October 7: Nehemiah 13:26-32
Key Verse: Nehemiah 13:31
But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.’
Devotion:
One of the biggest obstacles we face with the work we do for God is other people! It often seems like we always get opposition to the work we do as Christians – but this is true for most things in life! We probably recognise it more because we believe we are doing what God has asked and therefore it should be true and supported by everyone! At least, that is how we see it!
God is no stranger to opposition but continues to uphold the truth and point people in the right direction. We may think we are the ones on the front-line who are facing the issues, but God is with us every step of the way. The harder we find the opposition, the more we are listening to that opposition and the less we are focusing on God...
I do love working for God and try to do what I can, when I can and with whomever is willing to work with God too! This has brought me opposition in life as people think I am not focusing enough on their work; but in the words of Jesus ‘for whoever is not against us is for us.’ There-in also lies our weakness because we focus on those who are against us rather than on those who are for us!
Do not be discouraged by the people who stand up against you. Rather continue to focus on what God is asking of you and He will ensure you are able to do his bidding. Caleb was willing to stand up and remind the people they would be able to do anything because God was with them. But still some would rather believe the stories of obstacles and issues before them. God wants us to have faith in what He has asked us to do...
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen more to the troublemakers or to the workers?
Are you willing to trust God’s guidance more than man's today?
October 6: Daniel 1:3-16
Key Verse: Daniel 1:8
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way.
Devotion:
Most of us cannot fully relate to the relationship of a servant and their master because we have not been a true servant in our lives. The king wanted something, and what he wanted, he normally got... because he was king and didn’t have a high regard for Daniel’s people! He wanted choice servant who looked good and behaved as he wanted them to. Nothing was going to get in his way!
Yet, along comes Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. They were chosen because of their looks and because they did not have any physical deformities, defects of markings. The king wanted to feel good by having good looking people surrounding him. The last thing he would have wanted is a servant who was going to answer back or one who was picky!
Daniel knew, despite everything which had happened up to then, God was going to look out for him and that was enough for him. He was not going to allow anything in life to persuade him not to do what God wanted of him. One of those things was to moderate what he ate – we know the Israelites had diets which excluded various meats; why should he give in to that if he knew God was watching!
Often, we give in to things because we don’t think God is watching or because everyone else is doing something. It may not be what God wants in our lives, and we may know that, but we give in anyway because it is easier to give in that to stand up for yourself! This is not what God has made us to do. He wants us to stand up for righteousness and to continue worshipping Him from our daily actions...
Points to Ponder:
What temptations do you most often give in to?
Are you sure that is what God wants in your life?
October 5: John 14:15-21
Key Verse: John 14:16
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever
Devotion:
Although this passage begins with the words “If you love me, keep my commands...” Jesus is not laying down an ultimatum to say we have no hope if we cannot keep the commandments! If this were so, then none of us would ever be able to get to Heaven because we have all done at least something wrong in our lives. This is Jesus saying, if you love me, then you should try your very best to keep my commands...
Jesus wants us to obey Him but knows we cannot fully obey Him because of our sinful nature and the sin in the world around us too. Therefore, He promises to give us an advocate who will stand up for us and defend us from judgement! This advocate was going to be in the form of the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit. Just like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is part of God and cannot lie either.
The Holy Spirit will try to guide us through every decision of every day and if we were to listen intently to Him, we would be able to avoid sin in our lives! Unfortunately, we are surrounded by a whole lot of noise and a lot of sin! We don’t have much of a chance at listening solely to Him because of these temptations surrounding us all the time... But, no matter how bad things get, Christ is going to be with us all the time in the form of the Holy Spirit!
Stop and take a breath. Stop and tune out the world. Stop and listen for the instructions from the Holy Spirit. We will find it easier to keep God’s commands, easier to walk with Him and much easier to avoid sin in our lives. All this because God allowed His Son to come down to be our Saviour and the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate. The best team in the world!
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to avoid trouble?
Will your try to stop and listen to God today?
October 4: Jude 1:17-23
Key Verse: Jude 1:22
Be merciful to those who doubt;
Devotion:
Do you find reading the bible hard? Is it because you find reading difficult, or because you find the words hard to digest? I have always found reading difficult and as such do shy away from reading when I can, but in order to share God’s Word with you, I have to spend time reading and thinking about the words I read!
Some chapters in the bible are hard to read because they remind us of all the wrong things in life and often, we find ourselves relating the words to what is happening in the world around us. This is because God is trying to speak to you through His Word. I do find it very refreshing how different people get different strengths from reading the same passage; sometimes I just want to copy the words down and see what others make of it. But this is a journey you and I are on and one which ultimately leads to eternal life with Christ.
We can read through all the terrible things which happen in the bible – but we can also listen to the news broadcasts and find out all the terrible things which are happening in the world around us. This is because we live in a world which is largely broken, just as they did back when the words, we now know in our bibles were written, and even before that!
But this chapter end with the encouraging words that this is all happening, but we still have a Saviour! We have a Christ who gave it all for us on the altar and who continues to love us no matter what happens in the world around us. We need to continue encouraging the people around us to look up to God and see how much hope they have – by demonstrating the hope we have! Be merciful to those who doubt. Keep on encouraging them through your actions.
Points to Ponder:
Are you quick to judge others?
Will you be merciful to those around you when things go wrong again?