October 15: Romans 13 8-10
Key Verse: Romans 13 10
Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.
Devotion:
One sure thing you will notice when you have God in your life is that you are more willing to think good of others or to think good towards them. But just thinking about it is not going to get you very far; you have to be able to do good as well. Thinking good about someone is not going to show them you do, you will have to do good to show them that you mean well! It’s not good turning your back on some who do not do what you think they should either – just think back in your life and see how many times you have done the wrong thing in the past... Our lives were filled with breaking rules and they may well still be; but with Christ on our side and Him in our lives, we have the propensity to do good... but we still have to do it...
Jesus showed us His love through what He did on the cross. He showed us His mercy by raising Himself up from the grave so we would also be able to follow Him in a seemingly impossible scenario. That love and mercy stands firm throughout our lives. With that example in our minds we need to go out to others and show them love and mercy too. We may not like the fact we should show mercy to those who wrong us, but think more about what Christ has done for every human on this planet! If He is able to show mercy to the vilest of sinners (in our minds) then we should be able to show mercy to others too. Yes, it is hard.
It was nothing we did, nor anything we possessed which gave Christ the idea He should show love and mercy towards us. We just simply are not that good! He did it because of His love towards us even when we were doing wrong. He wants us to go by that example and to be able to put aside our own feelings when the time comes to show mercy to others so that they will get an idea of how merciful Christ is. Only then will we see others want to come and find out more about Christ... It is through His grace alone that we have eternal life...
Points to Ponder:
Do you like it when others extend mercy to you?
Do you know how much mercy God has already shown you?
October 14: Acts 11 12-17
Key Verse: Acts 11 17
So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?
Devotion:
Have you ever wondered why some people get turned away from church? Have you ever turned someone away from you just because they are different to you in some way? I am sure all of us would agree at some stage or another we have discriminated against someone just because they are different to us... Have you ever tried to find out why, or thought about what you have done? Well, it comes down to us being human and wanting the world to conform to our own ways and nobody else’s!
That is the way we are and have been for a long time. We want things done our way... When the Jews saw Simon Peter had gone and preached to the gentiles, they wanted to know why because they only wanted people who had been circumcised (i.e. Jews) to receive the Word of God. They had been told for so many years that they were the chosen people and they expected God to only bless them and those people who would turn to their ways. What had happened was they were now having to mix with people who were not Jews and certainly not circumcised!
But that is where the difference is between us and God. He sent Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of the whole world – not just the Jews. He shows His mercy to all the world. He loves us all. Why? Because He made us all! He chose Israel as an example so others would get to know Him again. He chose the Jews to show the world how much He loves us all. There is nothing our God cannot do. There nobody our God cannot love. There is nobody our God cannot save – so long as they are willing to admit to Him being God and leave their own selfish worlds behind. Don’t get caught up in things that you have invented. Don’t get caught up in your own world. Open your life to God and He will open His to you!
Points to Ponder:
Are there some that you don’t talk to?
Are you keeping God out of your life?
October 13: Romans 14 14-18
Key Verse: Romans 14 17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
Devotion:
How many times have you come across something which someone says is normal but you think it is totally strange? We all have our differences and some of those are normally inherited from our parents and from our friends; but just because we think some things are normal, it does not mean that they are normal! Just like a “Chinese whispers” game where one person whispers to the next and they to the next, our lives change over time as we take on new ways of doing things. It may take several generations, or just a few days, but we do change over time...
But, are we changing for the good or for the bad? If we are going to answer that question, then we have to go back to basics and figure out what God would have us to do in our lives; only then can we decide what should be normal! When we go back and see how God created us and how we have changed things, we will begin to understand just how much of our lives are based on things we like, want or desire over and above those that Christ would have us to do. We take on new ways of doing things and new ideas because we like the sound of what they are or how they make us feel... but it does not necessarily mean that they are right!
One thing we do have to watch out for is offending people just because we do something we think is normal... If we do not take into consideration what others think, then we are most likely to offend them in some manner before too long. It does not mean we have to do everything to their standards and in their ways – far from it because they may be further from God’s ways than our own! What we need to be doing is building up our ways based on Christ’s teachings so we can be sure we are at least getting something right in our lives. Christ is the one who died for us all and we need to make sure we do not block anyone from coming to Christ just because we have changed in some way Christ did not ask us to!
Points to Ponder:
How much of your life is based on your friends lives?
How much of your life is based on Christ’s teachings?
October 12: Galatians 3 6-9
Key Verse: Galatians 3 9
So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Devotion:
When we read the first few books of the Old Testament we can see just how much the people of Israel were looked after by God and how much they too looked up to God. But we also see the evidence of the amazing promise made to Abraham; we see how the tribes of Israel expanded and were blessed just as God had promised. When we look further though our bibles we then see the promises which God has made about other people being drawn to Him and about how He would bring someone who would cover our sins once and for all. Reading further we see the recordings of exactly what He did through Jesus Christ.
If ever we need some sort of encouragement that God carries out His promises, we need look no further than our bibles; even though the world stands as a testament to God man still seems to think he can either do it himself or that God will not carry out His promises. What is it that puts that doubt into people’s minds? The biggest cause is a lack of knowledge in what God has done for us.
We see how much the people of Israel believed in God when He did amazing things for them. We see how they followed Him when He made their lives good... But as soon as something went wrong, their faith would dwindle. As soon as they lost a leader who continued to praise God, they too fell away from God. So much of our faith seems to come down to following a good example of faith. If we stood firm in our faith, then others would have an example to be encouraged by. If we want to stand firm in our faith, we need to stand firm in our bibles, in God’s Word. He has promised us so much and as soon as we understand that, we will continue to be encouraged by those promises. Reading His Word will help us to know Him and stand on those promises and be that faithful example to encourage others...
Points to Ponder:
Are you encouraged by others who succeed?
Are you building up your faith by reading?
October 11: John 12 27-32
Key Verse: John 12 28
Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
Devotion:
What a statement Christ gives here! He knows full well what He is going to face and knows He is about to have the sins of the world on His shoulders and yet He gives God the glory. His initial question is simply to highlight the answer in the next statement; should He be asking God to get Him out of there before things get really tough, or should He be laying His life squarely in God’s hands? He gives the answer “Father, glorify thy name”... He is not doing this for His sake but for ours.
So many times we do face things in our lives where our faith is tested. In those times we need to stand firm in our faith and trust in God because of His unwavering mercy. Yes it is hard to trust in someone you cannot see, but that is what our faith is, trusting wholly in God even though we cannot see Him. We only need to go over our bibles and realise just how much He has done for people in the past to realise that His promises stand forever. By reading His Word we will find out just how much He does love us and how much we can actually trust in Him. “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” We can stand on our faith because we place it on the Rock which is Jesus Christ.
That Rock stood up and glorified God even though He was about to face death on the cross – and that was not going to be any normal death! God echoed the promise before the people when Jesus spoke. That promise still stands today and will stand until the end of time. Jesus told all those who heard the voice that is was for their sakes... Why? So they too could hear that God was setting in place an event whereby He would be glorified and by which Satan would be defeated once and for all. Satan may still be around and will surface again... but through Jesus’ death and resurrection, he has already been beaten. Praise God!
Points to Ponder:
How many times do you have to be told something before believing it?
How many times must God show His love to you?