April 13: Proverbs 21 4
Key Verse: Proverbs 21 4
A haughty look, a proud heart, And the ploughing of the wicked are sin.
Devotion:
We saw yesterday that we are so easily blinded with pride, but what are the immediate consequences of that pride? First off is the separation of ourselves from God as discussed yesterday. But what we may not realise is how it separates us from our friends and family too. As soon as we let pride take control we start to raise ourselves above our positions and to lower others from theirs. No longer do we see people as our co-labourers, or as equals, but as inferiors. This immediately shows up our sin against Jesus’ very words, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”.
Second is the trap we set for ourselves... The more we get caught up in this pride, the more we are willing to break the rules. The more we break the rules, the more we continue to separate ourselves from God and from others. People begin to see in us something which they may not have seen before; a barrier is raised against them. No longer do they see the light (God’s light) which once shone, but a darkness creeping in. Sin has a habit of covering more than just our own lamps.
And third, the trap we set for others! Sin will spread just as quickly as the light once did because we all have an inbred sin nature. The more we get caught up in pride and sin, the more it will take over our lives. The more it does, the more others will be tempted to give in to the same sin and join us in breaking God's law. That is when our lives become a danger to others as well as to ourselves. That is when we plough our fields and scatter our sin rather than God's seed. All because of a little pride which went too far.
Recognising pride is not that easy because it is as though we are wearing blinkers and cannot see what we are doing to anyone else, only concentrating on what we are doing for ourselves. But when we see how we have hurt someone, we know we have gone too far. The first that you will hurt is Christ as He sees the change in your spirit...
Points to Ponder:
Who is 'king pin' in your group?
We need to remember that God must always be first in our lives.
April 12: Luke 18 9-14
Key Verse: Luke 18 9
Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Devotion:
We are blinded by so many things in life, but none more so than pride. There are so many verses in the bible warning us about the pitfalls of being proud, of the dangers of letting pride take over, yet we still continue in our lives as proud as ever. If we were to listen to the world we would be told we need to be proud in order to get anything done in our lives. But the subtle differences between being proud in God and being proud of yourself are never separated by the world. Even some churches have taught how we need to be proud, or we have to be a proud nation without saying exactly who we should be proud of. This is dangerous ground.
The parable of the Pharisee and the publican shows a subtle difference in how each man can carry his pride too far. The Pharisee held up his religion, his actions, his works, and yet never once humbled himself before his God. He upheld all that he did and stood for rather than what God stood for. He believed that because of all the 'good' he was doing, he had a secure place in God's arms. I am sure he truly believed in what he was doing... The publican, on the other hand, knew he was doing wrong, knew he had issues and bowed down before God and asked for forgiveness from his heart.
That big difference is simply how the publican spoke from his true feelings as God had inclined him to, but the Pharisee spoke of his actions in his own sight. The publican gave in to God's will and humbled himself, knowing in his heart that he was wrong. The Pharisee upheld his actions and thought in his heart he was righteous because he could show it through what he was doing. God does not want to see how good you are, nor how much you can do for Him, nor how you compare against others. He simply wants to know you hold Him high in your heart, that your feelings for Him are true and come from the heart. Be proud that He is your God and not what you think you are... Trust in Him and not yourself...
Points to Ponder:
Do you compare yourself to others?
Why should we when God does not?
April 11: Proverbs 21 13
Key Verse: Proverbs 21 13
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be heard.
Devotion:
Nowadays with so called professional beggars on the streets it is difficult to know exactly who is in need. But one thing we need to remember is that if we have the means, we should be helping those who are in need. I'm not saying we should only help people out if we are rich... because many people just need someone to talk to or a bit of a hand with doing something. Ignoring someone just because you don't think they deserve it is very dangerous – we are then becoming a judge against those people and placing ourselves over them.
Christ has given us the edict to love our neighbours as ourselves and to that we should aspire. We should be looking out for everyone to see if they are in need and helping out whenever we can. It is not just being 'neighbourly' but following Gods commandment. He wants to know we are willing to help each other out so if we, ourselves, do get into trouble, we will be able to count on help from those around us too. The more we are willing to help others, the more they will be willing to help us. The more they see we are genuine about our concern for them, the more they will be willing to believe our concern for their souls is just as genuine.
Quite often we will not know when someone is in need until they actually ask for help because they do not wish to have people know they are in need. People are often embarrassed to admit they do need help. Being there for people and letting them know they can come to you and ask without being embarrassed is important; it reflects the love which God has for us. God is always there for each of us. He is always willing to help and does not want us to not go to Him for anything. Knowing we have a loving Saviour who is always willing is ever comforting.
Points to Ponder:
Do you always help friends and family?
Do you always expect God to help you?
April 10: Numbers 11 4-6
Key Verse: Numbers 11 5
We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
Devotion:
How often do you crave for the things which you do not have? How many of those things which you crave are things you do not actually need? We look back and remember the good times in our lives, but when we allow those memories to pre-occupy our thoughts all the time we are in danger of lusting after those times.
Whilst it is not bad in itself to look back and remember the good times, it is bad to lust after those times. Before we were Christians, we probably got up to all sorts of things; those things need to be put behind us so we can continue in Gods will rather than lusting after our old ways. We need to look at what is good for us in our lives rather than what we used to do which we enjoyed. There will be times when God does supply us with good things just to give us a change, and what we do during those times or with those things is important.
Just like the children of Israel gathering the manna, we have to be consistent in what we do, not letting ourselves go too far, but making sure we do enough. When God does give us something, He will often give it plentifully because of His love for us. What we do during those times is important... If we 'pig' out or go overboard with the times of plenty, then we are showing that we lust after things rather than just accepting what we need from God. He supplied the children of Israel with so many quails that it would make it easy for them to catch. What they did was to catch so many they could not eat them all and soon a plague went through the camp.
When God gives us good times, we need to make sure we realise He is the one giving those times to us and act according to His will during those times, not according to our own lusts. Why should He give us anything if we are going to forget about Him as soon as we do get to the good times?
Points to Ponder:
Do you take all you can get when someone offers you something?
Do you accept God's love or abuse it?
April 9: Exodus 16 2-7
Key Verse: Exodus 16 7
And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord; for He hears your complaints against the Lord. But what are we, that you complain against us?”
Devotion:
How little faith we have in so many things when we are tested. How many of us would be frightened to walk over a rope bridge which was built to carry many people? How many of us would be frightened to look down from a tall structure which has been standing for years? You see, we learn many things in our lives about how safe and good things are, but when it comes down to testing the safety of those things, we would rather not be the ones doing the testing!
So many people simply do not trust in God because they do not believe anyone would want to do anything for them. The children of Israel were out in the middle of the wilderness with no more supplies. They were murmuring between themselves and even to Moses and Aaron that they did not have anything to eat. They even said they would have been better off as slaves in the hands of the Egyptians than to continue on in the exodus. They were not convinced the situation that they were in would pan out.
What they had not done was to be sure in the power of God. They did not have faith that God would bring them out of this alive and well. As with so many of us, they would not believe until they had the proof rather than depending on their faith! Thomas is always picked on when it comes to not having faith when we should instead be looking at ourselves and thinking “just how much faith do I have?”
God supplied manna every day. He supplied exactly what was needed. He took away from those who were greedy. He added to those who had could not collect enough. He supplied a double portion that would not go off the day before the Sabbath so they would not have to gather on the Sabbath. Everything was done for them... If only they had had the faith to believe it would be done before they started complaining about things. Do we have the faith to keep going, depending on Christ?
Points to Ponder:
Exactly how much can you trust your friends and family?
God continues to carry out each and every promise He has made...