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?
May 12: Colossians 1:9-14
Key Verse: Colossian 1:9
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives
Devotion:
One thing I learned while driving to and from work every day was to mind my time by praying for people and things... Not because I was tired or had nothing to do, but because the more I was able to pray, the more I saw differences in my life and the world around me!
Paul continued to pray for so many people whom he had got to know by visiting so many places around the Mediterranean! I marvel at the number of names he was able to remember – because I am so bad at remembering names! We see the writings not as a reminder for himself, but as a result of what he was doing. We need to emulate his example; we need to do a whole lot more praying for people around us all the time. When you are walking to work, driving to work, whatever you are doing (but don’t drive with your eyes closed!)
God wants us to know He answers prayers. If we pray once in a blue moon, we get to see the results of answered prayer once in a blue moon! But if we are going to pray every day, we are going to see the results of those prayers every day – we will not have to wait ages before we are encouraged by what God does in our lives!
But don’t stop there! Don’t shoot your prayers up to God and sit and wait... you’ll be waiting most of the time and not praying! God wants to be in constant communion with Him, which means praying all the time and not just once a day or week or even year! Don’t limit your prayers to what you need or want; start thinking about the needs of others before you pray and see how much more productive your prayers will be. This forms the essence of what Jesus was teaching the disciples – to love one another; I.e. pray for one another all the time!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you pray?
Will you try filling in your time with prayers instead of TV?