March 7: Isaiah 1:10-20
Key Verse: Isaiah 1:18
‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Devotion:
I wonder if you have heard people talk about verses where God was not pleased to accept burnt offering any more. Or maybe you have heard the verses where God talks about looking after those who are less fortunate than you. Or where He says our sins can be washed away even if they are as red as scarlet… How many times have you been told these are all in the same place in your bible?
We often take verse out of context to support something we are saying or talking about. We often emphasise the verses to uphold out point we are trying to make. But God was saying all of these things to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah! The city that was levelled because they did not listen…
God gives us plenty of warning and He continue to make sure we hear the truth and have every opportunity to bring our sins before Him and ask for forgiveness. He promised the world would not end until the time is right and that time will only be when everyone has had the opportunity to hear the truth and to choose the path of truth or evil…
All people on earth are given the truth at some stage in their lives. God makes sure of that. He gives us the opportunity to walk away from evil and to choose to follow Him. He gives us plenty warning what could happen if we do not listen and if we ignore the warnings. We have no right to blame God for anything which does happen because we are the ones who walked away from Him to start with.
Points to Ponder:
Are you still walking away from God?
Will you choose the path He directs you toward?
March 6: Luke 6:36-38
Key Verse: Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Devotion:
One of the hardest things to do can be to forgive people for doing things wrong against you or to not judge other people when you think they are doing things the wrong way! It’s very easy to say we will not do this, but when we get caught up in the moment we often judge and blame without thinking. Jesus was very careful to not judge people without knowing what they were doing wrong. He had every right to judge people because He was without fault – but He chose not to to show us it can be done!
We should only have to look at the things we do and say to realise we do often get things wrong; why then do we jump at the chance to blame or judge others when we think they should not blame or judge us for the things we do wrong all the time!
I find the best thing to do is to wait before answering or saying anything. Every week I hear people judging and blaming others and gossiping… and that is in church! I know I am guilty of it when I speak out of anger or impatience, but when I spend time to think about the things I am about to say or do I tend to follow Christ’s example instead. I know in my head I am wanting to say things because that is what it was like growing up in a boarding school…
The more we try to make the changes, the more we are going to be the change! That means the change is going to start from what we do and say differently as an example to others. I have seen what God can do to peoples hearts and how He can change the way they live and talk – let us be the example that will make them think...
Points to Ponder:
Do you get angry or gossip quickly?
Will you try to take a few seconds to think first?
March 5: John 3:5-8
Key Verse: John 3:8
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’
Devotion:
If there were three people standing next to each other and only one of them was a Christian, how could you tell the difference? If they are simply standing and not doing anything, then we may be hard-pressed to tell the difference, but when they start doing things and talking, we could probably start to make informed decisions based on how they were affecting the others or the people around them.
When the wind blows we do not see the wind blowing, but we do see the affects of that blowing wind: we see trees swaying, dirt flying and flags waving… We do not see the wind, we see the effects of the wind on everything around it. When Jesus was talking about being born again He was not talking about the physical aspect of it – I’m sure most of us would know we cannot get born a second time because we grow breathing and moving about…
Jesus was talking about the spiritual part of our lives, the part we don’t know we have until it is show to us. We cannot see this spiritual side of us, but, like the wind, we can see the affects it has on everything around us. Without the spirit how are we going to commune with God in Heaven because He does not have a human body in Heaven.
Jesus did not remain in spiritual form when He came to live amongst us – how would we have been able to see Him! He came in Human form to live amongst us so we could see the effects of His life on everyone around us. He came to demonstrate how we can do things in human form and what we can do to make sure we do join Him in Heaven in spiritual form after we leave our human bodies behind...
Points to Ponder:
Do you have any health issues?
Are you looking forward to having a perfect body in Heaven?
March 4: Matthew 5:43-48
Key Verse: Matthew 5:46
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
Devotion:
One of the hardest things Jesus asked of us is to love our enemies; we are brought up in societies which tend to love the people close to you but reject and even hate the people on the other side of the fence! We can’t blame society for this because we are the root of society – if we dare to change the way we think, then society will change, given time...
Jesus wants us to be the start of that change, here and now so our children and descendants will be the ones who don’t have to think about who to love and hate, but will love everyone – that should be our goal! If we are all acting like the children of God we are supposed to be, then we will get along like a big family which God wants us to be. Yes I know people in families argue and get upset, and that is a part of life because we all make mistakes from time to time and those mistakes are going to upset someone along the way.
But if we can take a step back from those mistakes and learn a new way forward as people who care for each other, then wars and enemies will become less important and we will be able to live a better life. No matter whether we are as good as gold or as evil as anything else, we all live in the same world and are affected by the same things; be it earthquakes, floods, rain or sunshine. God’s world does not choose who to affect!
When we can see we are all people in the same world and start caring for human life instead of treating it like some sort of commodity, then we will be able to do more in life. It does not take a Christian to make the difference, but, as Christians we should be the ones leading the change so we can encourage others to do the same!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you value human life?
Will you set aside your habits to make a habit of caring for people?