November 4: Jude 1 17-21
Key Verse: Jude 1 21
keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Devotion:
So many people today try to follow their senses rather than their faith. They would rather feel good for a few minutes than to stand up for the truth. They would rather live for the second than plan for eternal life. They do this by turning their backs on God and focusing on themselves as being the most important thing in the universe... How can anyone say they have love when they focus on themselves rather than any other?
We need to remember the words written down by so many people as they were inspired by God to do so. God has made sure those words have stood the test of time so we can continue to learn the truth and we can continue to apply that truth in our lives. We must have faith in these words; we must depend on them. We may not have personally heard from God, but we can have absolute faith He is the one who has provided His Word for all generations. He is the one guiding us. He is the one displaying His perfect love for us.
We need to make sure we set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. If we are going to depend on nothing more than the rest of the world, then we will fall into the same ways of doing things as the rest of the world, not really knowing what we are after or what will happen to us. We will simply exist without thought for eternity and God. But if we do trust in Him and have faith He will continue to carry out His Word, then we will find we have meaning and direction in our lives. We will find strength and a sense of purpose in all that we do, so long as we do things to glorify God. That is the one thing which will set us aside from acting like animals. God has placed us on earth so we can glorify Him. It is simple, but it is hard. Keeping in His Word will help us along the way...
Points to Ponder:
Are you searching for things in life?
How much do you re-search on God?
November 3: 2 Peter 3 1-6
Key Verse: 2 Peter 3 3
Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
Devotion:
The one thing we will always have to face as Christians is scoffers; unbelievers who mock Christianity. If we are going to rest quietly in our belief and allow them to mock us because Christ has not yet come, then we are allowing them to put down the Word of God. We have to be able to stand firm in our belief, stand firm with His Word, stand firm in our Faith and to be able to demonstrate it too. To do this, we have to be more knowledgeable in the scriptures so that we can tell those scoffers the truth and remind them of their folly. Without some knowledge of the truth, they will have no chance at being saved from the destruction of the world.
God has promised Christ will return and will eventually destroy this world to make another. He has backed up His promise by showing how He has kept every promise which He has made in the past. We have the scriptures as proof of everything which has been said and yet to happen. Those same scriptures tell us of things which have happened and history to remind us of everything which has happened. Yet so many choose to ignore this truth because it is not convenient to them. How will they be able to continue their life in sin if they have to stand up to the truth.
How easily people have forgotten how God destroyed the earth through a flood in the past. How easy it is to forget things over time. How easy it is to forget things which are not convenient. Yet God does not. He continues to watch over us and continues to be saddened by our lack of faith as a world. He knows He could come down and convince everyone by facing us face to face without a choice, but He wants to be able to give us the free choice as to what we believe in so our love for Him will be as genuine as His love for us.
How can we extend our love other than by getting more involved in His Word? How can we demonstrate His love other than by following His will and allowing others to see it? How can we depend on that love other than by having faith to stand by it? God is with us, we must not be against Him!
Points to Ponder:
Can others depend on your promises?
Has God ever given you a reason not to trust His promises?
November 2: Psalms 24 1-6
Key Verse: Psalms 24 5
They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Saviour.
Devotion:
One positive thing about most of us is how we do strive to find something better. We don’t just sit around and accept our life and do nothing more. We also want to know what is going to happen to us after our physical life is over. None of us can truly accept there is nothing more after death... Ever wondered why? Because God gave us brains that could think about it and a soul which can achieve it. He gave us the ability to think about Him and to seek out the truth.
No matter how much we are able to squeeze into our physical lives, we still yearn for something else, we still seek after the non-physical, the spiritual. We have the ability to consider our whole life and we will always be wanting, we will always think of things we could have done, and we will always think of the things we can do if we could just live a bit longer. Before long we will start to ask ourselves, how can I live forever. Then we may find out about God and ask further, how can I get to heaven. We may then approach religion in its various forms and still be wanting, still thinking there is more to it.
It is only when we put our whole heart into a relationship with God that we begin to feel the satisfaction we are seeking. It is only after we realise just what Christ has done for us by shedding His blood on the cross that we begin to realise how perfect a situation we can be in. His has done the perfect thing to enable us to come to Him, find out the truth and then live with Him forever. We can find what our hearts and souls seek. We can live out a life which will be fulfilling. We may still look back on our lives and think of how we could have done it better – but we can look forward and know we are heading for the perfect place. If we want to fill the gap in our spiritual lives, we need to find the plug which will fit it, and that is a life with God.
Points to Ponder:
When do you feel most alone?
When do you call out to God?
November 1: 1 Chronicles 29 10-16
Key Verse: 1 Chronicles 29 14
But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
Devotion:
The one thing we really must remember is that everything we have comes from God. Why should we then be so obsessed about keeping all we have and not giving things back to God when they are required? Why should we not be willing to offer things back to serve Him? Well, it's all coming back to our greed and selfishness again...
There is no way we can really imagine the splendour of the temple which was built by Solomon or the amount of wealth gathered by David in order to make that temple. Neither David nor Solomon boasted about the amount spent or the amount given or the amount they gave. A simple factual account in accounting terms was recorded instead. David stood up in front of the congregation to give thanks for everything that had been supplied and to humble himself and others before God, reminding them this all came from God in the beginning.
If we want to keep all we have and build up our own riches, then the only thing we can look forward to is death. But as soon as we are willing to admit God is real and all things come from Him, then we should also know that we cannot hold anything back from Him. Using what we have, riches or otherwise, in furtherance of His Word is all He wants from us. He has given all things to us so we can use them wisely to uphold His glory – how can we think anything else.
We need to take a leaf from David's life and move forward in our relationship with Christ, showing Him we are willing to work with Him to make sure His Word is heard amongst all nations and we are part of this resource or movement. If we are willing to give what it takes to move forward with God, then He will be more willing to give us more so we can move forward more. It's not a case of what can God give us, it's a case of what can we do with what God gives us!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you set your mind at doing something and complete it?
How often are those things for God's glory?
October 31: Luke 16 1-12
Key Verse: Luke 16 10
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Devotion:
Being a Christian does not mean we have to separate ourselves entirely from the world – without worldly interactions we would not be able to spread God's Word. But, we should not get caught up in the world... As we grow in Christ we come to the realisation we are living a life which God has given to us. Everything we have is allowed by God or given to us by God. You could say we are stewards of God's goods whilst we are here. In that respect, we need to take good care of His goods.
We cannot go through life doing what we want and then finally finding out, like this steward did, that God is not impressed with what we have done with His goods. We need to make sure we live according to His will so we will be able to know what to do with all He has given us. This steward did not have a good handle on his master’s accounts even though he was put in charge of them. Being wrong in just one place like this meant his master could not have confidence in any of his dealings. There was nothing left but to confront him.
Now, unlike the actions of this steward, God does not want us to go out and defraud Him at every opportunity! But God does want us to go out there! If we do not befriend people of this world, then we will not be able to allow them to see how we live for Christ. We can learn a lot of things from people of this world... Just because we are Christians does not mean that we know everything! We can learn so much from people around us and we can use that knowledge to continue to take good care of our lot from God. Whilst we are doing that we can still exercise our faith in Christ. We don't have to conform to this world... just live in it...
Points to Ponder:
How much do you own?
What would you write if you had to give a written account of your life for God?