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May 16: John 16:5-11
Key Verse: John 16:8
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement:
Devotion:
I’m not quite sure what I would have been thinking if I were in the place of the disciples when Jesus first said this. When Jesus first told them He was going to be betrayed, taken away and then leave them, they must have thought all manner of things. Why would their Messiah have to leave them! But when they thought about what the scriptures had been telling them for so long already, their minds must have been in turmoil!
Ours is not to wander why Jesus left the disciples, but to wander why this had to be done in the first place. That is when we should be looking back on ourselves and this world we live in. The three points Jesus raises need to be remembered by us to make sense of what happened so many years ago with the disciples.
The outcome of this all was to make people see the real sin is not believing in Christ. Because of what He has already done for us, there is no other sin which is too great to be forgiven by Him! As much as people tried to be righteous, they failed and changed the rules to suit themselves. God does not change the rules and only righteous people get to go to heaven. And finally, the god of this world, Satan, has already been defeated!
When we put that all together we begin to realise we have to believe in Christ because that is the only way we will be permanently forgive of our sins. When we are forgiven, we are counted as righteous. The judgement for our righteousness comes from Christ alone, the one who stands as judge over us all from the beginning of time to the end!
Points to Ponder:
Do you share your beliefs with others?
How will others get to heaven without knowing these things?
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May 15: Isaiah 22:15-19
Key Verse: Isaiah 22:17
Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you and hurl you away, you mighty man.
Devotion:
I can’t think of anything worse than a person of God coming to me and saying God is not pleased with what I am doing or have done! At this time when Isaiah was prophet for Israel, the palace administrator had taken it upon himself to change things around to try and shore up the defences of Jerusalem. In doing so he order many of the things God put in place to be taken down and the earthly worth of those things to be used for the defence of the city.
None of this was asked for by God and none of it was sanctioned by any godly people; instead the person was abusing their position of power to take things away from people who probably could not afford to do anything about it and bolster up his own position – all in the name of the palace.
We have seen a few instances recently where people have abused their position of power to accomplish something which adversely affects poorer people. We see this actively happening in our governments around the world as the rich get richer and become more fearful of losing the earthly riches they have gained.
God is not too concerned about earthly riches unless it is adversely affecting the poor; when this happens you can be sure God is going to step in and make changes which will affect the arrogant people who are taking things away from the poor. God is very concerned about our souls and what is going to happen to them when this earthly existence expires. Don’t be too concerned about the earthly riches which cannot and do not affect your place in Heaven!
Points to Ponder:
Do you fear loosing earthly things?
Will you listen to God to find out what Heavenly things are important?
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May 14: Acts 17:22-31
Key Verse: Acts 17:29
Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by human design and skill.
Devotion:
I find it interesting to see the different ways in which stories are told in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Some are told as if they happened many years ago and brief outlines are told whilst others, like this seem to be a recollection which is as vivid as the day it happened. Paul was speaking to the people of Athens at the Areopagus, a meeting place for the leaders – whether it was the rocky outcrop we know today or just a prominent meeting place, we can’t speculate.
His declaration of the people being very religious is one which is as valid today as it was then. Many people tend to stick to the religious events, ceremonies and objects rather than pursuing a personal relationship with Christ. Paul was trying to get people to leave their worldly views of religion behind and be closer to God. He picked on one inscription on an altar he saw which was to the “unknown god” because that no longer made sense to him. He knew God to be real just as Christ was real. He knew there was no missing or unknown gods who were anything other than what people thought up from their own imaginations.
But when we stand up and break down people’s beliefs, we need to remain firmly footed in the truth otherwise we will fall flat on our faces and everything we try to say from that point on will be as if we were flat on our faces already.
Stand firm in Christ and remember to base everything you say on what you have learned from your bible or from people you know who are firmly footed in Christ. Paul knew he would be able to continue talking about Christ for as long as the people would be willing to listen. He had learned so much from the Holy Spirit and continued to share those beliefs with everyone he met.
Points to Ponder:
What do you like telling people about?
Will you try to base what you say on the truth?
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May 13: Acts 15:36-41
Key Verse: Acts 15:39
They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus
Devotion:
Up until this point Paul and Barnabas had been a duo doing many things together and taking the gospel to as many people as they could. Paul now wanted to go back to all the places they had preached and make sure they were all doing well and keeping close to God. Barnabas wanted John to come along as well but Paul disagreed; so much so they must have had a very big argument and fell out with each other! Welcome to the world of human emotions and fickleness!
