December 29: 1 John 1:5-7
Key Verse: 1 John 1:5
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
Devotion:
The disciples may be seen to be the lucky ones who were able to spend time with Jesus in person; or they could be looked at as the unlucky ones upon whom the weight of spreading the gospel fell without limit! There are two sides to most things in life and depending on how we are at the time, we may well come up with different answers to the same question...
This letter describes the feeling of one evangelist who wanted to make sure other people got to hear about Jesus and were given the opportunity to make their own decisions about just who Jesus is! The words here describe the pride and joy this self-proclaimed evangelist knew because he lived at the time Jesus was alive!
These words are our gift from God to encourage us and to lift us up to the same position of peace and joy this evangelist knew! Our words to each other are what we have to encourage each other to praise and worship our God openly and freely. I do pray for all those around the world who are held under persecution and are not free to publicly worship Jesus and to know this joy and peace first-hand in a way we do in a free country.
God wants us all to be able to walk in the light Jesus brought with Him to earth. God wants us to be able to share that light with others and to be able to show others what it means to have this light in our lives. It is because of the light, love, living water and faithfulness of Jesus that we are able to live with Him and know we will join Him in heaven one day!
Points to Ponder:
Do you still creep around in the shadows?
Will you switch on the lights and allow people to see what God means to you?
December 28: Psalm 147:1
Key Verse: Psalm 147:1
Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
Devotion:
One of the things I have missed most during these various lock-downs is the gathering together of all our church people on a Sunday for praise and worship... and it looks like this is going to continue to be the norm until we are all vaccinated and it is deemed safe to meet up once again!
No matter how far we are apart, or how close but behind locked doors, we can still praise and worship God, albeit in our own homes. If you are feeling down or alone, try tuning into a worship service somewhere else or listen online to some worshipful singing. We do still have our memory and we do still have recordings of lots of people worshipping God without restriction. Try to focus on the act of worship and not the feeling of not being with others. Try to focus on God and not on your feeling of somehow being inadequate.
I like to switch on a portable speaker and stream worship songs so I can listen to the words and focus on God for a while; blocking out the world and all the terrible things going on up and down the land.
And, the best thing is, it does not even have to be a Sunday when you tune in a praise God – Do it daily and without limit – but try to think of your neighbours and don’t turn up the volume too loud!
God has always been faithful, and we can do so by praising Him at all times!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you praise God?
Will you turn off the world and turn on some worship songs now
December 27: Galatians 3:23-25
Key Verse: Galatians 3:25
Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
Devotion:
Before Christ came to live amongst us, we were all caught up in the law as given to Moses and upheld by many prophets and chief priests over the ages. Those laws were the guidance we needed to try and live our lives according to the will and wishes of God; we had to depend on the prophets and priests to faithfully recount what God was telling them to pass on to us.
As the first verse tells us, we were being held custody under the law and there was nothing we could do other than to try and keep all the laws – the problems being it was not within our powers to keep all the laws all the time. Therefore, God allowed Jesus to come down to be the ultimate sacrifice for us; to cover our sins once and for all instead of us having to placate God through giving sacrifices at regular intervals!
But when Jesus gave us the instructions we needed to hear, fulfilled the sayings of the prophets and became the very last sacrifice which was to be needed, we were released from that custody into the arms of our own faith. We were given the choice to believe in Jesus and to accept His sacrifice for all of our sins, past, present and future!
We now live under the grace period where we are still given the choice to believe in what Jesus has done so we can be set free from our sins. Indeed, throughout the New Testament we are told if we simply believe in our hearts this is what Jesus did for us, then we will be set free and forgiven once and for all!
Points to Ponder:
Do you believe Jesus came to be your sacrifice?
Will you continue to trust in His word and have faith in His promises?
December 26: Luke 2:6-12
Key Verse: Luke 2:8
And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Devotion:
Do you know where you were born? Not the town or city, but the hospital and even the ward you were on. I don’t think many of us could break it down to the ward and room, and some of us were born in places which don’t exist anymore – much like the place or Saviour was born; a lowly stable where they had to lay Him down in a manger because they did not have portable carry cots and things like that then!
I know hospitals get rebuilt, moved or re-purposed because of the advances in technology and medicine – so a few generations back and things get lost in time. But what does not change over time is the people who have babies (mothers) and less so, the carers who look after soon-to-be mothers. But no matter how much changes, people are still going to be born and people will still die – it's the memories and our souls which live on forever.
One thing which is very different here is the first people who came to see the new baby. It was not the friends and family who were called to say the baby had been born, but shepherds who were looking after their flocks nearby. These were the guys who spent their nights out all the time with the animals, who didn’t get paid a lot and who were not recognised as people of society. But God chose them to be the first.
This, to me, is the ultimate statement of who Jesus looks out for first of all. It is not the well-off people who shower others with money and possessions, it is not the high priests and church leaders, but the poor and meek whom Jesus reaches out to – those He wants to bless because they have little else to look forward to.
Points to Ponder:
Who did you spend Christmas with?
Have you tried reaching out to someone you know who needs a little helping hand?