Thursday Reading: 1 Peter 5 5-9
 
Key Verse: 1 Peter 5 7
7  casting all your anxiety onto Him, for He cares for you.

Devotion:
Here we have a stark contrast between the destinies of humility and pride; humility will bring peace and order in Christians and societies, whereas pride will disturb everything. It is little wonder then that we are encouraged to come forward with humility and to set aside our pride. When God gives us the grace to be humble He gives us more than wisdom to do what is right in those ways, He gives us wisdom, faith and holiness. That grace He shows us will bring us greater comfort than anything we can achieve even through the gratification of our most prideful ideas.

Another pitfall of pride is that we need to have things done in our own timescales and not to other people’s times! When we are driven through pride, we do what we can to keep things according to our own rules and times. In other words, we are focusing on ourselves and seeking to gain the glory from all that we do. But what God wants us to do is to come forward and allow Him to work in His own time. In other words, He wants us to be dependent on Him and not ourselves. He wants to make sure that when we see things going along nicely, that He will get the glory for what He does. We may be the ones sitting in the driving seat, but without God, we don’t know where we are and where we are going.

However, we should not be so obnoxious as to think that God is going to be our own personal chauffeur for us! We still have to drive the car. We still have to be in control of it. We just need to make sure that we drive according to His rules and according to His directions. We still live in a world where Satan is doing his best to trap us in every possible way. We still live in a world where we can “crash and burn”... But we do have God on our side and we do have His protection – so long as we seek it and listen to it and trust in Him. God gives us the grace so that we can stand in faith bringing all our troubles to Him just as He has asked.

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like you are on a roller coaster?

Are you depending on God?
 

Wednesday Reading: Matthew 11 25-30
 
Key Verse: Matthew 11 28
28  Come to Me all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Devotion:
Sometimes it takes the simplicity of a child’s mind to see the truth behind some evil deed or a new person on the scene to see something that everyone currently there just cannot see. Jesus prayer started with an acknowledgement that that is exactly what was happening first; those people who had not been corrupted for a long time by false teaching were the ones that were first able to see the truth when it was shown them.  When we become too set in our ways, it takes a whole lot of energy to change those ways!

Being able to tell young people about the gospel and to show them by example may well go further than trying to convince someone who thinks that they have heard it all before. Having a small group of people who will actually sit and listen intently whilst you try to explain God’s Word will be an example for those that may be stuck in their ways to think about. God is the one who is in control and He is the one that knows where His Word is needed most. It may well surprise you to find out that it is not where you want to be.

We may be struggling to work as hard as we can to do something our own way when all that we need to do is to take a step back and listen to what God is trying to say to us. Children do not blunder ahead until everything is broken, they stop when things start breaking and listen for more instructions. Why should we think we are any different?

When Jesus said that we should come to Him, He did not just mean come to me when you are at your wits end; He meant that we should bring our burdens to Him, just as He took His burdens to His Father. If we want our Father to help us, then we have to bring our lives to Him and entrust our burdens firmly in His capable hands.

Points to Ponder:
Do you get bogged down easily?
 
How often do you ask God for help with everyday things?
 

Tuesday Reading: Exodus 33 12-14
 
Key Verse: Exodus 33 14
14  And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

Devotion:
Moses was a man whose trust was totally with God. There may have been a few questions in the beginning when he thought that God was asking a bit much of a man who had not yet been a leader of a nation, but when he listened, God spoke. His initial questions were not a case of “if you really are going to do this then hadn’t you better start...” but more a case of “you have promised to start, so show me what I must do”. Moses’ attitude was one of “I believe. Here am I. Send me.”

Moses knew that he had a relationship with God. It was not just a case of him knowing that God was God and that he had to do everything that God told him. It was a case of God had promised him a better life if he was willing to make that life with God and not just for God. He knew that God knew everything about him, but it was more that fact that he knew God knew of his intentions and his thoughts. He knew that God knew that he loved Him, and he certainly knew that God loved him. That relationship meant that he knew that God would show him grace; it was not a question in verse 13 but more of a statement saying that he trusted God to take him to the next step in his life with God.

Moses is under no delusion that he is powerful or that he is a great leader. He knows that it is because of God that they are where they are. He knows it is because of God that the people will live in their own land. He knows that it is because of God that they will be forever God’s people. No matter who is the leader of the land, no matter who is leader of the army or whatever; every people in every land ultimately belong to the Creator. Whether we try to take on our own lives and ultimately fail when we die, or entrust our lives in the Eternal God for His eternal protection – we have the choice. Trust in God and He will be with you and give you rest too.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you find yourself fighting the odds?

How often have you seen God smooth the way?
 

Monday Reading: John 10 1-5
 
Key Verse: John 10 4
4  And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him. For they know his voice.
 
Devotion:
What a simple picture this parable paints for us and what an example. Life does not have to be difficult so that we do not know what is going to happen from day to day. Life does not have to be discouraging. If we are reliant on One who is able to care for us and to lead us, then what care should we have of what may be before us?

God’s church is likened to a sheep-fold here, placed squarely in a land where there are dangers to avoid (why else would there be a sheep-fold if there were not dangers?). The sheep-fold is a protection that serves as long as the sheep are within its confines; as soon as the sheep leave the fold, they are no longer protected by the fold but have to rely on other factors. If the sheep were to know just how bad it was outside, would they want to venture out at all? Possibly not... But when the shepherd comes forward to lead the sheep out, they hear a familiar voice and are no longer afraid. They know that that voice will not allow them to fall into danger and they will follow that voice wherever it goes.

We are like those sheep – but we also know we are not like those sheep! We may hear the voice of God guiding us through many ways, but we also think that we know things that others don’t! We look around and we see dangers and pitfalls and we make up our minds as to whether we think that they will trap us or not. We then walk off and face various things because we think we are strong enough to manage them or intelligent enough to avoid the dangers lurking within. Unfortunately for us, we do not know just who has laid those traps and we do not know how dangerous they actually are. Fortunately we do have a shepherd who is watching over us and will guide us... so long as we listen to Him!

See, that’s the big issue. We need to be willing to listen to God’s instructions in our lives and to be willing to follow His will in our lives. That way He can keep us safely at all times!

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel a bit like a sheep sometimes?

Do you trust your Shepherd?