February 19: Psalm 136:1-9
Key Verse: Psalm 136:2
Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures for ever.
Devotion:
If you have the time, stop and read through all 26 verses in this psalm; I have chosen the first few to illustrate the point I wish to make, but there is so much more to gain from reading the whole chapter. These first few verses solidify the idea of exactly who God is in our minds – or at least it should do!
All too often we take friends and family for granted because they are always there – you don’t have to ask them to stick around and you don’t have to go hunting for them when they go out because they are bound to come home… These verses reminded me of how we take God for granted in our lives. As a new Christian you will probably say all manner of prayers thanking God for what He does and you continually ask Him for a little bit more of everything…
But as you grow up and older as a Christian, you often get a bit too used to God doing things in your life and you stop asking Him so much. You start expecting Him to continue doing things for you even to the point of getting cross with Him when He does not do something! Each verse in this psalm reminds us to give thanks to God for everything He does. Each verse lists something He has or is doing and reminds us of His enduring love!
We don’t have to continue asking Him to love us, because he already does. But if we continue to thank Him for what He does do and continue to acknowledge Him for those things He has done, is doing and will do – then we are worshipping God and giving Him all the glory for our lives and for the lives of those around us.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you speak to God?
How often do you thank God?
February 18: Hebrews 11:1-2
Key Verse: Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Devotion:
What happens when we loose faith in something? We can no longer trust it or believe in it because we can no longer see our hope leads to a conclusion… When the people of Israel were being guided through the desert by God, they continued to have faith whilst they could see the pillar of cloud and the pillar of light. But if they did not see the physical proof, they would lose faith in following God and start to wander off into worldly ways instead.
When we lose our trust in God, we lose so much in our lives! Imagine not being able to trust someone after they had done something wrong and broken that trust… But God does not break the trust but keeps His promises and shows us our faith in what He has promised is a sure thing… But we still allow doubt to come into our lives…
If we are able to put our trust in what God has said will happen, we show the world we have faith in God. When you can show the people around you that you have faith in something, especially in God, then they are encouraged to try and seek out what you know as the truth. This is the best way we can show anyone we have faith in God…
It all comes down to us saying we believe and showing we believe. That is what others will see as the measure of our faith. If we can show this to God, then our God will know our true feeling and will support us more in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you trust God’s Word?
Will you try and have a bit more faith in God’s Word?
February 17: Mark 8:34-38
Key Verse: Mark 8:36
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
Devotion:
When Jesus told the disciples what a life of being a Christian would be like, they were probably very surprised to hear they would have to go through rough and tough times! Jesus was not one for dressing up the life they should lead and He certainly did not make it seem like His life was easy in any way.
When Jesus gave the command to go out and make disciples, these are the words the disciples may have remembered; why would Jesus say they would have to give up on their normal lives in order to become disciples? It is simply because we should be focused on what we are doing and not having second thoughts about things all the time. The worst thing to break down your faith is doubt! Jesus knows this and does not want us to have to face doubt because that weakens our faith.
How important is it to make sure you don’t have doubts? It is probably the most important thing about your journey with Christ. If you want to be a good disciples, you need to go out and make disciples! If you want to be effective with the task of making disciples, then you need to be able to show people the Gospel story without having doubts in your mind – those doubts show through!
Jesus wants us all to be as sure as possible in our relationship with Him. He wants us to be bold and confident in any dealings where we are talking about Him because our lives are a reflection of our life with Him. The best mirrors are the cleanest and most reflective mirrors. To be the best disciple we can, we should be the best reflection of Christ we can be!
Points to Ponder:
How reflective is your life about Christ?
Will you try to be the best reflection of Christ you can?
February 16: Mark 8:27-33
Key Verse: Mark 8:33
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’
Devotion:
What has been the hardest thing in life for you to believe or understand? As a person with a scientific and engineering mindset, I have always looked for the practical answers to almost everything in life and have found most things to be explainable in some manner, but when it comes to the ways of the heart and spiritual ways, I find myself lacking in understanding and sometimes lacking in faith because of that!
Another thing I struggle with is biology and things concerning the body; my hat goes off to all the doctors and nurses out there who have an understanding on how the human body works!
So what do you do when you don’t understand? What do you do when you find yourself lacking the knowledge or wisdom to get through the next step you are trying to take? I found this out when I was in hospital because I had no idea how serious my illness was until I was well enough to speak to the doctors and nurses who looked after me – I then began to understand the seriousness of my situation! But, all throughout my stay in hospital, I knew God was looking after me and He was encouraging me to look for the positive and spiritual sides of everything.
When we don’t understand things we need to defer to someone who does understand and someone who knows what the outcome is going to be! I had no idea and so deferred to God because I had no idea. But for someone who has a partial understanding, it may have been a very different story! I find that with mechanical stuff – I know it is possible and I know there is a physical way forward, but sometimes I cannot see the wood for the trees!
Points to Ponder:
Do you give God a chance to explain things?
Or do you rush in and break stuff?