March 5: Matthew 18:21-22

Key Verse: Matthew 18:22
Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Devotion:
One of the things we find hardest to do in our lives is to forgive people when they have done something wrong – especially if we think they have done said wrong on purpose! Our simple minds cannot see the good in people when all we see is wrongs. Our hearts are broken by people doing wrongs to us and it takes a lot of rights before we can fix those broken hearts!

When Peter came to Jesus to ask about forgiveness, I think he expected Jesus to give him a simple answer so he could put that into effect. What Jesus did was to give him an answer He knew would not be easy to attain. How can we keep on forgiving people over and over again when they continue to repeat bad things against us?

Jesus wants us to look past the human element and to think of things in a way similar to how He loves us and how God feels about us. Jesus wants us to be able to overcome all hatred and to overcome those personal feelings we carry around long after the fact. He wants us to be able to forgive just as He is forgiving every sin we ever do in our lives…

But it does mean we should be willing to bring those sins to Christ in the first place. We should be willing to go out and ask people for forgiveness too, just as they ask it of us. If we are then willing to take s step toward reconciliation, He will show us just how big a step He is willing to take to show us mercy beyond our thoughts!

Points to Ponder:
Do you want people to forgive you?

Are you willing to forgive others?

March 4: Psalm 42:1-2

Key Verse: Psalm 42:2
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Devotion:
Sometimes we reach the end of our tether and we think we cannot go on any further; God is already listening to us and all we need to do is to ask for His help and guidance. Just when we start to think we have asked enough and we expect an answer, we get to wait a little longer… This is not God testing us or God seeing how much we can withstand; this is the world messing with us!

If we are willing to wait on God we will get to see just how much He can and does do in our lives. The world will push you past what you think your breaking point is because the world does not love you or care for you. God loves you and cares for you so will be offering solutions all along the way!

Sometimes we get to the point where we just want to be with Him and forget about the world because we think we cannot take any more. God is there with us and trying to help us as we go through those struggles. If we are listening and waiting for answers we will get to hear when He talks with us in ways we cannot imagine.

We don’t have to go anywhere. We don’t have to make a special temple or place where we can meet with God. We don’t have to go through a set of instructions before we hear from Him. We simply have to talk with Him and wait on answers. He will come to us and be with us just when we need Him most of all!

Points to Ponder:
Do you really wait for God?

Or do you press the point and try to make Him rush in?

March 3: John 2:13-22

Key Verse: John 2:22
After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Devotion:
When Jesus entered the temple on this day He was dismayed by the people who were no longer treating the temple with the respect He thought they should. This made Jesus angry and He took out His anger on the animals and people who were doing this. Was He right to be angry?

If we look at our modern society we see many people using church buildings for many things, and many are not doing this for the right reasons. We may say we are doing these things to raise money for the church and for the support of things in the church, but there will always be some who are doing it purely for selfish reasons and plain monetary gain.

God knows we have to have money to continue using our church buildings because we live in a world which is largely controlled by money. He knows we will have to go out and earn money in different ways because we may not be rich enough to pay for the expenses of the church buildings. But He also knows when some people are taking advantage of the situation and working for their own good!

We may have our own ideas of how Jesus should be portrayed, what He looked like and what we should expect from Him: but we did not live in those days when He walked amongst the people of Israel. We should not be trying to put Jesus in a box defined by us but rather allowing Him to work His miracles in our lives with the freedom He needs to work. We need to stop putting barriers up which stop Him working in our lives!

Points to Ponder:
Do you think you do work for Jesus?

How many barriers do you put up when He really tries to do things?