August 26: Isaiah 50 4-5
Key Verse: Isaiah 50 5
The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away.
Devotion:
It is strange to see the prophetic words of Christ referring to His Father as The Lord God, but Isaiah would have probably not written anything less of God. Christ declares through Isaiah what is to come, what His role is to be... a Teacher, an Encourager, a Supporter. When Christ eventually came, that is the role which He filled, teaching both those who had learned the scriptures and those who had not been exposed to them. He encouraged the weak and the weary, giving them strength to make sure they would not miss out on the word. But He always acknowledged God as His Father, from whom all things came – including instruction!
If we were to go through life without instruction, we would miss out on so much in our lives. We would miss out on the new things in life because we would be stuck in the past. We would not know the right things to be able to teach other because we would not know them ourselves. We would seem rebellious because we would not be doing the right things because of our lack of knowledge of things right. Each one of us, whether we are just starting to learn about God or whether we have been studying the bible all our lives, has to listen and learn so we can be prepared in the right manner.
Christ listened to God every day to make sure He knew exactly what was going to happen and to be prepared for everything – after all there is only so much that the human mind can cater for. We cannot learn everything there is to learn on earth overnight. We have to go through a gradual learning curve whereby we build up our knowledge and understanding to the point where we can share it with others. Learning about God should be our primary aim, not something we do because we have to!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like going to school to learn?
How much do they teach you about God's Truth?
August 25: Psalms 100 1-5
Key Verse: Psalms 100 3
Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Devotion:
How often do you try and help out with younger people in your church? How often do you take what you have learned and pass it on to the younger people? Passing on your knowledge to children can be so much fun when you get into it. They are eager to learn and soak up everything you say, somehow they know the difference between a simple story and a story which is true.
We really do need to get back to being like children and enjoy our singing to Christ. We need to make sure that we do sing for the right reasons. We need to sing with the right spirit – from our hearts, with love, gladness and humility... but knowing He is ever-present and God is our One True God. We are not the constructors! We are mechanics, trying to do what we can to keep ourselves going. God created us and we have to do our best to maintain ourselves according to His Rules!
Going back to the innocence of a child and coming before Him as if He was in charge of everything should be our goal! Why? Well, He is in charge of everything! He is our creator, He is our Saviour, He is our Redeemer. We are just like sheep living in His pasture. We need to know we can depend on Him all the time, for everything, knowing that He is always there looking out for us – even when we walk astray.
If we are willing to come before Him with thanksgiving and singing His praises instead of our own, then we are beginning to act like the children that we are. Children of God. Children for God. And that's a fact! Is it little wonder then that Jesus told us to be more like children too?
Points to Ponder:
Do you like acting the innocent fool?
Why not do it for real for someone who cares?
August 24: Psalms 46 10-11
Key Verse: Psalms 46 10
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Devotion:
How many times have you played games and wished you had the strongest or best player on your team? How many times have you tried to make sure you had the strongest possible team so you would not have to face defeat? It's quite natural to do that – we try to be on the winning team because that is where we know we will feel the best. So why should we aim for anything less than the best? Why should we aim for someone good when we can have the best?
Our One True God is above all. No matter which way you look at it, He has delivered people from all sorts of situations and made sure we do have what we need in all ways in life. He will go as far as protecting people before they get to know Him. He did not hold back because Christ died for everyone, believers and heathen alike. His arms continue to be spread open wide waiting for all to come in.
When each of us finally find out the truth, we will know He is The One True God. If we are lucky enough to join the winning team, we will get to know Him before it is too late. If we don't, then we will find out after the game is over and know that we were always barking up the wrong tree! It's no good being in the same game, it's all about being on the winning team... It's no good just living in amongst Christians, you need to be one! You need to get to know Christ before the end of your game otherwise it will be too late.
God is with us. He is our protector. He is our Saviour. He is our Creator. He is our guide. He is here with us – we need to make sure we join His team!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like being on the winning team?
Do you know Christ as your Lord and Saviour?
August 23: Habakkuk 2 18-20
Key Verse: Habakkuk 2 18
Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
Devotion:
When it is put so plainly, it just seems so stupid... and yet people continue to worship idols in the belief that by making a shape of their god, their god will somehow inhabit their statue or at least be there with their statue. It may sound ridiculous to many of us, and yet many will put their trust in things they have made up yet will not accept the truth and put their trust in the One True God. By putting our trust in something we have made, we are doing nothing more than opening ourselves to all manner of things that we have not yet thought of.
It does not matter how much we put into the making of our idols, they will never live up to our expectations. We will never get more out of them than we put into them. Idols don't just have to be statues which we build and bow down to as a god. Idols are things we hold up as being more important than God. Idols are things which take us away from giving God the glory. Idols are things we do, things we make, excuses we invent just to be able to walk in the opposite direction – away from God. Idols are things which do not have real life in them. On the other hand, your idol may well be alive, but they cannot give what God can give. Our idols we invent do nothing more than fulfil the pleasure at that moment in time. They are nothing more than a stop-gap to bide our time until we get bored or until we see them in the light. An idol always looks good on the outside, but inside is nothing...
God is our One True God who is in His holy temple in heaven. He is the one who is constantly looking after us. He is the one who is keeping us alive. He is the one who is alive, the one we can trust, the one we can believe, the one whom we can prayer to knowing He will answer!
Points to Ponder:
What are your favourite things you do?
How many of them keep you from worshipping God?
August 22: Jonah 2 5-9
Key Verse: Jonah 2 8
Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.
Devotion:
One thing Jonah learned the hard way is God is actually our One True God and when we try and do anything contrary to Him, we only go towards damaging ourselves! God has given each one of us a free will, the ability to be able to choose what we want in our lives, but as the story of Jonah reminds us, our ways are often the opposite of what God wants in our lives. When we choose our own ways, we are hurting ourselves! God is trying hard to give us the chances He knows we deserve and trying hard to show us what we can achieve with Him!
Why do we insist on going it alone or doing things our own way instead of finding out the best way to do things? Pride... Why don't we let go of our pride and listen to what is best? Vanity... Between the two of them, it looks like we don't have much hope at all, but when we are willing to set aside one for the good of God, then we will be set free from both. Jonah was not willing to let go of either because he was not willing to go to tell evil people about God. He was not willing to set aside his vanity even after God had personally told him to. And where did it get him? The strangest place of all – inside the belly of a great fish.
God made sure he was totally trapped, but totally safe and still alive! Jonah knew of his circumstances. He knew where he was and felt the water, the blackness and depths and even the weeds wrapped around his head! But God kept him alive knowing what was in his heart. Just when Jonah was at his lowest and about to give up on everything, he remembered God and lifted up his prayers to Him. He remembered that God was what he should be focusing on and finally put aside his pride and vanity and surrendered to God's will. That is when God answered his prayers and continued to work the miracle he was living in. That was when he was set free again – but this time he would remember to listen to God because it is God who does know what is best for us and for the community and for the church!
Points to Ponder:
Do you willingly accept good things when they happen to you?
Why should we accept anything less than God's privileges?