April 22: Philippians 3:4-9
Key Verse: Philippians 3:7
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
Devotion:
When Paul wrote letters to the church in Philippi, he knew he was writing to people who thought they were good people. His writing, however, hints at people thinking more of themselves than they should be. He saw this problem with many who had been brought up as he was – to be Hebrew people whose lives were based on the law handed down from Moses!
What they may have been doing is probably what he was doing before he got to know Christ. They were holding the law above everything and judging everyone according to these very strict laws. This would exclude Christians because Christ had shown people they no longer had to live under the weight of those very strict rules. Christ was telling people they could be forgiven for the worst sins because He had taken their sin debt to the cross and had paid for it with His own life!
Paul was raised in a very strict environment and he persecuted some of the earliest Christians because they would not agree to the sacrifices and way of old. But once he got to know Christ, his life changed and he began to realise just how much Jesus did for him and how that love continues to flow through all of us now.
Paul was now focusing on getting to know Christ more because it was that knowledge and growing faith which was allowing him to better understand what God was asking for and not blindly following rules which mankind had changed over the years to suit themselves. God wants us to follow His example of true love and not to be caught up in earthly rules and regulations which prevent us from getting to live with this love...
Points to Ponder:
Do you use excuses not to share love with others?
Will you allow Christ’s love to grow in you so you can truly share His love with others?
April 21: Philippians 2:1-11
Key Verse: Philippians 2:7
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Devotion:
How many of your friends are friends because they like or do the same things as you? How many of those people were almost guaranteed to be friends just because they had a similar background upbringing to you? You will probably be amazed at how many of your friends are friends because they have done things like you in the past. How many friends do you have who are totally different to you? How many friends do you have who do things totally differently to you? Not so many of them...
Unfortunately, we do tend to judge people because of their outward appearance and their backgrounds rather than who they are on the inside! This is a constant theme in the Bible as people tend to stick with like-minded people and even change their own ways so they can fit in better at times! Not what Christ did and not what He teaches!
Jesus was born from parents who started off not even being married when He was conceived. He was on the run from the authorities right from the beginning. He came to teach the teachers and lift up the poor and unknown – very different from the way the teachers at the time behaved!
God looks at people from a very different perspective than we do and that is why He knows us better than our friends and better than our enemies. He looks at us how we are now and how we choose to behave, not what we have done, where we have lived or who our parents were. Christ looks at us! If we can be more like Christ, we can get along much better with all people and hope to love them like Christ loves us – from the inside out!
Points to Ponder:
How do you meet friends?
Will you step out of your comfort zone to make a friend today?
April 20: Luke 15:28-32
Key Verse: Luke 15:31
“My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
Devotion:
How often do you think God is not looking out for you? How often do you think Christ has forgotten about you? If we are all honest, we do have feelings like this, but, like this parable, I want to remind you of how much God continues to watch over you and be with you every step of your life.
When things are going well and we are living a good life, we often forget God is with us. When we are having a rough time, we often think God has forgotten about us and has allowed horrible things to come close to us! This is quite normal and has been like this for us much of our lives. Don’t feel despondent and think God has forgotten about you!
God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth in human form and live amongst us to show us how much He knows us and how much He thinks of us. Many people who do not know Christ think Jesus was forgotten, forsaken and allowed to die because God was somehow not watching over Him. The truth is God was watching every step of the way and was crying just as much as Jesus and the disciples were. Let us rather ask why we had to put God through so much just because we had too much pride or greed to stop and listen!
God continues to be with us every step of the way, but we often lose sight of Him as we are far too busy with our lives and how much we think of ourselves! If we are too focused on ourselves and our own well-being, then we may not see how much God is trying to straighten things out for us. But the more we open our eyes to the truth, the more we see how much God continue to do for and with us every second of every day!
Points to Ponder:
How focused are you on your own life?
How focused are you on God?
April 19: John 21:1-6
Key Verse: John 21:5
He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered.
Devotion:
How many things have frustrated you during these pandemic times? How many things have you been stopped from doing or have not been able to succeed because of Covid-19? I know I have felt very frustrated by not being able to do things with the young people, not being able to meet up and just talk things through or to have fun... But there are always going to be times during our lives when the harvest seems to be non-existent!
Over the years I have seen the ebb and flow of youth work and even adult church work. I have seen the lean times and have experienced the abundant times. This is the way of the world – nothing is permanent, and nothing lasts forever. But we do have a Saviour who has promised us many good times and continues to look out for us all the time. Our issue seems to be listening when we need to listen!
One of the biggest parts of youth work is listening to the youth and finding out where they are both mentally and spiritually. Without that listening we do not have much hope of being able to reach them with the gospel. God wants us to listen to others all the time and to be willing to change what we are doing in order to gain the most from every situation.
In this story Jesus was waiting on the shore and shouting instructions to the disciples on the boat. They did not think it would be Jesus and so were not prepared... but something made them stop and listen. Because of that step, they found a whole different approach to their fishing – not just because it was the other side of the boat but because it was a haul which could have sunk their boat if they were not careful!
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to the world?
Do you listen to God?