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July 5: Mark 6:7-13
Key Verse: Mark 6:8
These were his instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.
Devotion:
When Jesus went out village to village, He did not just carry on doing the same things, teaching, healing, praying... He laid the ground for the disciples to go out and start to learn to do the same thing by themselves. Jesus knew He was not going to be around forever with the disciples, so He made sure they were prepared for the work which they had to carry on with.
He also knew they would face the same uphill tasks as He had to face whilst around their own friends and family – so they went to new places to meet new people and carry on God’s work there. This did not mean they went to the other side of the world to teach others, but they were not in their home towns.
Jesus taught them they would have to face new challenges because of this. They would have to seek out the people in the new communities who would accept them and give them space to do God’s work. It would not be very productive if they were to get opposition whatever they tried to do, so finding people who would support and encourage them would be a good starting point.
When we go forward to try and do what God wants us to do – we are going to have to find people in the communities who will support the work we know God is asking of us. It is not always going to be easy either – so Jesus was sending out the disciples with little else but what they had with them so they would have to depend on the support of the communities. Being in a vulnerable position is probably going to get you accepted quicker than I you went in with all guns blazing...
Points to Ponder:
Do you rush in and try take thing over normally?
Will you let God guide you and depend more in others?
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July 4: Mark 6:1-6
Key Verse: Mark 6:4
Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.’
Devotion:
Jesus must have felt distraught with the lack of faith of the people He grew up with... On one hand you can relate to this – if you grew up with a person, would you believe them if they said they were the Son of God? But, equally, they should have recognised there was something very different between Jesus and the rest of them; not just because He could perform miracles...
When we chose to have Jesus in our lives, we should be choosing to make a very different place for Him to be with us than we had before in our lives. He wants us to see how vastly different it is to be with Him than to be with the world. God wants us to be separated from the world – not hiding away from it, but choosing to be different from it!
When Jesus was amongst the people He grew up with, they did nothing different from what they had always done – including being part of the world. They did not change their lives to be more like His; they did not change their lifestyles to be more in line with God’s ways... This meant they had prejudice against what Jesus could do – not that they wanted this prejudice, it was just natural for them!
When we are too stuck in the world and its ways, we take away from Christ because we are showing others we do not have faith in Him. This is not a blind faith, but one we have grown up with and one which we need to cultivate with Him by our sides.
Points to Ponder:
Do you walk you own way in life?
Will you invite Jesus to walk with you?
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July 3: 2 Samuel 7:4-7
Key Verse: 2 Samuel 7:5
Go and tell my servant David, “This is what the Lord says: are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
Devotion:
When was the last time you tried to do something for God – something which you thought He needed or you thought would please Him... I mean without being asked by God to do it first...
There are times in our lives when we get all roused up about something because we think it is a good idea and we think it would be good for God! See, that is where we fall down at the first hurdle – us thinking we know what God needs or wants. If we go back over the bible we will see enough occurrences of God asking people to do something for Him – and when those people obeyed God, good things happened!
But when people started thinking more of the things they were doing and less about God, there are cases where God got angry with them! We should not presume to know what God needs or wants – He has made it clear He will ask when He wants or needs something from us – we just have to listen!
When David thought about the house he was living in and compared it with the tent constructed for God, he got a bit worried or upset and wanted to build God a big house or palace – something befitting a king. But that is not what God had asked for and not what He wanted David to do. So He told Nathan to tell David this is not what God wanted – which probably upset David a bit because he probably got it in his head he should be doing something great for God!
Points to Ponder:
When was the last time you stopped and listed to God?
Will you wait for God to ask before you rush off and do something?
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July 2: 1 Thessalonians 2:13
Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 2:13
And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
Devotion:
How do you see the bible? Do you see it as a book written by men? Do you see it as a collection of letters written by men? Do you see it as historic records and prophecies? We can come up with many descriptions of what the bible is nowadays, but unless we accept the roots from where it came, we have nothing more than a collection of writings!
God inspired the right people at the right time to write down what He had taught them. He chose the people we now know as the authors of the writings because of their belief and their faithfulness. It is a truly diverse group of people over a very long period who have written down the records, thoughts and beliefs they have learned from God over a wide range of subjects.
