April 22: John 6:16-21
Key Verse: John 6:20
But he said to them, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’
Devotion:
How many times have you heard something or read something and wondered, what have I missed, shouldn’t there be something more to this that what I have just witnessed? Too many times in our lives we look for the extraordinary instead of seeming the beauty and majesty in the ordinary!
Yes this was extraordinary that Jesus was walking toward them on the water in the middle of a storm – which in itself raises all manner of questions in my mind… But I want to focus on the ordinary here and not the extraordinary. The disciples were in this boat after a long day, probably very tired and just wanted to get where they were headed. They didn’t think too much about the weather to begin with because they were used to all weather!
What they missed was having Jesus with them when they got scared. The moment when they realised all was not well, they felt most alone. They wanted their protector, their Saviour to be with them to make it all alright again. And at that moment Jesus appeared across the water walking toward them. He knew the right moment to come to them and He did not leave them alone!
It is in our lives when we feel most alone or the moments when we realise we have nobody by our sides that Jesus is standing there. It is the moments when we cannot see a way out. It is when we think this could be the end. Those are the moments when we can depend on Christ – because He promised to be here with us, always. It’s that moment when you are alone in the house, everything is quiet; but Jesus is still there!
Points to Ponder:
When do you feel most vulnerable?
Do you know Christ is still there?
April 21: John 6:5-13
Key Verse: John 6:7
Philip answered him, ‘It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!’
Devotion:
What do you expect when God asks you to do something? Do you expect Him to give you a detailed itinerary of all the things you have to do to get to the place where He wants you to be or do you sit and wait? On this occasion when Jesus sat down with the disciples for a bit of a rest a large crowd of people saw where they went and followed them. What was Jesus’ reaction? He asked Philip where they should get food to feed all these people...
When God asks you do do something it may not be what you are expecting and what happens may well go against what you think you should be doing. If God wants you to help people out it may not be to step forward and donate money to the latest appeal – it probably will not be anything like that! God will want to see you give from your heart which may not be in a physical way.
Jesus challenged the disciples to think in a different way – not the normal earthly ways they were used to but in a way where they would depend more on God to supply the need to others instead of relying on their own selves. The disciples immediately thought of the cost of supplying food and they even looked around to see if anyone had any food close by to share.
What Jesus wanted them to do was to do things in a methodical manner but at the same time relying fully on Jesus to supply the need He was asking them to fill. God is not going to ask you to fulfil a need if He knows you cannot do it. If you turn round and say you cannot do it then you are not depending on God to come up with the answer to how. Sometimes it is a case of waiting for further guidance while you tell others it will be ok.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you donate to charities?
How often do you ask God for help for those people?
April 20: Acts 5:27-33
Key Verse: Acts 5:29
Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than human beings!
Devotion:
I think this may be one of the most misused verses in the bible when it comes to people wanting to do their own thing rather than following what God has asked of them. It is easy to use a verse from the bible when you want something to go your own way because our bibles are full of very good stuff! But, no matter how many times we say it, the bible must be used in context and not just random clips being taken for your own good...
The apostles were obeying Christ. He had given them instructions to tell everyone about Him and to open up the truth. They were not doing this to gain popularity or to have a big following or to boast about how many disciples they have or how many people they converted or whatever! They were following what Jesus personally told them to do knowing what they were doing would lead to conflict with the authorities.
When God wants you to do something, it is probably not going to be putting you on a pedestal so everyone can see how good you are; He does not want you to become the centre of attention, He wants to be the reason – not you! The apostles were supporting God and reminded the Sanhedrin God was the one who exalted Jesus to the position they were holding Him to.
When we take on God’s work, they should be willing to face earthly disruption, worldly complaints, evil opposition and so much more. We should not seek worldly recognition for ourselves but recognition for Jesus being the Son of God, our risen Saviour! We should be seeking to be humble and hard working servants for God, but also honest and hard working servants for others too!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you work for?
Will you allow people to see God as your master?
April 19: John 3:16-21
Key Verse: John 3:20
Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
Devotion:
Have you ever read an instruction manual which only has half of the instructions you need to work with? Maybe the person who wrote the instructions thought everyone should know how to do a particular task so they left those instruction out of the manual, thereby making the manual of little use to some people… God is not like that, but people are...
When Jesus came to live amongst us He taught the disciples everything they needed to make sure they knew the truth which they could go and tell others about. He did not burden them with all the knowledge God has because a lot of that may have been hard to understand if not painful to hear; but He did give them the truth.
When John recorded these words he was in no doubt of the love of God and the love of Christ knowing the real reason why Jesus was allowed to come and live with them, die for us all and to be resurrected to defeat the curse of death we would all otherwise face. It is because of the one thing we do not do which prevents us from getting to heaven – it is not because of the string of events we do in our lives!
So what stops us all from doing that one thing? The things we do wrong… because they are sometimes painful to admit to so we keep them hidden; what better place to hide them but in the dark, and while we are in the dark we do not do the things we do in the light like believe, trust and hope. A little glimmer of light can give us hope – it is what we should be following!
Points to Ponder:
What stops you from admitting your faults?
Will you aim for the glimmer of light you see in Christ?