August 7: 2 Peter 1:12-15
Key Verse: 2 Peter 1:15
And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
Devotion:
One thing I don’t hold firm to is someone who teaches or preaches at church and then lives a different life at home. Each one of us hold a position of a teacher whether we like it or not. God has given us insider knowledge about Jesus and His love for us so we can teach this to other people. What sort of legacy will you have if you were to die tomorrow? Will people remember you as the ‘bible puncher’, the ‘church person’, the person who was always there or someone who loved openly?
We have very different examples in the disciples, each having their own personalities and each living very different lives in different places. We have examples throughout the old testament of people who lived and loved according to God’s will, but also many people who fell and tripped up in their lives.
God knows we are going to trip up at some stage in our lives, but how we handle those situations may well be what people remember us for. Those times when we were up against the wall may be the times people remember us for and not the times when we thought we were at our best.
Our lives should be open books for people to get to know us and to trust us; not because we go to church on Sundays but because we constantly remind them of Jesus or constantly remind them there is hope because God is with us! God would love us all to be the perfect examples people will remember, but we are not. Just as we have people who fell in the bible, so we may fall. But turning back to God and opening our lives to the people around us so they can see our relationship with God may well be the turning point in their lives as well as our lives.
Points to Ponder:
Do you live a very private life?
Do you know what other people think of you?
August 6: Exodus 34:29-35
Key Verse: Exodus 34:29
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.
Devotion:
Do you worry about how others will see you as a Christian? Do you worry people are going to see you as something to fear instead of as a friend? As Christians we need to be reaching into our communities and promoting God no matter what people are going to think of us personally. We need to put aside our pride or whatever else is holding us back and step forward to allow people to see God’s light shining through us!
Now Moses did have a problem in that he was physically glowing instead of inwardly glowing; the people were scared to approach him because he obviously looked a bit ‘alien!’ But that did not stop Moses from bringing what God had said to him to the people. First step was to reassure Aaron and the other leaders and then invite everyone to come close.
As children of God we need to step forward and show people we are not ‘aliens’ whom they have to fear but friends who want to help and give them hope. As Christians we need to step forward, no matter what our circumstances are, and allow people to see we are promoting a God who loves them even more than we can love them. And there is the issue we need to overcome first of all – we need to show them we do love them no matter what their circumstances are!
I love to wear Christian T-shirts all the time. When I first came to the area people would question why I wore them. My task then was to show them we live as Christians and want to share our lives and love with them. Now people expect me to wear Christian T-shirts and even watch out to see when I get a new one. Each one is a talking point which allows me to mix with people and promote God and His ways through me. Sometimes just being here is what people need...
Points to Ponder:
What do you think people think of you?
Are you glowing with God’s presence?
August 5: John 5:31-35
Key Verse: John 5:31
If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.
Devotion:
As much as Jesus went around proclaiming He is the Son of God and teaching people the truth, He also made sure there were others who would also do the same; not because He needs the backup, but because we do. We find it hard to believe in something one person tells us unless we have some sort of confirmation from other people. That’s just human nature.
What God did was to make sure there is always someone willing and able to back up the truth so we can be convinced. Admit it. We are all sceptical. We don’t just accept things. God knew this and He made a way we can accept the truth. We have the truth Jesus came to deliver, we have the Holy Spirit who is able to convince us from the inside… but we can always get a bit of help from those around us.
If we need a bit of help now and again from the people around us, then how much help can we be to those people who don’t know God yet? How much can we say and do which will help them to understand just who God is and how much he can do in their lives? It is not really our task to convince anyone that Jesus is the way the truth and the life… but it is our task to open their eyes and hearts to the fact this may be the case.
Once we are able to open their eyes and hearts, Christ can come in and do the convincing. Yes, God could make some catastrophic event which will make us all believe, but He continues to allow us to make our own minds up. He asks His children to go out and invite people in. He then works directly in their hearts to allow them to see the truth and start a new life with Him in the middle!
Points to Ponder:
Do you tell others God is real?
Do you know He wants you to do that?
August 4: John 5:1-10
Key Verse: John 5:7
‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.’
Devotion:
How frustrated do you get with things in life which you can’t quite master? How many times have you tried to do something before you give up and try to move on… but you can’t give up and go try again, only to fail once again? I know there are things like this in my life and I sometimes get to the stage where any attempt to accomplish the task is not done with any confidence at all – we give it a go but expect to fail once again.
Sometimes it is the big things in our lives which we seem to fail at and ones we always get wrong – maybe something as big as relationships and we just can’t seem to succeed! This man had been an invalid for thirty eight years and I’m sure was at the end of his tether with trying. But he was still there with hope in his heart. That was the key, having hope and wanting to succeed. Even though he had not been able to get to the pool to be healed, he still had hope.
That is the key. Hope! We need to remember there is still hope, not in what we can achieve, but in accomplishing what cannot be done. How so? Because we still have Christ on our side. Jesus saw this man and walked up to him knowing his situation but also knowing he still clung on to the hope God would be able to heal him one day. Jesus was about to make it happen there and then without being asked directly!
God wants us to be in the best places at the best times, but far too often we get caught up in the world and find ourselves in the worst places at seemingly the worst times! We need to cling to the hope Christ has promised us and to trust God will do something about our situations. I have learned this and now try to lean more on this hope each day, trusting and knowing God still performs miracles!
Points to Ponder:
Are you frustrated with your life?
Will you cling to that last ounce of hope?