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14 October: Galatian 5:18-26
Key Verse: Galatians 5:22
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
Devotion:
When we try to figure out the difference between what "life" wants from you and what Christianity wants for you, things begin to get complicated. Not because there are no rules, because there are. But because the people around you who have chosen to life by earthly ways are all caught up in the ways of the world.
The ways Christ has given for us are all marked down in our bibles and he chose to share all we need to know with the disciples so they could pass it on to us. God also chose to have all the rules and regulation of the law given to Moses written down for us too. Not because we should be totally constrained by the law, but to show us it is impossible for us to live by those laws because they are the laws by which God lives by. We are not gods!
The simple base for our Christian ways is shown clearly in this passage as Paul writes to the churches in Galatia warning them about living our the ways of people such as the Romans as opposed to living how Jesus taught them!
If we base our way of life around the ways the Spirit is leading us, we will stand out from the crowds!
Points to ponder:
Do you follow your friends in all they do?
Will you stand up for what the Holy Spirit tells you?
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13 October: Galatians 5:1-6
Key Verse: Galatians 5:3
Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law.
Devotion:
How many things do you pick and choose from in life? If you, like me, were born in a different country to which you now live in, you cannot choose to follow the laws of your own country of birth instead of your country of residence. You have to follow the rules where you live!
The same can be said about where you work; you must follow the rules of your workplace and not your own rules. If we all chose to follow our own rules, the world would be a chaotic place and we would all be at each others throats about what should or should not be done!
The same must be said about the rules of religion and the limits of Christianity. If we want to be Christian then we should not be following the rules of the religion. A religion may restrict you from various acts, and if you start to follow the rules of that religion then you are bound by all of the rules, not just the ones you choose!
Jesus came to set us free from religion and to show us there is a way we should be living which is all based on loving the people around you as much as you love yourself - which kind of depends on you loving yourself as much as Christ loves you. After that everything starts to make sense.
Points to ponder:
Are you going to limit your life to a religion and all its rules?
Or will you enrich your life with the love of Christ...
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12 October: Luke 11:29-32
Key Verse: Luke 11:29
When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ‘This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
Devotion:
One of the things we always seek in life is physical proof of things before we will believe. The same can be said for our journey of faith too - we keep on asking for proof so that we 'can believe!'
Faith is believing in the unseen. This means we make a choice to believe in things we do not see; we choose to believe them because we choose to believe what someone else is telling us. This is the thing God is looking for within us. He wants us to trust in what he is saying!
We can see some rather extreme versions of this throughout time, the ones being listed here mention Jonah who became a sign for the people of Nineveh and Jesus for the people back during his time on earth.
The warning for not trusting and believing is very stark. The people will be over-run. They will suffer.
We have this choice to trust and believe in Christ. We can trust and believe and rest in the mercy of Christ; or we can choose to not believe and ask for a sign... but we may not like the consequences of our choice!
Points to ponder:
Do you want physical proof of everything?
Why not try trusting Jesus at his word!
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11 October: Psalm 23:1-6
Key Verse: Psalm 23:2
He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.
Devotion:
I wonder how many people around the world choose this Psalm as the one for themselves, choosing it because of the words or because they find great comfort within these words.
The thing which springs to mind is a picture of a soldiers helmet all battered and scarred with the words of this Psalm written around the helmet. These words do not just bring great comfort but strength within and the knowledge that God is always looking out for us, no matter what is going on around us!
I like the words "He makes me to lie down in green pastures" because, for me, there is nothing like laying down in a green pasture where the grass is fresh and a little spongy because it is thick and lush. To me is builds up a picture of the most comfortable nature can create for me, apart from in a smooth clean body of water!
God wants us to feel protected and surrounded by his love and his protection at all times! He wants us to know he is with us, walking in front of us, and protecting us all the time!
Points to ponder:
How often do you feel like you are protected on all sides?
What is the most comfortable place in life for you?
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10 October: Galatians 3:22-29
Key Verse: Galatians 3:28
There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
Devotion:
As Paul continues on in this passage, he reminds us we are all one in Christ Jesus. This is something new for us because up until the point where Jesus came to be with us, we were all constrained by the law and had to live according to that law.
But as we now live under the forgiveness of Christ, if we indeed have faith that this is so, we now know he is willing and able to forgive our sins. This does not mean we can go off and sin because we know he will forgive us, rather that we should try to live by the law, but remember we will be forgiven when we fail.
What an awesome comfort that should be to us all - knowing Christ wants to forgive us.
