June 5: John 4:21-26
Key Verse: John 4:24
God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
Devotion:
Can you imagine the sort of conversations Jesus had whilst He was here on earth, something like this one with a woman who knew the law but did not quite get how the Messiah would come to the people. She was a Samaritan and had her own way of worshipping what she thought was God, but she could not quite connect with God in the way we love and know. Why? Probably because nobody had explained it to her, but she knew the Messiah would be able to explain everything!
Can you imagine what went through her mind when she realised she was talking to the Messiah! Here she was seeking God and not knowing where to look, but she did know someone would be able to explain it to her. That is our task as Children of God. We need to be able to explain God to people in such a way as to invite them in to seek God more in their own lives.
Our task is not to try and convert people but to invite them into a meeting with God where He can change their hearts and allow them to enter into their own relationship with Him. Forcing someone to do something is one way of making them rebel against the very thing you are trying to convince them of. Some will give in a go with the flow, but many will have questions in their heart for which they need answers.
We need to open the Word of God to these people and allow them to see the truth for themselves so God can work in their lives. This is how we worship our God; not just be singing our hearts out to Him, but by doing what He asks of us to bring them in. When we want to worship God fully, we need to be willing to listen to Him and do His bidding in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to share the Gospel?
Have you tried just showing people how much you love God?
June 4: John 20:30-31
Key Verse: John 20:31
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Devotion:
What is the right level of getting out there and letting others know about Christ? How far do you go before you lose people in the abundance of words… Let’s face it, there is so much to tell people about Jesus and so much we still have to learn. There just does not seem to be enough time to sit down and talk about it! If we were to sit down and tell people everything we know about Jesus, it may well take us the rest of our lifetime to say the words out loud...
So how much is too little and how much is too much? The disciples wrote down things which they thought were important for us to hear about. They did not have time to write everything down so they had to get others to write it down while they talked or told others who then wrote it down… But they did this because they knew it as the truth and they knew it would count for something. They also spoke out loud to many people around the area, trying to get more people involved so more could learn the truth.
Let’s look at it another way… the disciples still had to face the Jewish authorities who insisted Jesus was not the Messiah and would do anything to stop people from spreading this gospel message. They could not simply walk down the street and preach to everyone at any time, just as we are not allowed to do that either because there are rules about not interfering with other people’s lives… even though we know it as the truth!
It is a fine balance each of us has to find in order to keep people informed without prejudicing our case and without upsetting people who just don’t want to know. To them we have to show them what we are and what we stand for; words will not suffice and words may even land us in trouble. We are the disciples of this world now. We need to allow other people to know the truth, but we have to do it without using worldly ways otherwise we will just be seen as being worldly!
Points to Ponder:
What do you do to allow other to see you are Christian?
Will you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you next?
June 3: John 20:19-23
Key Verse: John 20:21
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
Devotion:
I love the simplicity in which the author relates this story of Jesus visiting them after His death and resurrection. First he makes sure you understand there is no way Jesus could have broken into the place – they were on lock-down and secured in a way which prevented the Jewish leaders from even coming into the building. Yet, Jesus was able to just be there, without setting off any alarms or anyone witnessing Him coming in.
And what was Jesus reaction to seeing them? To give them the peace only He can give. To calm the storm and allow them to walk on water again. He stood there and wished the Holy Spirit into each one of their lives in such a way they would be able to go out and help people in the same way Jesus was, even to the forgiving of sins! But it is not the disciples who were given the authority to forgive sins, just the act of them saying people’s sins would be forgiven which would make it so!
Christ made this possible for all of us through us accepting the Holy Spirit into our lives. We do not have the authority to forgive sins, but we do have the authority to tell people their sins will be forgiven by God because of what Jesus has already done! Jesus shared His love again and again, even after His death and resurrection, Jesus was able to share His love and mercy.
Now He has given us all the authority to take these words He has given us and spread them around the whole world just as a virus spreads – but this is the virus of truth, the gospel truth. With the Holy Spirit within us, we are able to give out this truth in the knowledge it is not just the truth, but the way in which we can join Jesus in Heaven when that day comes! Jesus asks us to move forward with Him and forgive people, telling them they are forgiven and moving on with the Holy Spirit.
Points to Ponder:
Do you wonder how you can forgive some people?
Have you asked the Holy Spirit your direction through which you can do this today?
June 2: Psalm 104:24-30
Key Verse: Psalm 104:26
There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
Devotion:
Stop and have a look at the world around you. Go and find out what the world looks like now with more fresh air and clearer skies before we go back to spoiling it all again! God has created this all and He continues to love and support this world we live in – but we continue to spoil it through out antics and through our greed! What use is a whale other than for our pleasure to watch and marvel at?
God provides feed and shelter for the wild animals – mankind comes along and destroys much of it without thought. But as we go through this time of lock-down we can see a big difference in our world, a big difference which allows us to re-see the beauty God created in the beginning. When I look at some movies depicting end of the world scenarios where cities have gone back to nature, I see a lot of artistic licence because we have done such a bad job at spoiling things I fear it will never be that easy for nature to come back again.
But, as we look around and see some of the beauty, we can stop and think about how much God loves us – the fact He set this all up in the beginning and He set it all in balance so it would survive and thrive. I should not take too much for us to change the world for a better place to live in – but mankind is a bit lazy and a bit too greedy to allow that to happen just yet.
I do hope and pray you have all stopped and looked at the world around you today and seen what God has given to us. I do pray it will make you think about the way you live personally – because if we all change just a little bit, the overall change is going to be very dramatic, just as we have been able to witness during lock-down. Stop and give God a go!
Points to Ponder:
Do you live according to God’s wishes?
Do you really live according to God’s wishes?