Yet, what we end up with is a set of writings which all support each other and come together to give us an informed position of what God wants from us in our lives. These words have been written by people during their lives with God, spanning many years, forming a complete story of mankind's walk with God.
What we do need to remember is this is not just a bunch of writings by humans, but an inspired work of God, brought to us through humans who have recorded what God inspired them to write for our sakes. This was God’s plan, and it continues to be His plan as we learn what he wants in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
How do you describe the Bible?
Will you be inspired by God to read His Word?
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July 1: Colossians 4:2-6
Key Verse: Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Devotion:
In the previous chapter the author is trying to get across to people how they should behave no matter what position they have in life – some of the words we may find objectionable nowadays, but these were for the people at that time, but still apply to us. But no matter what position people hold in society or rank or wealth, they should all be subject to these words – to pray always, to be watchful and to be thankful.
We may be in a very difficult relationship, in a dead-end job, without work, sick in hospital... but we should always find time to pray, watch and thank! God wants us to watch out for others, to be thankful for having others in our lives, and to pray for others too.
We should be open to pray for others and also be open to request prayers from others. Christ always lifted others up in prayer throughout His ministry here. He lived a life of prayer and thanksgiving, always watching out for the people around Him. If we do not feel up to going out and teaching others about God, then we can stay home and pray for them instead. If we feel threatened by others, we can still pray for them without confronting them at all.
It is also good to be a bit different from the world. If we are no different from the world around us, then we are not going to be noticed and people will not take any notice of the things we say or do – because we are just like everyone else! God wants us to be full of grace and mercy, just as Jesus was on earth. He wants us to be noticed for the good things we do – not to get praise from others, but because we want them to be able to see God through us and through what we do!
Points to Ponder:
Is your life a bit different from the people around you?
Will you stand out from the crowd and allow people to see a bit of Jesus through you?
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June 30: 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6
Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 1:6
You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
Devotion:
When Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica, he wrote of the way they had lived their lives as imitators of Christ. When Jesus came to live amongst us, He did not set Himself up in a palace and rule over the people, he set aside everything and moved in with the people. He became part of the local community and lived with the people.
The Thessalonians were doing the same – they were setting their own lives apart and living for the people and with the people. They had set aside the rules of society where the rich do things differently and the poor must be kept in their place... they brought the people together as one and lived for God’s glory.
People see how we live. People watch how we behave... If we want to make a difference in our communities, then we have to make sure we live more like Christ and less like the world. How will people see anything different if all they see is the world through you. They should be seeing glimpses of Christ through you – they should be being encouraged to live in the same manner and turn their own lives toward God.
It is our duty to make a difference so people will see Christ as different from the world. This way they will be able to learn something new from the Holy Spirit and not just another human acting like all the other humans!
Points to Ponder:
How do people see you?
Will you try to reflect a bit more of Christ today?
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June 29: Mark 5:35-43
Key Verse: Mark 5:39
He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.’
Devotion:
Have you ever been in a situation where you were totally distraught but there was someone there who was able to comfort you with some simple words? I know I can look back on my life and see how many times friends and family have been there for me and I really do appreciate and love them for that. I try to be there for others wherever I can.
If we were to ask the people looking after the girl, they would say she had died and that was the end of it. If you were to ask the father, Jairus, I think he would be confused and would not want to accept the fact his daughter had died. So when Jesus came in, His words were aimed at consoling and comforting Jairus and the people around them. They probably did not believe it when He said she was just asleep – after all they would have probably started the funeral rights...
But Jesus knew what Jairus felt in his heart. He knew what had to be done to answer Jairus’ call for help and to build up his faith in God. Jesus knew it was possible to raise this child up no matter what had happened to her. To be able to raise the child up He got everyone except the parents and a couple of disciples to get out so He could be close to God and show Jairus and his wife just what God thought of them!
When we are serious with God, we need to be able to show Him by dispersing all the distractions of the world so we can be alone with God. We need to have faith God is able to do anything. We need to be fully dependant on Him when we feel the world has done nothing!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you spend time with God?
