Saturday Reading: Revelation 4 1-2
 
Key Verse: Revelation 4 2
2  And immediately I became in spirit. And behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and One sat upon the throne.

Devotion:
What a wonderful thing to be able to experience and live through – being taken up into heaven... But the part that struck me most from this verse was the fact that the apostle immediately because a spirit. We know that Christ is going to return some day and those Christians that are still alive will be taken up into the air. We even call this the second death. But in reality it is nothing like death because it will be an immediate thing, going from being mortal to being immortal as we are taken up. When that last trump sounds, that will be the instant that we know that we are being called and in that same instant we will be changed into our immortal bodies. And that is the day we will see Christ seated upon His throne in heaven!

This vision was given to the apostle so that we could know things that are going to happen. After the warnings were sent out to each of the churches about the types of things that they were doing wrong, the time came for everyone to be taken up. So, just as we were told about the things that would happen, the vision was a visual description of what would happen too. The wonders that John saw must have set him up for life – just knowing what was ahead of him and what glorious position he would eventually be in, death no longer would have had its sting for him.

What an amazing God we have. One that is present in all the things that we do wrong. One that puts up with all of our sins. One that constantly tries to steer us in the right direction. One that chastises us when we do wrong. One that builds us up when we do right. One who’s love never falters. One who has prepared us a mansion in heaven. One who has laid up wonders in heaven and shown us through John’s vision what lies ahead... as long as we believe the truth, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to die for us and rose again that we should live.

Points to Ponder:
Would it make you happy to know that something good lay ahead?
 
What else could be better that everlasting life with Christ?
 

Friday Reading: Revelation 3 15-20

Key Verse: Revelation 3 15
15  I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot.

Devotion:
One of the things that we do like talking about is God’s love and we expand on just how wonderful it is and how much we can get comfort from it. What we do not talk about too much is what happens when we do things wrong. Think about your relationship with your parents for a while... They continue to give you things all the time because they love you. They also show their love to you in unexpected ways. But what happened when you were younger and did not do what was right in front of them? Did they continue to let you do things wrong in the hopes that you would find out some day for yourself, or did they set you right back then so that you would know right from wrong?

God is much the same as a loving parent from that point of view. When we do things wrong He tries to allow us to see what we have done wrong so that we can either fix things or get it right next time. He does not allow us to run off and ruin things without telling us that that is what we are doing! Should we expect anything less than this? I hope not! This is a mark of His love for us that He wants us to get things right so that we can have the best possible upbringing in His eyes. He wants us to know what is right from wrong and to move toward getting things right the first time!

The more we listen, the more we learn, the more we are able to get things right. The more we get things right, the more we realise just how much we have to let go of our old ways and bring in His ways. If we continue to do our own thing after He has exposed what is right, we are not following His ways but our own – we are saying that our own ways are better than His... we are telling our parent that we will not do what He wants! If I tried doing that when I was young I would not get very far before I would realise I could not win the argument. God is great – don’t even think you can secretly get away with things!

Points to Ponder:
Do you tend to do what your parents ask?
 
Do you listen to what God is asking?
 

Thursday Reading: 1 John 4 1-6
 
Key Verse: 1 John 4 2
2  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God;

Devotion:
As long as we are able to learn from God’s Word we will be able to discern teachings as being right and wrong; that is the way that we are able to see whether we are being taught by someone who follows God or not. If we are being taught by someone, or listening to someone preaching and what they are teaching does not agree with God’s Word, then we have found on which side of the fence they are – they are not for God. But it is very easy to listen to someone who is well spoken or who is quoting what sound like good scripture because they are normally saying all the right things which will make you feel good. But what they are saying has to be tried by comparing it with what God’s Word actually says, only then can we discern whether they are teaching Christ or not.

It is amazing to see how many people will follow someone who talks about people being blessed all the time or about love and good things; but those are not all of the truth. We know that we live in a world full of sin and because of that we will face good as well as bad. Jesus did not come to teach us only of the good but also of the bad things that we will face too. Some people simply do not want to hear the bad things and refuse to listen to them; but everyone wants to hear good things because they make themselves feel good too. You will see rapid growth in areas where only good is spoken of because people like to be uplifted but when they actually have to face something that is not good, they fall even harder because they are not prepared for that.

God wants us to be prepared to face our world that we live in, the face the people both good and bad. We can always stand by His Word because we know it to be true. We can compare things against His Word so that we can know what to do. We can live by His Word so that we know we are living right. Most of all though, we need to realise that what God has given us is sufficient. We have His Word which tells us all we need to know from beginning to end. Trust in it. Believe it. Discern from it.

Points to Ponder:
Do you always believe what people tell you?

How often do you compare what people tell you against God’s Word?
 

Wednesday Reading: 1 John 3 1-2
 
Key Verse: 1 John 3 2
2  Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He shall be revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Devotion:
Do you feel like you are in a minority that is hidden from the rest of the world? It is sad to see that that is how many Christians are viewed and that the rest of the world just does not understand us when we talk about the wonderful love of Christ. How else can we explain His love other than by telling of all that He has done, is doing and all that He has promised?

It is also sad to see that so many children today are not that well behaved. The children will say that it is life or that everyone is doing it, the parents will say that the children do not listen and the schools have to deal with the consequences... What a difference we see when children first start school and they first get introduced to a structured learning environment. Most parents will then be proud to say “that’s my child”. Most will take note because it is a new environment and something different, but how they turn when they start seeing who is having the fun doing the things they are not supposed to do! How many parents are then willing to come forward and say “that is still my child”?

For our heavenly Father to call us His children shows just how much He loves us. We are those wayward children who have gone off the rails and have tried all manner of things that He does not like. We are those children causing chaos and getting things wrong. And yet, He stands by and is still willing to stand up and say “that is my child”... as long as we have acknowledged Him as our Father!

We have not yet seen the splendours that await us when He takes us home from our life on earth. We do not know when it will be or how we will get home – but He is waiting to take us all home because He loves us so.

Points to Ponder:
Do your parents still welcome you home?
 
Is God going to welcome you too?