Saturday Reading: Matthew 20 1-16
 
Key Verse: Matthew 20 16
16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

 

Devotion:
There are so many times in life when we think that we have been outdone or treated unequally. Maybe we have come across a similar situation to this parable where we have received less for doing more, but what we have to remember is that we agreed to doing that work in the first place and for the wage that was offered to us because we thought it was fair.

 

The one thing that we think would cause the most commotion is that of going to heaven... Why should someone be a good Christian all their lives so that they can get to heaven, whereas someone who has never given thought to God for all of their lives but does so in their last days also gets to heaven... Why should the Jews have to go through so much as a people and yet other gentile go through so little in comparison... So many questions can be asked like that, and they are. But what people are forgetting is that they are comparing two totally different things. Trying to compare this life with the next is impossible. We are bound by time and all manner of things in this life. In the next, we will not be.

 

The most important thing to remember is that the gift of God is His to give. We do not have control over what He should give to us. We are the ones agreeing to follow Him, to follow the truth. We are the ones that have seen that we are doing things wrong and that we need to turn our lives around. We are the ones that are in need. Whether we find that out just before we die or soon after we can understand things is immaterial. We will all get the same reward of everlasting life because that is what God has promised to us. How many others we can convince on the way will be our reward here on earth while we still labour. There is no better joy than to see others find the joy you have found!

 

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel hard done by?
 
How much would you do for everlasting life?

Friday Reading: Galatians 5 13-17

 

Key Verse: Galatians 5 17
17  For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another; lest whatever you may will, these things you do.

 

Devotion:
Does the bible teach you how to sin and do evil? Far from it! It tries to teach us how to do the opposite, how we are to live in liberty and love one another. God's Word is there to guide us away from the evil that has sunk so deep into our world. It is there to teach us that there is evil and that we need to avoid it or be consumed by it. It does not tell us how we should combat it, to kill it off, but that we need to avoid it. In other words, it acknowledges that evil is now part of this world and also that if we give in to it, it will overcome us.

 

It all starts with us. If we are not willing to make the first move to live in harmony, then how are we to ever expect t be able to live in harmony with anyone or anything else? If we do not show respect to others, how do we ever think that we will gain respect from them? If we start to give in to things, then before long we find that we have given in to the things that we once said we never would; we find that we have done the things we said we never would. Once we give in in our minds, it is a simple step before we give in to those things physically.

 

It should not be taken lightly when we read that we are at war within ourselves. It should not be taken lightly that we are spiritually fighting against evil all the time. If we give in to that fight, then we will loose physically. If we uphold our lives spiritually, then we will uphold our lives physically. Our physical selves are weak and will follow after our spiritual selves. If we follow on in Christ's instructions, then we will have no need to give in to the physical temptations that surround us all the time. Live up to following God's Word!

 

Points to Ponder:
How long after thinking about something do you do it?
 
How often have you been lead astray just because you “wanted to see”?

Thursday Reading: Philippians 2 12-16
 
Key Verse: Philippians 2 13
13  For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
 
Devotion:
Each one of us can probably remember the things that led up to our introduction to Christ. We can remember things that changed the way we thought about God and we can remember the day we gave our lives back to God. But how many of us have continued in earnest to follow those same ways, those same things and grow constantly? All too often we grow cold in our walk with Christ, we falter like a plant struggling against a sharp frost – we find we don't have the protection we used to think we had... or at least that is what we think it is like.

 

We need to be constantly vigilant in our lives, watching out for those that would like to trip us up. We need to make sure that we are always prepared with God's Word so that we can face whatever others throw at us. We can make sure we are strong by allowing His Word to guide us. We can follow His Word. Yet many times we choose not to follow it. Those are the times when we are most vulnerable – like a plant that was left out of the greenhouse in the sharp frost; but unlike that plant, we have chosen to be outside!

 

We do live in a perverse and wicked world that will continue to do all manner of things against God. We do have the choice as to whether we allow ourselves to be consumed by those things around us, or whether we lean on God to get us through. When we do rely on God, He will be the one giving us the strength to uphold His Word so that others will see us as an example of His works. We need to make sure that when we are faced with all manner of evil around us, that we are safe in His Grip so that we will not slip and fall into those temptations that will take over all others around us. It is through His strength that we will survive and lead as examples!

 

Points to Ponder:
How often do you look at someone and think how good a Christian they are?

 

How often do you rely on God's Word to take you there?

Wednesday Reading: John 6 24-29
 
Key Verse: John 6 27
27  Do not labour for the food that perishes, but for that food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you. For God the Father sealed Him.
 
Devotion:
Many times in our Christian lives we look for the experience of what happens or where we go or who we are with instead of focusing on the real thing. We look to have a good time and to experience things with people rather than focusing on God's Word. It is not a bad thing that we seek to be with people, nor that we seek to share God's Word with them, but when we start to go to church to have a good time rather than learn about God, then we have lost focus on what we are doing.

 

God has given us His Word, the scriptures, the bible, so that we can learn more about Him. He has given us the bible so that we can find out the truth, so that we can share it with others... and yet far too often we leave His Word behind when we go to meet others in His name. We need to refocus our lives so that they are centred around Him and His Word rather than being centred around our enjoyment and desires.

 

It is a hard thing to do, to let go of the world so that we can ride with God; but an essential one if we are to grow in Him. There is nothing wrong with having a good time, just don't leave God out of it. There is nothing wrong with having a party, but why go out of your way to exclude God by changing the way you live just for the party. We tend to do that, change the way we are just so that we can go and do something. Don't you think that is a bit hypocritical? Living for God and then escaping from Him to enjoy yourself... it's rather like saying that you will obey your parents but then have a great big party when they are not at home. You know it is wrong, but you do it anyway. You go against their wishes just for your own sake, nobody elses...

 

Don't leave God out of your life. He wants to be there with you all the time...

 

Points to Ponder:
Ho often do you bend the rules for yourself?
 
How often does God bend the rules?