October 27: 1 John 4:4-6
Key Verse: 1 John 4:5
They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
Devotion:
After warning us not to believe every spirit, the writer wants us to believe the Holy Spirit because He comes from God! This opens up the suggestion there are other spirits in this world; but that is another message... We do have to be careful whom we listen to because not everyone or everything is in support of our God.
But as the writer confirms, we are from God. Once we invite Jesus into our lives, we are confirmed as being part of His kingdom and His children. From then on, we can listen to the Holy Sprit because He not only indwells us, but wants us to ignore the call from the world. The world is going to shout out to everyone and many people are going to listen to it because they do not know any better. But, as Christians, we are part of God’s extended family and must listen to Him rather than the world.
The evil one has his feet firmly placed on this world and will do many things to try and trick us into listening to him and following his ways. We need to step back from our impulses and try to listen to the quiet voice of the spirit instead of the shouting of the evil one. It may sound very hard when said like that, but we are given a very discerning spirit ourselves which can identify the voice of the Holy Spirit and allow us to listen to the truth...
But many will give in to listen to the loud shouts of the world rather than to separate those loud shouts from the quiet whisper the Lord gives us through the Holy Spirit. It will take a conscious effort on your part to stop and listen to God instead of going with the flow. Stop and listen.
Points to Ponder:
Do you give in to peer pressure?
Will you make a stand with the Holy Spirit?
October 26: Hebrews 4:12-13
Key Verse: Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Devotion:
I wonder how much the people feared the power, might and savagery of the Romans Empire. Here we have words hinting at the might of the double-edged sword, common in Romand times; used for all manner of fighting and atrocities. This is not to say the sword was only used for bad, because it must have been used for good in so many ways as well – but it is the bad stuff we tend to remember because of the fear it instils in us.
Have you ever tried to work out what your spirit it and what you soul is? These are questions I have never wanted to delve into because of the doubt it spreads in my analytical mind. I rather cling to the hope I have through the faith I have in my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. What gives me this hope which is greater than the fear welling up inside me? God’s Word.
Without God’s Word I would not be able to separate what is righteous and what I simply want for myself. Without it I would not be able to separate God’s will and mans will. I still don’t get it right all the time because I am limited in my understanding of all things – but I hold tight to what I learn from God’s Word.
There is nothing hidden from God so knowing He has supplied us with everything we need to discern His will in our lives does wonders for my faith believing He is in control. Everything from pride to greed to lust are all uncovered by God’s Word as long as we are willing to learn from it. If we ignore it we are nothing more than from this world.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you read God’s Word?
When was the last time you sat and pondered over it?
October 25: Colossians 1:21-23
Key Verse: Colossian 1:21
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour.
Devotion:
I love the way the writer does not condemn people for what they have done, but reminds us all we are the perceived enemy, not because of what we have done, but because of what is going on in our minds... Once we can get passed the idea of being in conflict with God, we can quickly know how much God wants us to be with Him in everything.
God did not create us to work against Him or to be away from Him; He created us to be with Him! Christ came to earth to show us just how much God wants us to be with Him by giving His life so we can! Jesus’ body stands over us to cleanse us from all sin and present us before God in Heaven as if we had not sinned at all; this is the hope we have through our faith in what has happened and what has been promised.
The words in our bibles are those chosen for us to have; a source of knowledge and wisdom we need in order to have our faith supported enough for us to believe it and sustain it. As long as we continue to uphold this faith, we continue to hold fast to the hope we have in Christ Jesus.
Because of these words and this encouragement, we can share the hope and faith we have with those around us. We don’t have to memorise every single word in exact order but to be able to share what we have with others through the love we gain from Jesus. Enjoy reading and learning more each day and enjoy what God has in store for you!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel alienated from God?
Have you read His Word lately?
October 24: 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
Devotion:
How honest do you think you are? How honest do you know you are? We have all done something wrong with our bodies at some stage in our lives, from the stuff which comes out of our mouths, the debatable things running through our minds, the greed and lust of our spirits – the list could be endless for each of us if we brought up every little thing we have done wrong!
God wants us to know He will forgive us for the things we bring to Him. He has promised this to us, and Jesus came to live out that promise. If we want to continue to try and hide stuff from God (which is impossible) then we are harming our own spirits as we fight against an unseen enemy. The harm is not toward God because He already knows what we have done, but toward ourselves as we build up false hope on a foundation which is just not there!
This part of scripture is highlighting sexual immorality because it is probably one of the biggest things which will break down our spiritual and mental health. When we consent to sexual immorality, which we know to be wrong, we are heaping up fuel in the fire which is burning away at our spiritual and mental health. We need to be honest with God and honest with ourselves – that way we may have a better chance at hearing when the Holy Spirit tries to guide us away from such menacing things in our lives.
Think of is as being like a huge bonfire. The more fuel we give the fire, the more we hear the fire and not the voices around us. We may not be being consumed by the actual fire, but the noise it produces consumes our thoughts and we are quickly lost in the noise of the flames instead of the communion with the people next to us. Don’t feed the fire...
Points to Ponder:
What do you throw into the fire every day?
Will you give it to God instead of feeding the fire?