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May 16: Isaiah 25:1-5
Key Verse: Isaiah 25:4
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall
Devotion:
After so many words against people around the Mediterranean this chapter in our bibles gives the basic needs for each of us – to praise the Lord! No matter how many bad words and prophecies against people who were working against God, God is still here loving and supporting those who want Him to do exactly that!
It is because of God’s perfect faithfulness this is all possible and has continued to follow on from the prophecies promised to us so many years ago and still coming true! It is God who has allowed the collapse of cities who refuse to follow Him, not because He got so angry with us that He had to destroy us, but because we brought the destruction upon ourselves through our actions which clearly showed everyone we were not following God!
But to those who are willing to come to Him with open and humble hearts are able to receive bucket loads of love and support. Those amongst us who need it most are given the love and support they need – I know because I have been there and have come out wondering just how any of this love and support was possible. I know what I do wrong and I know I am not worthy in myself; but I know He has promised to include me as one of His own just because I have put my faith and trust in Him! How Awesome!
The more we are willing to make God a part of our lives, not just on Sundays but actively in your life, the more you will be able to see how much He is able to do in your life. I love this verse highlighted today because God is our refuge when we are poor and needy. He is our shelter when life is like a storm bashing against us. He is our shade from the relentless sun of sin beating down on us. He is the wall which stands between us and the ruthless factor around us. God does not take away those bad things because they are man-made and still exist, but He can shield us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel overwhelmed at all?
Are you willing to ask God to be your protecting wall?
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May 15: Philippians 2:1-4
Key Verse: Philippians 2:4
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Devotion:
How often do you do something just because you want to do it and not because it is good for you or even right for you to do? If we are all honest then we will say “most days!” We like to do things we like doing – it’s as simple as that; but how often have you stopped to think about what you are doing does to the people around you? I know I have often gone ahead with things not thinking about the consequences or how it will hurt the people around me; and that is just wrong!
We can look at the world around us and see how world leaders are doing things just because they want to do them and not because they are good for the country – but that does not make them right. We can even look into our bible and see how leaders did wrong things, and I’m not talking about the tyrants but those who had professed to follow God!
We can’t use that as an excuse either – just because someone else is doing it does not mean we can join in or copy them. That still does not make it right! So how do we go about not following the crowd and get on and do what is right? We need to look into our bibles and find out what is right – but that can be very daunting for many people… God has given us our consciences to tell us what is right and wrong and to guide us; and when we get lost in the mire, we can call on the Holy Spirit to get us back on the right track. It’s all here for us and has been for all of our lives!
When we see someone doing something good, we are pleased and even happy; but when we see someone doing something wrong, it eats away at us on the inside just as if we were doing things wrong. God has given this to us so we can step forward and try to help other people around us see the difference between right and wrong. God wants us to help each other to stay on track… so we don’t really have many excuses to get it wrong to start with!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get into trouble a lot?
Have you tried asking God the direction?
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May 14: John 14:1-5
Key Verse: John 14:5
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Devotion:
How often does God speak to you and you either ignore it or you don’t understand it? Maybe I’m just thick because I struggle with what God tells me… It often needs further explanations and follow up calls and so we continue! But God definitely does know what is best for me in my life and He tries very hard to get that through to me on a daily basis despite the brick wall He has to try and get through daily!
We often think of the disciples as being like sponges where they would soak up everything Jesus told them and remember it from that moment onward – I’m sure they remembered those first few miracles they saw and could probably tell you everything in great detail; but as time goes on we get less descriptions and more about what it meant to be with Jesus. This, to me, is one of those turning points in their lives where Thomas pipes up about not knowing where Jesus was going, almost as if he said it before Jesus could finish speaking.
There-in is another problem we face with ourselves, not listening to the end but rushing off and trying to get things done before we understand the full context of the task in hand. You may notice that these devotions are more of a brain dump than a scholastic study of God’s word. This is what God impresses on me each day as I draw close to Him in my time of dedication to Him.
Christ is trying to guide each one of us in the path which He has laid out before us and unless we are willing to listen to everything He has to say to us, we are going to go off with half the information we need. It took me quite a while before I listened to God about coming to London to work on estates, but when I look back over my time with Him, I can see how I was prepared for the task before me. He gave me party times, hard times, dry times, times where I struggled… and all to prepare me for the type of work I would be called to do here!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you really listen to advice?
Are you willing to stop and listen for 5 minutes each day?
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May 13: 1 Peter 2:2-5
Key Verse: 1 Peter 2:3
now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Devotion:
I thought it quite fitting to go back to these verses today to remember just how we should be going back to Christ and His ways. If you, like me, want physical proof for just about everything in life, then you may well find it difficult to come to terms with an unseen God who can do anything… Especially when we see people who think they know more than others trying to sort out issues which are totally out of their control!
I did something foolish yesterday and started listening to the news to try and catch up on what’s happening out there in the open world – only to be greeted by leaders around the world saying the most stupid things on Television to unknowing, trusting country people who now should be very worried about what they have said! I know it is a difficult time and I know not everyone is a scientist or micro-biologist… but certain things in life are just plain common sense!
