March 12: Luke 8:11-15
Key Verse: Luke 8:13
Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.
Devotion:
Do you know someone who used to come to church but has either been struggling with things or just seems to have lost interest? I think we can all think of someone who falls into one of those categories – and, if you are like me, you long for them to be released from the thing which is trapping them so they can get back to a loving relationship with Christ!
That is where we come in… How consistent are you with your Christian life? I’m not talking about the religious content, the fact you always go to church or the way people know you as the local God person! I’m talking about your own relationship with Christ! How much do you live your relationship with Christ rather than just talking about it? It may seem like hard work to keep being a Christian in a community which does not follow God or in a friendship where others just don’t want to know – but we do need to keep going and keep that relationship alive and in good health.
In this instance we should look at our relationship as being the job of the farmer. No matter what the weather and the forecast, we need to do our best to keep our crops going, not just for ourselves, but all the people around us too. We need to keep sowing our seeds over all the land around us… yes, some of it may well fall on the path and get trodden on and not germinate at all, but what about the others? For those which fall amongst the rocks, the seeds may well germinate and grow for a season and then die off. If we give up sowing our seeds, those little gems will stop being given a tiny chance as well.
It may well be one of those seeds which is able to survive a short season now which will then be remembered and germinate into a full plant which will in itself bare much fruit. We are not given the task of deciding who or who should not be given the gospel – our task is to give the gospel out and allow God to work in their hearts. Stop trying to make sense of the world and the people around you and give them all the same chance at getting to know Christ!
Points to Ponder:
Do you pick and choose who you talk to about God?
Will you step forward and sow your seeds liberally?
March 11: John 3:19-21
Key Verse: John 3:21
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Devotion:
Back to these verses with a slightly different look on things based on a question I am asking: “What makes you do the things you do?”
I know that is a deep question, but I’m looking for the obvious answer and not some long philosophical discussion about how we do things based on the society we are in and our minds at the time we are faced with decisions! We do the things we do because, deep down, we believe in our hearts we can do those things – whether we are doing them for the right or wrong reason is then the next question to face…
If we do not have that belief in our hearts we can do the things we are about to embark on, we will be faced with indecision and delays all along the way because we have those doubts which make us falter in our decision making process. This is normal human behaviour – so lets extend this to your faith beliefs… If we do not have faith in the things we believe, then we are going to falter all through our spiritual lives. If we do not trust in that faith, we are faced with indecision every day which will weaken our resolve every day!
I know so many people who do struggle with their faith because they have a little doubt over some of the things they have heard , been taught or believe themselves. If we are not willing to follow up on those doubts and read the bible for ourselves to seek out the truth, then we are either jumping on the bandwagon of someone else's beliefs, or we are putting aside a decision which could well consolidate our faith!
Jesus wants us to have this firm relationship with Him – a relationship which is based on faith, the belief He came forward willingly to show His love for us through an extraordinary chain of events. He wants us to read our bibles and learn what has happened, what is happening and what will happen. He wants us to feel secure in our faith; a faith based on truths which have happened, but also a belief on what will happen because God has promised us it will!
Points to Ponder:
What makes you do what you do?
Have you backed up your faith in God’s Word?
March 9: Romans 10:6-13
Key Verse: Romans 10:10
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Devotion:
How often do you get frustrated with trying to get people to believe in God and to trust Christ as their Saviour? We may not have the task of looking after a whole congregation, but God still wants us to be able to share the gospel with the people He has given us in our lives – how we go about that may well do the exact opposite of what we are trying to do!
Paul was stuck between the rock (which was the Roman way) and a hard place (which was the Jewish way) and must have found it most frustrating trying to tell them the gospel, that is, both sides! That is why I find these words so fascinating and to me gives me hope that the Holy Spirit can give me the words to tell my friends and families which will make the biggest difference in their lives. If you are like me, you may well struggle with that sometimes…
The Romans wanted a clear set of rules which would show them who is going to Heaven and who is going to hell – their way of life was based around rules and everyone was expected to stick to those rules. The Jews were entrenched in their rules from the Torah which gave them an impossible task to live up to and one which they would have to continue sacrificing in order to hope that God would forgive them!
What Christ did was to bridge that gap by giving up His own sinless life in our stead. He was the ultimate sacrifice and covered all of our sins in a single act on our behalf. We don’t have to have Him go through all of that again, just in case! We don’t have to argue about who is getting to Heaven and who has failed to follow the right rules. It is a personal thing between each one of us and God where we step forward and ask Him, personally, for forgiveness for the things we have done wrong… Our belief (our trust or the faith we have) gives us the answer based on His promise to us all. We believe in our hearts and profess with our mouths. We have one God who has done this for us all!
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to not judge people?
Will you give someone the gospel and allow them to come to Christ by themselves?
March 8: Psalms 45:6-7
Key Verse: Psalms 45:7
You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
Devotion:
When Jesus came to earth to be our King of Kings, He did not come to be a temporary king who would be forgotten once his life was over. Jesus came to be King over us all forever and accomplished this through what He did for us on that cross in the name of God, His Father in Heaven. There is no end to Heaven and there is no time limit on it; this comes down to Jesus being our King without end and without limit.
What is meant by the sceptre of the kingdom could be debated – but lets imagine a king or queen on a throne. They have some sort of sceptre which is a symbol of the power they have and is therefore of great importance. What could be of more importance to us than the Gospel, or have more power than the gospel? Jesus wanted to make sure people knew just how important the gospel is and how powerful it can be when it is used to introduce others to the kingdom of God.
We know God loves righteousness and hates wickedness of any kind; the love for us goes beyond our understanding of righteousness and wickedness because of the mercy He shows to us and the grace we are given to be able to live in this world. He has anointed each of us with this love so we can share that love with those around us. But imagine the amount of love God the Father shared with Jesus so He could accept the way we are and help us toward a loving and lasting relationship with Him.
God set Jesus above everyone and everything to show us what can be achieved when we place our faith firmly and totally in His hands. We still struggle with this and we struggle to keep our heads when everything seems to be in chaos; we see so many things we cannot cope with or cannot hope for. In doing so we sink into a pit of despair and that traps us into worrying more about the things we have no control over. What we should be doing is lifting up our situations to God before we fall into that pit so He can show us how to avoid it in the beginning.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you actually trust God?
Are you willing to entrust more to God today?