July 7: 2 Timothy 3 14-17
Key Verse: 2 Timothy 3 16
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
Devotion:
One way we can learn how to be a friend to someone is to learn more about them so we will be able to understand them better and to be able to help them in more ways but more specifically to be able to help them in the right way. Each of us is different and we need different things, so what may please one person may not please another; getting to know them as individuals will help you to understand what they need themselves. If we want to be a friend to Christ, then we have to learn more about Him to find out what sort of things will please Him. You can be assured that what will please man will not always please God!
This is why we have our bibles, the scriptures; so we can learn about Him. The bible is not just a novel written to tell us what is right and what is wrong; our bibles are more like instructions, so we may learn more about God. The more we learn about Him, the easier it becomes for each of us to be able to do the things that we know will please God. It is the bible which allows us to see that Christ is our Saviour and exactly what we need to do in order to be saved from our sins. The world will not teach us this because the world has been corrupted. God’s word, on the other hand, is not, (This is not to say people have not written corrupted versions of the bible!!) and as we read through our bibles, we find out what other people have written down under God’s instruction so we may know the truth about God through other people’s eyes. God is the one who has given them the inspiration to write these words – how else would they have been able to remember all these things in the details that they have?
It’s not just in a few years after Christ was crucified that these words have been written down because the Old Testament books have been written over thousands of years so that we would be able to learn about what God has done right from the beginning. When we learn things in science, we are finding out about man’s view of what has happened, modern man. Our view does not always match up to what has happened because we are still learning about the awesomeness of our God. We need to stand up for our bibles, knowing they tell us the truth so we can know the truth about of friend, Jesus Christ.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you know about your best friend?
How much have you found out about Christ?
July 6: James 2 23
Key Verse: James 2 23
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
Devotion:
This refers back to Genesis 15 6 which states “And he (being Abraham) believed in God. And He (being God) counted it to him (Abraham) for righteousness.” That verse shows us Abraham believed in God and that then brought out the righteousness which was shown. In other words, believe in God and through your belief, or because of it, you will do things differently and God will treat you differently. Abraham’s belief and total trust in God was demonstrated aptly by the way he was willing to follows God’s request to sacrifice his own son. He had absolute belief God would make good out of this situation and was doing what God asked of Him. He trusted that God would still deliver on His promises. His actions did indeed speak louder than any words.
Abraham was justified before he went up the mountain to offer up his son; it was not because of this action he was justified. This action was an open demonstration of his faith. An open demonstration of our faith in God may be as simple as going to church even if our friends are skipping a week; some simple act which will show God that He is the one you trust.
But the best part of this for me is that Abraham was called a friend of God. What better title could you ever get than being a friend or son of God? How often do you try to make friends with the most influential people you meet just so you can go a bit further? How often do you make friends with others just so you can be seen to be in with the “best” people? We do it all the time because we are easily swayed by little things which people do and recognise. What we miss most of the time is the fact God does so much around us; He is the one we should be looking up to rather than our friends or the people around us. He is the one we should be aiming to be our best friend because He is the one that will never let us down because He cannot die. Being in a total trust friendship with Christ will allow us to see just how awesome He is and just how much we can trust Him in absolutely everything.
Points to Ponder:
Do you look for friends based on popularity?
Are you aiming at making God you best friend?
July 5: James 2 14-17
Key Verse: James 2 17
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Devotion:
One thing I have learned the hard way is that if you are not prepared to do something rather than just talk about it, it will never get done! In this respect, there is nothing different about something you say you will do and your faith. If you say you are going to do something, then you will have to get up and do it otherwise it will not get done. If you say you have faith, then you have to exercise that faith otherwise it is nothing.
We can say we believe in God and still not get to heaven. Satan knows God exists, he does not have to exercise faith; but that does not mean he is going to heaven. He believes that God exists, but he does not put his faith and trust in God. If we start to act in the same manner, then should we expect to get any different treatment than Satan would get. Sounds bad when you put it like that!
