Sunday Reading: John 21 15-19
 
Key Verse: John 21 15
15  Then when they broke fast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs.

 

Devotion:
Doubt is something that we all live with. It is not pleasant and we don't seem to have much control over it when push comes to shove. When we are diligent in our walk or even in our work, the doubt is minimised because we think we have the answer to each problem we come across. But there will be one time when we have to face decisions like Peter had to. We face decisions for which we can see no way out, so we take the least arduous route, the easiest to live with; not necessarily the right route...

 

Some say that Christ addressed Peter by his original name because of him denying Christ three times previously. Whatever happened, Peter had to face up to Christ after this and He had to answer for what he had done. Christ simply asked him three times whether he loved Him. Each time Peter would have got a bit more desperate with his answer knowing that Christ knew his heart and his mind but still having to face up to the questioning. It would have seemed like his sincerity would have been called into question three times right in front of the others... because he had some doubt in his mind. He had denied Christ because he doubted whether he would come out alive. He had not left his fate in Christ's hands but had doubted and stood back. Personally, I would not like to face such a thing as Peter had to face...

 

These mistakes had made Peter more humble. He had learned from what he had done. If he had not learned, then he would not have been a better man. Christ was not only bringing to light what Peter had done, but was strengthening his resolve. For our love for Christ to be proved (to be made stronger) it must be tested. Resting in our love and never having it challenged would not make us ready for any temptation the evil one has to throw at us. We need to find strength in Christ through everything that we do with Him and not through everything we surround ourselves with.

 

Points to Ponder:
Do you like being tested?
 
How do you fare when Christ tests you?

Saturday Reading: John 10 22-30
 
Key Verse: John 10 24
24  Then the Jews encircled Him and said to Him, How long do you make us doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.

 

Devotion:
I am sure that each one of us at some time or another have expressed some sort of doubt as to our faith or belief in Christ. But as for the other way round – Christ has never doubted us. There is a big difference between not knowing but having faith to believe and all knowing and having the knowledge! Christ's mission was to allow people to find belief and to have faith in Him as our God. All the miracles that are listed in our bibles are there to give us the understanding that we need to know that He is God. Everything that He did gave glory to God and with words like these plainly telling us that He and The Father are one, why should we have any doubt?

 

That doubt comes from within each one of us. It does not come through anything that He did wrong, nor does is come from anything that He did not do. Christ did enough to prove Himself and to allow others to find that belief. He did enough to build that foundation that we can depend on. He did enough to tell us who He is. He did enough to allow each one of us to be saved by taking on the sins of the world. All we have to do is exercise that faith.

 

The Jews that He talked to here did not want to believe because it would have meant changing their ways entirely. He described how He is the shepherd and we are the sheep, but they did not want to believe. All those who accept Him as Christ, Saviour and God will be given the wonderful gift of eternal life with Him. It does not say that all who believe will no longer doubt... because that doubt comes from within us. It is purely within our heads because He is our Christ; He is our Saviour and He is our God!

 

Points to Ponder:
How often do you doubt things?
 
Have you ever known Christ to doubt you?

Friday Reading: 1 John 2 15-17

 

Key Verse: 1 John 2 17
17  And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever.

 

Devotion:
It is so easy to get carried away with all the new things and the sales and all that glitters at this time of year, forgetting about the real meaning behind Christmas. People will come on TV and tell you it is all about being with families and all the merriment that goes with that; but truth be told, it is all about celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. All the frivolity and commercialisation of Christmas has forced us to forget what it is about.

 

We can argue about what colour clothes father Christmas should have on, we can argue about where the tree came into being... but all those things are things that we have introduced to make a party out of a holiday. The more the shops get hold of the idea, the less Christ is in Christmas. I was heartened to see most places actually writing out Christmas in full this year, but sadly it was for all the wrong reasons. Now is probably the best time to spend your money because of the savings that you can get, but remembering the true meaning of Christmas should have been the focus of our Christmas day this year.

 

As we get closer to the end of the year, we start to make up lists about what we should be doing next year or what we are going to leave behind... Think about the things that you have done this year, think about the things that you could do next year; but most importantly, think about the things that you could be doing with Christ by your side. He came into the world to seek the lost and give us all the gift of Eternal life. That gift was nothing that He bought with money. The gift was not the biggest box under the tree. The gift was not the shiniest under the tree. That gift was a gift from the heart. A true gift. Batteries not required! An everlasting gift!

 

Points to Ponder:
What did you get this year that is already gone?
 
How do you thank Christ for your gift from Him?

Thursday Reading: Mark 3 31-35
 
Key Verse: Mark 3 35
35  For whoever does the will of God, the same is My brother and My sister and My mother.

 

Devotion:
Do you ever wonder at Christ's life on earth and wonder if He gave special care to Joseph, Mary and their children? Well, I am pretty sure that He would have had a soft spot for them because they all grew up together, but Christ knew from the start that He was here for all people and not just for His earthly family. We need to take some examples from His life and apply them into our own lives – one of those being our extended family, the church family.

 

We come together to praise and worship Him in church where we show each other love and care, but what do we do when we leave our churches... Do we go back to our “normal” earthly lives, or do we continue to be the Christians that we proclaim to be in church. Too many people do live two lives, one in church and the other out of church. Christ, on the other hand, lived one life which was constant. Wherever He went and whatever He did, He showed His eternal love for all those that would be willing to accept it. Whoever was willing to follow God's Word (i.e. To do His will) would be given the same love as a family member.

 

We need to stand up to that sort of faithfulness and show those around us just how much we do care. It saddens me when people around me show no respect to Christ, by using His name in vain or by simply ignoring the fact that He exists. It saddens me to know that they are not sharing in the same love that I have from Him, that same care that I have. It is because I do feel like I belong to the family that is God's children that I can know He cares and know that He loves me. Just showing a bit of that love to others can encourage them to seek what I have found and to belong to this same family.

 

Points to Ponder:
Did you feel loved when your parents gave you your presents this Christmas?

 

Have you thought of the gift that Christ gave you this Christmas?