July 11: Romans 8:1-8
Key Verse: Romans 8:3
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh
Devotion:
I got a bit bored waiting for computers to update and upgrade yesterday and started flipping through the various news channels from around the world; it really is amazing to see how many problems there are all around the world despite so many countries saying they have all the right laws in all the right places! Well, they are only as good as the corrupt people in charge of those laws!
The same can be said of the church and of God’s children too. The laws may be perfect or well meaning, but if they are being upheld by people who are always willing to bend the rules, then those rules look as bad as the people in charge. Now, we may not all have very corrupt governments, but there is corruption in every government I was hearing about on the news, and that covered much of our world! If we have church leaders who fall into the same bracket as those corrupt governors, then we are in for a rough time!
Even though we may well be corrupt and we may well have a long string of things we have done wrong, God is not going to hold them against us if we have asked Jesus to forgive us of those sins. Christ came to make sure we are forgiven and we have a clean slate to be presented to God. He has taken our debt and paid it in full – giving us the chance to start afresh. This is where our task comes in… we do need to do something about this sin we have been living with/in.
Jesus tells us our sins will be forgiven if we ask for them to be forgiven, but He also expects us to do something about it to show our sincerity. By going back and doing the same things wrong we beg for forgiveness for, we are showing we don’t quite mean what we said. But if we are willing to try our best to not go back into that sinful life, then we are going to have a faithful Saviour who continues to be there on our behalf – no matter what happened in the past!
Points to Ponder:
Do you continue doing things wrong after admitting to them?
Will you ask God to guide you away from your past sins?
July 10: Isaiah 55:9-13
Key Verse: Isaiah 55:11
so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Devotion:
I used to think I would never be good enough to get up in front of a congregation and bring the Word of God to other people – my first attempts at public speaking in university did not go down too well with the powers that be! But after many years of just speaking about God and saying what God has taught me, I have realised it is not about me and the way I can do things, it is all about what God can do when you have the faith to get up and share your journey with others.
The prophet Isaiah tells us how God told him it was not about his own abilities but about God’s abilities to use our lives that makes the difference! Just as the mad weather we have at times is actually used to water the plants around the world, so are our mad abilities used to reach people around the world. I love the fact I can write something here in the UK now and a decade later someone on the other side of the world will come across what I have written and it just clicks in their lives!
It is what God can do with us and not about what we can do with God! Allow God to encourage you to reach out and say things as the Holy Spirit guides you. If you say something out of turn, people will tell you and you can learn from what they say. If you say something rather special which is going to apply to someone a decade later, don’t expect to have them congratulate you – just allow God to use what you have done to reach others.
I continue to live and love on the estate I live on in London and don’t expect to be put up on any special pedestal, in fact I hope for the opposite. I hope my words I write will be able to reach out silently in someone’s life and allow them the freedom to believe in God, not because I have followed the rules or because they have followed the rules, but because God has deemed it so. Give the glory solely to God!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you wait for feedback before saying anything about God?
Will you just say what you believe God is telling you?
July 9: Isaiah 55:6-7
Key Verse: Isaiah 55:6
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
Devotion:
We do all have a choice as to whether we listen to someone speaking about God or whether we turn off and allow our minds to wander in our deepest thoughts. Yes, we have all been there and we have all allowed our minds to wander instead of listening to our church leaders, but what do we do about it when our church leaders are not with us? Do we switch off and do our own thing, or do we continue to try and uphold what God has tried to teach us?
It is a difficult thing to continue doing something when it seems like the whole world is going off to do something else. It is difficult to focus on something small and quiet when the rest of society is shouting at the tops of their voices about something else. But God asks us to stop from the noisy world and focus on Him for a short while to hear what He has to teach us.
God is with us. He is not at the other end of a long dark tunnel when seems to lead into oblivion – He is with us, here and now. Just because the world is in a dark place or in a noisy place, does not mean we have to join them. Step aside and listen out for God. He is not going to be that tornado whistling past us, not the thunderstorm bashing our ears… He is going to be that still small voice which reaches out to us and asks us to listen intently and humbly.
God wants the world to stop and listen. He has tried doing things the hard way by sending a flood or famine in the past, but now He wants us to make the choice and stop to listen out for the real God in this very real world! God continues to show us amazing mercy and love, with a faithfulness which is faultless and without end. Stop and listen...
Points to Ponder:
How easily are you distracted by noise?
Will you stop and listen just for a short while?
July 8: Romans 10:16-21
Key Verse: Romans 10:17
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Devotion:
What does or has your church life look(ed) like during these times of lockdown? Have you been able to continue worshipping God in some way on your normal ‘church day’ or have you had to do something by yourself? I am so pleased to be in a church where we have been able to shift everything online and continue with some sort of church service every week. You don’t realise just how important this is until you are faced with not being able to do ‘normal church!’
God has continued to try and make sure people gathered in one way or another so they can encourage each other as well as be encouraged by the Holy Spirit – especially since we have not been able to meet together face to face with all of our normal church family. Even during the early church years when God was gathering the people of Israel together, people still would wander off when they did not hear from God in one way or another.
Those early years were centred around the prophets being able to bring God’s Word to them, but not everyone would listen. For those who chose not to listen, they missed out on the message God was trying to get across to them – much the same as we are going through at the moment. Just because we are all stuck at home does not mean we should be ignoring God’s Word. If you are part of a church where nothing is going on because of a lack of technology or expertise from the leaders, then I encourage you to find something online where you can join in a ‘home service.’
One thing we need to be careful of is not trying to compete to make the best online service in the country! We need to focus on the people we are trying to reach in our communities and continue to share the content we would normally share in a service, but doing it in a new way. Our church service has changed somewhat and is made available through a chat group which goes out to all our community. We all come together around this chat group and worship God in our own homes, and if we’re late, no problem… It’s God we need to focus on and not perfect online presences with perfect timing!
Points to Ponder:
How do you meet on your Sabbath day?
Do you still get back to God’s Word?