April 8: Genesis 2 18-24
Key Verse: Genesis 2 20
So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
Devotion:
No matter how much man tries to be like God and tries to create life, he will never achieve what God alone has done. God quite simply took a part of Adam and created another being so Adam could have a partner. God created Adam as a very intelligent person; he came up with names for all the animals which was probably quite a long task and one we may well struggle to understand, but it was done. He even came up with the name for woman! I wonder how he felt about doing that!
But notice that Adams charge was to be in charge of Eden; of all the land and animals which God had created. He was given the post of ‘Lord of the manor’ as it were. He was not given the post of creator… He was given his lordship from The Creator! When God created everything, there was still one thing missing; the perfect partner for Adam. That is why He created Eve, a partner for Adam; anything other than a woman would not have been the perfect partner for Adam. God created Eve from Adam before Adam had time to sin, before he had time to be tempted; Eve was that perfect partner for Adam, so far, the perfect man. Oh how wonderful things must have been for that time before they were tempted by the serpent!
Adam and Eve were given a place close to God where they could commune with Him on a daily basis… that is before they knew sin in their lives. Whilst they had no sin, God was still able to walk by their sides. The law was given to them verbally and was quite simple; don’t eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That may seem a bit harsh to us now, but then it was simple… ‘You don’t need to know evil, just be good!’
If we were able to be born and to stay away from evil, we would live a very wholesome life! Unfortunately, because of the sin is in this world, we have absolutely no chance of getting away from it! Thankfully we have Christ who was willing to cover our sins with His own blood so we can once again be with God. What a wonderful Lord and God we have!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you think of or about ‘bad things’?
How long would you last by God’s side without Christ?
April 7: Ephesians 5 21-28
Key Verse: Ephesians 5 21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Devotion:
The instructions for Christian households seem to be very different to what the world would have us believe and quite different to what is portrayed on our screens! We know this is not a ‘modern thing’ because we read about so many things going wrong in the bible and history books to know otherwise. We cannot blame others for things going wrong in our own lives – we can only look at what we are doing and ask whether this is what Christ wants in our lives.
I’m not going to harp on about this being something of two sides, the wives submitting to their husbands and the husbands lifting up their wives because the real meaning of this passage is plainly spoken in the first verse; the rest of it is a reminder of how we have a wonderful example to live toward in Christ. If we want to live a good life with others, then we have to do it with Christ in the equation – we should not be trying to do things because we think we can or because we have a duty to do stuff; we should be doing things righteously because we love God.
If we are able to take this great love we have for Christ and share it with our partners then we shall be able to know a much greater love for each other than just trying to do stuff by our own strengths. We may be strong, self-willed, successful, purposeful, whatever; if we leave Christ out of the equation then we will only be doing things for our own ego.
Christ willingly gave Himself up for the church, the whole church. He allowed Himself to face things we can only imagine. He did this all because of His love for us. But He did not do this to be a martyr or to show how good He was. He did this to make sure God was still in the equation. So much of the world He saw was leaving God out of life and He was turning that all around to bring God back into the middle of people’s lives. We need to be doing the same – living our lives to make sure God is brought into our partners, friends, neighbours and acquaintances lives!
Points to Ponder:
Do you try hard in your relationships?
Is God in every relationship you have?
April 6: John 8 2-11
Key Verse: John 8 7
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Devotion:
We know God loves us because of what He has done for us. He has allowed His Son to die on the cross, so we may be forgiven of our sins. But if we are not taking notice of what He has done and why, then what use is it to us? If He has seen fit to do this for us, then should we not be taking this as an example and helping others and showing our love for others? If God is able to love, then we should be able to love too. It does not mean we have to do everything that other people say – far from it. It would not be out of love we do things which are wrong…
Saying we are going to do something and actually getting round to doing it are quite different. One is a promise of something to come; the other is the result of carrying out that promise. God gave us a promise He would send us a redeemer. He carried out that promise. He demonstrated His love for us rather than just telling us about it. He did it because of His love for us, a love which is far deeper than we know. He wants us to show that absolute love to others, a love that will last and that will overcome, not blame and shame.