One of the things which is common sense to me is how we should approach God as children and not as ‘all knowing’ adults! As adults we don’t like other people telling us what to do or how to run our lives – but if we go ahead and ignore common sense, we will fall down and hurt ourselves. God continues to try and impress on us the urgency of getting to know Him, getting to trust Him and telling other people about Him – yet we continue to try and do things our old selfish ways because that is how we have been all our lives!
The time I needed God most in my life I simply got down on my knees and told God I could do nothing without Him and His protection; I was scared and had nothing left to trust in, but God was there and came through for me. That was my time when I came to Him like a child, depending totally on Him and giving my whole situation to Him without limit. Now I know God is good and I know God answered my prayers on that day… in a way which did not make sense to me as an adult, but made perfect sense when I look at it as a child should...
Points to Ponder:
Do you want God to work to your rules?
Or will you finally submit to His ways?
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May 12: Psalms 31:14-16
Key Verse: Psalms 31:15
My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.
Devotion:
Hands up anyone who thinks they have got this virus sussed out and knows how to control it! None of us know for certainty what this virus is going to do to the world over the next six months and this verse today reminds us how our lives are in God’s hands. The more we try to take control of things and work things out to our own ability, the more things go wrong. We don’t know how to control our mouths properly, never mind our bodies or communities!
Can you imagine what it would be like to try and control the flow of a river give a bucket and spade as the only tools you have to control it with? I used to rush out into the rain back in Africa so I could build temporary dams with mud and stones and even sticks just to have fun; it gave us a sense of power over nature… but along comes a single car, a bit more rain or any small external force and the dam collapses and the water course returns back to its normal flow.
To a large extent this is probably what our leaders feel like as they try and manage the country – some of them seem to know what they are doing, whilst others make a lot of noise and say they know what they are doing. The truth will come out, unfortunately, in a week or so rather than right now. That is what it may seem like in our spiritual world as well; we have some leaders who are giving out good advice and others who shout a lot and say they are right! God will expose those who are shouting out things from their own minds because He knows what the rest of us need in our lives.
As long as we are willing to stop and listen and try to compare what people are saying with what God’s Word has told us all along, then we will also be able to ascertain the truth and follow those leaders who are giving us the truth. It is heartening to know it is because of God’s love for us that we are being looked after and not because we are following the latest rules or figuring things out for ourselves. Be patient and listen to God, wait on His word and obey His commandments; but above all maintain your right and proper relationship with Christ!
Points to Ponder:
Do you trust your leaders more than you trust God?
Do you know God allowed them to be in power?
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May 11: Psalm 31:1-5
Key Verse: Psalm 31:5
Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
Devotion:
What an awesome reminder of how prayer and faith must always go hand in hand. Here David is in distress of some description and so lifts up his prayers to God, not just to plead with God and ask for deliverance, but to depend on God to answer his prayers – that is faith; believing your prayers will be answered, not because it’s the right prayer at the right time, but because God is faithful!
Each time I hear someone say God has not answered a prayer because it was not the right prayer to pray I cringe and want to ask God to forgive them – but I know I am guilty of doing this too! It is not up to us to question whether we are asking the right thing at the right time, but simply up to us to lift up our prayers to God and wait patiently for His answer. You may well be surprised at His answers!
I know the feeling of someone wrapping their arms around you to show you they care or to help you see things are going to be OK. I love the feeling of a good honest hug and I miss not being able to hug people while this virus remains rampant in our world; but I know God continues to hug me and to comfort me because I know He is faithful and loving beyond anything we can imagine! David knew this too and pleads with God to come quickly and wrap His loving arms around him – because God is his rock and fortress, the safest of places he has ever known!
I marvel at the thickness of the walls of some of the castles I have visited here in the UK and know they have protected so many people in the past just because they are so strong. They have nothing in comparison to the love and security we can have from God – if we come to the fortress which is His love and faithfulness. But it may well test our faith because we cannot see the fortress like we can see a castle; and we cannot see the traps which are before us that the evil one has placed in our way… we simply have to trust in God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard trusting in the unseen?
Can you think of God as being the biggest and strongest fortress you can imagine?
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May 10: Acts 7:54-60
Key Verse: Acts 7:56
“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Devotion:
I had to sit and read this through a few times before bringing it to you today; I just cannot imagine what it would be like to have been in Stephens place! We don’t like to think too much about the persecutions which many Christians face around the world – I think the most I have had to face is the name calling and on a couple of times people being ‘in your face’ shouting at you with various fluids coming from their mouths as they shouted! Not something we would like to face during this pandemic!
But Stephen here did not relent in his support for Christ and in his telling of the truth about Christ. God looked down on him and reached out with a hand of support which we don’t often get to see in our lives. God opened up Stephen’s sight and allowed him to see Christ together with God – the place of peace and rest where he would shortly be! I think the joy of such a sight would overcome me!
