June 28: Matthew 7:15-20

Key Verse: Matthew 7:18
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

Devotion:
One of the things I always try to look out for is this warning about false prophets… This seems to follow on from yesterdays reading about not feeding pearls to swine, but if you look back further it also links in to many reading and the one which prompted me to go in the direction we go today is about discerning the good from the bad especially if we have issues of our own – you know the plank in your eye reading…

Sometimes it is hard to spot the false prophets because they may well be able to say all the right things which you want to hear rather than what they should be saying. That pulls you into their web of deceit quicker than you realise and you swayed by their words.

God wants us to be wary of such people because of their cunning ways and because they sound so compelling. This to me is the definition of bad fruit, those ones which look so good but as soon as you bite into them you realise they are either rotten or sour! After you bite into them is a bit too late because you have already bitten and now you will have to put up with that bad taste!

God does not want us to be trapped into taking bad fruit and that is why He has made sure we have the bible and can always compare what people are saying to what we have in our bibles. God has told us His word will not change, but not all people who tell you about this word are actually giving you the full story. It is probably worse for someone to use a phrase or two to convince you rather than opening up the whole word of God. Trust in God’s Word, not in part, but in whole!

Points to Ponder:
Do you get easily swayed by fast talkers?

Will you take time to compare what people say with the whole Word of God?

June 27: Matthew 7:6-14

Key Verse: Matthew 7:6
‘Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Devotion:
This is one of the places in our bibles where people get confused because they think they are being told to do one thing and then do the opposite – but all it takes is a bit of careful reading to find out this is not true. When people face me with arguments about the bible contradicting itself I fear they have not read it properly.

This passage is just after Jesus told the disciples they should not try to find a speck in someone else’s eye when they have a plank in their own eye – obviously metaphorical because I don’t think I can fit a match-stick in my eye, never mind a plank! The idea is we should make sure we are following God’s will before we try to tell other people they are not following His will!

But, on the flip side of that, we should and must be discerning about things. If we see someone seems to have a fault, then we must consider our own lives to make sure we are not falling into the same temptations albeit in a slightly different guise! We must deal with our own issues before we try to deal with other’s issues… Once we have dealt with the issue in our own lives we can both see the problem more clearly and, hopefully, suggest a solution based on what we have done.

But what if they are clearly not going to be willing to do what you have done in order to sort things out yourself? Well, this is where this verse comes in – if it is clear the other person is not going to accept they are wrong or be willing to change things, then should we waste our time and effort trying to change things? Yes we should suggest changes, but not dwell on it when those suggestions continue to fall on deaf ears!

Points to Ponder:
Do you try to help others?

Obeying God means you are qualified to help others!

June 26: Genesis 12:1-9

Key Verse: Genesis 12:4
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.

Devotion:
I wonder, how many times have you obeyed the wishes of someone you know, not because what they are asking makes sense, but because they are your friend and you trust them… When we do have faith and trust in someone else we go the extra mile and do things which do not always make sense at the time but we see the value after the event.

I know I have done some things for friends which I kept quiet about because others around me, including family, would have baulked at the idea of me doing what I was doing but I knew that was the right thing to do. It has even got me in trouble with the church I was attending at the time. The right thing to do is to always listen to what God is asking you to do and not to be swayed by what others say or by your personal preferences!

Yes, it is hard to listen to God and obey Him at times. He may well ask you to do something which just does not seem to make sense at the time. Abram was being asked to go and do things at the age of 75! The journey he was embarking on must have taken a bit of planning because he took all his possessions, his wife and his nephew. It would not have been as simply as getting everything into a big truck and driving off in the sunset – this would have been a train of animals helpers and all sorts!

But he obeyed God. It did not make sense they would have children at that age, but he obeyed. He went into the land occupied by the Canaanites and set up an altar to God before continuing on where God was guiding him. We have so much written down in our bibles where we can see that listening to God is a good idea, but still be hesitate when He asks us something, either because we cannot believe it, or because we don’t like the way it fits into our lives!

Points to Ponder:
Is God asking you to do something?

Are you going to set aside your pride and follow God’s request?