May 15: Isaiah 22:15-19
Key Verse: Isaiah 22:17
Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you and hurl you away, you mighty man.
Devotion:
I can’t think of anything worse than a person of God coming to me and saying God is not pleased with what I am doing or have done! At this time when Isaiah was prophet for Israel, the palace administrator had taken it upon himself to change things around to try and shore up the defences of Jerusalem. In doing so he order many of the things God put in place to be taken down and the earthly worth of those things to be used for the defence of the city.
None of this was asked for by God and none of it was sanctioned by any godly people; instead the person was abusing their position of power to take things away from people who probably could not afford to do anything about it and bolster up his own position – all in the name of the palace.
We have seen a few instances recently where people have abused their position of power to accomplish something which adversely affects poorer people. We see this actively happening in our governments around the world as the rich get richer and become more fearful of losing the earthly riches they have gained.
God is not too concerned about earthly riches unless it is adversely affecting the poor; when this happens you can be sure God is going to step in and make changes which will affect the arrogant people who are taking things away from the poor. God is very concerned about our souls and what is going to happen to them when this earthly existence expires. Don’t be too concerned about the earthly riches which cannot and do not affect your place in Heaven!
Points to Ponder:
Do you fear loosing earthly things?
Will you listen to God to find out what Heavenly things are important?
May 14: Acts 17:22-31
Key Verse: Acts 17:29
Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by human design and skill.
Devotion:
I find it interesting to see the different ways in which stories are told in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Some are told as if they happened many years ago and brief outlines are told whilst others, like this seem to be a recollection which is as vivid as the day it happened. Paul was speaking to the people of Athens at the Areopagus, a meeting place for the leaders – whether it was the rocky outcrop we know today or just a prominent meeting place, we can’t speculate.
His declaration of the people being very religious is one which is as valid today as it was then. Many people tend to stick to the religious events, ceremonies and objects rather than pursuing a personal relationship with Christ. Paul was trying to get people to leave their worldly views of religion behind and be closer to God. He picked on one inscription on an altar he saw which was to the “unknown god” because that no longer made sense to him. He knew God to be real just as Christ was real. He knew there was no missing or unknown gods who were anything other than what people thought up from their own imaginations.
But when we stand up and break down people’s beliefs, we need to remain firmly footed in the truth otherwise we will fall flat on our faces and everything we try to say from that point on will be as if we were flat on our faces already.
Stand firm in Christ and remember to base everything you say on what you have learned from your bible or from people you know who are firmly footed in Christ. Paul knew he would be able to continue talking about Christ for as long as the people would be willing to listen. He had learned so much from the Holy Spirit and continued to share those beliefs with everyone he met.
Points to Ponder:
What do you like telling people about?
Will you try to base what you say on the truth?
May 13: Acts 15:36-41
Key Verse: Acts 15:39
They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus
Devotion:
Up until this point Paul and Barnabas had been a duo doing many things together and taking the gospel to as many people as they could. Paul now wanted to go back to all the places they had preached and make sure they were all doing well and keeping close to God. Barnabas wanted John to come along as well but Paul disagreed; so much so they must have had a very big argument and fell out with each other! Welcome to the world of human emotions and fickleness!
The apostles had done so much to try and quell arguments, spread the truth and teach people to live with Christ in their hearts, but they still succumbed to personal feelings. It is something we will always have to face because we are human and we have feelings. Should they have done anything different? Well, that is very subjective and we only hear one side of the story from the writer here…
What can we take away from this? Despite all the good we do in life, we are always going to get something wrong some of the time. That means we have to be able to survive from our mistakes and move on with Christ still in our hearts and not take hatred or jealousy with us instead. God has given us emotions and souls so we can make choices in our lives, choices which affect others as well as ourselves.
And that, I think, should be the point we look at here. Not to put blame onto one party or another but to rather think about the choices we make and how they will affect the people around us. Being a disciple of God means we are always on show and people are always going to react based on our actions!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know what affect you have on the people around you?
Will you stop to think before embarking on your next change?
May 12: John 15:12-17
Key Verse: John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
Devotion:
Jesus shows the disciples they mean a whole lot more than just pupils or servants; He calls them friends. The difference He states here is they have been given privy to all of the things God has disclosed to Jesus as a man and not just what the hierarchy want them to know. The Pharisees maintained their power by making sure people knew just enough to keep them in line and not enough to pick faults in the leaders!
Jesus disclosed everything because he wanted them and us to know the whole truth. This is the special relationship we have with Christ – not be be mere servants, slaves, disciples or sheep, but friends of God! Why does He want them to know this much – to show how special and needed love is in any relationship.
Yes we could have a very good working relationship with God if we listened to Him and obeyed Him, but if we want to be in that good relationship with Him, then we have to go as far as being friends with God and loving Him with everything we have!
Love is the cornerstone of any relationship; upon that is built trust, respect, honesty and every other attribute a good relationship requires to work. Without love that relationship is going to break down before it blossoms. The same can be said for human relationships but we have problems trying to understand what this love is and instead we follow desires and lusts. God just wants to love us and for us to love Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you have love in your relationship with God?
Will you try to understand how much he loves you?