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25 September: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 3:5
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
Devotion:
How many times have you tried to make something happen just because that is what you wanted to happen? As a youth worker, I did do that a few too many times, thinking that if I liked what was happening, some young people 40 years younger than me may like it too! No so apparently!
As the writer muses here, there is a time for everything to happen and we should not be trying to make things happen out of order just because we think it best at the time!
God has shown us what can and does happen in the past and he has made sure those things were written down for us to remember them - which is where we should be taking note and getting used to the idea everything will happen in its order!
There is no harm in asking God for other things to happen out of the normal order because that is us learning about the things we can ask of God - and learning what sort of things he is going to answer in its time!
Points to ponder:
Do you try to rush things into happening before they should?
Have you tried waiting on God for his answers?
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24 September:: Ecclesiastes 1:2-11
Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 1:9
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.
Devotion:
One of the things you find out as you grow older is that most things which happen in life are not new but have been done in some form or another multiple times in the past.
Does this mean we are stuck in a world where nothing new will happen? Certainly not! But many things have been done before.
If we are going to make the most of this life then we should be taking note of all the things which have happened before and choosing the best outcome based of the outcomes which have happened before.
But humans seem to be stuck in a rut where we do the same things over and over and expect a different outcome even though this has never happened before. God wants us to have a good life and be happy and content with all he is doing for us in our lives.
As long as we try to keep up with the best outcomes which have gone before based on what other children of God have done - we can expect good things!
Points to ponder:
Do you expect things just to happen for you?
Or do you go looking what God wants from you?
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23 September: Proverbs 30:5-9
Key Verse: Proverbs 30:9
or I shall be full, and deny you, and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I shall be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God.
Devotion:
One thing we do when we are content if forget about the bad things which have happened beforehand and we just focus on the here and now. The same can be said for our relationship with God at times too!
We get to a stage where we are content with what God has given us, what we are doing and we relax into a state where we just assume everything is going according to plan. This does tend to make us lax about the things we should be thinking of in order to continue on in our relationship with God.
From a very early age the prophets and leaders recognised this and they warned the people about becoming too comfortable with the lot God has given us. Go even had to warn the people of Israel a few times over the years as they relaxed into expecting too much because they had always had God there for them.
We still need to be on our guard against relaxing into false positions of comfort. What happens when we are happy and content? We may just start to deny God a little bit, then a bit more and then even more...
Points to ponder:
How comfortable do you have to be before you start forgetting God and his laws?
What will it take to reapply those rules in your life?
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22 September: Proverbs 21:1-6
Key Verse: Proverbs 21:4
Haughty eyes and a proud heart - the lamp of the wicked - are sin.
Devotion:
How many times have you given in to something which looked too good to be true, and only found out afterwards it was just a myth?
When we get something into our head, we often will go a bit too far and take on something we should be steering clear of. Sometime we are heading straight for danger!
God is not the one leading us into these temptations or these bad places, we are the ones actively seeking them out because we have it in our heads it is somehow a good idea!
It is never too late to admit we have done something wrong and to turn away from what we are doing. It takes courage and strength to do that and after we have do the U-turn, we may well find it was the right decision all along which was hidden from us because our eyes were too big and we could not see the truth!
Points to ponder:
How often do you admit defeat?
Are you willing to admit to your sin?
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21 September: Matthew 9:9-13
Key Verse: Matthew 9:12
But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Devotion:
How many times have you tried to get out of going somewhere because you had objections about the people you would have to mix with or about the place you were going to?
There are many times I have objected to something without having a firm reason for objecting other than having heard something bad about the people or place!
When I stop and think about it nowadays, I begin to think "what if God was trying to get me to go through that door just so one person could hear some good news instead of the terrible news which surrounds them every day."
It is not an easy task to go against your feeling or your intuition; but sometimes God is directing you to a time and place where just a simple smile or word can change someone elses life; and just maybe, he wants you to be that person!
Points to ponder:
When you are invited to go and do something for God or with other Christians, do you go?
When you are invited into a difficult situation, what stops you?
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20 September: Matthew 20:1-16
Key Verse: Matthew 20::10
Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.
