look back on people like Job and draw strength from their actions. He was able to stand firm through his hardships and God gave him rewards beyond those he previously had. When we start to see things go wrong around us, we need to stand firm in our faith knowing God has a reason and He has a season; each of which we may not see at the time. We may not know why things happen – just like Job did not know why; but we can stand firm in our faith knowing He has a time within which He will work His wonders so that He will once again get the glory.
When markets collapse and people become bankrupt, others look for someone to blame, someone who they can place the blame on so they should not be blamed. Well, many a time it is not just down to one or two people but whole communities. Whatever the reason, we are not to seek out people that we can blame but move forward in the knowledge God is still with us. Don’t allow the plundering of Satan to get you down. He may well bring all manner of things our way and be able to take so many things from us, but he will never be able to take God from us and he will never be able to take us from God. Be strong in your faith knowing God will always be glorified – because He will return as He has promised!
Points to Ponder:
What do you look to when things get rough?
How much do you depend on God for?
November 2: Revelation 1 4-8
Key Verse: Revelation 1 7
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
Devotion:
John sends out a blessing to the seven churches of Asia (which are mentioned later in vs 11) as directed by God. What follows are prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled but are nonetheless important for our consumption because of their warnings and truth that are laid down. This last book in our bibles is the one that is both ignored the most and upon which many films have been made. Ironic that many films are made and yet few people consider its truth...
John’s blessing reminds us of the fact that we have God our Father, God the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ the Son of God. It reminds us Jesus died for our sins. The fact that through His grace and His grace alone is what will prevent us having to pay for our own sin debt is central to this blessing. It is a reminder there can be no real peace where there is not true grace and where grace is, truth and peace will follow. We are stained with sin; a stain which cannot be removed other than by the blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the one who shed His blood to cover our sins.
We are reminded there will be a day when Christ will return with the clouds; a day when every single one will see Him and finally know that He is God. What a great day that will be. But on that day, many will not be so happy to see Him because they will be the ones who will suddenly realise they have been wrong in their choices they have made to ignore God for so long. Even though that may be true, and many may be hurt, John says “Even so, Amen” or “even so, let it be so”. Nothing will stop Christ’s return. We may not know the day or the hour, but we know that it will be, one day.
Jesus Christ was, is, and forever will be our God, our King and our Faithful Saviour. Let us therefore gather to Him and show Him how much He means to us because He has already show us how much we mean to Him...
Points to Ponder:
Are you ever caught out by someone arriving without notice?
What will you be doing when Christ returns?
November 1: Deuteronomy 31 6-8
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 31 6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Devotion:
Far too many times in our lives we get scared of the events happening around us and give in to those fears rather than relying on what we know is the truth. Many of us have a fear of heights, some of going over bridges, some of going in lifts. These types of fears do not have a rational physical basis but are embedded within our physic. One of the most amazing and probably terrifying things for many of us would be a glass bridge high over the Grand Canyon, or worse still the glass bridge in China’s Hebei Province which seems to crack as you walk on it!
But these are just physical things messing with our minds – just as roller coasters and so called fun rides at fairs; some do have a fear of such things. They would not be open to the public if they were not completely safe. These are all to do with the physical. When we seek strength in God or support from Him, we do not always expect physical strength but rather spiritual strength to cope with the physical things we see around us.
When Moses was handing over the reins to Joshua, he was giving Joshua the support he needed through spiritual things rather than physical things. He knew they were both just human beings, but Moses had grown to totally rely on God for all matters, both physical and spiritual. We may not be able to see the things God can do for us and we may not believe them at first, but God continues to be there with us and for us. This is a promise made to mankind a long time ago and one which He continues to uphold throughout time.
God loves us as His children and continue to love and support us just as a concerned parent would or should look after their offspring. The trust needs to come from us as we believe and expect that love and support. Moses was trying to show everyone he had trusted and believed and now it was their turn to trust and believe. Not just to trust in what they could see, but in all aspects of life, both physical and spiritual!
Points to Ponder:
Do you only trust things you can see?
Are you willing to trust and believe in our God?
October 31: Matthew 24 42-51
Key Verse: Matthew 24 44
So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Devotion:
Have you ever thought about what it is that we should be watching for? Should we be watching for something to happen or should we be watching for signs or what? Well, the answer is that if we sit and watch for the signs, it will be too late. Just as if we were sitting at home watching for signs of a burglar; when we see any signs, we know that the burglar is already there... a bit too late!
We know the average lifespan of humans and we know we are human, ergo we roughly know our own lifespan. When we look at our lifespan in comparison to the age of the earth we know we are but a bump in the night of the life of the earth. Yet God wants each one of us to be vigilant and watch. There is no way we can watch for signs because His return may be tomorrow, or it may be many generations away. What we can watch, though, is ourselves. At last, a perfect fit. I live this long, and I have to watch that same number of years! We need to watch ourselves and make sure we are the ones who are ready!
To watch for Christ’s coming is to maintain a state of mind wherein we are willing to have Him find us in the state that we are in! If you know a friend is coming round, you will normally make an effort to get ready so you are presentable for their arrival. We should not be treating our life with any difference to that type of situation. We know Christ is coming. We know we should be ready for His arrival. We know our lives should be at a stage where we would be proud to have Him arrive and see us in... We just need to do it now!
What would you do if someone were to arrive on your doorstep unannounced? Well, that would depend on what state you are in at the time. If it were someone important and you were still in your pyjamas, then you may well be embarrassed... We need to be ready... So watch what you yourself are doing in your life right now...
Points to Ponder:
Are you normally well prepared?
Are you ready for God or for the world?