What did the people around him do? They covered up their ears just in case they heard the truth and were convinced by it, and they laid their hands on him, dragging him out of the city so they could stone him! Now as children we used to go off into the bush and get lumps of soft clay which we would put on the end of sticks and throw the clay at others. It hurt when one of those lumps hit you – and they were soft clay! I cannot imagine what it would be like to have loads of stones thrown at you…
But because of the love God reached out with toward Stephen and the peace which that brought to him, he was willing and able to ask God to forgive them because they did not understand the truth. I know what it is like to have God’s protection and I know the strength it gives you to carry on doing His work. I just pray we would not have to face such a time as Stephen faced here; I pray the world will see what is right and turn to God instead of standing on its pride and rejecting Christ like many do!
Points to Ponder:
Have you asked God for protection?
Will you trust Him to protect you as you step forward in His name?
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May 9: Psalms 23:1-6
Key Verse: Psalms 23:4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Devotion:
When was the last time you just stopped and accepted your current situation as being acceptable? I’m not talking about those moments when we stop and give in, being just a fleeting moment, but stopping and giving the best part of the day over to accepting what you have right now as being acceptable!
I have not written about this Psalm for quite a while now, but when I first started writing devotions I would turn to it often because of the great comfort I got out of it, no matter what was happening in my life. So, now most of us are in the same boat around the world as we step back from normal life, let us try to accept this as being normal and acceptable for this season. Let us stop the arguing and bickering, stop the boasting and greed and simply give this time back to God in prayer and worship.
I have stopped the constant moaning and groaning of the news people and put on a few hours of worship music. I intent to give as much of this day as I can to Christ and not to do my normal worrying or researching or working, after all it is a bank holiday here in the UK as I write this devotional.
Read through each verse or phrase and stop and think about what it means to you – not what the philosophers say, not what the bishops and priests say, but what God says to you in your heart as you read the verses. Already as I read through the Psalm while I am writing I feel encouraged and strengthened, not because I am weak, but because the words are so strong. Last year I walked through that dark valley with those closest to me sharing those dark times. All I had was a single light at the end of the tunnel, not that I could see it, but I knew it was there; but I still did fear because it was unknown… much like what many of us are going through now. Lift up God. Worship your Saviour and bask in His light and not be tempted to go out and socialise until it is safe xxx
Points to Ponder:
What are you going through right now?
Will you stop and take God’s hand and walk with Him?
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May 8: Luke 10:8-12
Key Verse: Luke 10:9
Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Devotion:
When Jesus wanted people to go and tell others the gospel He picked about 6 dozen people to go and reach out to others – but it is interesting how He sent them out. He did not send them out as evangelists who would try to convince everyone as quickly as possible but asked them to go out peaceably and to find the people of peace in the communities. Reaching out to the people who are known as the ones who others look up to in spiritual ways is so very important!
We often think of the ways in which we can reach others and make plans for wonderful mass gatherings or praise parties where we can all jump about and praise God as loud as we can, but most often the way to reach a community is by going there and becoming a part of that community first of all. Joining in with the people of peace in the community allows us to become part of that community – that is when and where we can make a big difference, just by being there and showing people how we live!
When I look back at some of the townships back in Zimbabwe I remember places which did not seem to have much hope. Yes there were a few people there who had hope and they tried to allow others to see it, but because of the noise of the outside world and the racial hatred which had been built up, they were often overlooked or kept quiet.
Jesus is asking us to be like these people He sent out and to go into our communities and raise the banner of hope – allow people to see there is hope and there can be comfort in this time of despair! There were only a couple of times when I was able to go into the townships and just be part of the community rather than being the enemy and I will treasure those moments because they gave me hope of a brighter future.
Points to Ponder:
How dull or bright do you see your community as?
Will you help to switch on the lights and allow hope to come in?
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May 7: Romans 2:12-13
Key Verse: Romans 2:12
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
Devotion:
Why do we have laws? Well, it is our (mankind’s) way of describing what is acceptable and what is not. But if we did not make up laws, then how could we be doing anything wrong? We cannot escape laws! Just because they may not be written down on paper for you, does not make them non-existent. We live with in the natural world and we were given the task of looking after it by God in the beginning – so we are born into a world where natural laws existed before we had our judicial systems in place!
One of the positive things we have seen during this pandemic is the clearing up of the atmosphere, the cleaner air, water and even our streets! When we do give God control of things, we can see just how good He can be! But when we force our self-imposed laws upon God’s creation, we break it so quickly! It is unfortunate that it has taken something so drastic to make us stop and think about our world again – but we have started in the right direction…
It is not so fortunate we have also been exposed to the world-wide corruption of many governments! We see politicians in their true colours as they break all the laws which they are supposed to uphold – we see many telling lies to cover up their ineptitude! But through all of this, there is one who is watching and seeing all of those laws broken – not man’s laws, but His original laws!
I know I am no angel, but I do try to do what is right and I do try to uphold God’s laws. I also know it is not really what I do which will make me righteous in God’s eyes. This passage is not saying we have to work at the laws to be right with God; it is saying we have to do what God has asked us to do and to do it willingly!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know God has asked you to believe in Jesus?
Have you truly accepted Jesus as Saviour?