October 23: John 16:1-6
Key Verse: John 16:6
Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.
Devotion:
How many times have you asked someone to tell you the truth over and over again, and then been disappointed when they did tell you the truth? We do often build up stories and pictures in our heads which are not real, but we build them up because they make us feel better than the real world does! We even go out of our way to tell others about these stories so we can feel good about telling someone something which sounds like good news...
What we should be doing is trying to tell the truth to people; this way they will not be disappointed when the truth does come out. Jesus was sure to tell people the truth all the time. People knew they could trust everything He said – just as we know we can depend on Jesus’ Words, our Bibles...
Sometimes the truth is going to be hard to tell because you know it is going to hurt someone in the short term. Can you imagine how much anguish Jesus went through as He went around telling people the truth about themselves and about what was going to happen! No matter what, He told them the truth!
This was one of those times when Jesus was trying to tell the disciples the truth and trying not to hurt them in the process. He told them He was going to be with the Father and they could not follow Him when He went back to Heaven – at least not yet! He had to do this so He could, and can, be our Advocate; the person who stands up in front of God and says we are no longer guilty because He paid for our sins!
Points to Ponder:
How many of your lies have been found out?
Will you try sharing Jesus’ truth with others today?
October 22: John 15:18-21
Key Verse: John 5:19
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
Devotion:
Do you have a fear of people finding out you are a Christian and mocking you, or worse, doing something horrible to you? Because we are different, we are Christians, the world will look at us as being odd in some way! Anyone who is different is treated differently, but the more people cannot understand us or cannot relate to the way we live, the more they may reject us as being too different.
This sometimes causes people to act like they are still of this world instead of being different. The world sees these people as nothing different and may not even take notice of them. As Christians we should be standing up to show we are different and give people something to think about. This does mean we may face rejection by some people. This is to be expected!
Jesus was rejected by many people, including what was seen as the ‘church’ back them. Unfortunately, this was not the church but a religion which had grown up because people did not want to be seen as being too different... they were doing things like ‘normal’ people by keeping laws which they had made up rather than obeying what God was asking of them.
We need to stop acting like others and start acting a bit more like Jesus. I have a T-Shirt which says “Jesus was a rebel too!” Jesus stood out from the crowd because He did not give in to the worldly ways but stood up for God (and not the religion) by obeying God. Because of our fear of the world and people, we tend to give in to something instead of standing firm in God’s Word and being more like Jesus.
Points to Ponder:
Do you fear what people say about you?
Why not give people something to talk about by being more like Jesus?
October 21: Luke 4:24-27
Key Verse: Luke 4:24
‘Truly I tell you,’ he continued, ‘no prophet is accepted in his home town.
Devotion:
We don’t know what was going through Jesus’ head during this visit to the synagogue, but as we read through the words we can imagine how He must have felt having to face these people in the temple who were supposed to be the people tasked with giving out the Word of God! Here they were being quite insular in their dealings and not spreading the word to the people who needed it most!
Wait, haven’t we heard this before? Yes, and we continue to hear it in our so called caring modern world. We even see it in our modern churches and gatherings of people who proclaim themselves to be God’s people! God wants the truth to be touching every person’s heart. He wants us all to come to know the truth in our minds and to know it in our hearts.
It is no good just knowing the words unless we act on those words and live by them. Christ continued to show people how important it was to live by God’s Word and not just to say you know it or teach it! Living by His word means reaching out to the people who need it most – and most often those are the people who are poor and forgotten.
When Elijah was sent to go and make a difference, it was not to the most influential people, not to the people in charge of churches or temples, but to a widow who had been forgotten about by the people. God wants all of us to know His love, joy and peace... not just the people who can afford things, or afford to go to church or have cars to get there... God wants all of us to have the chance at getting to know Him personally no matter what our circumstances!
Points to Ponder:
Are you always able to go to church meetings where Christ is preached?
Will you help someone who you know is missing out today?
October 20: Luke 4:1-12
Key Verse: Luke 4:8
Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”’
Devotion:
We all like to think we will do the right things when we get cornered by some bad thing, but most often we give in to doubt or temptation and we end up doing something we shouldn't be doing – just because it seems easier at the time. These verses remind us of what we should be doing and how we should go about things!
The first thing we see here is how Jesus was tempted just as we are. We must not forget He was perfectly human when He was on earth which meant He would face things as we do... the difference being He stuck by His Father at all times and never gave in. What an example for us to try to live up to!
Jesus knows we give in to many things and He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He is not going to put us in positions where our weaknesses will get the better of us... but Satan will! The evil one will try to trip us up at ever chance and will try to break our resolve by playing on our weaknesses. Here he tries to play on the human weaknesses of Jesus, but fails because Jesus rests firmly in God's arms!
Verse 8 says it all. Worship God alone and server Him alone! It may be easy for focus on God when the going is easy, but when we face difficult times, it gets tough to stay relying on God for everything. We look at the world around us and we give in to the things we know and put aside the things we don't... like faith... Jesus reminds us here how important it is to have faith and stick to it no matter what!
Points to Ponder:
What are your weaknesses?
Will you ask God to help you with those weaknesses?