May 28: Acts 13 32-37
Key Verse: Acts 13 37
But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
Devotion:
The resurrection of Christ is the one great proof we have that Christ was and is the Son of God. Death was the means by which He was able to achieve so much, and death could not hold Him back because He was raised up from the dead before His body started to decay. For any normal human, the body starts to decay as soon as we die and it shows up by starting to smell around the third day. Christ’s body, on the other hand, did not get to see death for long enough to see any physical corruption.
He was the one who God is heaven above said of “This is My Son, the Beloved, hear Him.” He is the one who gave us the promises made from the times of King David which we can read so much about in our Bibles. He is the one who made sure we were given all of those promises. Even someone as great as David was buried and consumed by earthly things; yet Jesus Christ was able to raise Himself from the grave to give us the eternal hope that we have.
When we are born we have to learn to survive within the society which surrounds us; we have to work for those around us of the same generation. Christ was born and died for all generations from Adam and Eve through to the last man alive. We need to live up to that hope He has given us. We need to live by faith in all that He has accomplished at the cross. We need to trust in Him because He alone is our living God. He alone has the power to deliver on the promises made of old. He alone is the One to fulfil those promises as He has done all throughout history.
We have the oldest history books through to the promises of the future all held within our bibles. It is all the wisdom of God that we have to know in order to know Him. Once we get to know Him there is no turning back because once we accept Him, we can say we have joined Him in heaven already because that is what He has promised.
Points to Ponder:
What one thing stands out in history for you?
What one thing that Christ did stands out for you?
May 27: Psalms 71 14-18
Key Verse: Psalms 71 17
Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds.
Devotion:
If we do accept there is no greater power than God, then we must accept whatever comes our way is under His control. To make sure we continue to support, praise and fear God, we must make sure we continue in His Will. Part of that will is to make sure we spread the gospel as Christ Himself reminded us. When we display the hope without end which we have in Christ, we are spreading The Word. But more than that, we should be willing to tell others what is held within our bibles. We may not be able to find the words to tell them about Christ, but if we repeat Christ’s Words to them, then they will be willing to listen as we did once. It is not the eloquent of others which will convince us, but the Word of God itself that will convince us God is real.
We have to then make sure we are willing to repeat God’s Word to those around us. We must be willing to recount the gospel in part. There is no way we are all going to be like A. Scourby who was able to record the whole bible for people to listen to, but we can give people an insight by being able to recount a verse or two.
Why? Because when we are able to recount God’s Word it will show others it means something to us. When we hear people recount poems it is because it means something to them. When we show others that God’s Word mean something to us, it will allow them to know that it is real and they will not push it aside as quickly as if we had to read it from a piece of paper or book.
It does not stop after we have told one person about God. We need to continue to be willing to show people about God and to encourage others. No matter how many generations there are between us and the hearer, be it our grandparents or our grandchildren, we need to be able to show them we care about God’s Word.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you read to someone?
How often is it about God?
May 26: Isaiah 42 14-17
Key Verse: Isaiah 42 17
But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.
Devotion:
How many cultures around the world can you think of who bow down towards small statues of their gods? How many people willingly carve a figurine which depicts their god so they can worship before it? There are people all around the world who do exactly that and many of them will make statues of Jesus too; but what we cannot know without talking to them is who they are actually praying to. It is interesting to look into different cultures to see how they worship their gods and to get to know something about the gods they worship. Our bibles tell us there is only one God and He is the creator of everything. The record in our bibles comes from the people who have recorded things that have happened. These scriptures have been passed down generation after generation so people can be told the truth.
It is when fear approaches that many will turn to a god for support; it is at that time many will bring out a statue or symbol which depicts their god in the hopes it will in some way conquer their fear. These words from Isaiah may sound harsh at times, but when you take them in context and realise people are putting little figurines in place instead of our all-powerful God; things fall into perspective. He reminds us God sees and hears everything. This does not mean we have to tremble with fear that He is going to come and force us to our knees or demolish our world, but that when we see the truth we will willingly bow down before Him and accept His will in our lives.