Can you imagine being able to hear someone else’s thoughts? Would you be petrified to venture out in case you heard people thinking about you? What would others be thinking about whilst they were talking to you? More to the point, what goes through your mind when you talk to others? We may well be able to hide our thoughts from others, but we certainly cannot hide them from God. No matter how much we try to talk our way out of things, He is the one listening to your hearts and minds.
We need to demonstrate our Christian love for each other by doing things in the same manner as Jesus did. Do not heap up blame on others when we know we have our own faults. Do not talk about others when we know our own thoughts are sinful. Jesus was pure and Holy, but He still did not blame everyone; He gave His life for us instead!
Points to Ponder:
Do you ever think one thing and say another?
Which do you know that God will believe?
April 5: Psalms 22 22-24
Key Verse: Psalms 22 24
For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
Devotion:
One of the most important things about being a Christian is being there for others. We are not all spiritual giants and I’m sure we can all admit to points in our life where we have struggled to walk as a Christian. But when we are not struggling ourselves, we can be there for others to lean on. When we continue to see the blessings which God gives us, we can praise Him for everything and allow others to see what He does to us.
I am not talking about the physical things God does for us, but the spiritual things. I’m not talking about boasting about how He helped with getting rid of a disease or things like that because that is not what counts for me. I am talking about the things He has done for your soul. When He healed you and I, it was not the physical which was important at the time but how He lifted our faith to new heights. The ways which Christ encourages us from the inside are what will count when we are faced with adversity in the future.
Things do not have to happen to us directly for us to see the blessings and the inner strength we gain from God. It can be seeing a friend who welcomes Christ for the first time or someone who praises Him for strengthening them; those things may be what encourage us. That is why it is important to allow others to see what He does for us; it may well be that strengthening they need to see to build up their own faith.
There are going to be times where we try to encourage others by telling them all that God has done for us only to get rejected. There will be times when we think everything is going well and try to tell our non-Christian friends, only to see it build up a further stumbling block or barrier between them and God. We need to encourage our non-Christian friends in physical and earthly ways because they do not yet understand what Christ can do for them; but our Christian friends need to know what Christ does for us as much as we need to know what He does for them. And through everything, God gets all the glory!
Points to Ponder:
Do you share your encouragement with others?
How much has God encouraged you?
April 4: Psalms 119 73-80
Key Verse: Psalms 119 74
May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.
Devotion:
Yes, God made us to serve Him, but He has not made us as slaves but rather as children whom He loves and cares for. And as children, we do get into trouble, we do things wrong and we do go off on a tangent now and again. Through our sin, we have effectively made ourselves unfit to server Him and enjoy Him! If we really do want to serve Him with the respect that He alone deserves, then we have to try to understand what it is that He wants. We can do this by reading His Word and relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us through that word giving us the understanding that we need. When we do follow His will, we will find comforts within His arms that we could not dream of. Those comforts will not only be a joy for ourselves, but for those that see us as well.
The tender loving mercies which He shows us are greater than a parent’s tender loving mercies. There is only a certain number of things that we can do as humans, but through God, nothing is impossible. We must not look down on our earthly parents and partners for them lacking the ability to do things but rather praise them for trying. When we see the difference in what God can do, we will praise Him! We will also be faced by those that wish to scorn us or to mock us. Let God deal with them as our parents protected us when we were small. He may still allow things to happen so that we can gain strength through experience, but it is all for a purpose. We do not know the extent of God’s knowledge and wisdom in allowing things to come our way – we should not try to understand it either. Accepting God’s will in our lives and praising Him for it will cement your relationship with Him!
Don’t be too proud to go back to Him and admit that you did things wrong. That pride can drive a wedge between you that will only server to force you away from Him. Dropping that pride and following His will, will serve to strengthen you in Him and allow you to stand firm for Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you admit your failings to your parents?
Do you admit your failings to God?