July 11: Matthew 9:32-38
Key Verse: Matthew 9:33
And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’
Devotion:
Most people will remember the last couple of verses where Jesus talks about the harvest being plentiful but the workers few, but I would like to focus on something different today, something I am reading between the lines… Often we read our bibles and we take the words for what they say but Christ told us to meditate on them which means we have to think about what is written and read between the lines being guided by the Holy Spirit.
The thing which struck me this morning was not the words written down but the words which are missing. Very little is said about Jesus driving out the demons from the possessed person other than they were driven out, the person spoke freely after being mute and the crowd were amazed! What about the people who brought the man to Jesus? What made them bring him in?
I would like to think Jesus knew what was in the man’s heart despite him not being able to speak from the demons possessing him. Jesus had no problem driving out the demons which were controlling this person despite them not being able to talk about it and not being able to verbally ask Jesus for help. This is the thought which flooded my mind – Jesus knew the plight of this person even though they could not call out for help.
God is not limited by the physical world even though we are limited and we cannot look outside of the limits we see. God knew what was in the heart of this person and knew they wanted to be free from everything they were experiencing… So if you are being limited by some things in your life, don’t stop calling out to Christ for help because He does know what is in your heart!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel trapped in a situation?
Will you call out to God, even in secret?
July 10: Genesis 28:10-15
Key Verse: Genesis 28:13
There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
Devotion:
How closely do you listen to God? I know I have problems listening to God at times with all the distractions of the world around me, but I try to set time aside where I can focus on things and allow God to guide me. So what happens if you don’t get it right and you don’t do what God is trying to tell you? Well, I guess that is part of being human and living where we live.
I think it would only be by living in a monastery or other place where you can separate yourself from the world where you would get to focus properly on what God is saying. Even then if you mind is full on things it will be hard to focus; and my mind is always full of stuff because my mind is always active.
Here Jacob, being a direct descendant of Abraham who was to be the father of a great nation too numerous to number, is being re-told the same prophecy. Does this mean God reneged on His word? Far from it. Abraham was not promised to have thousands of children, but to be the start of something great. Jacob is given the same promise for him and his descendants. The key being descendants.
We do need to listen to what God is trying to tell us and not make up our own minds about what we think we should do. There are times where you do have to take the initiative and there are times you need to stop and listen. It’s taken me a long time to tell the difference between the two, and I still get it wrong at times. The key being I am trying to listen to God and obey Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like it is difficult to listen to God?
Have you tried doing something to see if He will support you?
July 9: Matthew 11:16-19
Key Verse: Matthew 11:17
“We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.”
Devotion:
I’m pretty sure I got up to some strange things as a child, but none quite so strange as these children! I had to sit and think about these words for a while because my mind was racing off thinking of the strange things I got up to in my school days and how horrified my parents might have been if they had found out all I did… but God was watching me all that time which has brought me to talk about judging others.
No matter where we are in our lives or how much we try not to judge people, we all make judgments based on what we see and hear, most of those judgments are probably kept to ourselves being held in our hearts and minds; but they tend to come out when we are judged ourselves or anything happens which we don’t agree with!
God has the privilege of being able to know us from the inside out – something we think we can do with others but always fail when we do try. Judgment should be left up to Christ alone. We often take sides in arguments simply because we like one side of the argument instead of digging deeper to find out the truth. This is our downfall and something which can easily alienate us from others.
God wants us to be able to get along with other which often means putting aside our personal differences and waiting on God for guidance and encouragement; something most of us don’t like doing: waiting! Jesus did many things which the strict teachers of the law did not like and which some people may have taken offence with. But He did everything with a clear and open heart. If we want to get further in life we need to put aside personal judgment and move toward allowing Christ to guide us through relationships and friendships.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you get upset with others?
Do you ever look at things from their point of view?
July 8: Genesis 27:15-21
Key Verse: Genesis 27:15
Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her elder son Esau, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.
Devotion:
When you grow up in a community or a family you may find you all share responsibility for things and tasks. Sometimes you may feel like you are responsible for what someone else has done wrong in your group because you knew better but did not stop them at the time. You may even feel this about your partner at times when you find yourself covering up their mistakes or misgivings. One of the things parents struggle with is what their children get up to...
People often focus on certain passages in the bible which say we will be held accountable for things done by those close to us but this section of passage throws a different light on things. Rebekah was working against Isaac even though she was his wife of long standing – chosen by God… But if you go through the bible you will see each story being handled differently by God because the people are different and the circumstances are different; so how do we learn from the bible?
God looks at each of us through very different ‘eyes’ than we look at people. We tend to see what they do and judge them. We then hear from others what they ‘do’ and judge them… God judges people by what is in their hearts and souls. He is the only one who can judge people because He is the only one who actually knows what people’s intents are!
So we should not get hung up about whether we are feeling responsible for what others are doing. We do not have absolute control over others – despite what some may think! We can try to guide people and you can try to help people, but the final decision is what they choose and not what you think they should choose.
Points to Ponder:
Do you worry about what others get up to?
Have you tried to focus on what you are doing lately?