Wednesday 24 May 2023

May 24: Acts 20:28-38

Key Verse: Acts 20:35
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Devotion:
I wonder how many people you have helped in the past and wondered how they are doing without your help nowadays? Many people might shy away from helping others because they may think the person or people will abandon the help and go back to their old ways once they leave… but I put it to you “how are they going to know there is a different way of living unless you show them in the first place!”

It is not our job to make sure people all stay on the right track all of the time. We are sent as disciples to go and show people there is a new way of living despite what the world says about them. We are not here to be a mother hen who looks after ever person we meet – we cannot be with everyone all of the time. That is the domain of God!

We should not be put off by the evil ways of the world either. God is going to continually be with us in one way or another. How we survive in the world is going to be our testimony to others about our life with God. It is not all about our testimony as a human or a success story, but our relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. If we cannot convince people there is a different choice in life, then they will never know!

God wants us to open people’s eyes to what He has done, what He is doing and what He can do. It is not our job to police them and make sure they always do it right; God has given us free choice and we need to extend that free choice to others. They do need to be told there is a choice and shown what choosing Christ will be like in their lives. God then does the looking after and continued teaching through us or others.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you say no because you can’t see a way forward?

Will you trust God to show you a way forward when there seems to be none?