May 6: Matthew 7:21-23

Key Verse: Matthew 7:22
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’

Devotion:
So… have you been following the rules about being safe and staying at home? I’m not sure there are too many people out there who can definitely say they have done exactly what their governments have said because many have bent the rules slightly so they can keep some sort of normality in their life. I know I have bent the rules so I can help others out but one thing I learned at an early age was how to clean my hands properly! My dad was a pharmacist and cleanliness was a big part of the job, some of that actually rubbed off one me!

I know I was not the cleanest of kids and I know I did not clean things as much as I should have until this virus raised its head and boy was I thankful I had remembered some of the simple things to keep myself virus free – so far so good!

But just doing the ‘keep yourself clean’ thing is not going to completely protect me from the virus; I need to do many other things to help! But this is not a lesson on keeping clean, this is a lesson on not counting on your own works to get you to Heaven! These words spoken by Jesus bring it home hard that not everyone is going to get to Heaven. Some may think they have done enough by speaking about Jesus, teaching about Him, leading prayers or whatever… unless they believe in their hearts that Jesus is Saviour and believe the words which Jesus spoke, they may find themselves lacking!

Just because I can clean my hands properly, can take pills and self medicate does not make me a pharmacist! The same applies for Christians. Unless we actually believe in our hearts the words which come out of our mouths – we are not necessarily Christians! I have been in places where I found it very hard to believe the person speaking believed the words coming out of their mouths because they were reading from a well prepared script rather than from their hearts. If I can spot that, Jesus can see right through it!

Points to Ponder:
Do you tell others about Jesus?

What do you believe in your heart?

May 5: Acts 3:1-10

Key Verse: Acts 3:6
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Devotion:
What have you got out of looking at the introduction to the apostolic letters in the bible? I thought about this for a short while and very quickly realised the introductions were centred around making sure people knew God through Jesus. What better passage to choose today than one where the a couple of the disciples are walking up to the temple and come upon the lame beggar who has been put out every day on the way to the temple so he can beg for support from people going to the temple and they do something extraordinary in Jesus’ name!

This makes me think of the beggars who stand at the junctions of major routes around London like the A406 North Circular Road where they clearly spend all of their day placed at the junctions where the traffic builds up and is often at a stand-still. But the difference here is the target audience, for want of a better term. The beggars friends would put him in clear sight of people who have been taught to care for others whereas modern day beggars are typically placed in paths of the wealthy or so called middle class people…

So what was all the fuss? This beggar had been lame from birth – he was born with a condition which prevented him from being able to work so he had no option but to beg for support from people. Can you imagine what went through his head when Peter said these words? What would go through your mind if you were in a similar circumstance? We don’t often think about what people are going through which places them in a position where they are forced to rely on others for their well-being!

This week in North London we see the opening of another Foodbank which is going to help hundreds of people out in these times where so many are fully reliant on others for their well-being! I know what it is like to have nothing and to have to ask others for help. I know what it is like to be very hungry with no food in the cupboards. I ask God to look after me all the time because I know how close I am to having to rely on others; but I fully trust He is able to do things whereby I can continue to work for Him and to help spread the fantastic news of Jesus being our Saviour.

Points to Ponder:
Is there someone you know who desperately needs help?

If you cannot help physically will you stand up and pray for them now?

May 4: Jude 1:1-2

Key Verse: Jude 1:1
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

Devotion:
How often do you keep in touch with people who move away from you for one reason or another? I assumed when I left my country of birth the people I knew would keep in touch, but was a bit disconcerted to find out they did not. I learned the truth when someone I knew and loved moved away to the other side of the world. Nowadays we have the internet and social media and I find I am able to catch up with many people, but back then we would have to write letters to each other…

When we move away to a very different place or lifestyle, we are effectively starting off again in a new place where we have to find our feet, meet local people and get to know them. They may well be from very different lifestyles to your own and it will probably take a lot of getting used to – you find you have to go above and beyond in many cases to make local friends. This takes time and energy… In many cases we do work and we do not see the results we want to because life is so very different to what we are used to!

So what keeps us going? What is it that makes us keep going when the world around us seems to be falling apart? What gives us the strength to continue in the face of such adversity? Not what but whom! Yes, we have Christ with us and we can gain buckets full of strength and grace to carry on, but we also need a bit of support from others in our lives. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you how very important it is to hear from the people you have left behind, not so you can carry on being the same, but to be different and make a difference locally.

It does not matter what line of work we are in, be it running a hotel, programming computers or being a missionary – hearing from people does inspire you to make that difference you were seeking when you first moved! So what do you do to the people who have moved away from you for various works?

Points to Ponder:
Do you have a friend who moved away to do something for God?

Do you keep in contact with them?