Thursday Reading: Romans 13 1-7
 
Key Verse: Romans 13 5
5  Therefore you must be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake.
 
Devotion:
If we are to listen to and obey God's Word, then we will ourselves learn to be in submission to authority. For every authority is ordained by God. If He wanted to make sure that someone did not get into a position of authority, He could do exactly that. Each position of authority is recognised by God; not that we should obey those evil ones, but it is still a position of authority. So when we resist the authority, or go against the wishes of those in authority, we go against God (unless of course the person in authority wants us to go against God). So each one of us resisting authority is piling up a bit more judgement against us!

 

If you are a person who is honest and quiet, you will not get bothered by evil authorities, yet as soon as you make yourself heard, they work against you. Generally speaking, rulers are not a terror to the quiet ones, but to the evil doers themselves. This means that many will actually be kept back from crime simply by being afraid of the consequences rather than by wanting to do good. We must be aiming at being good because of our conscience rather than just because we are scared that we will get into trouble!

 

That conscience is going to guide us through many walks in life. If we go ahead and corrupt it now with minor things, then when we really do need it to guide us, it will be so corrupt that we will not have a clue as to what we should be doing. If we are going to reject our conscience from the start, then when we do get a bit of authority in our lives, we are more likely not to listen to that authority because it goes against our wants rather than with our conscience. When we get God in our lives, we may well find it hard to listen to Him because of the things that we have allowed ourselves to get involved with and because of the anti-authoritarian manner by which we live our lives.

 

Points to Ponder:
When do you start listening to instruction?

 

When do you listen to God's instruction?

Wednesday Reading: Hebrews 13 15-21
 
Key Verse: Hebrews 13 17
17  Yield to those leading you, and be submissive, for they watch for your souls, as those who must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you.
 
Devotion:
There are a few things that many who call themselves Christians forget to do. Why do we forget? Because we get too caught up in other worldly desires and distractions that we forget about those things that matter in our lives. As Christians we need to remember to praise God continually and in everything. We need to pray to Him always. We need to rely on Him always. But what many forget is that we need to do things for Him always.

 

As we are reminded here, we need to do good and to share always. Not just because we need to look good in other peoples eyes, but because that is what God wants in our lives. We need to make sure that we live our lives according to His will and not according to the world! And one important part of being good is that we need to be submissive to those in authority over us. Those people in authority over us are typically the ones that look after our well-being and watch out for our souls. They also have to give account to God for what they do with our lives! What they should not have to do is fight with us continually as we rebel and force our own ways. What we should be doing is making their lives easier so that they can get on with the job of looking out for us...

 

God is the one that can and will make you perfect in every good work – so long as you let Him. We need to submit to His authority and try to make sure that we are easier to manage, being willing to do what He wants us to rather than being led astray by worldly lusts and temptations. We need to focus on what is pleasing in His eyes so that He will get the glory. What better way to glorify God that to lead a Godly life!

 

Points to Ponder:
Do you rebel against authority?
 
Are you showing rebellion against God through what you do?

Tuesday Reading: Ephesians 6 5-9
 
Key Verse: Ephesians 6 7
7  With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
 
Devotion:
One of the hardest things to put up with is someone who is working for or with you but refuses to follow any of the rules. Maybe they have personal differences with the people in charge or they continually want things to be run in their own way! There are even programs on television which seem to encourage this sort of behaviour in the interest of business sense! How can it make any sense if it is going against so many people.

 

This does not just apply to servants and their masters, but in almost every walk in life. There is always someone who is in charge or who takes charge of situations. Working together as a team to fulfil the goals is not only going to get you to the goal quicker, but allow the people to work together and not against each other. It a team sport, we get further when we do work as a team and not by each person trying to prove how good they are by themselves. Working with people in life means we are acting as a team.

 

But note just how we should be working - “as to the Lord”. God can see right through us and does not accept a bunch of lies that make us look good. He does not accept us working for ourselves. He wants us to exercise our brotherly love so that we will be more aware of the needs of others around us and not focused purely on our own needs. That is just not working as a team!

 

Our work together has to be genuine. There is no profit in telling others exactly how things should be done if we ourselves are not going to do what we tell others. If we are just giving people what they need to hear but not following through with it, then we are telling them that what we say and do are two different things – you're basically telling them not to listen to you! God wants us to work for good and not to teach others to be fools!

 

Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to people in authority?
 
Do you really listen to what God has said?

Monday Reading: Proverbs 26 1
 
Key Verse: Proverbs 26 1
1  As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.
 
Devotion:
Whilst we may think that rain during harvest is not an uncommon thing here in the UK, Israel rarely has rain during the harvest season. Snow in summer is something that we do not normally find. With such rarities as examples, bestowing honour to fools should be just as uncommon. Why then do we give honour to fools? The fool described here is the unbeliever...

 

Bad people who do not show grace nor kindness are often preferred by businessmen because of their lack of feelings for other people; their aim being to get the business done no matter what the cost to others. Why should they be given such positions of honour when they are dissolving society? Why should they be given power to destroy humanity? Solomon had all the money and power to do what he willed, and he did. He came to the final conclusion that it was folly to follow in that manner – yet so many people still do.

 

Rain during harvest time is not good for anyone. So much work that has happened throughout the year comes to a conclusion during harvest. If that whole year is put to waste because the rain stops the crops from being gathered, ruining them before they are able to be harvested... the work for the whole year becomes folly too. When we put our trust into someone who has no intention of upholding that trust, we have just ordered a huge rain shower for the time that we have set aside for harvest! How can we build anything upon an uncertainty!

 

God has given us the facts. They are laid out for all to see in His Word. Everyone has free and easy access to His Word. If we want to be able to prosper in our lives, then we have to know what we are bringing on for the harvest time. If we put our trust and faith in God, He will deliver a nice dry season for the harvest. If we put our trust and faith in the world, we may as well order rain and snow for our time of harvest!

 

Points to Ponder:
Do you like rain when you have an outdoor party?
 
Would you want God to dash your hopes just when you need Him?