May 16: Acts 1:15-17
Key Verse: Acts 1:17
He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.
Devotion:
How do you react when you find out someone who you have trusted for a long time can no longer be trusted? What if that person was part of your church family? Would that make a difference? The apostle had a very clear view of things here – he had read up in the scriptures and realised the stories he had learned about David recounting how someone would turn against the Messiah. The apostle put everything together with the help of the Holy Spirit about how Judas would betray Jesus – and this was foretold many years before Jesus came amongst them!
Sometimes we are going to struggle to see how things can possibly be from God when they seem to go so wrong. But God knows what is going to happen before we do. He has already planned the best possible way forward and how to get the right people involved at the right time to make sure His promises are kept for our sakes! He continues to uphold things because He loves us!
Just because we do not see the way forward, does not mean God cannot make a way forward. We have to put our faith and trust in Him and keep that faith and trust no matter what starts to happen around us. Sometimes we will be confused by what happens and cannot see how everything will work out for God’s glory – but it will when we listen to Him!
God is a just God. When we continue to do something wrong, we can expect to come up against Him in the end. Just as Judas had chosen the wrong side and had continued to choose the wrong side, did not mean God was going to let Him get away with things all the time. God is going to make sure the truth and justice will prevail in the end. He chose to allow Jesus to be hung on the cross so we would not have to – as long as we choose to turn away from our sins and ask for forgiveness...
Points to Ponder:
Do you get worried about the number of bad things happening in the world?
Have you noticed how there are always bad people near bad things?
May 15: Psalm 46:1-3
Key Verse: Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Devotion:
Just how much are you willing to place in Jesus’ hands? I know we sing about how He has the whole world in His hands – but how much do we believe that in our hearts? We continue to be troubled by what is going on in the world around us and we are side-tracked from the truth by the troubles around us... Our faith dwindles at times because it is exactly that – faith. It is our belief and trust in that belief we depend on for strength and comfort.
So, when we are feeling troubled, downtrodden or even side-tracked, it is normally the troubles of the world around us which are encroaching in our life rather than the troubles themselves. God really does have the whole world in His hands and has promised us to be here for us at all times. If we don’t believe that, then we are going to be pulled away from God by the peer pressure around us and the woes of the world...
God keeps His promises! This is why we can depend on the promises and keep our faith He will deliver us from the woes around us. The more we trust in Him, the more we will see how much he does for us. But the more we focus on the woes and troubles, the more we think they rule the world!
I love the words used by the Psalmist here saying that no matter what calamity befalls the world around us, we can be assured God is with us and keeping His promises. No matter how loud the world shouts, God’s voice will always be heard by those who choose to listen to Him. No matter how fractured our lives are, we always have a Saviour who has beaten the odds just because He loves us and kept His promise!
Points to Ponder:
How many times do you have to hear God’s promises?
Will you trust a little more today?
May 14: Ephesians 1:15-23
Key Verse: Ephesians 1:22
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church
Devotion:
The apostle continued to remind the people in various church how important God was in their lives, how they should live their lives for Christ and continue to commune with God... but He also reminded them how special they were because they were chosen by Christ to be children of God, not through anything they could do but because of what Christ had done for them!
His constant prayer for the people who had come to know God was that the Holy Spirit would enable them to understand God’s Word even more than he could teach them. There are limits as to how much we can glean from other people, but there is no limit how much we can learn directly from God through the Holy Spirit – the same Spirit Christ promised would come to be with the people when He left to go back to heaven!
It is not just the understanding we receive from the Spirit, but the power we receive through knowing Him and trusting Him. Christ showed the disciples just how much power they could have by believing God would answer prayers when they asked for things in the name of Jesus; the same power we can receive through believing how God continues to work in this world and in our lives.
The more things I pray for, the more answered prayers I see and the more I get to know this same power the apostle was talking about to the people in Ephesus. Christ was not held back by this world because He knew God and demonstrated ultimate faith in God the Father throughout His ministry. We will not be held back by this world when we have faith in Christ!
Points to Ponder:
How much faith do you place in Christ’s hands?
Will you trust Him a little more today?
May 13: Acts 1:1-5
Key Verse: Acts 1:5
For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’
Devotion:
This is the day we remember and celebrate how Jesus ascended into Heaven to be back with God His Father. It is not something we often think too much about because we see death as final in our lives; once we die, we go to be with Jesus if we have accepted Him into our lives... but have you thought about how the disciples must have felt when they saw Jesus back in fleshly form after they were witness to Him dying on the cross after being punished so much!
We don’t like to think of death too much because it will separate us from our families and loved ones; but it is the start of a whole new adventure which will last for eternity! We cannot conceive how we can escape death when we know how final it seems. But Jesus came back to be with the disciples to open their eyes and hearts to something extraordinary – life after death!
While they were trying to digest this, Jesus impressed on them how important it was to receive the Holy Spirit in the same way as they had accepted Christ as their Messiah. Not because it was going to save them any more than He could, but because the Holy Spirit was going to be their constant companions whilst they were still here on earth.
Jesus had been in constant communion with God all the time He was here in human form; He wanted the disciples to know this constant love and communion He knew. He had shown them how real He was, I.e. back in human form, by doing so many special things and even the ordinary everyday things with them. Our lives should be lived constantly with God, both the spiritual and everyday human lives in constant communion with God through the Holy Spirit.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you think of God being with you?
Will you live today as if He was walking by your side?