January 7: Philippians 1:19-21
Key Verse: Philippians 1:20
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
Devotion:
When was the last time you were 'ready for anything'? When was the last time you were 'willing to go for it'? As Christians, we should be in a constant state of readiness, we should be on 'red alert' all the time.
You may turn round and say nobody would be in such a state of readiness all the time, that they would look like fools... You may say only fools stack up so much water in their houses just waiting for civil war to break out... You may say only fools live in constant fear of an aeroplane dropping out of the sky onto their house... It could happen... it probably will not... but it could...
I am not talking about such physical things, but rather the things of the spirit. We know what is going to happen. We know The Lord will return. We know Christ has already been once. We know God created the heavens and the earth. We know these things, so we should be ready for them.
What we do not know is the time and place. We do not know when the Lord is going to take us home. We do not know what is going to happen before that – we only know things are getting worse and we can see that happening. We need to be ready for the Lord's return. We need to be ready to take His word out to others today, not tomorrow, not when it suits us, but here and now. We need to be ready for that happening, here and now.
There is nothing to be ashamed of, because we know it is going to happen. It is not a case of IF, but rather WHEN. The hermit who refuses to leave his house in case a car runs over him is worried about the IF part of his life. The Christian who walks out the door knowing they will soon be with God is working on the WHEN.
Points to Ponder:
What would you do if a car crashed into your house right now?
Are you ready for His return?
January 6: Ephesians 6:1-4
Key Verse: Ephesians 6:2
“Honour your father and mother” - which is the first commandment with a promise -
Devotion:
How much have you done for your parents over the holiday period? How much have you done which they objected to? How much have you done to make their life more comfortable? How much have you done to annoy them in one way or another?
It is so easy to fall in line with what your friends are doing and to allow their influence to rule your life. It is so easy to try to fit in with the crowd to make your life easier... But how much thought do you give to the people in your family? How much thought do you give to the people who are closest to you? How much though do you give to God?
The Bible teaches us many things, and one of the most important things is love. This love stretches from God down to the smallest and tiniest things in our lives. There is no one person who should be left out of that love just because our friends say so.
It is a two way thing – your parents have shown you their love from the early years of your life, they have brought you up in the way that they believed was correct and right – and now you have the chance to show them your love by sharing with them, by loving them, by listening to them, by following their lead. But what happens if they are not saved? Well, then your love should extend to allow them to see in you what the Lord is doing in your life, allow them to experience the love of God, allow them to experience a tiny bit of what they can have if they would turn to God. Let them know why you have changed, let them know of God's love, let them know there is a reason.
Stick to the discipline of the drug dealers, and you will die as one of them... stick to the discipline of a Christian, and you will live as one of us!
Points to Ponder:
Have you done anything positive for your parents today?
Are you doing anything positive for the Holy Spirit today?
January 5: Ephesians 5:19-20
Key Verse: Ephesians 5:19
speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,
Devotion:
“If only I had...”, “If only I did...”, “If only I...”, “If only I...” and before too long you are in the depths of despair. “Why did they do that”, “Why couldn't they just...”, “Why do they...”, “Why can't they...”... and before too long you are feeling hatred towards them.
It is amazing how quickly you can talk yourself into a hole, or talk yourself into more trouble than it was worth! It is amazing how quickly you can change your mood just by thinking about something which goes against your feelings. It is amazing to look at actors crying their eyes out on demand... It's all in the mind...
The more we think about bad things, the more those things are going to start to surface in our lives. The more we think in bad ways, the more those ways are going to creep into our lives. The more we imagine doing things wrong, the more likely we are to do wrong.
Our minds are extremely powerful in directing our lives. By making sure we are thinking in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” we are making sure we keep our minds clean. We are making sure we do not allow evil thoughts and things into our lives. What would bring more joy to the Holy Spirit than to be in a body which is always thinking about spiritual matters, always singing praises to God, always letting God's Light shine through?
It is a wonderful thing to listen to a full orchestra in perfect harmony. How wonderful it must be for the Holy Spirit to listen to a body resonating in praises to God constantly. How wonderful it must be for God to listen to a church in perfect harmony, singing praises to God through mind and deed, always!
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever sung totally out of tune with everyone else?
Are you doing your best within yourself for The Holy Spirit?
January 4: Ephesians 5:1-17
Key Verse: Ephesians 5:15
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,
Devotion:
Have you taken a step back from life recently to have a look and see what is going on? I wonder if you have seen the same thing as me – a world which is becoming more and more filled with hatred. Not a hatred that boils up on the outside so much as a hatred which seems to be buried within, seething, bubbling and every now and again showing its head.
If we follow God's will in our lives, He will lead us to the places where He needs us to be; He will lead us to the places where we can do our best for Him. Like Jonah, we may not like what we have in store, but when we take a step back and look see, we will see the perfect will of our Lord, we will see the sense in everything He is trying to get us to do in our lives.
It is so easy to let go and fall in line with the rest of the world, but we have to remain strong, remain with our heads above the water, remain with the knowledge it is God's strength which will allow us to keep ahead of things in life.
In order to show we are wise, we have to listen to the truth and know it is the truth. We have to listen to the lies and know they are false. We have to be able to discern good from evil. Our only hope of doing that is with the Wisdom which lies within us – not our own wisdom but that of the Holy Spirit.
One thing we must be doing in our lives is taking the time to look at what is happening around us so we can listen to the Holy Spirit to find out the wise things to do in our lives. The last thing we need to be is fools, because 'fools rush in'!
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever jumped at something only to realise it is not quite what you expected?
Will you take a second to listen to the Holy Spirit this year?