October 15: Proverbs 26 4-5
Key Verse: Proverbs 26 4
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.
Devotion:
At first glance you may well think these two proverbs contradict each other, but what they in fact are doing is strengthening each other. When we meet people who are non-believers, evil or contra anything, we need to be careful how we respond to them. If we respond in the wrong way, we will be weakening our position and strengthening their position or destroying ours and building up theirs.
There will be times when we just have to keep our mouths shut to gain the best advantage. At those times we may well feel like shouting back and giving them what they deserve, but keeping quiet may well gain us more. Christ, when He faced the Scribes and Pharisees, kept His mouth so He would be able to have the last word on the cross. Like Him, we have to be willing to take the cause of Christ all the way – we are living for Him and not for ourselves. We need to listen to His guidance so we will know when to keep still and let God do the work rather than thinking we can do it all! As soon as we respond by shouting or reviling, we are lowering ourselves to our enemy’s position; we are then no better than them!
We learn so much through doing God's will and through reading His Word. It is a pity not to actually use that knowledge when we are faced with people who clearly do not know about Christ. Giving them the chance to see just how strong a position we are in because of our belief is going to heap up coals on them and allow them to think about Christ too. Using the wisdom God has given us through His Word will allow us to talk some sense to people who do not believe. Too many people believe they can do things their own way. They think that if they are good enough, they will make it to heaven. They think they will be able to make their own way there. We can see the folly of their ways – we need to give them knowledge of the one true way to heaven. They imagine their science and reasoning will get them places... the only place it will get them is head of the fools...
Points to Ponder:
Are you easily provoked?
Are you apt to believe people or God?
October 14: Psalms 144 9-15
Key Verse: Psalms 144 15
Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.
Devotion:
If we get gifts or favours from others, do we not thank them for doing what they have given or done? If people are kind enough to do things for us, should we not be thanking them for doing what they can? How about our leaders and those in authority? Have you ever thanked any of them? The one who is above us all is God and He alone is able to do all things for us. We are the ones who have to continually thank Him for each and every thing He does for us. With each new day, God supplies us with more riches that we need to praise Him for.
Any good leader would want their subjects to be in good spirits, to be happy with their lot, to be content with their authority. Any good leader should be looking out for their people, making sure they are protected and they feel safe. When their subjects ask for help and assistance, be it protection or aid, they should be willing to supply their needs. God places people in authority so they are able to look after others. It is an awesome responsibility. David's desire for his people is stated in the last few verses.
Parents love to see their children grow up in happiness and in comfort. If there was anything they would desire, it would be for their children's happiness before their own. To see them grow up as healthy plants rather than weeds gives them happiness themselves. God loves to see us grow up strong in His Word and depending on Him. He loves to see us grow up as the plants He has planted and not the weeds we tend to be if we do not listen! He loves to see us grow up strong in His Word so others can depend on us because ultimately they will learn to depend on Him too. He wants us to lack nothing, to want for nothing; because such is His love for us. For anyone to love us as much as Christ does means they are willing to do all things for us which we ask for. Asking means we are depending on them – that is His aim, to make us realise that we can and must depend on Him!
Points to Ponder:
If you had children, what would be your first wish for them?
Are you rebelling against God's wishes for you?
October 13: Luke 6 43-45
Key Verse: Luke 6 45
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Devotion:
Why all the listening? Why do we need to listen to those in authority? We all aspire to live in a good world; a world where we can enjoy all things and not fight with anyone. If we want to be anything like that, then we have to learn what is right and what is wrong. When we have learned the law, we need to apply what is right and avoid what is wrong. By doing so we will get used to doing and living with things which are right making us expect correct things all the time... But with so much sin in the world we have got the biggest uphill battle of our lives!
God has the ability to change people’s hearts for the better. Through listening to, learning and applying His Word, we are able to live closer to the ideal. When we have Him in our hearts, we allow others to see a bit of Him through the way we act and through the way we are. As long as we are willing to uphold His law and do His will, then we will be able to show others a part of the goodness He shows to us. But as soon as we turn our backs on Him, we spew out all the garbage that is already in our hearts – and our mouths are not too good at holding back!
You see, the biggest problem we have is that we tend to speak what is in our hearts. If we have learned to live in a particular way, so we are more likely to let things come out of our mouths which we have learnt to be like. No matter how much we try to change ourselves, we will face a long uphill battle. Christ, on the other hand, can give us the strength to bring forward all that is good and to bury many things which are rotten. We have been given the promise He will do this for anyone who asks and once we have accepted Him as Saviour, He will never leave us! With Him in our hearts we will have a much better chance of living the way He would like us all to live!
Points to Ponder:
Do you see a difference in people when they fall in love?
Do see the difference in people when they come to know Christ?
October 12: Luke 6 37-42
Key Verse: Luke 6 40
The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.
Devotion:
One of the biggest reasons why we do rebel against authority is because we tend to think we know more than them and declare we can do better than them. We judge them according to our own standards even though we may not have all the facts at hand. It is so easy to say they don't know what they are talking about just because we have been exposed to the problem – but what we do not know it whether they have any experience in the problem.
This goes for anything in life, not just problems. People are placed in authority or are already in authority because they have earned the position or are there because they have been around a whole lot longer than we have. We all gain experience and wisdom through the things which happen to us each day; being around a bit longer than others means those same people have more knowledge and wisdom... We just don't see it that way; instead we impose our rather restricted view on the situation on everything.
The blind person can “see” everything they touch, hear or smell. If they do not have a cane, they may well walk into a ditch – no matter whether they have a master’s degree in physics or not! Those who are not blind can see “the bigger picture” and avoid the ditches – but only if they have their eyes open! When we are so caught up in other issues, we often find we do not see the small problems coming and fall right into them. Those who are in authority may well see many more small problems coming because they have been there before. Christ wants us to live without feeling we need to blame everyone else. We need to accept responsibility and move forward with that new-found wisdom so we can take up our position of responsibility when the time is right.
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever thought what you will be doing when you get old?
How much do you listen to God to guide you through life?
October 11: Romans 13 1-7
Key Verse: Romans 13 5
Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
Devotion:
If we are to listen to and obey God's Word, then we will ourselves learn to be in submission to authority. As stated here every authority is ordained by God. If He wanted to make sure 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 ourselves!
If you are a person who is honest and quiet, you will probably not get bothered by evil authorities, yet as soon as you make yourself heard, they would work against you. Generally speaking, rulers are not a terror to the quiet ones, but to the evil doers themselves. This means 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!
Our conscience is going to guide us through many walks in life. If we go ahead and corrupt it now with minor things, when we really do need it to guide us, it will be so corrupt 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 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 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?