August 6: Isaiah 66 1-5
Key Verse: Isaiah 66 2
Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “These are the ones I look on with favour: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.
Devotion:
This is a prophecy from hundreds of years before Christ pointing to the time when Christ would already have been to pay the ultimate sacrifice for all of our sins. What God is saying is that the person who continues to offer up a sacrifice after learning about the sacrifice Christ has already made, will be guilty of killing the animals needlessly. It would be as if the person is saying to Christ that His sacrifice was not good enough to last!
Christ offered up the ultimate sacrifice so we would never have to try and better it to see if God would forgive us when our sacrifice was big enough to atone for our wrong-doings. Christ’s death on the cross is more than enough to cover all of mankind’s sins and more besides! Because Christ’s offering was so pure, any other offering would be like dirt being offered up instead. If that warning wasn’t enough to get people to stop then they have already chosen to do their own thing instead of following Christ.
When we say we believe and trust in Christ we should be proving it all the time by trusting in Him. We should not be looking for another way in which we can try and better anything He has already done for us – we simply cannot hope to achieve such a feat. But all we need do is look around us and see all the people who would rather try and prove themselves to be better than others rather than agreeing we are all God’s children and all need to live for His glory alone.
We don’t need to prove ourselves by building the most expensive things we can or by buying luxuries we will never get round to using; God sets us a task to give Him the glory. If we are lucky enough to earn a whole bunch of money then we can and should use that to do good; but we also deserve to buy things for ourselves as well because we have done the work for it. That is not the same as giving God the glory though; you can still buy expensive things as well as giving God the glory… How about giving God the glory by helping out fellow people who are in need…
Points to Ponder:
Do you look to the old times, how things used to be?
Or are you looking forward to what you can do with Christ?
August 5: Ephesians 4 1-6
Key Verse: Ephesians 4 2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Devotion:
These words may well have been written to the people in Ephesus, but they are true for every person who is not a Jew. This was just one of the ports of call of the apostle as he went around trying to tell more and more people about Christ and all He had accomplished. Paul knew God had called him to go out and tell people the gospel and this is why he calls himself a prisoner; not because he is trapped and cannot get out but because this is now where he will spend the rest of his life – in God’s service!
Every day was treated as a new opportunity to tell people about Christ. Every day was taken as a gift from God and used well. How often do we get up and think “I just can’t be bothered!” But for Paul it was a calling which encompassed every part of his life from now on. And what was he to do? The same as the scriptures would tell us: to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God. (Micah 6 8)
Each of us need to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. If we are willing to forgive others as Christ forgives us, then we are on the first step toward achieving this. As we continue to accept that people are different and we make up a world full of people who are different, then we can live together in peace. Why uphold our own pride and greed when we can have so much more through peace? Why continue trying to blame others instead of trying to show people a way forward together?
We are much stronger when we work together with others. We are much more able to get things done working as a team rather than going it alone. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t be so full of pride you cannot step forward and say you need help! God wants us to live together with Him and for Him, so let us step up and take on the mantle of being servants for God working with each other to glorify our awesome God!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you blame others?
Would you be willing to stop and help someone today?
August 4: Ephesians 2 1-10
Key Verse: Ephesians 2 8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Devotion:
How many of us boast about the things we have achieved? How many of us exaggerate those things over and over again to make them sound even better than before? Most, if not all, of us have done so time and time again. This is what God does not want to happen about His gospel message. He does not want people to exaggerate and make it sound so much greater than it is because the truth is enough!
We can make up all the stories we like, but having a single story about our faith and how Christ backs up our story is even more precious and wonderful than the stories we make. God allowed Christ to come and fulfil the gospel story to show us His love is perfect and all-encompassing. Yes we do have to get to know it, get to know Him and get to admit to our faults before we can live with Him; but it is all worth it.
That means admitting to the things we have done wrong, admitting to the things we don’t want to admit to because it makes us sound bad. But if God is willing to forgive us just because we are truly sorry, then why do we hold on to those lies? Because, somehow, we think those lies will get us out of trouble – but what ends up happening is those same lies land us in more trouble each time they come out!
God would like us to put them behind us and live with Him in truth and in love. He does not want us to continue boasting about the things we do but rather to boast about how we have been forgiven because of His ultimate love for us. Yes it is scary to admit we have failed and none of us like to be failures, but unless we are willing to take that first step with Him then we are destined to live in our failures forever. Step out of the failures, step out of the lies, step out of the pride and live with Christ in forgiveness!
Points to Ponder:
What do you hang on to?
When will you give it up to God?
August 3: Isaiah 6 9-12
Key Verse: Isaiah 6 11
Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,
Devotion:
How good are you at listening to instructions? Do you tend to listen to the basic instructions and then go off and do what you think is correct, or do you listen to every step and do it exactly as directed?
I think most of us will admit to doing things our own way because we like to think we know best. But when God asks you to do something you had better think long and hard before you change His plans! I cannot imagine what was going through Isaiah’s head when he was told to go and make the people calloused and hard to get through to. I think the job can be an easy one if you set about it the right way – we see enough people grow calloused about God’s word when people do not teach others what God is saying; but then again, God’s word itself will cut people’s hearts to the quick and lead them to Christ.
How did Isaiah know this was God and not some other agency trying to stop God from working in this place? Because it was delivered in a way only God could deliver the message. We need to listen intently to what God is saying to us and not just to take a flippant view of the words written down. God is reaching deep into our souls with a message which we need to hear and we need to live by those words. If we are going to try and do our own thing, then God may well allow us to walk ourselves into a dark corner.
When we are in a dark corner and facing a no-win situation, we will then start to look carefully at what God is presenting to us. But as long as we think we can do better ourselves, we face a dark corner. Facing the light may be difficult, especially if we can look away into a dim place instead; but facing the light is sometimes the only way forward for us and we need to stand firm and listen to God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you seek your own ways?
Will you put aside your ways for God’s ways?
August 2: Isaiah 6 1-8
Key Verse: Isaiah 6 8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Devotion:
This is probably one of the better known places in our bibles when we read about someone agreeing to be sent. But Isaiah’s vision is not a quiet time when the Lord gently visits him and asks him to go tell people about God. Far from it. This is a bit of a scary time when Isaiah sees seraphim flying and calling out to everyone that God is Holy!
Isaiah’s reaction is to be scared because he knows he is a sinner and because God is holy, He will not abide sin. How is Isaiah going to get round that one? At least that is what he is probably thinking at the time. The temple is filled with the sound of their voices and also with smoke. Then one of the seraphim plucks up a hot coal from the altar, brings it over to Isaiah and touches him on the mouth with it. Whilst this would normally burn any person, here the seraphim is using it to signify the cleansing of Isaiah’s mouth and taking away his sin to be presented sinless before God.
At this stage he does not have any problem with agreeing to what is being asked of Him. But what is going to be asked of him? If you were in this sort of situation, would you be agreeing to something before you knew what is being asked? Are you willing to say to God, “here I am, send me”? Are you willing to say that and then wait to see where God wants you to be or do you want to hear the where and when before you answer yes?
God is looking for people who are willing. Not just willing because it sounds good, but willing to go no matter what. God wants us to trust Him knowing He is calling us and will be looking out for us!
Points to Ponder:
Will you say yes?
Or do you want to hear what it is first?