June 25: Luke 3:10-14
Key Verse: Luke 3:14
Then some soldiers asked him, ‘And what should we do?’ He replied, ‘Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.’
Devotion:
When Jesus started teaching the people about how to live as Christians, He upset quite a few people because He was adamant about how we should be living. When the people heard His instructions about how they should behave when dealing with possessions, the rich people were put off because they did not want to lose money, and some of the poorer people were put off because they did not want to have to rely on others.
But when it came down to sharing what we have with others – many people did not know how to handle that! It was well known in their society tax collectors would take more than people owed and skim some of the money off for themselves. We think of things like this nowadays and call it a service charge – but it amounts to much the same thing! The same went for the soldiers who would ‘uphold’ the law for anyone who was willing to pay them extra!
God wants us to be honest about our lives and honest about our dealings with others. If we are honest then we must look to be happy with what we have and not desire more than we have contracted for. If we have agreed a certain salary, then we should not expect more just because we could get more if we did something else... This idea tends to break down society because some people want more than others and they end up getting more than others because of how they behave.
The less strife we have between us and our neighbours, the less we will have to strive to get over and above what we have – in others words, the less we will want and the more satisfied we will be with what we have already. God wants us to aim for the best – but not to be greedy about getting it!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think your business life is honest?
Will you try to work to what you have agreed rather than what you think you want?
June 24: Luke 1:57-66
Key Verse: Luke 1:63
He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, ‘His name is John.’
Devotion:
When God asks you do to something, how long do you do it? Do you carry on doing it even when the world turns against you? Do you carry on even though you have doubts? Do you stop when you have had enough? If we look back in our lives, when we were younger we probably had some ideas about what we would like to do. When I was very young, I wanted to be a train driver! Then I wanted to be a pilot, then an engineer, and then I got into computers... My life as a youngster changed quite a bit!
When we are youngsters with God, we may well let our lives chop and change as well, just like we do when we are inexperienced in life. We gain experience and we take on new knowledge and wisdom – with that we grow and change our ways to try and keep up... But if you were told to do something by God – where do you draw the line?
God has ultimate knowledge about what is best for us and where we should be going in our lives. If we trust Him, depend on Him and obey Him, we should be able to get closer to the ideal position we should have in our lives. But there are all manner of things along the way which prevent us from getting things right! Temptations, lack of willpower, stupidity, pride and greed to name a few...
When God told Zechariah he was going to have a son, he doubted it and doubted what God could do. Because of this he was not allowed to speak until he had named his son John. After that point, Zechariah knew exactly why things happened the way they did and knew what had to be done with his life – he had to worship God in a new way!
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to God’s call in your life?
How far would you go for God?
June 23: Psalm 107:23-32
Key Verse: Psalm 107:29
He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
Devotion:
I wonder how many of the disciples heard of this part of scripture and recalled it after they had seen Jesus calm the storm at sea. We often think Jesus did so many new things, but when we go back and read our bibles which show us what God has been trying to get us to understand for so long, we see a whole different side of things.
Jesus came to fulfil the scriptures. He came to show us they are real and they are the promises of God. He came to bring them to life so we would no longer have to have what we may think of as blind faith! God has tried to show us so many things through scripture, prophecies and through miracles too. Jesus came to bring them to life so we would have something tangible to look back on... Yet we still have doubts!
This passage from the book of Psalms show us God had tried to encourage many people before Jesus came to live amongst us. God showed the fishermen the secrets of the deep, the storms and even how He was able to protect them at sea when they put their trust in Him. God continues to try and encourage us to have this sort of faith, placing our trust in Him...
It is the love of God which has been demonstrated to us since the beginning of time. It is God’s love which has brought us peace, happiness and joy. It is God’s love which has given our lives meaning and direction; but we have to see the directions, trust in them and do them! What use is reading an instruction manual unless you are going to follow the directions!
Points to Ponder:
Do you read the scriptures?
Do you apply them in your life?
June 22: Luke 15:1-7
Key Verse: Luke 15:2
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.’
Devotion:
Jesus was like no other man! We speak of Christ as being the Son of God and we praise Him for all the things He has done and has promised to do. We sing of His miracles and want to tell people about all the things we have learned from our bibles... but Jesus the man was not like any men of that time.
The Western World paints a picture of Jesus as being a tall white man with a big beard and wearing white robes. Well, that certainly would have made Him different from any other man at the time! But Jesus was a local man, born of a local woman – which means He probably looked like one of the local men. But that is where the similarities ended.
Jesus did not act like the men of the time because so many of them had become corrupted by pride, greed and general lack of respect for God. They thought more of their own rules and ways of living than of God’s ways. When Jesus stepped out and visited the sinners around Him, it was not to become a sinner but to show them God loved them just as much as He loves those who were trying to follow God’s will in their lives.
God wants us to love our neighbours. That may mean stopping what we are doing and stepping forward to do something for someone else who others are turning away from. God wants us to step out and reach for the one person who is lost. Jesus wants us to break with our safe ways and step into the unknown with Him. He loves us all. He wants us all to love one another. Sometimes it will look like we are mixing with the wrong people...
Points to Ponder:
Do you try to help everyone?
Will you step out of your comfort zone and help someone in need today?