I had the pleasure of running audio visuals for a gathering of chaplains today and heard so much about the reasons why they do what they do - so much of it comes down to showing others Christ's ways.
Points to ponder:
Do you try to keep people within the law?
Are you willing to show them mercy?
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9 October: Galatians 3:7-14
Key Verse: Galatians 3:11
Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’
Devotion:
Paul wrote these words with twofold meaning, first to remind us how Jesus lived by faith, but also by the law. The law he lived by was not the law according to the Jewish Leaders, but the law according to God.
There is a difference there because the leaders at the time had changed law to suit themselves and their way of living rather than what God had laid out in the beginning.
One of the laws which always reminds me of this is to not carry things on the Sabbath apart from in their homes. To get around this Orthodox leaders have strung a wire around huge areas to signify this is the area which one can move around within whilst pushing strollers or carrying goods - one being most of the isle of Manhattan!
People will always come up with excuses to get round the rules to make it easier for themselves thinking it will not matter too much to God.
But that is where Paul reminds us that if we want to live by the law, we have to live according to every rule and put up with the consequences of living within that law! Faith reveals something new to us...
Points to ponder:
How closely do you live according to the law?
Do you freely accept the consequences...
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8 October: Luke 11:5-13
Key verse: Luke 11:9
'So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.
Devotion:
This is always a hard passage to digest because we all seem to have our limits about how much we can put up with from others. For some of us those limits are very shallow, whilst for others they do seem to go very deep - but we still have our limits!
God wants us to know that his love goes so much further than any love we can define because we put those limits on our love. When Jesus said we should love our neighbours, it was not 'you should love those people around you who show you love and respect!' Anyone can do that!
God says we should be willing to love people. We should be willing to share what we have with anyone. We should be willing to give freely. Not, we should take, we should use, we should abuse... none of that comes from God!
When a true friend comes to you and asks for help, you go out of your way to find a way to help them... so what about your neighbour? Why do you not do that for them?
Points to ponder:
Will you try o extend your love to all people in your world?
How much more beautiful would life be if we all did...
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7 October: Mark 15:33-41
Key Verse: Mark 15:34
At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
Devotion:
No matter how much you think you are in control or how well seated you think you are, there are going to be times when you just can't explain why it all went wrong! Well, at least from your point of view!
There are many times in my life when I have felt like I was clutching at straws or felt like it was all about to collapse in a heap around me, but some of those times I can look back on and realise it wasn't so bad after all.
So does this mean we have to be 'very British' and keep 'a stiff upper lip' and stop complaining? Far from it. When Jesus was at the end he cried out to God asking why he had been left all alone! This was the human part of Jesus crying out because he felt like God had just left him there!
When we have things go wrong in our lives, no matter what the reason or even if we think we deserve it, we can cry out to God and ask him "why!" He wants to hear from us, no matter what the reason or when!
Points to ponder:
Do you bottle things up?
Have you tried crying out to God before you 'break'...
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6 October: Luke 10:38-42
Key Verse: Luke 10:47
But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;
Devotion:
Sometimes we get so carried away by the things we think we should be doing that we forget the actual important tasks we have to do. This happens in all walks of life and not just Christians and their work for God!
Identifying when we are caught up in tasks which are not important is not always easy because you are fighting against your own desires and sometimes against your fears as well.
Martha was trying to be a good host by making sure everything was as it should be for her very important guest, but Mary simply sat at Jesus feet and listened intently to all that was being said.
Sometimes we have to balance the work we think we have and the work God would like us to do. Don't get me wrong, life does have some very important tasks to take care of and we should not be neglecting them, but there is a time and place for everything...
Points to ponder:
Do you get sidetracked easily?
Are you trying to find the right balance?
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5 October: Galatians 1:6-12
Key Verse: Galatians 1:10
Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Devotion:
When Paul was writing this letter to the people of Galatia, he must have been somewhat worried the people were so easily swayed away from the Gospel. I sometimes wonder how people cannot see the Gospel as the Truth!
The people were listening to someone or some others who were distorting the truth, probably for their own good or their own profit in some way. When things are not going your way it may seem like a small thing to bend the truth a little so you can have a better time than before.
We cannot do this with the Gospel because as soon as we change it, it is no longer the Gospel of Christ but a word according to you!
Once we start to look for acclaim from humans instead of blessing from God, we lose sight of that truth he has being trying to give us and we go down a slippery slope of promoting ourselves and our ways instead of God's ways and his will.
Points to ponder:
How often do you try to get your own way?
Are you willing to allow God's ways to come first?