Sunday Reading: Matthew 24 23-24
 
Key Verse: Matthew 24 24
24  For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders; so much so that, if it were possible, they would deceive even the elect.
 
Devotion:
You would think that after a few thousand years of pretenders standing forward and saying that they are Christ, people would have learned not to accept the lies and to depend on God's own Word to filter out the truth. But not. New generations come and go and as they do they want to be the ones to find the Messiah for themselves; to this extend they start to believe anything until it is too late.  With so much in the way of modern media and journalists flying round the globe all the time, you would think that lies would be hard to cover up – but many still do. Many are perpetuated by the media themselves without knowing or meaning to.

 

Each year as man gets more and more wicked, we hope for more and hope for a soon coming so that we may be spared the horrors that we see ahead. We hope for peace but know it not possible. We hope for our Messiah yet think it not probable. We search for any sign and start to believe many. Because of our weaknesses, we give in to the subtle lies around us and hope they are true; being dashed against the rocks when we find out they are lies. Just like Adam and Eve found out that giving in to a simple lie brings home a harsh reality – so we will find the harsh realities that lie ahead when we give in to those Satanic lies too.

 

We think of the good times we can have, we think of the pleasures we are missing out on, we think of what could be... if only we could depend on what that person is saying. So we give in a little and they continue to spoon feed us the small lies until we too are in bed with their deceptions. We have fallen into the age old trap of yet another lie from the evil one. History is strewn with such cases from the fall of a single person to the fall of a whole country – all because of a simple lie. We have to stand upon God's Word to be able to tell those lies apart from everything else. We need to be by God's side so that we are not deceived too.

 

Points to Ponder:
Who is the single person you are most likely to believe?
 
How do they stand up to God's Word?

Saturday Reading: Matthew 10 17-20
 
Key Verse: Matthew 10 17
20  For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
 
Devotion:
When Jesus was warning the disciples about what lay ahead, it was not about how many people they would face, nor how they would explain His Word, it was about the hearts of man. We should not have to worry about explaining God's Word, nor about how we are going to defend it – it's the world that we live in that we will have to face up to. No matter where we go, there will always be people out there wanting to give you a hard time. People get jealous about others when they see them happy or content.

 

When we go out into the world and face people as happy and content Christians, we are showing them what a good life they can have. Many will simply rebel against that and give us a hard time just because we are happy. Others will go further and cause us physical discomfort – in the disciples days they were warned about being beaten in the Jews synagogues! We may even have to face up to people who are accusing us of doing things the wrong way when we follow God's way. People will call us prejudice when we point out the sin in peoples lives. This sort of thing should not get us down because it is the truth that we need to get out there. How can anyone find the truth if they are hiding behind lies?

 

When it comes to standing forward and telling people about God's Word and how it shows them what is wrong, don't let the thoughts about how or what you are going to say get you down. The more you worry about it, the more you will face a mental block. Let the Holy Spirit guide you through things – trust in Him to do exactly that. That is why Christ said we would be given the Holy Spirit, so that we do have a constant and abiding guide with us 24/7. Allow Him to give you the words to speak and don't close Him out by giving in to the lifestyles of those around you! Stand firm and proud, knowing that He is by your side!

 

Points to Ponder:
What is your biggest fear about showing God's Word to others?
 
Ask Him to show you how to deal with it!

Friday Reading: Psalm 119:41-48
 
Key Verse: Psalms 119 46
46  I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.

 

Devotion:
Have you ever wanted to be able to shout about the Lord without getting all tongue tied or not knowing what to say? What would you do if you were able to have a personal script written and displayed before you for you to read from? How do you think all the presidents and prime ministers are able to look so confident – they have their scripts scrolling before their eyes...

 

We do have the Holy Spirit who is our guide. He is better than any scrolling script. A script cannot change when the conversation does not go according to plan! But if we are willing to listen to Him, then we will have a constantly updating, scrolling script before us at all times. You see, He does not want His Word to go unheard. He needs us to go out there and tell people that He is real, allowing them to seek because He will let them find. That first step of allowing them to see how much we have found in Him will encourage them to seek. But in order to do that, we have to listen...

 

Listening does not just mean listening to what He wants us to say when we come up against people, but listening all the time. How can we ever hope to prepare ourselves for anything unless we are willing to spend some time preparing. Even the greatest politicians will spend time learning and practising their speeches – just so that they will impress others. We don't have to impress others with our knowledge because that comes with knowing God. We just have to impress others by being willing to stand up for the first time and talk. God does not need walking encyclopaedias in order for His Word to be heard – He wants people that are willing to stand up and trust Him to do the talking through us. That means allowing Him to guide us in everyday life so that we will learn to look authoritative because of our new-found whole trust in Him!

 

Points to Ponder:
Have you ever got up in front of a crowd to speak?
 
Will you trust God enough to let Him use you too?

Thursday Reading: Daniel 5 22-23
 
Key Verse: Daniel 5 23
23  But you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of Heaven. And they have brought the vessels of His house before you; and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor know. And you have not glorified the God in whose hand is your breath and all your ways.
 
Devotion:
No matter what we come across or what we see happen, we do like to make up our own rules about almost everything in life. We have rules and regulations to follow, but still we like to make our own so that they suit our every need. What better than to be surrounded by rules that support you! Daniel read the writing on the wall which spelt our Belshazzar's doom because of exactly this. Have you noticed how it's always better, somehow, to read about how someone else has done things wrong and learn from that than to learn what you have done wrong first!

 

God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden for consuming the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He did that because they elevated themselves spiritually to God's position. The tower of Babel was destroyed and people confused with diverse languages because they attempted to physically elevate themselves to God's position. What makes us think that we are going to get any different reaction from God is we do the same? We are not God! We do not have the capacity to fill His shoes!

 

Belshazzar had gone as far as to bring the vessels from the temple at Jerusalem and use them at his own table; bringing something that was dedicated for use with God down to his own earthly use. He allowed all that visited him to drink wine from them. He did what so many people are doing today and worshipped riches before God. Why should we even think about giving glory to something that cannot see, hear nor think? God is the one that deserves our praises. God is the one who deserves our attention. God is the one that allows us to live and die. God is the only God.

 

Points to Ponder:
What things do you sometimes give more importance to than God?

 

When was the last time you lifted God up to His rightful position?