October 31: Luke 13:18-21

Key Verse: Luke 13:19
It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.

Devotion:
One of the great things about being a Christian is the joy we get when we are able to help people when least expected. We saw this yesterday when Jesus healed the woman on the Sabbath, but today we get a hint of why He did so much healing and spread so much joy. Jesus was sharing the gospel, sharing the joy of being able to worship a God who cares for us and who loves us no matter what!

When we are able to do a little, others get to see and they in turn will be able to share the love and joy we find when they try to do something for others too. The more we are able to share this love with God to the people, the more we are able to allow others to see just how awesome our God is!

Sometimes it is the smallest things in our lives which hold us together as community. Sometimes it is the smallest expression of love which will change a community. It is not something you can stand on the outside with and throw in to see if it works; it has got to come from the inside which means joining in with the community to show it from the inside!

Jesus came into all sorts of villages, communities and groups of people. Leaders scolded Him to daring to go into the sinners circles… But how was He supposed to change people’s hearts unless He was willing to stand amongst them and show His love?

Points to Ponder:
Do you try to change people by telling them what to do?

Will you try to help someone instead of telling them what to do?

October 30: Luke 13:10-17

Key Verse: Luke 13:17
When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Devotion:
Sorry for the sporadic appearances of the devotions, but I’ve been off sick for most of the week and just now beginning to think straight again. Having a story about healing seems somewhat appropriate. This is another case of Jesus showing mercy over and above the rules of the synagogue and showing us that there is always time to do good, no matter what day it is!

This woman had been crippled for eighteen years, not just through some birth defect, but by the evil one who does not care for anyone but itself. Jesus called the woman forward and released her from the grip of the evil spirit which had done this to her for so very long; immediately she was released and was able to stand properly once again!

The synagogue leader reprimanded Jesus because He dared to do some work on the Sabbath. Jesus in return reprimanded him for not caring about the people on the Sabbath! God has given us times to work and times to rest and times to praise Him. He has done this to give us a better life, one where we will not lose focus on what is important and still have time to manage things.

When we take rules and regulations too far and turn our backs on people, we are turning our backs on God’s people and hence on God Himself! This is one of the reasons why Jesus said the most important rules are to love God and to love one another!

Points to Ponder:
Do you stop work just because the rules say so?

When was the last time you went above and beyond to help someone?

October 28: John 15:17-27

Key Verse: John 15:22
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

Devotion:
When you found out for the first time something you were doing was wrong, did you stop doing it? Sometimes we do things because we don’t know they are wrong – we do this a lot as young people because we are still learning the ways of the world. If we were good imitators we may be able to do things right; but that depends on the person we are imitating doing things right to start with!

Jesus warned the disciples the world would simply hate them because they were doing what Jesus said they should do; not because they were doing anything wrong, but because the world was doing things wrong and did not want to be shown up! We cannot be guilty of doing wrong if we do not know it is wrong, but as soon as we know it is wrong, we have no excuse for doing it wrong again.

As our church grows into the world the world is not going to like the way we point out what is wrong because that means they no longer have the excuse of “we did not know it was wrong!” God gave us the Bible so we could help people (and ourselves) to see what is wrong.

The Holy Spirit comes to show us what is right and wrong. He does this no matter where we are or what we believe. This means nobody really has the excuse of saying they did not know it was wrong any more.

Points to Ponder:
Who teaches you right from wrong?

How well do you listen to the Holy Spirit?