May 13: Luke 20 1-8
Key Verse: Luke 20 4
John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?
Devotion:
Sometimes I look at the words Jesus came out with and marvel at how He was able to ask or speak the right things to change people’s hearts. But then I think about the people around me and I also marvel at how they are able to say exactly the right things when needed for others to learn from. It may be that some are great scholars who have spent a long time studying the word; but most of the time it is the Holy Spirit working behind the scenes giving them the right words to hear.
Jesus was no different in this respect because He was always listening to God and obeying God; even though He is part of God, He continued to listen and obey when here on earth. God cannot disagree with Himself! Yet the people around Him tried to trip Him up by asking impossible questions or difficult questions. Jesus knew His time was not yet come to give Himself up to the cross, so He threw back the question to them in a different form knowing they too would not be able to answer.
Sometimes in our lives as we try to tell others about Jesus we may have to admit we do not know the answer and defer the question to another time. Don’t be afraid to tell people you do not know the answer yet. The Holy Spirit will give you the answer when the time is right for you to understand it, but it will probably not come as a huge announcement over the radio just for you! It may well be a quite word you hear or a yearning to go and read a section of scripture by yourself. Don’t turn away those small, quiet voices from God.
To change people’s hearts, Jesus opened up the bible to people and allowed them to find the truth. As His disciples, we need to continue doing the same, opening up the Word to those around us so they can be encouraged by the Holy Spirit to find the truth. The more people we can convince to listen to God through the Holy Spirit, the easier our task becomes in sharing the Gospel for Christ.
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it difficult to find the right words to say?
How much do you rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance?
May 12: Luke 7 24-28
Key Verse: Luke 7 28
I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Devotion:
John the Baptist sent messengers to go and find out if Jesus really was the Messiah; he knew the Messiah was coming and knew what He would be able to do. So, Jesus continued to perform miracles in front of the messengers until He knew they had seen enough to be convinced themselves. He then sends them back to John to tell him what they have seen and heard. Not to miss the opportunity, Jesus then turns round to the people around Him and reminds them of the scriptures which tell of this time when a prophet will come ahead of the Messiah and prepare the people for His coming.
But it is this last verse which I would like to focus on today because it says something very special to me: the very least in the kingdom of God is greater than the most important prophet who came to earth! Now we may argue who is the most important prophet, but at this time it was John because this was happening in front of the people there and then. Many of the people in the crowd had been to see John and many were baptised by Him because they believed the things he was telling them.
Jesus knows the Father because He had already been in Heaven and knew of the great things which were happening. Jesus knew the absolute truth because He was there with God. We know of the truth because of the people who have told us about the truth. Those preachers and teachers are great in our minds because they have opened up the truth to us in a way we have understood; but none of them are as great as someone who is there in Heaven because they are now living the truth!
If you find it hard to believe other people, then turn to the One who knows the truth and ask Him to open the truth up to you in your own heart. Jesus wants us all to know the truth so we will be able to join Him in Heaven one day. He has sent various people our way to prepare the way and we need to listen to them so we can find out who to go to for help. Once we do accept the truth is out there, God can teach us through the Holy Spirit and we can know the truth too.
Points to Ponder:
Do you believe everything you hear?
Will you trust the word of many people to seek Jesus, the Way and the Truth?
May 11: Luke 1 13-17
Key Verse: Luke 1 15
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
Devotion:
Do you know who God is going to choose to serve Him? How does God choose? We have probably heard enough people tell us about how God looks into the heart and not on outward appearance, probably remembering how King David was chosen above his brothers… But God does a whole lot more than simply look into someone’s heart!
I marvel at some of the testimonies of the great men and women of God around me and I wonder how God could have chosen me when I see these people. I listen to how broken and wicked some of them were and wonder how God could have ever seen anything good in their hearts; but when I see the amazing work these people are able to do then I know why God has chosen them. God picks people He knows will be able to do great things for Him and because of this I continue to trust in Him knowing there is greater work for me to do for Him!
God is not limited by the ability of men and women. He is not limited to anything here on earth. When God chose John the Baptist to go out and tell people Christ was coming, He did not pick someone who was in prison at the time, nor someone who was the greatest speaker of that time. Instead God chose someone who was not even conceived yet! God knew of the great things John could do and so He filled John with the Holy Spirit even before he was born.
If you are still waiting for God to do great things in your life, then you are probably not waiting on the Holy Spirit to guide and direct you. We have an amazing uplink to God through prayer, the most certain way of asking God for anything. We also have the most amazing downlink from God through the Holy Spirit. We desperately need to listen to Him and allow His guidance and wisdom to fill our daily lives. Prepare yourself daily by keeping up with your praying and listening!
Points to Ponder:
Who has made the greatest difference in your life?
Will you allow the Holy Spirit to make an even bigger difference?
May 10: Acts 2 42-47
Key Verse: Acts 2 43
Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
Devotion:
The book of the acts of the apostles tells us what they got up to after Christ ascended back to heaven. Admittedly, immediately after Christ’s death and even His resurrection, the disciples did not know what to do and many people may have looked at them and wondered what was going to happen. I suppose the new Christian church body was now looking to them for instruction and direction; what they did next would shape the rest of the church.
Peter was bold enough to now stand up and be counted as a follower of Jesus, yet a short time ago he had denied Him three times in one night. Christ had left a standing impression on them and they now felt compelled to take what they had learned and share it with the people. Who were they going to go to and share things with? The same people Christ had done so with and the same people Christ had given them instruction about – everybody!
Whilst they may have felt most comfortable talking to the local people, the Jews, they knew they would have to go out into the general population and spread the Gospel just as Jesus had done so. To make themselves stronger and more confident, they started gathering together and sharing things with each other. The more they did so the more confident they became and the more sure they were that Christ was with them in the Spirit.
They lifted up their prayers to Christ and He answered them giving them the ability to heal people and to do many wonders, or miracles. Being confident in Christ does not come easy to some of us, we have to gather together and give each other encouragement and with that comes confidence and strength. It is not that we have less faith than others, our minds just work differently. Include everyone in your congregation trusting in Christ all the time.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you gather together as Christians?
Church is not just about singing hymns and breaking bread. Embrace it!
May 9: 1 Corinthians 12 21-27
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 12 27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Devotion:
When was the last time you saw a program on some sort of emergency room or hospital where people come in with horrific injuries and the staff have to do what they can to save those people? Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be those people on the operating table? Have you ever imagined what it would be like to have to lose some part of your body? Or maybe you have already lost some part of your body – what did you think about when it happened?
Most of us cannot really imagine what it is going to be like to have to go through something like that. Most of us cannot even imagine losing a friend or dear one. We take our belonging together, or togetherness for granted!
God has made us to be what we are. He has used an incredible design to fashion us into human beings. We have not evolved from fish or whatever the latest imagination of the scientists can come up with – He made us glorious humans to start with. He has given us the abilities we have and He continues to work with us. We are the ones who lose track on where we are and lose track on the fact He is ever present. We are the ones who get used to living the life and forget the fact He has created us. He is the one who has created us to be together, to be whole humans. That includes us being part of His church.
We are all created for a reason. We are all created to be with God. But our mortal bodies gain confidence and sway from the truth as we hear ever more elaborate stories about how we can have come from somewhere else – we somehow strive to be independent thinking that there must be a hugely elaborate method by which we arrived here on earth just so that we can feel important! We belong to God! Period!
Points to Ponder:
So you think you are important do you?
Have you forgotten God created you as well as the Queen?