In the same manner, if we are going to talk about our love for others, we need to exercise that love because if we do not show people we love them, they may well not believe what we are saying. Who can blame them for not believing someone who always says one thing and does another thing? Don’t get me wrong, our faith alone is what does save us, for if we believe in God, He is just and willing to forgive us and take us to heaven. But let’s be honest, would you rather have someone in your life who simply told you they loved you, or someone who told you and showed you that they loved you? I would rather have the latter because it would give me confidence in their words.
Actions do indeed speak louder than words in our lives! The greatest example of this has got to be what Christ did for us. He died for our sins while we were yet sinners (Romans 5 8)
Points to Ponder:
How often do you do things for others without them having to ask you?
How often do you do things for God without Him having to ask you?
July 4: 1 Corinthians 13 1-3
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 13 2
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
Devotion:
The one thing we must never exclude from our lives with Christ is love. No matter how much we do, how much we give away, how much we are recognised, how much we profit, none of it is worth anything unless we have love as the driving force behind it all – just as Jesus told us too. I am not talking about the love one has for another person, excluding others, but the true and meaningful love that we must have to God and to man. We may think of our love for a partner as the be all and end all, but the love we should have for God and man should transcend that. That may sound odd but think it through with me…
The love we have for a partner is something truly special. It is a love which nothing should be able to break apart. It is a love that should last and a love which means so much. Why people today treat it like just another commodity I am not sure… But that love is a bench mark from which we can see what our love for God should be like. God is the one who has loved you right from the beginning of time and will continue to love you throughout eternity. He is the one who has given His Son to die for our sin debt. He is the one who has shown true love. Our love for Him should be as true as our faith in Him; yet that is where many of us do fall short of the mark.
Jesus has taught us that we need to show our love to our partners and family first. There is a reason for this. With our partners and family, we have a visible target (excuse the harsh description) whereby we can focus our love and attention and have a response that is as visible too. Our love for God is a love in the invisible and a response that may be invisible to us too; that is why we may get downhearted from time to time. By focusing our love on the visible, we can learn how to focus our love on the invisible and have utter faith that love first started from His end. We try to think of our love in terms of the visible things in life, when what we should be doing is having the faith to believe and rest upon the love of God which transcends all else. Without love, we are nothing…
Points to Ponder:
Does your family know how much you love them?
How do you show your love to God?
July 3: Luke 10 17-20
Key Verse: Luke 10 20
However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
Devotion:
Jesus did not just appoint 12 disciples as we often think, He appointed at least seventy people to go into the various cities into which He was planning a visit and in setting them this task He gave them the power to bless and heal; but most important was the message they had to tell that Christ was coming soon to their city. When those seventy returned they were astonished by what they had done when it was done in Christ’s name. Jesus gave them a stark warning… Don’t let it get to your heads!
Pride can bring down anyone. It is what brought down Satan in the beginning as Jesus used him as an example. Yes, if we have faith the size of a mustard seed we can move a mountain, but if we are going to show off or abuse that power God gives us then we are working against the very name of Jesus. We are given the power to do things in Jesus’ name because He wants others to see that He is our God; we are not given the power to show how good we are. We are the ones who are the sinners, we are the ones who continue in our life of sin… but that should not stop us from doing things in Christ’s name. If He was able to take sinners back then and make them do wonders in His name, then what is the difference between then and now?
Time has changed the world we live in, not just because everything is modern, but because of the way people act and the way they expect things to happen. There are so many things we can do now which could not be done back then. There are so many modern appliances to give us physical comforts. We expect people to act according to rules we have come up with. Society is putting God into the background so they can do their own things thinking they have been able to conquer so many things that they must be good enough now. God is the one who can and does give out the power, He alone is the one who has all the power; we are simply instruments that can be used to show others of God’s power. Let us never forget that. Let us never forget He is the one who allows us to get to heaven!
Points to Ponder:
What has been your biggest accomplishment in life so far?
How are you glorifying God for what He has done through you?