May 27: 1 John 3:16-18
Key Verse: 1 John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Devotion:
What sort of things do you do because you love someone? Do you pray for them? Do you give them food when they need it? Do you care for them when they are ill? Do you go out of your way to be there for them when they are anxious? All these things are actions which we can do to show our love toward others and this should not be limited to the people we hold nearest and dearest only – God wants us to do these things for our neighbours!
What is love if there are no actions to follow it up with? I know it is very difficult to show our love in ways we used to a few short months ago, but this should not withhold us from showing love in other ways. Prayer is one of those ways we can reach out to others in love, not because they can hear you praying, see you praying or be with you praying, but because you know God will answer your prayers and uphold them toward those you pray for!
One of the biggest ‘actions’ we can offer in love is to tell the truth, no matter what! I have learned the hard way that telling a lie will not end well and will bring down you soul as well as the people who hear that lie. This can be a lie spoken out loud, or even a lie kept to yourself – people are still affected by your lie even when you do not say it out loud. The people who are going to be most affected by your lies are the people who are closest to you, the very people you do not want to lie to!
We can all see the enormous affects of lie which governments tell, the lies penetrate the lives of every person in those countries! Those lies seep the energy out of souls who would otherwise be fed by the truth and by encouragement. It is little wonder lawlessness breaks out when lies are told… God always tells us the truth. Jesus came to fulfil the truth and allow us to see the power of truth. He stepped forward and took action when others were just talking about it. I love the slogan of the charity I work with “Be the change!”
Points to Ponder:
How do you like showing people you care for them?
Will you put aside your wants for someone else’s needs today?
May 26: John 17:11-12
Key Verse: John 17:11
I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
Devotion:
In recent weeks we have talked about the love Christ has for us and previous to that we looked at how God has asked us to love one another; so one more about the love Jesus had and knew that He had to uphold above everything! When Jesus prayed before He was to be taken away and punished in such a horrible way, He lifted up those around Him in prayer. He knew God had given Him charge over the disciples and He knew He must protect them in order to for the correct outcome to be fulfilled.
Whilst Jesus was with the disciples, He was able to protect them from harm, but He also had to make sure Judas Iscariot would be allowed to betray Him. He was doing this out of love, love for the people around Him and love for the whole world as He put into place everything required to cover the sin of the rest of us!
It is this love He wants us to extend toward other as well, a love which will take love first in order to uphold what is righteous and what needs to be done. This was not a political statement or move, but a prayer out of love for all of us. He wanted to make doubly sure the people He had been able to mix with were going to be protected by God from this point onward. Jesus had been able to see the power of a personal relationship with another person, one which promoted love.
This prayer was to extend that personal relationship between God and everyone. To define the love God has for us. Previous to this we had not had such a public and open display of His love on a personal level; we had seen God protecting the people of Israel over and over again, but now it was for the relationship between Him and every person on earth – you and I included!
Points to Ponder:
Do you now see the love Jesus has for us all?
Will you extend that love to the people around you?
May 25: Matthew 18:12-14
Key Verse: Matthew 18:13
And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
Devotion:
How many of your friends are always there for you and how many of them just seem to come and go when it suits them? I know this is a harsh thing to say and I know there are so many reasons why we all ‘come and go’ in friendship circles, so generalising is not encouraged! But there is a friend who will never leave your friend circle and who will always come and find you when you go off and get lost! That friend is Christ!
In our societies we often look at the profit margin rather than in our hearts when it comes to business decisions – but people’s souls have nothing to do with business decisions, or at least they should not have! God does not weigh up things and see where and when the most profitable time and place will be to gain the most souls! God seeks out every single soul, leaving none alone!
This is so aptly told in the parable of the lost sheep where the shepherd is looking after 100 sheep, notices one of them has wandered off, leaves the 99 safer sheep and goes off to find that one lost sheep. He knows those 99 are going to be safe because He knows each one of them. Often as Christians we get down-hearted because we think God is not listening or we think He has wandered off to do something else… These times are when He has faith in us, knowing we are strong enough to continue going while He makes a detour to find another lost sheep!
God does not want to see any one of us wander off and get lost. As Christians we need to stick together to keep each other safe from the world; we need to encourage each other knowing we are in the fold where we are safe. God is not leaving us alone and He certainly is not turning our backs on us; just maybe He has made a detour to find the single lost person and wants you to be strong and loving to welcome them in when He returns with them!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get tired of just being a Christian?
DO you know God is trusting you with Christianity to be ready for the next one?
May 24: Romans 5:6-8
Key Verse: Romans 5:6
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Devotion:
This is probably the most important part of God’s love which we need to be reminded of – especially when our lives are being turned upside-down with the pandemic situation! This is how God loved us even before we got to know Him! Have you ever ‘fallen in love instantly?’ Not that this can be compared to the love of God, but you know how it changes your life and eventually the life of the other person if you get together. It’s that point I want to focus on – how your life will change when you reciprocate a bit of that love God showed you first of all!
It’s not like we had to do anything to get God to love us – something I see so much of around me and something I find a bit disturbing. We may be able to fool other humans into believing we care for them for a while, but the truth eventually comes out. We cannot really hide from the love of God because He has shown His love for us from the beginning and has done some pretty amazing things to try and convince us of His love… even before we got to know Him!
God knows what we are like. He knows all the bad things we get up to and He knows what is going on in our hearts and minds; yet His love for us knows no bounds and continues to be poured out on us. We don’t have to sort ourselves out before He can love us. We don’t have to make sacrifices before He loves us… He loved us from the beginning and that was when we were powerless to do anything about that love! Jesus died for us even though we were doing things against Him!
We may think we would protect our nearest and dearest even by giving our lives for them, but would we do that for our enemies? Would you willingly give your life so your worst enemy could live? That is what Jesus did for us! That is the awesomeness and faithfulness of Christ’s love for us!
Points to Ponder:
What do you do for the people you love?
Do you know how much Christ has done for you already?