May 3: 1 John 4:1-3
Key Verse: 1 John 4:2
This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
Devotion:
As we saw yesterday, Philip was listening to the Spirit and answered by stepping forward to see if he could help the eunuch understand the book of Isaiah as it related to Jesus. This warning in the letter written by John, reminds us there are more spirits in this world than we first give credit for; and not all are of good character!
John wants us to remember our lessons from the beginning of time when the evil one tried to lift himself up higher than God. His spirit tried to take over and was in no way acknowledging God as our creator and God. This is the same greed and lust for power we see in people all round the world, but of much more danger to us because of the power of these evil spirits.
God wants us to remain safe and secure and as such, asks us to walk a close walk with Him, staying close to us and always acknowledging Him as Creator God. When we do, we are robbing the evil ones of their power to control us and to deceive us from the truth Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came in human form to give His life for us – coming directly from God the Father!
So how do we tell? We make sure every spirit we listen to agrees that Jesus Christ came in the flesh to save us. If what we hear, be it in our heads or hearts or even physically, does not agree with what we know about Jesus and God, then we should be very wary of who we are hearing from. Trust God and make sure you keep walking close to Him every day.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you know about Jesus?
Do you know enough to trust your judgement?
May 2: Acts 8:26-31
Key Verse: Acts 8:29
The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’
Devotion:
What would you do if a voice told you to do something outside of your comfort zone? Would you just go and do it, or would you look into things a bit more to find out what is being asked of you? If you rush in when you hear the first thing which comes into your mind – you may well get yourself into all manner of trouble... Philip was eager to listen to God and when an angel of the Lord told him to go, he went!
But have a look at how he responded. The angel told him to go south to the desert road which went from Jerusalem to Gaza... not going to be a comfortable journey walking through the desert! But as he went along, he spotted a man who was returning home from going to worship in Jerusalem. He was trying hard to read the book of Isaiah, but obviously struggling!
Philip obeyed the Spirit when it told him to go close to the chariot – this is where he heard the eunuch trying to get their head round the scriptures. This gave Philip the encouragement he needed to know this was the Holy Spirit talking to him and not just any voice in his head! So he stepped forward and asked if he could help!
When God asks us to do something, we can be sure we will get the encouragement and wherewithal to step forward and do whatever God is asking of us. In this case, Philip understood what was written in the book of Isaiah and so he proceeded to help the eunuch to understand God’s Word. We may know a little bit of the bible through studying or through teaching – we can use that little bit of knowledge to help someone else who doesn’t get it... Trust God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you don’t know enough about the bible?
What is your favourite story in the bible – how about telling someone about it?
May 1: John 14:6-14
Key Verse: John 14:13
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Devotion:
When the disciples started getting worried about what was going to happen to Jesus and that one of them was going to be the guilty one who would betray Him, Jesus did not reprimand them or cut them short; instead He comforted them with words which could only come from the Son of God!
Jesus made sure they understood there was no other way to get to be with God other than by accepting Him as the Son of God and asking everything through His name. He gave them a way to get their prayers answered; the only stipulation was the Father, God, should be given the glory for the answered prayer. You see, Jesus was not seeking glory for Himself, but glory for His Father in Heaven. Jesus was making sure they understood this as well.
But He also wanted them to know that they had seen God in person, because He is part of the God-Head (as we know it.) We cannot really explain how God can be three persons, but also be one. What Jesus was trying to give them was the answer before they tried to understand it – physically we cannot explain it nor come to the right conclusion. But, by faith, we can believe it and know it in our hearts.
This then gives us the power to lift up our prayers to God, by knowing He is listening through Jesus and through the Holy Spirit; because they are one and the same. The more we get to understand about why Jesus did things the way He did, the more we get to understand how we should be trying to live – so we too can draw closer to God every day and give Him all the glory when He answers our prayers!
Points to Ponder:
Do you struggle with God in three persons?
Why not settle to asking God through Jesus?
April 30: Isaiah 30:18-21
Key Verse: Isaiah 30:18
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Devotion:
One thing I have learned the hard way is to be a Christian, you have to live like one! This means loving God with all your heart and soul and loving the people around you. God is always going to listen to us, and He will always do what He can to allow us to live the lives He wants us to live. No matter how tough things get, we can always count on God to see us through the troubles and to share everything He can with us – with God, nothing is impossible!
When we grow tired and weary, we need to depend on God more in our lives. When we think we are at the end of our tether, God is waiting to answer more prayers and lift the burdens from us. Don’t worry about God not hearing, because He is with us every step of our lives and listens to and watches everything we do. If we do go through tough times, then we need to listen a bit harder to find out what we should be doing – these instructions may come directly from God, or they may come through others who God has brought into our lives.
The more we are willing to listen and learn from what God says, the more we will be able to live with what comes our way and the more we will know He is watching over us. Whether we are feeling down and out or whether we are feeling on top of the world – if we turn from worldly ways and listen out for God, we will hear His instruction and we will know what to do.
God is constantly trying to show us the way forward, a way which is best for us and those around us. If we are willing to listen and learn, we will have a life which is more blessed!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you talk to God?
How often do you listen to God?