May 3: Psalm 67-1-7
Key Verse: Psalm 67:3
May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.
Devotion:
The reason why I call the relationship between God and us a relationship is because it has to be two ways – we cannot sit idly by and expect God to do everything for us just because we want Him to. We cannot expect God to do anything for us just because we do things for the church. Just as, I hope, you know there has to be a continuous dialogue between two people to keep them in a relationship, so too has there got to be a communion between us and God!
The first thing which jumped out at me when I read this Psalm today was this fact about things going both ways. We like saying things like the grace, saying “bless you” when someone sneezes and lots of other things which we sometimes take for granted. I’m not talking about those things here but the true, meaningful relationship you need to have with God.
Any relationship we have with another person demands some sort of communication, not just sitting down and talking about stuff when it has already gone wrong, but talking about ideas when they first form and not waiting to see what happens before we do anything.
God would love for us to be proactive and get going with ideas and discipleship in its many forms, but talking to Him in the beginning about what forms that could take and asking for guidance will go a long way to making sure your discipling experience is not short-lived. We only have to look at all the things in nature which God has provided for us to know He continues to work with us all the way!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you ask for God’s blessing?
How often do you bless God?
May 2: John 10:22-30
Key Verse: John 10:24
The Jews who were there gathered round him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’
Devotion:
How many times have you asked God to reveal Himself in some physical form because you still have doubts? It is only human to have doubts but those doubts do not come from God not telling you something or Christ not giving you a cue or The Holy Spirit not talking to you audibly; these doubts come from the things around you which have been placed there by the evil one to try and make you stumble!
Despite the Jews being the chosen race and despite all the things God had done for and with them over the many years they had been together, they still had doubts because of the many things they were doing wrong. They had grown more used to listening to the world than listening to God and it was harder for them to hear Jesus when He did come to fulfil the role of Messiah.
Jesus’ rebuke to them was to say they were not His sheep, effectively saying they were not of the fold of the church. He did this because they were seemingly refusing to listen to Him; they were fighting a battle between the earthly rules they had built up and the scriptures they had been given thousands of years previously. God does not change the words He gives us but our perception changes as we begin to realise what He actually was saying to us.
We have to be willing to change when we hear the truth, and the longer we stay in the world the harder it is going to be for us to listen to those truthful sayings when all we hear is the temptations of the world. Just as God will not change His word, He will never let go of the people who are in His charge!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have doubts about church?
Are you listening to the world or to God?
May 1: Isaiah 30:15-21
Key Verse: Isaiah 30:16
You said, “No, we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! You said, “We will ride off on swift horses.” Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
Devotion:
When you do something wrong the temptation is to try cover it up or to run away from the problem… And then you find out the bridges you build to run away are the same bridges which will land you in trouble; the faster you try to run the harder the fall. Whilst this does apply to most things in life, the application I want to raise is on our spiritual lives.
When we do something wrong against God and His will in our lives, we try to build earthly bridges upon which we can run away. No matter how quickly we build the bridges we find The Lord is already there with us and already knows what we have done. If we try to make a scene over things to cover up our misgivings, the same scene we make will draw attention to the things we have done wrong rather than hide them – nothing we can do will hide the truth from God.
When we try to rebel against God we think we are going to get a lot of support because we call on earthly things and people for our support. Unfortunately God will reveal the truth and all our earthly support will vanish! As the prophet puts it, we will be left like a single flagpole stood on a mountaintop. There will be no support for us from the world, but everyone will be able to see us!
But, despite all our wrongdoings, God is merciful and gracious to us; His compassion goes far beyond anything we can do wrong, and His justice will reign over everything. What we need to do is to not try and run with the world to hide from God, but to admit we have wronged Him and wait patiently for His loving Grace to cover our sins.
Points to Ponder:
How far can you run?
Do you know God is already there?
April 30: John 10:1-10
Key Verse: John 10:5
But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.
Devotion:
One of the difficult questions in life we always have to face is “are they telling me the truth?” Sometimes it is all too easy to go along with what others are saying because it is easier to do that rather than to find out what should be happening; and when we find we have gone far down that road, it is very difficult to leave that path and go back to the truth. This happens in all walks of life and is certainly not limited to people who are following – sometimes it is the leaders who get it wrong!
Jesus was talking to the Pharisees here because He knew where they were headed if they continued on with the ways they were living. He did not want them to be left out of the kingdom of heaven just because they got something wrong a long time ago. When Jesus went to the cross it was not just for the things people were doing wrong there and then, it was for all mankind's sins!
It does take time to get back to the truth when you wander away from it, and it is not always a clear path. But the one thing we do have now is our bibles to guide and direct us. Imagine wandering off into a jungle and getting lost. It is going to be very hard to see where you are going and find out which direction you are going because there is so much undergrowth around you. But if you had a still small voice inside (like a compass) telling you which direction to go it would be a lot easier – even when you do not know exactly where you are!
Our bibles may seem a bit like a compass with no indications as to which way is north and which is south, but it does not take too long to figure out the truth from them when we start reading. It is not because we have to blindly follow it, but because it will open up more truths for us to follow...
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel lost at times?
Will you listen to God’s voice through your bible?