The apostles had done so much to try and quell arguments, spread the truth and teach people to live with Christ in their hearts, but they still succumbed to personal feelings. It is something we will always have to face because we are human and we have feelings. Should they have done anything different? Well, that is very subjective and we only hear one side of the story from the writer here…
What can we take away from this? Despite all the good we do in life, we are always going to get something wrong some of the time. That means we have to be able to survive from our mistakes and move on with Christ still in our hearts and not take hatred or jealousy with us instead. God has given us emotions and souls so we can make choices in our lives, choices which affect others as well as ourselves.
And that, I think, should be the point we look at here. Not to put blame onto one party or another but to rather think about the choices we make and how they will affect the people around us. Being a disciple of God means we are always on show and people are always going to react based on our actions!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know what affect you have on the people around you?
Will you stop to think before embarking on your next change?
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May 12: John 15:12-17
Key Verse: John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
Devotion:
Jesus shows the disciples they mean a whole lot more than just pupils or servants; He calls them friends. The difference He states here is they have been given privy to all of the things God has disclosed to Jesus as a man and not just what the hierarchy want them to know. The Pharisees maintained their power by making sure people knew just enough to keep them in line and not enough to pick faults in the leaders!
Jesus disclosed everything because he wanted them and us to know the whole truth. This is the special relationship we have with Christ – not be be mere servants, slaves, disciples or sheep, but friends of God! Why does He want them to know this much – to show how special and needed love is in any relationship.
Yes we could have a very good working relationship with God if we listened to Him and obeyed Him, but if we want to be in that good relationship with Him, then we have to go as far as being friends with God and loving Him with everything we have!
Love is the cornerstone of any relationship; upon that is built trust, respect, honesty and every other attribute a good relationship requires to work. Without love that relationship is going to break down before it blossoms. The same can be said for human relationships but we have problems trying to understand what this love is and instead we follow desires and lusts. God just wants to love us and for us to love Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you have love in your relationship with God?
Will you try to understand how much he loves you?
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May 11: John 15:9-11
Key Verse: John 15:9
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
Devotion:
This continues to be another of my favourite passages but as I was reading it today I couldn’t help think of the difference between Jesus and us. Here Jesus is telling the disciples how He loves them with the same love God loves Him – as the Son of God. He continues to say this is partly because He has kept God’s commands. This is where the big difference raises it’s ugly head… We will always struggle to keep God’s commands because of the lives we live.
Jesus came to live amongst us as a human being to show that anything is possible with God. He came and lives a sinless life as a human and followed the will of His Father in heaven. How was that possible? By dedicating His entire life to God and not just a day a week or now and again!
Yes, this is a big ask from us because we are born into a sinful world and we live amongst sinful people. We are stained by the evil which surrounds us and we give in to some of it some of the time because it seems easier to do this when we think it does not affect anyone else – but it does affect God!
Christ must have had so many wonderful experiences of people coming to have this personal relationship with God through His teachings and His actions. People would always crowd around Jesus to see what He would do next or to get some sort of blessing or healing from Him. Christ gave out that teaching and healing with love and joy – how are we treating the people around us?
Points to Ponder:
Do you give to everyone around you?
Will you try to be more like Jesus today?
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May 10: John 15:1-8
Key Verse: John 15:5
‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Devotion:
I think this is a part of Christian life we come up against a lot of the time and a part we may think of as the opposition rather than helpers. Sometimes you are so sure you should be doing something you go off and do it trying to get support from all over the place to make sure it happens. Where we look for that support and the things we use to bolster our position may not be what God had in mind – so don’t be too surprised if they fail to make the point you thought they should!
If we are willing to really stop and listen to God, then we will be able to do much more than if we go it alone or with earthly help and assistance. As the disciples were learning this from Christ they would have also seen and known how successful the Pharisees had been and may have wanted to do things that way instead. But Jesus kept them following the truth, God’s Word, and kept them from tainting their message with earthly ways and methods.
There is going to be a time when it is too late to pass on the truth. Too late to ask Jesus to forgive you. Too late to share the gospel… But that time will only be after we join Christ in Heaven; until they day we should be facing the opposition with the truth, asking for forgiveness, listening to the Holy Spirit and obeying God in all we say and do.
