July 3: Habakkuk 2:1-4
Key Verse: Habakkuk 2:4
‘See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness –
Devotion:
How many times have you given in to someone who is causing you grief just so you can try and put things behind you… only to find that person causes you more and more grief because they thought they would get away with it just like the first time? This is what is happening with the evil one in our lives. The more we give in and allow him to have his way around us the more he is going to continue coming at us!
Habakkuk thought he and his people were being persecuted by continued wrongdoings by others. He took that out on God and asked God why He was not protecting them from this evil. He thought it was as if the law could not touch these bad actors so he called out to God.
The Lord’s answer to Habakkuk was probably not one he was expecting because he was warned of the Babylonians overcoming the people of Israel, not to allow evil to win, but because the hearts of the people had become cold and they were ignoring God in their lives.
We look at the world around us and we wonder why so many bad things happen and even ask God where He is in all this. The answer would be similar to Habakkuk’s; god is not ignoring the people, the people are ignoring God. The longer people ignore God the more the evil will be allowed to proliferate and the more we will get caught up in what happens in the world around us. God has promised things and they will happen; we need to have patience and wait on God while encouraging others to rely on Him too.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you complain to God?
How often do you encourage others to seek God?
July 2: Romans 6:15-18
Key Verse: Romans 6:15
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!
Devotion:
What is all this talk about being a slave – didn’t we outlaw the slave trade? You may look at verses like this and think they are archaic and irrelevant nowadays, but it is not the human tyrant vs human slave we are talking here; rather this is the way of life which we lead because of the company we keep. Does this mean if we just stick with church people we will be ok? No, unfortunately not because we can all get trapped into certain ways of life...
When we do certain thing in our lives we get used to doing things that way and the more we do them the more we plan to do them in the future until it becomes a way of life because we don’t think of anything different. This is being a slave to that way of life and this is the slavery being talked about here. This could be what we call temptation to do sins if they are sinful things we are practising.
When I was young I ventured into a very short time at selling encyclopedias. They promised great rewards and on paper it looked like I could earn a reasonable wage. The people trying to teach us the way of selling these books was very good at doing what they said and tried to convince me it was the right way of doing things. But the first visit into an actual home and I had to give that up before I sold anything. They were not being honest with customers and they were trying to get them to take loans for something which would ultimately sit on the shelf most of the time; and they were targetting people in low income areas! This was their way of life and I could not support it!
When we get used to doing the wrong things, we don’t see it as wrong any more. This is being a slave to the wrong thing! We should be aiming at doing what God wants of us so we become a slave of doing the right thing all the time...
Points to Ponder:
What do you do most of the time?
Is it what God would want you to do?
July 1: Matthew 8:5-17
Key Verse: Matthew 8:13
Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.’ And his servant was healed at that moment.
Devotion:
One of the ‘excuses’ I hear all the time is of how people struggle with their faith because they cannot see Jesus face to face, or they hear about someone who has heard the Lord’s voice and they wonder why it cannot happen to them! Faith is believing in the Lord even though you cannot see Him face to face and as long as you can believe without having to see Him face to face, your faith is strong!
We have heard it said how faith the size of a mustard seed can make all the difference in the world, and that is how it really is. Just a little faith will keep you believing no matter what you face in life. I have not heard the Lord’s voice, I have not seen amazing images or visions, but I know I can and always will trust God because I have that grain of faith in my life!
I used to think I gained that grain of faith after God answered my prayers in my hour of need: I literally got on my knees in my lounge and begged God to help me, and a few days later I heard how He had answered my prayers… But my faith actually started when I got on my knees and prayed. That was the moment I placed my whole life in God’s hands and that is where my faith blossomed. Yes it was given a growth spurt when I heard about how the prayers were answered, but it started by me praying first.
God knowns when we are in need, but unless we ask for help we are not really displaying any faith in Him. The moment we give control to God is the moment our faith takes root in our lives. The centurions faith started when he left his servants side to seek out Jesus and it grew leaps and bounds with each step he took...
Points to Ponder:
Are you going to take a step toward faith?
Are you ready to give control to Christ?
June 30: Matthew 8:1-4
Key Verse: Matthew 8:4
Then Jesus said to him, ‘See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’
Devotion:
No matter who came to Jesus He was always willing to listen and serve, but how He served was dependant on what He could see in their hearts and what God in Heaven was telling Him. Here a man approached who had leprosy and wanted to be rid of it. The man knew in his heart that Jesus could heal him because that is what he believed in his heart. Jesus saw this love for God and opened His own heart to this man, cleansed him and sent him on his way to the priests (because they were the ones who could declare a person free from leprosy and allow them back into the fold after the appropriate sacrifice.)
This is where we see the ulterior motive Jesus had; to reach out to the priests and allow them to know He is their Messiah come to heal and forgive. The Messiah should come for all the people of Israel and not just those who would approach Him without questioning . Jesus knows what goes on in our heads and knows we have doubts; He tries to open things in our lives whereby we can have those doubts removed, as long as we listen!
Jesus’ ministry was to the people of Israel, but He chose disciples to continue His work and Apostles to go out into all the world and spread the Good News of what He had done for us all. We don’t have to wait until He returns before we can ask Him for forgiveness, or ask Him for healing and comfort, He is willing to help each and every one of us who come to Him in spirit. We can simply reach out to Him in prayers and He will show He is willing to answer those prayers!
Points to Ponder:
Are you waiting for something before you believe?
Will you believe and then wait instead?