November 15: Isaiah 41:8-10
Key Verse: Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Devotion:
Don’t you love the way this passage starts out, calling on Israel and identifying Jacob as a servant who He personally chose to lead the nation who are all descendants of Abraham, God’s friend! This is a very personal relationship between God and all of Israel, identified through Jacob and going all the way back through Abraham and beyond!
God reminds us through this we are His chosen people, people who are called to serve Him, not as slaves, but willing servants. That is the huge difference between slaves and servants – servants are willing to come forward and do the work for which they will receive support from the master. It is not a role where we have to stand up and go forward to do work where God is not willing to do it Himself; far from it!
God leads us forward with Him, staying with us every step of the way, leading us through troubled lives toward a place where we will finally be released from all the hassle and strengthened to fight with God, side by side as friends of God. Abraham was willing to stand up and be counted as a friend of God. It does not matter how much he doubted or even how old he was, because God had chosen him to step forward as a father of a great nation to come.
God continues to call people to stand up and be counted as friends and as servants, willing to take on the work He wills in our lives. What an awesome privilege it is to be counted as a friend of God and have Him work by our sides!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like to work alone or as a team?
Will you gather a team and work with God today?
November 14: Acts 10:34-38
Key Verse: Acts 10:34
Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism
Devotion:
When you see people in need, who do you approach first? Do you go toward the person who you like the look of, or maybe the person sitting in the right place? We all have our failings and we do tend to show prejudice against whom we help – because we are the way we are. God accepts we are all going to be very different but would like us all to be able to set aside our favouritism and help those people who need the help most of all rather than the people we want to help!
As we start to get closer to Christmas and we see the desperate need for people in our society and local communities, we need to put aside our own feelings, pride and favouritism and reach out to the people who need help most of all. The group of Christians I am currently working with are reaching out to the people who will not be able to afford a proper Christmas meal by themselves; we put together everything a family would need to have a meal in a box and deliver it to them a couple of days before Christmas.
If you can see the need of a family close to you, why not reach out to them by giving them some support coming up to Christmas. If we want to be more like Jesus, then we need to step forward and help those whom society is rejecting or ignoring because that is what Jesus would do!
God does not show favouritism when it comes to those who need help. He wants us all be able to live together and share things willingly. God has continued to show us how He cared for the people who were desperate for some sort of hope. We can give people hope by giving them help and allowing them to see how God can enable anyone to help anyone!
Points to Ponder:
What will you be doing for Christmas?
Will you help someone who needs it today?
November 13: Romans 8:35-39
Key Verse: Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Devotion:
No matter how many times we are told “we are safe,” we still doubt and have this nagging fear we are not as safe as we should be! To a large extent this is normal human behaviour, but it is also learned behaviour because we see people projecting this on our TVs and social media, but we do not see enough of the truth Christ is trying to spread – the truth we are totally safe in His arms!
Does this mean we will never have to face any hardships or confrontation? Far from it because we may well face more confrontation because we are making a stand against what people see as the social norm. We are working to bring hope and assurance to people where circumstances are taking everything away from communities.
None of this will be able to separate us from the love of God. His love remains strong and secure no matter what we face in our lives. It was the ultimate declaration of love when Jesus gave His own life up on the cross so we could live forever in Heaven with Him. Nothing on earth will detract from that demonstration of love despite people trying to say otherwise.
When an act of love like that is shown, nothing can take away from it; but, because we are who we are, we allow time to slowly erode our hope until we think there is no more hope. Bu, when we turn to fully face Christ and ask Him for love and support, we again see the fullness and extraordinary depth of that love.
Points to Ponder:
Are you getting down with lock-downs?
Will you turn to face Christ and ask Him for strength to carry on?
November 12: 1 John 4:7-12
Key Verse: 1 John 4:9
This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
Devotion:
How do you show love to others? If, like me, you loved to hug people, this year has been very difficult because of the pandemic and not being able to mix with people, never mind hugging them! But love goes a whole lot deeper that a hug or a kiss, love is at the centre of your being and you have to be the one who allows others to see into yourself.
We know from the scriptures Jesus encouraged us to be like lights shining on hills rather than hiding behind bushes and so should it be with our love. Love is no good if it is going to be hidden from others, it has to be shared openly and willingly. This love we have within us was given to us from God for the good of everyone; it is something we live with and need in our lives.
God showed His extraordinary love for us by allowing His Son to come and live amongst us and share that love with people in amazing and miraculous ways. Jesus then showed even more love by taking the blame for our wrong-doings and permanently nailing it to the tree when He died for us. Even our scriptures remind us there is no greater love than a person laying down their life for others.
God has shown us the way through His scripture. Jesus came and demonstrated the way through His actions. He now asks each one of us to continue this string of love by always sharing it with others. None of us have seen God the Father because none of us are in Heaven yet, not counting the people who have already died and are enjoying eternal life in Heaven already; but we can live out the love on earth before we get to Heaven by sharing and caring.
Points to Ponder:
How do you show your love to others?
What will you do differently today to demonstrate love?