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?
May 11: John 15:9-11
Key Verse: John 15:9
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
Devotion:
This continues to be another of my favourite passages but as I was reading it today I couldn’t help think of the difference between Jesus and us. Here Jesus is telling the disciples how He loves them with the same love God loves Him – as the Son of God. He continues to say this is partly because He has kept God’s commands. This is where the big difference raises it’s ugly head… We will always struggle to keep God’s commands because of the lives we live.
Jesus came to live amongst us as a human being to show that anything is possible with God. He came and lives a sinless life as a human and followed the will of His Father in heaven. How was that possible? By dedicating His entire life to God and not just a day a week or now and again!
Yes, this is a big ask from us because we are born into a sinful world and we live amongst sinful people. We are stained by the evil which surrounds us and we give in to some of it some of the time because it seems easier to do this when we think it does not affect anyone else – but it does affect God!
Christ must have had so many wonderful experiences of people coming to have this personal relationship with God through His teachings and His actions. People would always crowd around Jesus to see what He would do next or to get some sort of blessing or healing from Him. Christ gave out that teaching and healing with love and joy – how are we treating the people around us?
Points to Ponder:
Do you give to everyone around you?
Will you try to be more like Jesus today?
May 10: John 15:1-8
Key Verse: John 15:5
‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Devotion:
I think this is a part of Christian life we come up against a lot of the time and a part we may think of as the opposition rather than helpers. Sometimes you are so sure you should be doing something you go off and do it trying to get support from all over the place to make sure it happens. Where we look for that support and the things we use to bolster our position may not be what God had in mind – so don’t be too surprised if they fail to make the point you thought they should!
If we are willing to really stop and listen to God, then we will be able to do much more than if we go it alone or with earthly help and assistance. As the disciples were learning this from Christ they would have also seen and known how successful the Pharisees had been and may have wanted to do things that way instead. But Jesus kept them following the truth, God’s Word, and kept them from tainting their message with earthly ways and methods.
There is going to be a time when it is too late to pass on the truth. Too late to ask Jesus to forgive you. Too late to share the gospel… But that time will only be after we join Christ in Heaven; until they day we should be facing the opposition with the truth, asking for forgiveness, listening to the Holy Spirit and obeying God in all we say and do.
When we ask Jesus into our lives we are asking to be a part of God’s family. As such we should be doing things differently from our old earthly ways and doing what our Father in heaven is asking us to do. This means listening out for Him and obeying Him. This is what it means to be part of His family.
Points to Ponder:
What have you tried lately to get people into church with?
Have you tried the truth?
May 9: Acts 14:19-28
Key Verse: Acts 14:23
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
Devotion:
Forgive me if this comes to you later than normal, I have been downed with a migraine for a while. I read through this passage and wondered what it was the Lord should have me write – probably because my head is still not quite there too. After reading it a couple of times I realised it was about persistence; Paul and Barnabas were on a mission for God and they were not going to back down!
When the Jews heard about them teaching people about Jesus, they put together a posse which came to reaffirm their grip on the people. I say posse because of what they wanted to do to Paul. They took him outside the city walls and tried to stone him to death because of the work he was doing. There have been times I wanted to get rid of some people for disrupting the work I have been doing, but never to go as far as they did.
The truth should be what wins all the time. Paul and Barnabas were trying to get people to understand there is hope in the truth and the only way to get to be with God in Heaven is through His Son Jesus Christ. This is the truth which Jesus Himself had tried to teach the disciples and all who would listen through persistently telling the truth to them.
As we step forward to work with God we have got to uphold the truth which He gives us and continue to give that truth to people no matter what opposition we come up against. Sometimes you do have to leave the area and wait for the dust to settle before coming back, and other times you have to stand up and continue reaffirming the truth whilst facing that opposition. Listen to what God wants you to do and try hard to obey Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get opposition for doing God’s Work?
Do you wait for God to guide you forward?