December 13: Hebrews 5:7-10
Key Verse: Hebrews 5:8
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered
Devotion:
When God calls you to a position, it should be accepted with humility and reverence; those who has been called before as high priests before Jesus was born on earth, did so with all their wits – not only did they have to offer up the sacrifices for the people, but they would first have to offer sacrifices for themselves to make sure they were worthy!
Jesus did take on the position of high priest for himself, even though He had every right to, but instead waited for God to call Him His Son and a priest of the order of Melchizedek. Jesus continually offered up prayers and petitions to God the Father to see if He could find another way to pay the sacrifice instead of with His own life, but knew He must be obedient to God, no matter what!
By earthly standards, children have special preference and meaning to parent; we don’t like to see our children hurt or suffer in any way – whatever we can do to avoid that, we often do. But God knew there was no other way in which Jesus could pay for our sin debt, so He had to watch Jesus suffer and die for us; something we don’t often think too deeply about.
Because Jesus was willing to do this all for us, we have become as children of God, obtaining that special position where God does not like to see us suffer either. Jesus began to realise what He had to do at an early age, but still He was willing to go through everything and be the ultimate sacrifice for us.
Points to Ponder:
Do you protect those you love?
Are you willing to step up and fulfil the position God is calling you into?
December 12: 1 John 5:13-15
Key Verse: 1 John 5:15
And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.
Devotion:
How is your confidence faring during these times? Are you growing weary of all the things going wrong, the businesses closing, the people not working, the governments failing? We all get disgruntled when things around us are not going our way or as we expect them to – but there is a foundation which remains strong and firm.
When we show others we have hope in Christ, they look up to us and wonder where the hope is coming from. We can then introduce them to the truth of Christ and His kingdom. We can show them how we pray with a confidence which is real! We need to keep record of answered prayers so we can encourage others to ask for things as well.
The confidence we have in asking for help from God and expecting that help is what will build others up and allow them to have confidence in Jesus as well. When our faith wains, the faith of those around us tends to wain as well because they begin to believe in our failings. But when we grow in faith because of answered prayers, then those around us are encouraged to ask and receive, growing in their faith too!
God listens to us as we lift our prayers to Him. He is faithful and just to answer our prayers just as He has promised us. What we need to do is to ask with greater confidence, believing God is going to answer and waiting for those answers and not just hoping some of them will get answered. I thank God He continues to answer my prayers in way which build up my faith, daily!
Points to Ponder:
What is your attitude to prayer?
Will you pray with confidence today?
December 11: Galatians 4:1-7
Key Verse: Galatians 4:7
So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Devotion:
Have you ever wondered why others are called by God and you don’t seem to have a calling to do anything special like them? Have you ever wondered what it is like to be called by God to do something for Him? Well, don’t panic because we have all got our time to shine – just like Jesus had His time to shine and to do something very special for everyone!
Jesus was born as a baby, just like us all. He did not sit up immediately and start telling people all the things God wanted us to know, He spent time doing things babies do! I’m pretty sure that included all the things we see and hear from other babies! Yes, it was a very special birth and was at an appointed time by God, but it was still like other births.
Jesus had to be looked after by Joseph and Mary. He had to be fed and changed; because that is what it is like to be born into this world as a human being. He was constrained by the world just as we are and lived just as we do. God made sure everything fell into place by telling His earthly parents what and when to do things as well as teaching them how to care for Jesus.
We are born as humans, live and humans and die as humans – just like Jesus did. What we do when God calls us out to do something is going to shape our lives just as Jesus’ life was shaped by what He did when God told Him to. Jesus was born just like that so He could cover all our sins. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for us all. We are no longer slaves to this world but have been set free!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel constrained by this world?
Do you know God sees you as His child!
December 10: Isaiah 11:1-5
Key Verse: Isaiah 11:5
Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash round his waist.
Devotion:
I stiff find it amazing how the prophets wrote about the coming of Jesus hundreds of years before He did come to live amongst us as a human man. God spoke to the prophets and told them a Saviour was going to be born from the ancestral line of Jesse, King David’s father. I wonder what the other sons of Jesse thought about when they heard these words!
David, the youngest son of Jesse, was to be picked as the next King to lead the Israelites with wisdom and justice; something which he was able to do to a large extent. But, being human, he did sin and fell from grace because of that. When confronted, David lifted his sin to God and asked for forgiveness – something God would grant him. But this came at a price for David’s sin.
It is during the late autumn months or winter months when trees are trimmed or pruned. These are the words which describe what would happen here. But, like any pruning, new growth would sprout up and grow anew. God knew there was still hope and wanted people to see the hope even after David’s sin was exposed.
No matter how far we go in our sinful lives, we can still turn back to God and ask for forgiveness. God is faithful and willing to forgive us if we are honest and open about what we have done wrong. If we turn away from our sins and embrace God’s ways, we will see new growth and blessing come our way. If we are in need, we will see how Gd can help us directly and through others.
Points to Ponder:
Do you try and help others in their times of need?
Will you follow God’s example and faithfully help those who need it most?