Devotion:
No matter how you read these verses, you feel for the poor people who had to work for the full day and they did not get any more or less than the people who only worked the last part of the day. By today's standards we would say that was unfair to all, but then we should also be looking at what agreement each of the people agreed to.
When we agree to do something for a certain wage or reward, we should try to do our best to fulfil what we have agreed to - to keep our side of the bargain. We should not be comparing ourselves to others all the time but comparing ourselves to what we have agreed to do!
When it came down to everyone getting what they had agreed to, the owner gave everyone what was agreed.
How then should we compare this to our Christian lives and the things we do for God? If we have agreed to do something for God, then we should be doing our best to fulfil what we have agreed to do. We should not expect any special rewards for payments or special treatment because we have made an agreement with God. Is that not enough?
Points to ponder:
Have you made any promises to God which you are now going back on?
Will you complete your tasks for God?
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19 September: 1 Corinthians 15:35-41
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:38
But God gives it a body as he has chosen and to each kind of seed its own body.
Devotion:
One of the things I struggled with in the past was this thing about death and resurrection. Jesus showed us that anything is possible and he also gave the disciples direction of what will happen when they die.
The disciples did not have a fear of death like people have when they do not know Christ. That may sound like a strange thing to say, but I challenge you to read through these verses and think about the words and think about what may happen to you when your human body dies...
Morbid? No, not really, because we are looking at the next thing on from this human existence, As a human we have a human body and we can do so many things some animals cannot do; but we lack the things creatures like fish can do.
God made us all very different and he has given us this human body part but also a soul which lives on even when our human body stops functioning. This final thought gave me great encouragement after trying to work out what happens when a human body gets cremated. Well, it gets burned up, but our soul lives on in a new way with Jesus.
Points to ponder:
What do you think your soul is?
What would you like to do with your soul after death?
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18 September: Luke 8:1-3
Key Verse: Luke 8:3
and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.
Devotion:
When Jesus was out and about with the disciples he did cure a lot of people, not just from diseases but also from spiritual matters. The people whom he healed were very grateful and willing to follow him round and care for them too.
That is a solid show of neighbourly love in my books. Not the love a person has for another in a relationship, but the love one has for another when they have shared something together.
Another thing which stands out is the fact women were involved in this ministry walk about. The women were the witnesses and the examples for others to know that Jesus was the real deal.
Jesus wants us all to be a part of this ministry; whether we are the examples of what Christ can do, the ones who stand up and talk about Jesus or the ones who pray behind the scenes - we are all an important part of the ministry of the Gospel.
Points to ponder:
How do you see yourself in the chain of ministry?
Are you willing to share your experiences with others?
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17 September: Luke 7:36-50
Key Verse: Luke 7:47
Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.’
Devotion:
This, for me, is one of those special passages in the bible where Jesus gives recognition to a sinner in front of everyone. If we would ever be looking for forgiveness, we should remember these verses and know that Jesus will forgive us no matter how far we have gone.
To us it may seem strange that a woman would even enter another persons house to do such a thing, but this was almost 2000 years ago when the world was a different place; a place where people would be allowed to show their love for one another - and not in the modern way we think of that!
Would I ever wan to go back to a time like that? I'm not sure. I don't know whether I would survive too long without the creature comforts we have nowadays. I don't know whether I would be willing to have my house open all the time, but it is something we should think about.
Our village has two parish churches. The one is open most days for people to come in and look around, but the other is locked much of the time because of all the equipment and kitchen etc. Which to you is more loving?
Points to ponder:
Are you willing to show your love more openly?
How would you go about that safely?
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16 September: Mark 11:27-33
Key Verse: Mark 11:30
Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.’
Devotion:
The Jewish leaders at the time did not want to give up the power they wielded and so refused to accept Jesus as their Messiah. Some would say they were protecting the people. Other would say they were wrong.
Jesus knew what was in the hearts of the people questioning him and he trapped them in their own arguments! He knew the will of God and knew these people were not following God will.
Our bibles are there for us to discern the truth. People may have re-written the word and picked and chosen what they wanted in the bible as we know it, but when you read it and discover the truth, God explains it to you as you go along.
God wants us to believe his word and to make sure we depend on it more than we depend on the word of people. It is there for our learning.
Points to ponder:
Do you believe in the conspiracies that float around?
Why not compare them to what God has to say!