- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1079
August 13: Matthew 14:31-33
Key Verse: Matthew 14:32
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.
Devotion:
A few things had to happen before Jesus calmed the wind which was making life more difficult for the disciples. The first was they had to recognise Jesus for who He is, not as some sort of ghost or unknown entity, but as Jesus Christ the Son of God, friend of sinners and friend of ours!
Then Jesus had to ask Peter to do something, not just anything but something special which would take courage. Peter had never walked on water, but because He saw Jesus doing it, He wanted to do the same and wanted God to allow Him to do that! But Peter had to want it more than the fear he had inside him… He had to take that first step out of the boat!
Then Peter had to rely on God to continue allowing Him to walk on the water. As soon as we see the impossible or see something we think is too hard to bear or do, we give in and we fall just as Peter did. It is going to be hard and we may well be asked to do something which you think is not natural – but as long as you are listening to God, it is possible!
Then Peter, after He doubted, had to reassert his faith by calling out to Christ and allowing Him to save him once again. The call was real and it came from the heart. Jesus answer was real and it too came from the heart as He put out His hand to grab hold of Peter and bring Him up out of the impossible once again.
Only then did Jesus calm the wind. Not when they were scared the first time, or the elation which followed. Not when they were scared the second time or the elation which followed again. But when they finally rested in God’s power through Christ, He was able to calm the storm for them...
Points to Ponder:
Has God asked you to do something difficult?
Are you ready to finally put your entire faith and trust in Him?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1099
August 12: Matthew 14:25-31
Key Verse: Matthew 14:30
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’
Devotion:
How many times in your life have you found yourself in a very tight spot and not known any way out of it? I would not wish this on anyone because you feel like your whole world has just collapsed upon you and there is literally no way to go… At least no way on earth to go!
God has made sure we get to know this story about Peter walking on the water and remember it too. It is a story which none of us can normally relate to, but all of us want to happen to! I mean, who doesn’t want to be able to walk on water! But it is a story which has some very meaningful sides and one we ought not to put aside easily.
Jesus walked out to the disciples because he knew they were becoming worried about the growing storm. Some were fishermen and knew all about storms, but that does not mean they were not concerned. But what concerned them more was seeing someone or something walking on the water toward them! Their first reaction was probably what would cross most of our minds, but when Jesus called out to them they knew it was Him. Peter took the step of getting Jesus to prove it was Him and had to live with the consequences!
When Jesus calls out to us, we call back and ask for help and comfort and strength and all manner of things. But we should be careful what we ask for, because Jesus will answer us and grant our prayers. For Peter this meant stepping out of the boat and walking on the water. As soon as he realised what he was doing, he took his eyes off of the Lord and looked at the worlds ways again. That was his downfall.
When we ask help of Jesus, we should expect Him to answer our prayers and then we need to keep our eyes on Him whilst He answers. That is the place we will get our strength and courage from. That is where Jesus is...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you call out to Jesus?
How often do you turn away when He first answers?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1015
August 11: Matthew 14:22-27
Key Verse: Matthew 14:23
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,
Devotion:
Jesus spent a lot of time with people, healing, teaching and caring for them. He continues to do this all the time. But, whilst He was here as a human being in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, He needed time to stop and just be with His Father. This is an example for us to follow and one we should hold dear to us. We cannot keep going 24 hours a day and 7 days a week without some sort of rest. God has taught us this from the beginning and continue to uphold this.
God wants us to spend time with Him alone. Not in a big crowd where our own thoughts and feeling somehow get tangled up in the rest of the crowd, but alone with Him. That time alone is special, just as we should spend time with our loved ones to stop and listen and talk, so we should be doing the same with God.
Jesus gave no thought to earthly limitations… well, He obviously did give thought to them because He was here in human form and limited by human limits. But He also knew that so much more was possible when He continued to rely on God for everything. This was a point where He was totally relying on God because He was walking out toward the boat on the water during a squall! The disciples did not think about How God could make things so different.
God is not limited to our world. He does not have to obey the rules of nature. He does not have to give in to the things of this world just because they seem to be unsurmountable! God can and does continue to watch over us and care for us in ways which we cannot understand. So maybe it is time to stop what you are doing. Speak to God. Listen to Him.
Points to Ponder:
How much time do you spend alone with loved ones?
