January 16: Genesis 21:1-7
Key Verse: Genesis 21:5
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Devotion:
As I grow older I begin to relate more to this situation Abraham found himself in and I draw strength in my faith in reading how God was able to do this for him and Sarah. Nothing is impossible for God and this is just one of the stories we can hold on to realising just what God can do. As I recover from my illness last year I find all sorts of things which I used to do without thinking now need a bit of forward planning!
But this was not the case for Abraham and Sarah; though they doubted and tried to fix things themselves, God continued to carry out His promises. He gave strength to both of them to be able to cope with childbirth at their age and also to bring up the child – what use would they be if they could not bring their promised child up in the ways of the Lord?
Because they kept a hold of their faith – even though they had doubted and probably still did to a certain extent, God was willing and able to make it all possible. Abraham had remembered the promise and held on to it with faith. Sarah held onto her faith alongside Abraham. Together they strengthened each other and were able to hold onto God in their old age.
We may doubt dates and wonder whether Abraham was actually so old, but this fact is upheld by other people and recorded in history. We know this to be true, but still we have our doubts… We need to be a bit more like Abraham and Sarah and support each other in having faith in God. Christ came up uphold His promises and we should hold on fast to all God has done for us over the years.
Both Abraham and Sarah celebrated their life with God and were able to spread happiness and be witnesses to others showing all of us just what God can do when we believe in Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like to believe others?
Will you tell someone this story and encourage them?
January 15: Genesis 17:1-8
Key Verse: Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
Devotion:
Abraham was promised he would have a son by his wife Sarah many years before this time and both Abraham and Sarah had had their moments of doubt and disbelief, but now God was going to remind him of this promise. It is most likely God appeared to Abraham in human form to make sure he stopped and listened. Previously Abraham had listened to his wife and had taken Hagar in order to have a child – but that was not what God had promised!
There are going to be times in our lives when we do have doubts because things are not happening in the timescales we have laid down or because we have imposed our own limits instead of listening to God and waiting on Him alone! We may not get the same treatment by having God appear before us to remind us to wait on Him, but wait is what we need to do.
When God is ready to use us, we should be ready and willing to obey His commands; it is not up to us to impose restrictions on God whether they are limits on what we think He can do or time constraints we think things should be done within. Trusting in God and waiting on Him becomes a huge test of faith for us…
When we do stop and listen, God can guide us properly and we will end up giving the glory back to Him as He accomplishes His will in our lives. The people around us will be encouraged by the faith we have displayed and their doubt will be lifted when they see God answering our prayers or fulfilling His promises!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like waiting?
How long will you wait on God?
January 14: 1 Corinthians 7:21-24
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 7:24
Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
Devotion:
In his first letter to the churches of Corinth, the apostle tries to encourage people not to try and become something they are not just to be more of a Christian! God comes to find us in the situations we are in so He can get the most out of us; unless He is telling you to radically change your life, the only thing you should be doing is trying to be a bit more like Christ. This does not mean suddenly becoming middle class or changing to act like you are working class – God wants you to simply trust and obey where you are.
The apostle likened this to people who were not Jews trying to become Jewish by being circumcised and changing their lifestyle to be more Jewish in nature. God chose you where you were and how you are. He wants to use you the way you are and not the way you think you should be. I found this hard to accept in the beginning, but by talking to others and encouraging them to be themselves I began to realise I was uplifting my own status beyond where it was – I was no longer the person God chose but something I thought He wanted.
By being myself again and living with the people God has called me to reach made me realise I was more like them than I realised. God brought me back to be the original design He chose and the one which he wanted to work with Him. Yes it was hard to accept in my mind until I did accept it; then I realise just how natural it should have been in the beginning!
When God calls us, He changes our spirit to be a little more like Him so we can hear His instructions and live with Him in our lives. This means we taste the freedom of life when we have been slaves to life beforehand or becoming slaves to Him when we have led a privileged life. This is His choice for you and one we all need to embrace with open arms.
This does not mean we have to become slaves to the people around us – God has not chosen us for that. Yes He wants us to be more loving and accepting of the people around us, but not to become slaves to their worlds just as they are; we are to show them the freedom God has granted us and allow them to see they too can accept this freedom in their lives. Be yourself. Be normal. Love and be loved where you are called.
Points to Ponder:
Do you struggle trying to be a good Christian?
Will you accept the life God chose you in and live with Him?
January 13: Matthew 21:28-32
Key Verse: Matthew 21:32
For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Devotion:
How much do you think you obey God? I know it is a loaded question because so many of us do not realise when God is speaking to us because we are so caught up in the things and people around us. When we get caught up, we lose focus and we tend to stop listening for those small voices and hints He gives us. It is not often we receive an audible response from God but rather a response through others – how we treat those responses defines how well we listen to God!
I went through a stage in 2018 of not listening to the people around me when they were telling me to go to the doctor and get myself checked out… I was too caught up in worldly things, worldly ways and my own pride to listen – God had obviously been trying a few ways to get my attention. Needless to say, early 2019 came along and I ended up in intensive care. The rest of 2019 was spent in hospitals and recovering and revisiting hospitals – all because I did not want to listen to something so small as my friends and fellow Christians telling me I needed to get myself checked out!
It is not just you who will be affected by these choices you make – it affects all those people around us, especially the people we love the most! Listening to God has got to be central to our lives and needs to be a constant in our lives. Don’t just dismiss things other people say, start praying about things and then stop and listen. The more we are caught up in our own busy lives, the less we get to listen. We need to stop and just focus on God for a while – every day!
John was telling all manner of people about God and it was the people who were not so focused on what they thought they should be doing who heard the most. The religious people were so focused on doing the right thing and trying to keep themselves apart from the world; they lost focus on God. I wonder how many people stopped what they were doing and actually listened to Jesus as He was reminding them of this fact here.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get caught up in work too easily?
Will you make a time in your day to stop and just listen for God?