October 3: Matthew 11:25-30
Key Verse: Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Devotion:
When Jesus talked to others, He always made sure people knew what the truth was and what details people needed to know. Just after berating various town because they refused to repent for the wrongdoing which continued throughout the towns, He switches to His relationship with God His Father. Yes, we know Jesus is God, but when He was amongst mankind as a human, He was exactly that, a human being like us.
But that is where things get very different. Jesus made sure He prayed all the time and stopped to listen to what His Father wanted of Him. Because of this, you could say His life was fairly sorted! He did not have to worry about getting and maintaining a job. He did not have to worry about financial positions or stock markets... All this was left to God and He wanted people to know that!
We could say His burden was extreme because of what He had to face, but at this time He was simply spreading the gospel and stopping the ‘learned leaders’ from continuing to corrupt people with their own ideas and not what God wanted them to know about.
As Christians we need to step forward and make sure people get to know the truth. This may mean posting stuff on social media for people to think about. It could mean standing on street corners (though there will be far less people than normal now.) Or it could just be talking to your neighbour over the fence to show them you lead a very different life to the rest of the world. But make sure they know how much peace we get from living with God in our hearts!
Points to Ponder:
Do your neighbours know you as a Christian?
When was the last time you offered to help your neighbours?
October 2: Deuteronomy 11:13-15
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 11:15
I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
Devotion:
Back in the time of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and the subsequent trial through the desert regions, God continued to uphold the promise He would look after the people if they remained faithful to Him. This is just another point where we read about God’s promise to the Israelites; one of many! Jesus continued to uphold the idea we should continue to live with a close relationship with God so He can continue to look after us... So how does this work?
Does this mean if we follow all the rules, we will be safe from all the bad stuff around us in the world? Unfortunately not. We live in a world where many people do not listen to God and many people rebel against God’s word and His ways. We could be close to those people and anything which goes wrong (or right) we are affected. So, even when we do follow all the rules, we can still end up in deep trouble as we are suffocated by the ills of the world!
So how do we get out of this problem? Well, one way is to try and listen to what God is telling us. He continually tries to guide us away from the trouble spots if He knows we cannot cope with it – but He may well allow us to be close to trouble just so others can see the impact of our close relationship with God. There-in lies the clue... We need to uphold an honest, open, and true relationship with God at all times; one which others should be able to notice and be encouraged by.
I have been called many things in my life, but I love it when people call me names because of my relationship with Christ! I love being selected out of a crowd and pointed to by non-believers – not because I want to be berated, but because it allows others to see there is another way of living. A way of living where we live with hope constantly. A way of living where we know of a certain future!
Points to Ponder:
Do you live with God in your life?
Do you invite others to share your relationship with Christ?
October 1: Mark 10:1-9
Key Verse: Mark 10:5
‘It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,’ Jesus replied.
Devotion:
Have you stopped to look at the laws of your country and wondered where they have come from? How many of the laws do you think are based on Christian ideas? How many of the laws don’t make sense to you? I know here in the UK there are some pretty strange laws which have been introduced many years ago which still stand but which don’t make too much sense nowadays. Apparently, it is against the law to wear armour if you visit the UK Houses of Parliament! (written back in 1313)
The Pharisees threw questions at Jesus to try and trip Him up in cases of law but Jesus’ answer in this case was spot on! The law saying divorce was OK was not chosen by God but was given because men wanted to get divorced and it was detrimental to keep people in a state of marriage when they really did not like each other. How can we spread and share love if we cannot love the partner we are with?
I’m not going into a debate about whether it is right or wrong to divorce, or any other of the laws we chop and change nowadays. That is between you and God to get it right. I have done many things wrong in my past and I have come to accept my wrong-doings and move on in Christ’s love. The things I did wrong were because of ignorance or desperation or greed and I have submitted them to God to allow me to move forward.
The question should really be – whose laws are you going to uphold in your life? It is very difficult when we face laws which go against the country or laws which go against God – which do you choose? Jesus has taught us to obey the laws of the country because that is right to do so. But He has also taught us to keep the law of love above all else, because that must be the basis of all other laws.
Points to Ponder:
Whose laws do you follow in your life?
Will you try to uphold love above all else?
September 30: Psalms 86:11-13
Key Verse: Psalms 86:12
I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name for ever.
Devotion:
God really does not ask a lot of us other than to love Him with all our hearts. He does not require we go to a church meeting once a week. He does not require we sacrifice a goat once a week. He does not require that we give all of what we own to Him... These are things people feel like they have to do for God, not written law we have to follow. Christ fulfilled all this by giving His own life on the cross so we would not have to continue with those laws originally laid down for the Israelites!
How much we choose to do for God is a show of our affection for Him. My waking though today was how much are we willing to do for love... I chose to continue in this Psalm simply because these words describe what David was willing to do for God and allows us to think about what we are willing to do or doing for God.
As long as we want to hear from God and learn from Him, we will be able to live with Him in our lives – just as we may live with our partners or family in our lives. But these is always something which God would like us to do so more people can get to live with Him in their own lives. We need to make sure we do this because of our love for Him and not because we have a duty to do something so we can get paid in kind from God. God does not owe us anything – He has already given everything for us!
Our love must be a two-way thing – we cannot expect God to do everything for us if we love Him. That is not how love works. In our relationships with others we give, share and take; that is what we do for love toward others and we must do the same because of our love for God. Listen to Him and act on what you hear simply because you love God!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you do for God?
He simply want you to love Him with all your heart!