June 27: James 2 14-20
Key Verse: James 2 19
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
Devotion:
If someone asked you to identify the Christians out of a crowd of people, how would you go about doing that? Would you look for the well dressed ones, or the shabby ones? Would you look for the ones kneeling down or the ones standing up? Would you look for the happy ones or the sad ones? Just what would you look for? Would you believe the ones who said they were Christians or the ones who rejected Christ?
It is a sad thing there are many who would preach that having some sort of faith alone is enough to get you to heaven. Whilst you may think this is true because the bible says we only need to believe, the practicalities are not! One person may say they do believe there is a God and yet they will not trust Him. Another may do things according to the rules which God has laid down and yet will not fully believe. Looking at both of these people carefully will allow you to see that neither really do have faith in Christ. Being a true Christian does not just mean believing there is a God. It does not just mean being there in church every week. It does mean having faith and applying that faith daily into your life 24 hours a day!
How can we say that we are one thing and yet do another thing. Most people I know will call that being two-faced! So why do Christians think they can get away with it just because they call themselves Christians. In my book, saying you believe in something means that you should show you do believe it! This means that Christians ought to do things Christ has taught us to do. We need to take our faith a bit more seriously than just reading about it or saying we are what we are – we need to prove we are what we are by living up to what we say. Would you want people on your soccer team who all said they could play, or people who can actually play? Christ wants us to BE Christians, not just to say we are or do things that Christians do – He wants us to live as Christians.
Points to Ponder:
Were you ever picked first for team play, or left 'till last?
Would God pick you for His team?
June 26: Hebrews 12 3-7
Key Verse: Hebrews 12 7
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
Devotion:
How many times have you been (or were you) told “just wait 'till your father gets home”, or “Go wait outside the headmaster’s office”? Once I heard those words, I knew that I was in big trouble for the things I had done and needed to try and sort something out before my dad did come home! When we see we have done wrong, we often need a bit of chastisement so the gravity of what we have done wrong sinks in! If we are not punished, we forget about what it was we did do wrong and probably will therefore do it again sometime in the future. But once we have received some sort of punishment, we tend to remember and hopefully don't go there again!
Sometimes when we do get punished, we think we are being punished too much or that we are receiving punishment over and above that which is required. Why do we think that way? Well, it is often because we cannot see how our “little” sin has caused so much of a problem. We think the punishment should not be worth more than the sin. Yet making the punishment worth so much more than the sin will most likely stop us from going anywhere near the sin again – as long as we are willing to learn from it! If we are simply going to complain about how much we get punished, we are not going to learn from the punishment. Instead we will build up a resistance against any punishment in our minds!
Being willing to learn and not to be discouraged by our chastisement is a step we all have to learn. How quickly we learn will be based on how much we are willing to let authority into our lives. We need never be discouraged by any chastisement God lays down because His will for us to learn is perfect – we are flawed in our ways!
Points to Ponder:
Do you accept punishment?
Do you listen when God talks or do you wait for it to go wrong?
June 25: Proverbs 24 3-6
Key Verse: Proverbs 24 3
By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;
Devotion:
You don't have to look at too many man made things to realise some people have gone through a whole lot of training and experience before they can put together things such as computers, cars or even a home. We can't just take on a role of builder unless we understand the reasons behind some of the decisions you will have to make. Learning how to build a wall with bricks may not take too long to learn, but getting to master it takes a whole lot more experience. Getting to know just how much of each ingredient to mix together to make the mortar because of the place the wall is or the weather it will have to face up to takes knowledge and experience. Getting to know how to put it all together takes time to learn. Being able to put it together in the right way takes experience.
Being able to live as a Christian starts with knowledge. That knowledge then has to be applied in order to gain from it. That knowledge needs to be exercised in order to maintain a high level of proficiency. But, just like building a home, the more people who are doing the job, the more experience you have on the job and the more likely you will get things right – so long as you are willing to listen to those who have experience!
Learning does not just come from us trying everything out. If it did, we would never move forward because we would all have to experience the same mistakes in order to gain the same experience. If we are willing to listen and learn from those who have made the mistakes, or those who have learned from others, then we will be able to learn a whole lot more and quicker too. We are wise to listen to experienced people so we can know what they know. Learning to avoid the mistakes and the traps is the most important thing so we can avoid them in the first place. Learning how to avoid being tempted and asking for help when we are tempted is central to being a Christian. God is willing to help and teach as long as we are willing to listen and learn!
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to your parents?
How often do you learn from God's Word?
June 24: 1 Corinthians 3 5-9
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 3 9
For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
Devotion:
Paul's letter to the church at Corinth has this reminder in it to make sure people do not elevate their own positions above that of a human. It is so easy when in a position of power to extend your own position so people have to praise you in some way. Many leaders have erected statues in their own honour so other people may worship them. Many have erected huge pictures for the same reason. Those reasons are purely selfish and forces others to worship them as an idol. This does not seem to be limited to those people in charge of countries but even in charge of churches – why else would Paul have written these words as a warning to the church?
When we start to elevate our own position in a church then we are telling people to take us first and God second. If we do still hold up God as the Ultimate, then we are still telling people to hold us up over others; those others being God's children, just like us!
We need to remember our position as servants of God. Not slaves, not bound up, but free to do what we will. We need to be like willing servants. We need to be willing to do His will and His work. We need to be willing to do His will when it conflicts with our will, showing that we do lift Him higher than ourselves. We need to be willing to show others that we will not lift them above God, reminding them of their position as servants of God as well.
We may well be able to sow the seeds. We may well be able to minister to others. We may well be the ones who lead others to God. But it is God alone, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that gives us our gifts and saves our souls. Let that not be forgot!
Points to Ponder:
How do you treat others in your house?
Do you ignore God when others demand attention?
June 23: 1 Peter 1 13-16
Key Verse: 1 Peter 1 16
for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Devotion:
Have you ever thought about what makes a businessperson as successful as they are? If you take a long look at any such person, in whatever field they are in, they show a dedication above and beyond those around them. This will normally give them their short-term profitability. They are also willing to go the extra mile in order to get the returns they are looking for. Whether they go about doing their business in an honest and dependable way or not will then govern their long-term stability.
Whilst we may look at these people and marvel at what they do, we need to keep in context just what they are doing with their lives. Imagine how much they could do for God if they would turn that sort of dedication towards Him instead of towards earthly gains? Imagine just how much glory God would receive if they praised Him that much instead of their own gains and money!
We can take a leaf from their book and think about the dedication they display, but we need to make sure whatever dedication we have is targeted towards the right place! God is the only one who deserves that sort of dedication! Money did not get us to be created nor did it get us the brains which we have – God did that all for us before we even started thinking about money. Our minds have been tempted away from God with all the dainties and other temptations money can provide and hence our dedication towards God is lacking because of our dedication towards all things monetary.
If we were able to focus the attention we give to earthly things towards God, we will be such great examples of Christianity; others would definitely look up towards us and marvel at what we are doing for God – we just have to make sure that by doing this we are seeking to glorify God and not ourselves!
Points to Ponder:
What would be the perfect job for you?
How much of your time would be left for God?