August 12: Deuteronomy 6:10-13
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 6:12
be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Devotion:
The first time I read the Old Testament I was a bit confused as to why I should have to know about these people who were slaves in Egypt, went for a great trek through the desert and ended up taking over someone else’s country! At least that is what it seemed like back then… I first thought the people were barbaric and did strange things...
But when you get to learn history and get to know God, a whole lot of things fall into place. How could a people change when they had only ever remembered being slaves and being treated like they did not deserve anything their whole lives! God showed them His mercy and compassion filled their ways. It must have been very hard for the people to turn their lives upside down!
Sometimes we may think God is being totally unreasonable by asking us to do things which we just don’t understand; things which seem to go against logic and against what we expect to happen in this world. But if we give Him time to explain things and trust Him, then we too will see great rewards. As we go through each step of that journey we may start to feel comfortable because things are finally turning round. Those are the times when we have to be most alert!
The more comfortable we get to feel the less we will be on guard for the wiles of the evil one and the more danger we put ourselves back in. God is leading us down a path which may not seem like the best path we would like to choose, but it will make sense when we reach our destination. If we give in before then or get too comfortable and put God aside, we may not be able to grab that last rung on the ladder!
Points to Ponder:
Do you shy away from things which seem illogical?
Will you be able to fully rely on God?
August 11: Deuteronomy 4:32-40
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 4:39
Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
Devotion:
How often do you get discouraged by things which go wrong in life or don’t seem to ever get done? We get to see films about people doing things, making things and may even get encouraged to try and do things yourself, only to be discouraged because it is taking too long! What we don’t get to see is how long the people making the things we watch take to do what they are doing! When I moved into my flat where I live now I knew what sort of computer set-up I needed in order to do my work properly – I also knew I couldn’t afford to lay out all that money in one go to set it up; it has to be done in stages, and is still ongoing over two years later!
Sometimes we impose limits on God because we want things to be done now as opposed to being done right. He is God after all and nothing is impossible with Him! But we forget we are the people on the receiving side and we need time to adjust to things and time to get ourselves in the right place at the right time for things to come together. What we should be doing is looking back on what has happened, how it happened, how long it took and plan ahead with realistic timetables!
I see many things starting to come together in our church too, things which have taken years to come together and will take years to complete; for these I pray we will continue to have a loving supportive church community who are not in a rush to get some results rather than the proper results!
What I always try to do is to take time out regularly to remember just who God is. He is the one who has this plan all organised for the long run. As long as we continue to listen and obey Him, we will be able to build upon things and end up with the church we need in this community. He has the plan and we need to be patient and work with Him to make sure He gets the glory in the end the way He planned it!
Points to Ponder:
Are you working to God’s plan?
Or are you working to your own plan?
August 10: Numbers 20:1-13
Key Verse: Numbers 20:12
But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’
Devotion:
Stories like these used to confuse me as a youngster because of my lack of understanding of the bible at the time; and partly because of the lack of explanation from the church leaders at the time too. This is not a blanket statement, just an observation based on my personal experience as a youngster trying to figure out life!
We often see what we think of as contradictions in the bible and we get confused. But, if we spent a little more time reading our bibles and getting the full picture, we would go away a lot happier and a whole lot less confused. God has given us the same truth from the beginning and will continue to do so until the end of time. We are the ones who forget about the parts in the middle where we are given warnings or where we were told not to do something!
God simply wants our faith and trust in Him. When we start doubting and relying on the world, He gives us what we are seeking – worldly replies and rewards. But if we are able to continue relying fully on Him despite what is going on in the world around us, then we will continue to see His full love and support.
God was looking for trust and faith. The people of Israel started falling back and losing faith because of their impatience. God’s instructions were simple. Moses took an earthly approach to a heavenly instruction; so He was given an earthly reward for what he had done. I know full well it is a big ask for us to have faith in something we cannot see, but we must try against all odds!
Points to Ponder:
How would you describe your faith?
Are you willing to wait on your faith in Christ?
August 9: Matthew 15:21-28
Key Verse: Matthew 15:28
Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Devotion:
One of the things I used to struggle with when growing up is knowing that I did bad things which I hid from others, and wondering how God would handle such things. Then when I was in high school a senior took time to explain the gospel and the mercy and forgiveness which comes through Christ. He also explained how I would need to lift up those mistakes to God and be willing to face the consequences should God deem it necessary. What excites me throughout my life is God has seen me as innocent because of what Christ did on the cross for each one of us!
This woman coming to Jesus knew He was here walking and talking with the Jews and knew, as a Canaanite woman, she was looked at as an outsider in Israel. Jesus questioned her to find out whether she was really a believer or whether she was putting it on. I guess even in those days there were people who came with sob stories which were not true just to get some reward!
Jesus did not look at her as an outsider in her faith, He accepted her for what and who she was because of her belief in God. Once that was certain He had no issue with blessing her with the same gusto as He would if it were a Jewish person. That is the excitement I feel. I know I have done things, I know Christ knows what I have done, I have admitted those things to Him and to others, and I know He forgives me just as He looked upon this outsider with grace and mercy!
If you truly believe in Christ and turn away from the things you have done, you will see this grace and mercy in action in your own life. Allow Christ to guide you out of the minefield and into the pasture where you can rest in safety with your Shepherd!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have issues you carry around with you?
Will you allow Christ to handle them?