Will you put aside the distractions of the world to spend a little more time with Him?
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June 28: Mark 5:25-31
Key Verse: Mark 5:31
‘You see the people crowding against you,’ his disciples answered, ‘and yet you can ask, “Who touched me?”’
Devotion:
In the gospel reading at church yesterday we heard about Jesus being begged by Jairus to come and heal his daughter who was very ill. Jairus was one of the synagogues leaders. Did this stop Jesus from going to help him? Not at all. Jesus wanted to show people He thought of everyone, from the poorest to the richest, from the most insignificant to the most well-known – Jesus did not choose people according to their positions in society or even in the church.
But in amongst this time when He was being called to go and help Jairus, a woman who had an issue with constantly bleeding for twelve years takes centre stage for a few seconds! She was a complete unknown other than being known by some as the woman with the issue... She was able to move around the crowd without causing mayhem like someone with leprosy would – instead she slowly made her way close enough so she could reach out and touch the tip of Jesus clothes!
It was her firm belief which gave her the strength to make it through the crowd and touch the gown. Ordinarily nobody would have noticed her, seen her reaching out to touch Jesus or even bothered she was not well – they were all too busy trying to either defend Jesus against the push of the crowd, or crowd in so they could see Jesus! But as soon as she touched His clothes, she knew she had and Jesus knew it too!
It was her belief which caused Jesus to notice. Jesus was looking into the hearts of the people around Him all the time and feeling what people felt; I’m sure His heart was going out to many people in that crowd – but His focus was on this single woman for a few seconds. He called her out and she had the courage to say “here I am!”
Points to Ponder:
Do you have enough faith to call out to Jesus?
Will you answer Him if He asks for you?
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June 27: Psalm 30:8-10
Key Verse: Psalm 30:9
What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
Devotion:
Have you ever wondered why God made us; I mean, not just because He loves us, but why did He create us the way we are? We could come up with things like, He was lonely, or He wanted company, but we don’t really know enough about God to make assumptions like that. But, after people God to know Jesus personally, they wrote about things and through those words we have a better understanding of God through His Son Jesus.
When we read back over what God has done and the timing of various things, we can come to the conclusion He made the world so we would have a place to live – His creating us being the initial point and not just the creating of everything first!
As God got to know man, He was coming and spending time with man. Yes, He did enjoy the company, enjoy what he had done etc etc. Isn’t that the point of making something in the first place – so we can enjoy it. I have on many occasions wondered what I would create if I were to try to make a robot of some kind – how much artificial intelligence would I give it?
God wants us to continue communing (or meeting) with Him. He wants us to spend time with Him. If we did not, would the dirt around us praise God? I fear not, because we are the ones who have been created in His image, not dirt! God wants us to be open and enjoy our spending time with Him and not to hide it in a cellar or behind a bush!
Points to Ponder:
How much time do you spend speaking with God?
Will you spend a little more time today with God?
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June 26: Isaiah 40:1-5
Key Verse: Isaiah 40:4
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
Devotion:
I love the way God spoke to Isaiah so he would be able to encourage the people of Israel. They had been through so much, from being in captivity in Egypt, to searching through the desert, having a great place to live and then losing it all again. Some may well have thought God was not with them because of what they had been through – but they had turned away from God and done their own thing even after being warned by God!
After all this had happened, and they had more taken away from them that they could understand, God had promised to bring them back together and never to leave them. Throughout their troubles, God was close by and waiting for them to repent of their ways to come back to Him. His promises were to do so, and He was going to keep to those promises.
We can now look back over time and see how this promise came true through Jesus coming to live amongst them and to make a way where they would never have to seek sacrifices to cover their sins again. John came just before Jesus to make that way in the wilderness for people to look toward Christ and to find out what He was going to do for us all.
Jesus wanted to level the playing field so the rich would no longer be kept on platforms just because they had money, and the poor would be able to achieve things even though they are poor. Christ continues to make sure we still remember this and practice this when we can!
Points to Ponder:
Do you ever try to level the playing field?
Will you help someone today who is less fortunate than you?