July 21: Matthew 6:19-21

Key Verse: Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Devotion:
What are your goals in life? What do you aim to do in life? I know those are really big questions, so lets trim this down a bit… what do you aim to do today? Does this differ from what you want to do, what you desire to be able to do?

If we are all very honest with the question “what do we want to do” then we are going to say things which may not be likely or possible for us. These are the things we seek after in our hearts and these are also the things which will probably make a very big difference to our lives if we are able to achieve them.

Quite often we set goals which are more achievable so we can get to them and make ourselves feel good about being able to get there. When we get to the goal, the goal is complete and we set up another one – and so the story goes on and on. We get to feel good, not just once, but multiple times… But what happens when we are able to achieve a goal only to see it crushed by someone else doing something which makes it of no affect? What happens when our goals are dashed on the rocks? We feel down and despondent…

Any goal we set up here on earth, be it getting the latest game on our computer, getting the latest fashion, getting to be a millionaire… these are all things which are temporary and get bashed and dashed multiple times within our lifetimes. The joy of achieving them is overshadowed by the grief of having them taken away.

What we need to do, then, is to aim for goals which other people cannot take away from us. Goals which can never be dashed, bashed or destroyed by any human being or anything else here on earth! This is why we are encouraged to seek and save up treasures in heaven where they can never be touched by other humans. The joy is everlasting!

Points to Ponder:
What is your goal today?

Have you tried to ask God for your next goal to reach for?

July 20: Isaiah 44:6-8

Key Verse: Isaiah 44:6
This is what the Lord says - Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

Devotion:
And when God asks you to do something for Him… what is your response going to be? I think we would all like to think we would jump up and down for joy at being asked to do something for God and go right ahead and do it… But we are facing all manner of things which work against God in our lives and He may well choose one of those things to either work against or to talk against!

I can remember the horror of being asked to come to London to do God’s work here, and not only that, but to be on one of the estates which was in the top ten worst estates just a decade ago! But God’s timing and His will can give us the strength to do many things if we are willing. There is no one like our God and we need to remember that every day!

OK, so it may have been meeting the local people and finding out how great the takeaways were which finally persuaded me – but God knew what would make me happy and He already had everything in place before I got here. He had even sent me on mission trips with others working in very deprived and unloved areas to prepare me for what was ahead. He taught me there is still love here despite what everyone else talks about!

God may well ask you to do something which you don’t like the sound of, but being patient and listening to Him each step of the way will allow you to do things which you never would have dreamed of doing before… It is God who can do amazing things and has done so much before us to try and convince us. We just need to take that first step and trust Him!

Points to Ponder:
Do you get scared when you do something new?

How willing are you to fully trust God?

July 19: Exodus 3:1-6

Key Verse: Exodus 3:3
So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight – why the bush does not burn up.’

Devotion:
After his escapade with killing the Egyptian and judging others, Moses went into hiding from Pharaoh and stayed there until after Pharaoh had died and things looked like they were calming down again. In the mean time he had to find work and was now looking after the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. Whilst looking after the sheep near Horeb, the mountain of God, an angel of the Lord appeared as a fire in the midst of a bush. The fire was burning but it was not burning the bush or consuming it as we would expect.

Moses, in his inquisitiveness, wanted to go up to the bush and see why the fire was nor burning it up… But God called out to him from within the bush! He called him by name so there was no doubt who God was calling. I’m not sure what I would have done in this instance other than wanting to go and touch the fire to see why it was not burning the bush!

God may not appear to you from within a burning bush or even in a great wind or earthquake, or whatever! God may be calling you by name but because you are not listening out for any call, you are not hearing it. That is one of our problems living in this noisy and crowded world we live in – there are far too many distractions for us to just sit still and listen to see if God is calling us by name…

I must say I do like the fact there is not a constant stream of planes flying overhead any more. It was something we got used to because it was there, virtually non-stop. But when it stops, you hear the difference and realise how much noise you have just accepted. Noise which is distracting and may be stopping you from hearing God. God called Moses when he was all alone, near Horeb and tending sheep. There was nobody else to take notes and guide Moses as to what to do next, he just had to put the world on pause and listen to God...

Points to Ponder:
How busy is your life?

Are you willing to pause your life and listen out for God?