November 19: Matthew 6:25-34
 
Key Verse: Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
 
Devotion:
I do find these verses hard to read at times, especially when I am feeling down, rejected or anxious; but God’s promise stands no matter where we are in our lives and no matter how we are feeling! Jesus came to remind us of God’s promise and to give us hope through what He was able to do. We now have the Holy Spirit living with us so we can continue to know God has everything in hand.
 
It may not look like it when we are focused on the world around us, on our clothes or on the bank balance – but God has a plan. If we are willing to humble ourselves before Him and listen to what He has in store for us, we can be assured of a better life. That better life will probably no mean living in the best house or having the best car or clothes; but it will be having the most hope for your future!
 
Each time I see birds fluttering around here in London, I am reminded of how much God cares for us. They don’t get to have the best bird tables laid out with fresh country seeds, but they do get fed and they do bring joy to many people like me. If God can do this for tiny birds, then think how much more He can do you us when we focus on Him in our lives. The birds just accept God’s love and care without knowing it – they just are in God’s care.
 
We tend to get tied up in all the glitter of the world around us and we start to judge our own lives based on the glitter in the lives of people around us. We measure ourselves against worldly measures and forget about the eternal life we are going to have after we leave this earth. I thank God He has a firm grip on my life, and I try to listen to His instruction and His will so I can draw closer to Him every day.
 
Points to Ponder:
How are you measuring your life?
 
Will you allow God to show you your true life?

November 18: John 15:1-8
 
Key Verse: John 15:2
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
 
Devotion:
It is good to read and re-read passages from the bible because you get to understand the words and meaning behind the words as the Holy Spirit ministers to you. I know that sounds very evangelical but go over these few verses a few times and see what God say to you today.
 
As I look out at the garden and think of all the pruning I should have done last month, I begin to see just how important these words and actions are. When I was in hospital, not a lot was done with the garden and it showed when I finally did come home. The garden looked patchy and in dire need of work – but as soon as the rains started, so much of it sprung to life without me doing anything (at that time there was not a lot I could do because of my physical condition)
 
It reminded me how God is behind every life on earth and how His Living Water reaches far beyond our limits and restrictions. We should be willing to get in there are do the basic garden work so the harvest can be more fruitful, and the splendour even more than we can imagine! God calls us to tend to His flock daily – not to go into the garden centres to prune their plants, but to stay where we are and work with what we have: our neighbours!
 
God will not make it plain sailing because we will get lazy and not do anything to promote growth. But when He prunes in and around us, the growth afterward is even more than we can do and expect from ourselves. Allow God to do His work diligently and listen to His instructions so we can work diligently too!
 
Points to Ponder:
Are you growing lazy in the lock-down?
 
What is God asking of you now, right now?

November 17: 1 Corinthians 8:4-8
 
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
 
Devotion:
Sometimes we get carried away with wanting to know everything instead of resting faithfully in God’s grip! We like to think we are drawing closer to God though the things we read and all the things we do. Let us continue to always lift our one true God and to proclaim the name and deity of the name of Jesus Christ; let us also rest in the peace and mercy of the Holy Spirit who indwells us and continues to watch over us in everything we do.
 
I have been in churches where certain foods are not allowed to be eaten, in churches where certain drinks are not allowed to be drunk and, in many churches where certain things are not allowed to be said or done! God calls each one of us to live our lives with and for Him and those lives are going to be very different according to where we live. When we moved onto our local estate to live amongst the community, to belong to the community and to bring them the good news of the gospel, our lives changed dramatically.
 
If Jesus can come to live amongst people who are breaking the laws all the time, then we should be willing to do so too. It is not up to us to judge whether people are doing things right or wrong but to bring them the truth from and about Jesus Christ. We have done enough things wrong in our own lives to exclude us from Heaven – but because of Christ’s mercy and faithfulness, He has paid the price for our sins and allows us to join Him in Heaven.
 
Stop focusing on the rules people set up and focus on sharing the love Jesus has shared with us. We are the church, and we need to share the good news at all times wherever we are!
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you exclude things from your life?
 
Do you exclude people just because they are different?