May 4: John 13:12-17
Key Verse: John 13:17
Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Devotion:
One of the biggest problems we have in our societies is the class system we apply to life! We are always taught to try and reach higher in life and to become better; but many choices we make along the way to get better alienate us from others simply because we think we are somehow better than them. Yes we may well be better at doing our job, better at problem finding, better at communication or any other thing in life – but saying we are a better human being is not our choice to make!
God wants us to be able to talk to anyone from any walk in life. Jesus chose to meet with all manner of people during His ministry on earth. He chose to meet with people from all walks in life, all positions and all beliefs. He did not chose to only walk with those who believed in God, or followed the rules of the church, but everyone.
This display of washing of feet was to demonstrate to the disciples they should not place themselves above anyone just because of the position they hold in society or church. Every one of us is called a child of God – which means we need to treat each other as siblings and not as people from a different world!
It is sometimes hard to reach out to people whom you know are working against you and against God; but God is going to open doors for us to reach out to unexpected people in our lives so they too can have a different view of life than what they may be forced into enduring. The choices we make in our lives often govern what lifestyles are open to us which often exclude us from righteous connections and deeds. We need to be willing to be open to what God has in store instead of what we think we should have!
Points to Ponder:
Do you limit your social meetings to people you think are good?
Will you try listening to God?
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?