July 22: Nehemiah 13 15-22
Key Verse: Nehemiah 13 17
I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day?
Devotion:
Do you struggle to find the courage to do things against the flow of everyone else? I'm not talking about doing things wrong when everyone else is doing the right thing – that seems to come quite easy! I am talking about standing up for what is right when everyone else is doing things wrong... It is very hard to find that sort of inner strength and be able to stand up against the crowd sometimes. It may be all your friends are in the crowd and you don't want to go against them – but standing up for God is something we have to do and we need to set the example so that others will not be afraid to follow us!
Nehemiah stood up against the whole city and forced them to think about what they were doing on the Sabbath day instead of giving it over to God. The Sabbath was their day of rest and God had commanded they respect Him by obeying the commandments: “Exodus 20 8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” God wanted man to do what He had done during the creation of everything. He had a day of rest so He could think of everything He had done. God wants us to have a day of rest from our labours so we can remember Him. A Day set aside to do just that – remember Him. A day we need to keep Holy so we can stay close to God.
But our lives now are much the same as the time Nehemiah was facing then. He was facing people who were not regarding the Sabbath as holy any more. They had forgotten the true meaning of setting aside time for God. They needed a reminder. Nehemiah was that reminder and he stood up to everyone to make a point. We need to stand up and be counted on Sundays now to show people we do hold a day aside to remember what Jesus has done for us and to remember that He died and rose from the dead for our sakes.
Points to Ponder:
Do you give time to your friends and family?
How much time do you give to God?
July 21: 1 Timothy 5 20-22
Key Verse: 1 Timothy 5 21
I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favouritism.
Devotion:
How many times have you done something for a friend even though you knew it to be wrong? I am sure we will all admit to doing something at some stage... How many of us have been found out and accepted the punishment for that? If we are the ones who are going to consent to doing things, then we have to be the ones that are willing to stand up to the punishment. We have to be willing to admit to everyone that we have done wrong so they will see what happens when they do wrong. Being an example not only means trying to show others the right thing all the time, but also means accepting your punishment gracefully when you have done wrong!
When it comes to us having to uphold the peace or point out the wrong things people are doing, we must certainly not pick sides! For as soon as we pick sides, others will see that we are no longer impartial and will no longer have the full trust in us which they may have had to start with. We have an abundance of trust in God because He has shown us over and over again He is not a respecter of men but of justice and souls. He does not pick sides when people are looking to Him. If we think we are any more just than any other man then we are mistaken. We need to realise we are all in the same bucket and act like it!
Taking out our wrath on others is just a bad sin as helping them in their own sins. We need to show others we are not only willing to accept the punishment for doing wrong, but willing to learn from our mistakes. We must also be willing to show others what we have learned so they will not fall into the same problems we have in the past and certainly point out to others if they are headed off in that direction. Avoiding temptation is much better than having to pay the price for sinning!
Points to Ponder:
Do you accept your punishment gracefully and learn from it?
Do you learn from Gods Word or do you have to have things pointed out to you?
July 20: Leviticus 19 17-18
Key Verse: Leviticus 19 18
‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.
Devotion:
If you want a gentle reminder about the 10 commandments and a bit of an expansion on them, read this whole chapter – but think about the verses as you go.
Hate is a feeling which you think you may be able to hide, but in truth it will show as plainly as night and day. You may not recognise it when you are young, but as you grow in learning and wisdom you will see the telling signs. When we are young we will often confuse love and hate because of what others are trying to do for us. As God reminds us through these words, we are to rebuke our neighbour in love. This does not mean we have to be unkind to show our love but that we need to see when others around us are doing wrong and remind them of what they are doing wrong.
When you see someone doing things which God does not allow, simply ignoring those things and continuing is actually making you a part of that sin... We are taking on part of that guilt because we are accepting it – just as if we are doing it. Our parents will stop us from doing things which are wrong, not because they hate us, but because they love us and want us to grow up knowing right from wrong. If we want others to be able to help us do the right thing, then we have to stand up and help them to do the right things. Following God's examples is the best start!
Just because someone has told us off for doing something wrong, does not give us the right to bear a grudge against them for doing that! Nor should we bear grudges when people actually do things wrong against us – wars are started over simple arguments! We often do things wrong against ourselves, but never bear grudges against ourselves... why should we treat others any different?
Points to Ponder:
Are you carrying grudges?
We would all be in great trouble if God carried any grudge!
July 19: 1 John 4 20-21
Key Verse: 1 John 4 20
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
Devotion:
Love and respect go hand in hand. Without respect, how can you love? Love is one of those words which means different things to different people, but respect is something that is common and most people agree on. How many people will admit to loving someone and yet show no respect for them? How many people will say they do love everyone and yet show no respect for some?
No matter how you want to define love, be it moral or intimate, you still must agree your love must be based on a respect for the person whom you say you love. When it comes to God, you cannot get away from a profound respect for Him. A respect because of His power, His Faithfulness, His justness, His love for us and especially for the way He allowed Jesus to die for us so we would know without a shadow of doubt that He loved us first! With that amount of respect, how can we not love God?
But when it comes to other people, we would say we don't know if we respect others because we do not know them. We would say because we have not met them, how can we respect them... We want to reserve our respect until we have had a chance to judge others – that is basically what it is boiling down to! But did you see God hold back on His love at any point in time to see how we turned out first? No, God made the first move. He laid down His life. He laid down His love first – without question!
We don't have the right to hate anyone in the light of what God has already shown to us. We don't have the right to reserve judgement on anyone. God has made us all. We are all His creation. We need to act like it before we do destroy each other – both near and far!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you treat people as if they don't exist?
What would you do if God treated you as if you did not exist?
July 18: 1 Samuel 24 1-7
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 24 5
Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe.
Devotion:
I think all of us would jump at the chance to get our own back on our enemies... How many of us would jump at the chance to silence people who are treating us as enemies? And would we do it even if we did not think of them as enemies... Unfortunately, many people would answer yes to all of the points above and that is becoming the norm in society. We are acting more like beasts trying to assert their authority than humans trying to gain respect!
Gaining respect is not done by beating someone over the head until they realise you are stronger than them! If anything that will only encourage them to go out and become stronger so they can get back at you some day. We let our personal feelings control our lives rather than logic and respect! We allow feeling to consume our minds until our minds are slaves to our feelings... You may be thinking all this is not such a bad thing until you realise the strongest feelings we have are feelings like rage and jealousy! With them ruling our lives, how are we ever going to make friends and influence people!
David was given Saul on a plate. He could have ended the fight there and then. He could have set himself free... those were the thoughts going through the minds of all of his men as they stood in the shadows of the cave. David was even tempted and cut off part of Saul's garment. Immediately he had done that, he realised the futility of his actions and also the fact he had lost respect for Saul, his king, and had stooped to barbarism! Without respect for others, we have nothing. God wants us to have respect for each other so we can love each other. It will often take the person being persecuted to make the first move before mutual respect is returned...
Points to Ponder:
How can we have respect for others without forgiving them?
How can God have respect for us without us first being forgiven?