Feb 26: Luke 6:36-38

Key Verse: Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Devotion:
One of the hardest things to do as a person is to not imitate others! We learn by seeing how others do things and then we try the same. We learn through what we see and hear. We are imitators. We have this built in desire to be able to do things as others do them so we can fit in or be accepted by others.

This is not what Jesus did. He came into the world as a human being, but from the very start He did things differently, listening to the Father instead of to His human peers. If we want to be more like Jesus then we should do things the same way, putting aside the things of this world and accepting what the Father tells us!

Once we can begin to master the actions of our Saviour toward the world, then we can hope to become more like Him and to please God the Father in all we do. But as long as we give in to the ways of the world the only things we will succeed at is pleasing the world an people of this world.

We should be aiming to do more: we should be aiming to please God the Father in all we say and do. He showed Jesus how we should behave so we have an example to try and attain to. If we can put aside the ways of the world and accept the ways of God, we certainly will have drawn closer to God in the same way Jesus was close to the Father through everything He said and did!

Points to Ponder:
Do you try to act like your heroes?

Will you try to act more like Jesus?

Feb 25: Genesis 17:15-22

Key Verse: Genesis 17:16
I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’

Devotion:
This is one of those stories which shows the failings of humans and the greatness of God all in one! Abraham was a faithful man, faithful to God, but he was getting old and he thought the time was probably long passed when he and Sarah would be able to have a child. Even when God spoke to him and told him Sarah would have a son, there was doubt because he and Sarah thought they were much too old.

I look back in my life and see how I had children when I was younger and think about what it could be like if I were to have another child at this late stage in my life. Just the logistics of having a child and looking after them at this age takes on a new meaning!

But we always forget nothing is impossible with God and as long as we are willing to place our faith and trust in Him, He is able to make things happen which we thought impossible… not that I am wishing for another child! God is the one who knows what we need and knows what we can handle.

Giving God space in our lives to do what He does best – miracles – can be difficult when we are limiting the space for Him to work by having those doubts. But if we can imagine a wide open space for God to work in instead of the tiny box we are giving to Him, then we will see just how much He can do!

Points to Ponder:
What are you limiting God to?

Will you open up the whole playing field to Him instead?

Feb 24: Matthew 5:43-48

Key Verse: Matthew 5:44
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

Devotion:
As we grow up in this world we learn worldly responses to worldly events – some of them are not always the right response we should have to those events. Jesus tried to show people a new way of living whilst He lived amongst us. He went out of His way to show love to people who others had already discarded or deemed not to be worthy of any love!

We need to try to be more like Jesus in that way and to not judge people just because they have done something wrong or because they are different to us. We need to be open to the idea others need a chance to live their lives and that they could change their ways if they were give the chance to do so. Jesus was always willing to give people chances to change their ways.

He also warned us to allow people to make their own choices and if they chose to continually work against us, then we should be ready to walk away instead of picking a fight with them. But our first response should be to show them love because that may well be the one thing in life they have not had!

When Jesus showed love to people who were known to be sinners, those people often turned their lives around and began to walk with Him. This does nto mean we should eb the ultimate push-overs and accept everything and anything which comes our way… but we should be willing to show people they have a chance of getting things right!

Points to Ponder:
How often do you judge someone based on what others say?

How often do you show love to those who work against you?