July 15: John 15:1-8
Key Verse: John 15:6
If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
Devotion:
Being a good Christian can be difficult in this world where more and more people say we should be free to do what suits us rather than following other people’s rules and regulations. But if we are willing to keep our focus on Christ we will find it easier to continue walking with Him and doing His will in our lives. Doing His will is such a big part of being a Christian when it comes to our faith; if we are blocked from acting like a Christian, we may well find it more difficult to be a Christian...
But its not all about us and our walk with Christ. Yes, it all starts here and this is the branch from which we grow in strength and spirit… Don’t stop looking at how you react and how you can grow or whither. Start looking at the example we are to those around us and the strength they may gain from what we do and say. Start looking at how our actions affect those around us!
God wants us to remain strong and fruitful. If we break off and do our own thing, we are more likely to fail because we do not have the backing we had when we walked with Christ. The further we go the weaker the link and the more likely we may fail. What then happens to those around us who are looking up to us as being the example to follow? What happens to those who are not strong enough to last on their own?
The more we do things with those around us the more people are going to watch and listen. The more we are an example the better example we need to try and be. Not for our own sakes but for Christ and the sake of His children around us. Id don’t look at this as a burden of any kind but more as an opportunity to grow in Christ and allow other to join us in our growth!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you re-base yourself in Christ?
What makes you strong enough to reach out to others?
July 14: Matthew 13:24-30
Key Verse: Matthew 13:25
But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.
Devotion:
We have to be ever vigilant and ever ready doing God’s work. Whenever we slack off and get involved with other things instead of being vigilant with our work for God, the evil one is going to come in and throw a few weeds amongst our seeds we are planting. This may not seem like a problem at the time because we know we can pick up the next day and make sure our seeds will survive and thrive… but when it comes time for the harvest, the work is going to be twice as hard. So what sort of things are these weeds going to look like? I know I am terrible at identifying weeds from flowers!
One thing the evil one is going to use is doubt. The seeds of doubt are going to be sown in amongst the seeds of the gospel. This is not just going to make the work harder during harvest, but is also going to stunt the growth of the normal crop. The more doubt is scattered around the people in the community, the harder it is to promote the gospel because the doubters will have a louder voice. Selecting a few key people and preparing them for the work is going to make our work for God easier because the work can be shared.
Another thing the evil one will use is the success of the people who don’t hear the gospel or who don’t follow the gospel. The more he can make it look like success comes from any other place than God, the more people will look to other places and other people for personal gain instead of looking to God for eternal gain. Short term success is nothing in comparison to eternal salvation, but with everyone looking at the here and now, they loose focus on the future and only aim for personal gain.
One more thing the evil one will do is to bring down a community through whatever means he can. With a whole community feeling down because of something which has happened within the community, the harder it is to see the future and to see the hope Christ brought with Him. Switch on the gospel lights and keep them on!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you promote God’s Word?
How often do you follow up what you promote?
July 13: Psalm 119:105-112
Key Verse: Psalm 119:112
My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.
Devotion:
What do you see your bible as? Do you see it as a book of rules which you have to keep because that is what God has said? Perhaps you see it as a guide book which should be read as a life story. Perhaps you see it as the absolute truth and something you can always go back to. Whatever you view of the bible, I do hope you see it as a light in your life which will guide you in some way or another!
These words were written hundreds of years before Jesus came to be with mankind in human form, probably at a time when the views were beginning to change as to the outlook of the scriptures – none of the New Testament existed then and these words were only just being written down. Two things stand out to me and I would like you to go away with these thoughts in your hearts.
The first is the scriptures are a lamp by which you can see your way forward. What do you see the first few moments when you switch off the lights? Nothing… blackness… and if you are walking when the lights do go out, you probably want to stop and wait for your eyes to adjust to the new light level so you don’t fall over anything in your path. We do need a bit of light to see our paths, but the better the light source, the more confident we can be about walking forward without tripping up.
The second point has to be what you do with the scriptures. God has made sure these scriptures, both Old and New Testaments have survived throughout time and have been reproduced in many different languages all around the world. The bible has made its way into countries which have banned its publication and continues to be a world wide best seller. Now, what are you going to do with your bible? Are you going to read it and put it down like a novel, or will you read it and keep the words in your heart so you can live a better life?
Points to Ponder:
How many times do you pick up a bible a week?
What do you do with the words of the bible?
July 12: 2 Corinthians 10:7-11
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 10:11
Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.
Devotion:
No matter who we are, we belong to Christ. Whether we acknowledge this and live with Christ in our hearts is another thing. What none of us have is the right to put down others or abuse others. When we do, we are putting down a child of God!
It is easy to pre-judge people by the way they look or by what you have heard about them, but meeting them and communicating properly with them will allow you to see who they are and even why they are that way. God may well have chosen us first of all, but He does not give us the authority to put anyone down just because we think or act differently to them. You only have to look around the world to see just how different we are from our neighbours, in fact you probably only have to look next door to see the differences in any of our big cities around the world.
If you are honest with yourself you will admit to being different to the way you talk sometimes. We may well have the courage to talk about something but not to carry out the actions in front of others. I count myself very lucky I have not worries about writing down my feelings about God and also being able to be open to others about Him. Many may not have the courage to do the actions even though they can talk about them; to them I say, continue talking and don’t worry about doing just yet… your time will come when God knows you are ready!
Don’t worry about not being able to meet in church buildings and sing out to God as one choir – stay at home and worship God in your silence or on your own. He knows what you get up to and He will acknowledge you in just the same way as He acknowledges someone who is the public figure of the church. God has put some people in positions of authority because He knows they are ready for the role He asks of them. He may well give you the authority to write down your feelings instead of talking about them… write...
Points to Ponder:
Are you finding it difficult to ‘connect with God in lockdown?’
Will you step up and worship Him from your heart in private?