Tuesday Reading: Luke 1 46-55
 
Key Verse: Luke 1 46
46  And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord,

Devotion:
What could be more encouraging that to talk to each other about the blessings that God continues to give to each of us? What can be more uplifting than reminding each other about God’s mercies that He shows each of us? This is exactly what Mary was doing with Elisabeth; each of them encouraging and blessing each other. But Mary saves the most for God, the one who has made this all possible and the one who is to get all the glory.

Mary knew certain things. She knew that God was and is the one and only true God and that her life was in His hands. She also knew that she was a sinner because she admitted to needing a Saviour. She also knew that she bowed down to God alone and worshipped Him alone in fear and humility. She also knew that she had a wonderful blessing and would be remembered forever for carrying Jesus Christ within her. She also knew that God had done and would do many wonderful things for her. She also remembered all that had happened and glorified God for His mercy; not just to her but to all the generations that had gone before her too.

What an example! Not only do we see someone who upholds God, His name and all that He has done; but someone who is willing to tell another about this all. And then, on top of that, to show what wonderful things happen to those who fully trust in God. Mary had placed her life in God’s hands. She had realised her need for a Saviour. She knew that God was the only one who could save her. She knew God was the one that looked out for her. She knew God was the one looking out for all of them. All that peace and understanding had come from God because of what she had done; simply placing her life back in the capable hands of God...

We need to take a leaf from Mary’s life and bless God for all that He does in our lives. We need to remember Him for what He really is and count our many blessings that we receive from our wonderful, loving, merciful Saviour!

Points to Ponder:
How often do you tell others of the good things that happen to you?

How often do you tell others of the good things God does for you?
 

Monday Reading: Lamentations 3 21-26
 
Key Verse: Lamentations 3 22
22  It is by the LORD's kindnesses that we are not destroyed, because His mercies never fail.

Devotion:
It is places like this in our bibles that we need to remember just how much God does do. As bad as we may think that things are, or as bad as things actually do get, it is owing to the mercy of God that they are not any worse than they are. He does continue to watch over us and He does care for us. We only need to look at each situation and we will see how much He does do; we may be surrounded by bad things and things going wrong, but when we look closely, we do see His hand in everything as He takes care of the most unexpected things. God’s compassion knows no ends; it is like we are given a new bucket-full every morning to last us each day.

Just as the people of Israel gathered manna each morning and each found that they had exactly enough to last the day, we too are shown exactly the right amount of care and compassion from God to see us through. No matter how long we continue to depend on God, He will continue to support us just the right amount to keep us going. When we build up our portions here on earth, they will eventually perish; but God’s portions will last forever, each being given at the right moment and exactly by measure.

With our knowledge that God will provide for our souls, we need to place our dependence firmly in His hands. We know we can depend on Him because of His promises and all that has happened in the past; we must therefore trust in Him with faith, knowing that He will take care of our souls. He has promised us eternal life when we do trust Him. He has not let anyone down yet. How can we even think that He will let us down; it is only our own earthly weaknesses that allow those thoughts to dwell in our minds. Put those thoughts aside and live in faith. We don’t have to shout about our faith from the mountain-tops because our demonstration of faith is something that exists between us and God. Trust in Him, always.

Points to Ponder:
How do you show others you trust them?

Are you showing God that you trust Him?
 

Sunday Reading: Psalm 89:1-4
 
Key Verse: Psalms 89 2
2  For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever; You shall establish Your faithfulness in the heavens.

Devotion:
How many times have you been disappointed by thing that have happened in your life? How many times have you hoped for things and been discouraged when they did not go according to your plan? It happens to us a lot of the time; we build up ideas or ideals in our heads and when they do not happen as we want, we get discouraged. This is part of life and part of being human. None of us are perfect and we will either build up ideas more than we can reasonably expect, or we based one idea on top of another idea and when something breaks in between we get discouraged.

Let us never think anything like this about God’s love and mercy for us. If we find that something has not gone the right way then maybe God is showing us that there is a way that is better where He will allow us to remember that He is actually still in charge. Far too often when we get our own way or we have a lot of success, we start to think that we are the ones making it all happen and forget about how much God does do for us. If we do keep God in mind in everything that we do then we are more likely to remember His mercy, His love and His faithfulness towards us. The more that we tell each other about God’s work in our lives, the more that we will all be encouraged and the more we are actually singing His praises.

Just like trying to build a huge tower, we can only go up so far before things start to fall down. The more that we build that tower whilst trying to keep it up ourselves, the less successful we actually become as we get higher. However, if we start our tower on solid ground, then we are able to build that bit higher. If we strengthen that tower as we go by use of the right materials, we can reach even higher. We need to start our relationship with God on a Rock – that is Jesus Christ. We then need to keep God in our lives as we continue to make sure that we remain firm on our Foundation. Then we need to tell others about how we have done it so they can too...

Points to Ponder:
Could you build a high tower from cards if you used glue?
 
Do you keep God in your life?
 

Saturday Reading: Psalm 100:1-5
 
Key Verse: Psalms 100 3
3  Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Devotion:
If ever you need encouragement to sing praises to our God, then this is one of the psalms that you should read. There is coming a day when every person will know that Jesus Christ is our one true God and at that time we need to be sure that we know Him before He has to turn His back on us and say that He does not know us. There is so much in this world that scientists are still yet to find out, but the more that they seek out solutions for everything, the more detail they find and the more complex the design of nature becomes. With that sort of complexity it is amazing that they do not begin to realise that there simply must be intelligent design behind everything and not a case of chance.

When we come to worship God, we need to make sure that we do so humbly with reverence and fear; but as this Psalms reminds us, we also need to do it with love and joy! God wants each one of us to be happy in Him. He wants us to come worshipping with happiness because of all the things that He continues to do for us. When we get down about things, it is the peace of God that will bring us back up again. When we fall away, He encourages us back again just like a faithful shepherd will do for his sheep.

We, each of us, has to know exactly what God is to us. We can do that through our personal relationship with Him. Consider the importance of having God in your life. Consider the importance of His Word and apply it in your life. He is our maker. He is our keeper. We are His people and we are His sheep in the pasture that He has created for us. Know this. His word, His truth has stood the test of time because it is the truth. Trust in it. Depend on it. Come gladly to worship Him in truthfulness and love just as He continues to look after us faithfully, in truthfulness and love.  Praise Him alone for His goodness and mercy that He has shown and continues to show each and every generation.

Points to Ponder:
How do you like to celebrate?
 
How do you celebrate your relationship with God?