January 18: Mark 3:1-6
Key Verse: Mark 3:3
Jesus said to the man with the shrivelled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’
Devotion:
Have you ever had to give a lecture or some other talk to a group of people? During my years at high school we started to have to learn how to get up in front of others a give an address of some sort with confidence; it’s a hard thing to do when you are looking in the face of a whole crowd of people, be it peers or strangers… The same was done in university where each of us had to stand up and talk for several minutes about a technical subject...
Talking to others about work or design of various kinds did not seem to phase me, but when, much later as an adult I had to stand up in front of a small group of teenagers and talk about Christ… well, that was nerve-wracking! But if we want to be a witness for Christ then we do have to stand up in front of others and be that witness. That may be a nightmare scenario for many of us, however being a witness does not have to be standing up in front of others and talking about things… Sometimes God just wants us to stand there so others can see what He is doing in our lives!
During this account Jesus was almost on trial by the temple elders. They had it in their minds they had to stop this person from saying they were the Messiah and to prove that they would try to trap Jesus into doing “work” on the Sabbath. What they defined as work and what God thinks work is are two very different things. Jesus wanted to share His love and mercy even on the Sabbath!
We could argue all sorts of things which should or should not be done on the Sabbath, or we can share in God’s love no matter what day or time it is. Jesus did not work according to the clock or the calendar, Jesus worked all the time as a witness of the truth; He wants us to be willing to do the same, to be His witnesses at all times!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get scared about doing something?
Will you try to simply show the truth?
January 17: Hebrews 6:10-15
Key Verse: Hebrews 6:12
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Devotion:
I wonder how many times you have done work without getting payment for it? A lot of the time we do work with and form friends and family without asking or expecting payment, but we do get ‘paid’ through other means than monetary gain – maybe they cook us a meal or just enjoy time together.
We should have the same attitude with God; we should not expect to get paid for the work we do with and for God because we should be doing it for the love He has already shared with us. Even so, when we do things for God they do not go unnoticed by Him. He will return the favour by doing something for us, probably in the most unexpected ways!
We should not grow weary because we have not been paid for God’s work; Jesus was the example by which we should try to live. He went out to do God’s work and did not expect to be paid for it. Instead He went out knowing God would love Him and allow Him to continue doing the work through other means. Jesus accepted meals and support from those people around Him, many of which were not Christians as we know them, but simply people seeking the truth.
If we are able to be effective disciples for Christ, He will make sure we can continue to be those disciples through supporting us in love and other ways. When God told Abraham he would be the father of a great nation, it was not and empty promise but one which He kept in unexpected ways. Abraham and Sarah expected to have many children of themselves, but God’s promise came through the generations of people which followed from Abraham and Sarah.
Points to Ponder:
Do you expect God to give you things?
Have you tried just doing the work and not expecting anything in return yet?
January 16: Hebrews 5:5-6
Key Verse: Hebrews 5:5
In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’
Devotion:
Have you ever wondered who chooses priests or church leaders? I put it to you that if they have been chosen by man, then that is all they are, people chosen by man; but if they have been chosen by God to serve, then God will give them everything they need to fulfil that role He has chosen them for!
Jesus was chosen by God, not because He needed to be chosen by God but because people needed to be told the truth so they would believe. Jesus knew everything from the beginning and knew what had to be done. His human side would probably get in the way all the time but He chose to listen to God and obey Him at ever opportunity, that is why He was so effective at everything He did – because God was leading Him every step of the way.
This was chosen long before Jesus came to be with us. It is recorded in the Psalms of David, another man who willingly listened to God and obeyed Him. The difference between Jesus and David was David did not always listen because he chose to do things his own way at times instead of listening to God. We have the same issues in our lives where we think we know better and we go off to do our own thing instead of listening to God.
If we choose to listen to God properly, He will be able to guide us properly and we will be able to do more for Him. It is a choice we have to make for ourselves but one which has implications far greater than what we think!
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to God?
Do you obey God?
January 15: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 1:7
Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
Devotion:
How often do you take on board good instructions and follow them to the end? How often do you succeed only because you have followed the instructions faithfully? Why should this be any different from following the instructions God has given us to make the most of our lives and those around us!
Paul was an incredible witness for God; not only was he changed in a very big way, but he continued to spread the gospel far and wide telling as many people about Christ as he could. He did not start off like that because he was one of the people who would go around working against God and working for what they thought was the church back then.
We have to be very wary of who we work for too. It should not be the organisation we call a religion or other corporate bodies; we should be working as Christ directs us and continuing to uphold the gospel truth in whatever we do. This is what made Paul such a success – we willingly set aside things to step up and listen to God’s instructions and to obey them no matter what would happen.
The amount of people he was able to reach during his life is quite staggering, but the amount of people he continues to reach because of the words written down by him is even more impressive. God wants us to be able to spread the gospel in new ways. There is something to be said about social media and the likes because it reaches new people in ways not done before – but we have to be wary we do not fall into the trappings of the world instead of spreading the gospel truth!
Points to Ponder:
How do you like to tell people about God?
Do you know God chose you?