When we ask Jesus into our lives we are asking to be a part of God’s family. As such we should be doing things differently from our old earthly ways and doing what our Father in heaven is asking us to do. This means listening out for Him and obeying Him. This is what it means to be part of His family.
Points to Ponder:
What have you tried lately to get people into church with?
Have you tried the truth?
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May 9: Acts 14:19-28
Key Verse: Acts 14:23
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
Devotion:
Forgive me if this comes to you later than normal, I have been downed with a migraine for a while. I read through this passage and wondered what it was the Lord should have me write – probably because my head is still not quite there too. After reading it a couple of times I realised it was about persistence; Paul and Barnabas were on a mission for God and they were not going to back down!
When the Jews heard about them teaching people about Jesus, they put together a posse which came to reaffirm their grip on the people. I say posse because of what they wanted to do to Paul. They took him outside the city walls and tried to stone him to death because of the work he was doing. There have been times I wanted to get rid of some people for disrupting the work I have been doing, but never to go as far as they did.
The truth should be what wins all the time. Paul and Barnabas were trying to get people to understand there is hope in the truth and the only way to get to be with God in Heaven is through His Son Jesus Christ. This is the truth which Jesus Himself had tried to teach the disciples and all who would listen through persistently telling the truth to them.
As we step forward to work with God we have got to uphold the truth which He gives us and continue to give that truth to people no matter what opposition we come up against. Sometimes you do have to leave the area and wait for the dust to settle before coming back, and other times you have to stand up and continue reaffirming the truth whilst facing that opposition. Listen to what God wants you to do and try hard to obey Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get opposition for doing God’s Work?
Do you wait for God to guide you forward?
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May 8: Acts 14:8-18
Key Verse: Acts 14:12
Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.
Devotion:
How many times have you been complimented this past week? How many of those times did you feel good? How many of those times did you take advantage of being complimented and ask for something in return? How far did you go? There is nothing quite like asking leading questions!
One of the unfortunate parts of being a good Christian is people will lift you up into positions you probably do not deserve and sometimes should not be tempted by; but it happens! We all do like to be complimented because it does make us feel better about ourselves – much better than being berated for doing something wrong! But what we do with compliments and how we allow them to affect our lives is what counts more than the compliments.
Paul and Barnabas fled to the Lycaonian city of Lystra because they were being persecuted and plots were being made against them because they dared to preach the Gospel. When Paul healed a lame man the crowd lifted both Paul and Barnabas to positions of gods – they did not quite get the idea there is only one God because they had always called upon many gods in their lifestyles before this. The priests of these gods wanted to come and offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas because of this miracle!
Both Paul and Barnabas tried to quell the hysteria by pleading with the people to accept them as mere human beings like everyone else, but the people had other ideas. Sometimes it seems like it is easier to allow people to think more highly of you than to admit you are just like them but God wants us to show others we are as human as all people – but we do try to be different because we want to follow God’s will rather than the habits of everyone else. Draw the line and keep the line!
Points to Ponder:
Do you see yourself as better than others?
What are the wages of sin?
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May 7: Genesis 8:1-19
Key Verse: Genesis 8:13
By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.
Devotion:
I used to read through the story of Noah and the flood and wonder what happened to all the people who were consumed by the flood – I still wonder how this could have happened. But when we see the state of many countries who have rejected God, we see people being consumed by pride and greed. If we simply take the bible as a string of stories which are true, then we are going to miss the real message from God!
God has made sure we have these stories in the state they are so we will meditate on the stories and not just read them like we read a newspaper. God wants us to feel the stories and the emotions so we do not forget what He has done throughout our history.
How often do you think about how old Noah was when this was all happening? How often do you think of the after effects of the flood: the mud, destruction, humidity, and all the horrible things we don’t want to think of? God wants us to remember how bad things can get and how good things are when we live with Him in our lives. God wants us to see we can leave this all behind when we go to be with Him in Heaven!
God gave Noah a chance for a fresh start where he could leave the horrible things of the previous life behind and not have to put up with the pride and greed and other horrible things which were consuming everyone. But such a drastic change in circumstance does not come easy for a mere human! We need to walk with God and keep close to Him so we can survive in our new life!
Points to Ponder:
Do you find life difficult?
How close are you staying to God?