May 20: Psalm 117:1-2
Key Verse: Psalm 117:1
Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.
Devotion:
If there was one thing I could wish for and see it come true, it would be for all nations around the world to come together and praise the Lord! If we were able to allow people in every country to freely come to God and worship, the world would be a much better place! Instead, we continue to have to endure countries who say they accept the freedom to worship but impose such restrictions to make life impossible for those who want to worship.
God sent Christ to this world to make the choice to believe a reality and open to all people, starting with His chosen people. If we look at modern society around the world, we may be pushed to believe the countries who claim to be followers of God do allow people the choice of following God! We see politics taking over religious places and organisations making them an extension to the political world instead of places where people can freely come to worship God!
God showed us His amazing love by creating a world for us to live on. He continued to show His love by maintaining this place in a hostile universe. He continued to show His love when people rejected Him and chose worldly temptations instead! He continues to show us His love despite the world doing some horrible things! Why? Because He loves us!
Because of His love, He continue to be faithful and just no matter what goes on in the world around us. We have the choice to believe or not to believe. In the Western world this choice is open and on the table. My fear is for the people who want to find God in their countries where they would be persecuted for doing anything the governments cannot control – they cannot and never will control God! Choose God, choose freedom and pray for those who are stuck behind enemy lines!
Points to Ponder:
What one thing would you prayer for right now?
Undecided? Will you join me in prayer for the world-wide freedom to worship?
May 19: 1 John 5:9-13
Key Verse: 1 John 5:13
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Devotion:
What does it take for you to believe something? What if a stranger told you something – would you believe it? What about a friend? What if you read a story in a trashy tabloid newspaper? What if you read it in a scientific journal? We each have our definition of what or who we can trust and we tend to stick with our pre-defined ideas of what we can trust. Sometimes those things we trust in are what we learn from friends – so how far back do you have to go before you actually trust?
When you read the bible, do you trust the words written down, or do you think they are just a guide book for what you can think yourselves? We have to have a definition of what we believe is the truth or we have nothing to compare the stories to! The disciples spent a long time walking round with Jesus, watching the miracles and listening to every word He taught. They had learned to believe in what Jesus was saying!
We may not have the luxury of walking around with Jesus, but we do have our bibles which are a written account of Jesus’ life as well as a history book of what had happened before Jesus came to earth in human form. When the writer penned these words, it was as a definition of what the truth he had learned. The truth he had witnessed.
Jesus came and did this all so we would be able to have faith in what God was and is trying to teach us. He came to display the truth in front of others so they could write it down for us to learn from. He did this all without hesitation because of His love for us and for the world He created. When we place our faith and trust in this truth we have in our hands, we can be encouraged by everything Christ has done for us and everything He has promised us. This is faith – believing in the unseen, knowing it to be true and righteous!
Points to Ponder:
How far do you trust the truth?
Are you trusting the truth given to you by Christ?
May 18: John 17:6-19
Key Verse: John 17:11
I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
Devotion:
These are the words Jesus prayed to His Father when He was faced with the finality of His work and the frailty of His human disciples. How often do we think so deeply for the people who we have come face to face with in this world? Do we aim all our prayers at ourselves, or do we lift up the people around us like Jesus asked us to do?
Much of the time we do focus too much on ourselves because we see just how difficult things are about to become – we can’t take the pressure and we lift up our prayers to God, asking for His protection over us as we face our hardships... Not the same with Jesus. When He prayed these prayers, it was not to try and get out of the hardships and pain which He was about to face, it was to make sure God was going to look after His children!
Jesus wanted to make sure we were all safe and secure! He wanted to make sure, no matter what happened to Him, we were going to be ok! This was Jesus, the Son of God, lifting up His prayers to God the Father, asking for protection for the disciples and then all believers!
Jesus did not want God to simply take us out of the world so we would not face any dangers – but to continue living in this world, but with a protector who would be able to keep us safe no matter what was going on in the world! Jesus knew the horrors which he was about to face, but His prayers were so we would not have to face those horrors for our own!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you think of others?
Would you beg for your life first, or the lives of others?
May 17: Psalm 1:1-6
Key Verse: Psalm 1:6
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Devotion:
When I first read this Psalm as a young Christian, I thought it was talking about my life and the way I was, blaming me for keeping bad company... I immediately thought someone was telling me it’s all karma; I was facing a bad life ahead of me! But then I got to know Christ properly and someone was kind enough to explain what the love of Jesus was all about... then this Psalm took on a whole new meaning.
Today I listened to someone who simply stepped through this Psalm one verse at a time and reminded me to think about the words. Not to sit there like a frightened student listening to a strict teacher, but as an eager pupil wanting to know more from an ancient writing. These are the worlds God gave to the writer many hundreds of years ago – words to give encouragement to people and not to lay blame!
If we listen to the world, we start to try and find blame; isn’t it easier to blame someone else instead of admitting to things we have done wrong! Isn’t it easier to find blame somewhere else so we don’t have to worry about who is guilty! This is not what God wants us to know. God wants us to remember what Jesus has done – what He did hundreds of years after this Psalm was penned!
So, do what my friend asked me to do and think about the words in this Psalm, one phrase at a time. Think about where we choose to be in our lives. Think about who we choose to be with. Think of what we choose to do. Think of the ways Jesus chose to live, who He chose to be with and where He chose to be. This is more the line of life God wants for us too. We have a choice to make about where, how and who we live our lives with!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you mix with in your life?
Are you mixing with Christ enough?