March 29: Isaiah 42:1-4
Key Verse: Isaiah 42:1
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
Devotion:
This was God’s promise to the people, given through Isaiah so many years before Christ came to earth in human form. This is the promise we read about in history books and revel in through our bibles. This is the promise we know which shows us the mercy and love God has for all of His people – that's you and I!
God still looks for willing servants to step forward and to be ambassadors for His Word in this modern world; a world which seems hell bent on living in sin and shame. We don’t have to look too far to see just how many people still break God’s laws, and the best place to start is by looking in the mirror! We cannot hope be to able to judge others because we are guilty to start with...
But, because Jesus stepped forward almost 2000 years ago, we have a firm way of being able to join God in heaven for our eternal life. The choice remains ours. We can choose whether we want to join Christ in Heaven or whether we want to spend eternity floundering in a place whose description of is beyond words in our bibles.
God calls us to step forward, not as judges willing to blame everyone for doing things wrong, but as ambassadors, willing to lift up the truth, admit we are the same as other people, but still encourage them to do what we can do – look to Christ for forgiveness and for redemption. This most Holy Week, think about what you can do for God, not what others are doing wrong, but what you can do right!
Points to Ponder:
Do you see many people doing wrong around you?
Are you really trying to do your best for God?
March 27: John 11:45-53
Key Verse: John 11:51
He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation
Devotion:
Here we go again – more people being put out by the fact Jesus was doing many wonders when they could not. Jesus was being open about it and encouraging people to seek the truth first of all. The chief priests and Pharisees were trying to keep order through fear and through sacrifices and keeping of the ancient laws (as well as the new laws they had added to the raft of laws)
Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year, knew God was going to allow a Messiah to come a die for the nation so they could be set free. Quite how it should happen seemed to confuse him somewhat as he encouraged the people to seek out this Jesus and to take His life so the prophesy would come true for them.
When we start doing our own things to try and hasten what Jesus has already promised, we will fall short of the mark and we may find out life becomes more difficult than it should. Our task is not to invent the work God should do, but to follow His instruction and do what He has said should happen and to allow it to happen according to God’s timing and not ours!
If we stand up for what God says we should, things will go a lot better than if we stand up and do what we think God wants. Following instruction can be difficult sometimes when we want things to happen quickly. We should not be put off by what others are saying and how others are saying it should happen – trust God and obey God!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you make things happen when it looks like they are taking too long?
Are you ready to wait on God and trust Him fully?
March 26: Jeremiah 20:7-9
Key Verse: Jeremiah 20:9
But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
Devotion:
Sometimes, as a Christian, we are called to do something which will upset others – not because God wants us to upset others, but because we have to do what is right! When Jeremiah was called to prophesy things about the future and the land, the priests got very upset when they heard things would not go their way. They were upset things would not longer be in their control but in the hands of someone else!
After he was beaten up and clamped in stocks for the night, the priest called Jeremiah to hear him again – expecting that Jeremiah would have changed his story to be more amenable. Instead, Jeremiah told how all of Judah would fall to the Babylonians and they would be taken off into exile to Babylon. Not what they wanted to hear at all!
Jeremiah complained to God saying it was not nice to have to tell the people they would be over-run, exiled and be in a horrible place for a while. But even though the words were difficult to say to the priests, Jeremiah said he would not be able to keep them in – he would have to tell the people the truth!
God wants us to tell people the truth so they can be prepared for what is ahead and also give them time to think about their lives and hopefully turn to God instead. When we have God’s Word in our hearts, it will burn like a fire and want to expand and be free. It is hard to hold a fire back when there is so much fuel around it. This is the picture Jeremiah is painting for us. Allow God’s word to be spread as quickly as it can be, no matter how much it may cost.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get scared when you are called to tell someone about God?
Imagine it like a fire and them the fuel – simply give it to them and God will do the rest!
March 25: Hebrews 10:1-4
Key Verse: Hebrews 10:3
But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.
Devotion:
Have you ever wondered why we do the things we do in our churches? Most of the things we do, we do because it is traditional or habitual to do so. The church and religious organisations have imposed many things onto us and you may object to some... so why do we do them?
I have been to quite a few places of worship where I have wondered where they have got the idea for doing what they do and almost always get the answer of something like “they have always done it this way.” Let’s face it, people do not like change because they become comfortable in the habitual ways because they know what is coming and they can cope with that better than the unknown.
When God was preparing for Jesus to come and be amongst us, it was not going to be the same old thing – it was going to be something entirely new and unheard of. People were going to be upset and object and all sorts of things – just because it was different. God imposed strict ways on the Israelites so they would get used to the idea of living their lives for God instead of for themselves. Over time, they grew comfortable with the way things were and imposed stricter laws to prevent people from rocking the boat.
This is not what God was interested in. He wanted people to focus on Him and not on habits or traditions. He wanted to free the people from their own entrapment! We get trapped in the ways we invent – we become obsessed with those ways and we lose focus on what is real – on whom we should be worshipping. There is nothing new here because mankind has done this over and over again throughout history! But it is not God’s ways – they may well be ways in which we can remember God or draw closer to Him, so some of them we look at as being good or even righteous. But God is doing new things...
Points to Ponder:
Do you like traditional church?
Will you embrace what God asks of you instead of what tradition asks of you?