How much time do you spend alone with God?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1029
August 10: 1 Kings 19:11-18
Key Verse: 1 Kings 19:14
He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’
Devotion:
How many times have you wondered whether you are the only Christian in your community? How many times have you wondered why nobody else can see they are doing things wrong? How many times do you judge others! Yes, if we are honest, we have all been there and we all judge others at one stage or another. It is not up to us who gets to say who is doing things wrong and who is doing things right… we have law enforcement people and judges to do that in our societies...
But what happens when they seem to be corrupt and the law breaks down? What then! Well, if you haven’t turned to God for answers yet, then you are looking in the wrong place still. Elijah knew the people were doing things wrong and he had warned them against it, but He went to God to seek guidance and help. He did not take things into his own hands – despite knowing they were worshipping Baal and other gods.
God’s response to Elijah was probably not what he wanted to hear either. When we see the people around us doing things wrong we should be praying for God to release them from the places they are in – not in a judgmental way but in a way which shows God you love the people and want them to survive!
The message for Elijah was to put in place a new set of rulers who would judge harshly until the people turned back to God. Sometimes we don’t know where to turn because we are fearful of what will happen to the people because of the things they are doing. If we are willing to continue showing love to the people and God, just maybe God will show us a way which will allow people to live in His love.
Points to Ponder:
Where do you turn when things go wrong?
Do you rely on God’s guidance to show you a way forward in your community?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1050
August 9: Psalm 103:7-12
Key Verse: Psalm 103:11
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
Devotion:
These few verses say so much about God which we take for granted every day. He talked to Moses and made sure people were able to get to know Him when they were not at their best in life! He made sure the people knew He was a just God and told them all about the rules they would have to follow. But His love for us showed even more than all the rules and regulations, proving to mankind He loves us more than any of our faults and problems!
Often we look at the things we have done and we don’t expect others to forgive us for those things. We think we have gone too far and we do not expect people to be able to forgive us. We do the same with God as well! We continue to look back at the problems we have in our lives and the things we have done wrong, expecting God to remember them all and to hold them all against us when we come before Him… after all that is a kind of justice, or at least the kind we know!
God looks past the things we have done, looks beyond what we have done in the past and looks ahead to what we are able to achieve in the future. He does not limit those thoughts by our earthly standards and does not hod on the the earthly barriers we hold up either. God sees the potential in each one of our lives, the true potential we have lost sight of because we are focusing on the things of this world.
The only way which is descriptive enough about how God separates out issues from us is by describing it as far as the East is from the West. If we go north, you will eventually start going South again after you pass the poll, but if you go East or West, you continue on going that direction even though we cover the same ground again eventually. Look at that as being the way God separates us from our sin. We may cover the same ground again, but it is still in the opposite direction to where we came from!
Points to Ponder:
What holds you back in relationships?
What holds you back in your relationship with God?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1019
August 8: Luke 24:13-17
Key Verse: Luke 24:16
but they were kept from recognising him.
Devotion:
How many times do you look at a picture and wonder why someone has showed you the picture… only to be told they are a famous artist or musician whom you have heard of but never seen! Unless we get to know people in one way or another, we remain in the dark as to who they are and what they can do – we are essentially blind to their abilities… We may hear through someone else they can do things, but unless we can join up the face with the person doing the task, we still remain in the dark!
I bet these two felt a bit silly when they did realise it was Jesus walking with them – but they were too tied up the in woes of the world to realise it was Him. That is how we get sometimes too, we get too bogged down in the things which are going wrong around us and we lose sight of what we have in our hands!
Jesus wants us to take stock of what we have from time to time so we can realise just how much He is doing for us all the time. As long s we continue to allow ourselves to be side-tracked, we often lose sight of what Jesus is doing in our lives. I know this because I have been there and it was only when I looked back on what had happened did I realise just how much God was looking after me!
I can totally relate to these two because I do get a bit too caught up in things and lose track of what is happening right in front of me! You don’t have to rely on me to tall you that, just ask the people around me!
Today, as we continue to have very warm weather here in Europe, take a bit of time to stop and look around you. When I did that earlier I was able to see things like the flowers wilting in the heat – which reminded me I should be taking in my daily bread to build me up and that’s not just my lunch!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you get caught up in things?
How often do you stop and thank God for what He is doing right now?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1036
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?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1103
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?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 962
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?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 978
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?