In other words, there is no other god who will show him or herself in a manner depicting our Very God because there is nothing that will not bow down to Him in the end. There is no other. All others are either figments of peoples desire for a supporting god or false gods which will themselves bow down before God on His return. I am glad that I have been introduced to God and that He is willing to allow me to join Him in heaven just because He already loved me first!
Points to Ponder:
Who or what would you bow or curtsey to?
How much do you know about God, Christ and the Holy Spirit?
May 25: Ephesians 5 18-21
Key Verse: Ephesians 5 19
speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,
Devotion:
Drinking to get drunk is a sin. Why? Because what we do is to voluntarily drink excessively so our minds and bodies are impaired; thus we have given in to either a habit or desire and opened ourselves up to all manner of things for which our mind no longer has control. We have given our bodies over to almost anything that may come our way! You may think it would not matter once or twice, but what is actually happening? It only takes once to die!
You are abusing your body; it is God’s gift to you and His dwelling place if you are trying to live a life with Him. You are closing yourself off from God because you are not being honest with yourself. Your mind is being hurt, your memory lost and your judgment impaired. It is depriving you of reason and setting yourself as a fool. It wastes your estate, makes you unfit for any duty, exposes you to shame… and we could carry on for a while. But it’s not just drinking I want to talk about, I’m just using it as an easy example. I want to highlight every sin in our lives which we willingly let in.
If we want to be able to stand up against these sins, then we have to have some way of reminding ourselves about how stupid it is to go and sin voluntarily. We have to have a constant reminder of all that is good. But we don’t like to listen to anyone who nags us continually, so we are the ones who have to somehow remind ourselves. How are we supposed to do that? One of the best ways is to remind yourself in songs, psalms, poems or other thoughts where you can involve God in your thought process. You don’t have to embarrass yourself by singing out loud (with a voice like mine you don’t want me to sing out loud) but with the God’s Words going through your mind (instead of random thoughts) you will be able to focus on things which are righteous.
Give Him the praise. Give Him the glory. Remind yourself just who is in charge. Remind yourself who your friends are and keep them close. Live together in fear of the Lord and He will continue to be your guide.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you sing or listen to music?
How often do those songs praise God?
May 24: 1 Thessalonians 5 23-24
Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5 24
The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
Devotion:
Without God and His instructions we have no chance at getting things right! There are just too many distractions and temptations that will bring us down without having God’s Word to tell us what is right and wrong and He Himself to guide us through the minefields. So, unless we are willing to open our eyes and ears to His Word, we are not going to get very far in our spiritual lives. With our eyes and ears open, we will see and hear the truth; from there, we can discern right from wrong in our hearts and follow the right path. He is the very God of peace. He has clearly demonstrated this through His Son going to the cross on our behalf showing us without any doubt that He loves us.
When we turn from our own lives and serve our One True God instead of our own desires, we have hope through our faith of an eternal life with Christ. That hope is implanted in us from the beginning; whether we realise it is down to how we apply things in our life or not, or, more specifically, how we treat God’s Word and Him in our lives. We will all have our doubts at times because we lack the ability to truly depend on our faith above all else. Our own love may dwindle due to that lacking; unlike our God whose love has been proven above all else and has no end. We have to work at our love, faith and hope because we have those doubts. We have to work at our lives because of all the temptation surrounding us. It can be very hard work!
God sent His Son, not just for our souls to survive, but for every part of our beings to survive throughout eternity. He wants our bodies, our souls and our spirits to be maintained through eternity with Christ. To this end, we will be given a ‘new body’ when we get to be with Him; one which will be able to last forever. He has already paid the ultimate price for every single one of us. He has paid the perfect price to cover all of our sins. He has done everything required from His side; the rest is up to us. He has been faithful from the beginning and will be throughout eternity. He has promised that will happen and we can fully trust it. Let us therefore come to Him in faith, trusting in and depending on Him for everything.
Points to Ponder:
Who would be the one to physically wash and clean you if you were not able?
God is the one to wash and clean us inside because we are not spiritually able!