January 14: Psalm 19:7-14
Key Verse: Psalm 19:14
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Devotion:
When a lawyer has to go to court to defend a client, they want the best possible witnesses behind them and the best possible advice for their clients based on past court cases and events… If they are very good lawyers, they will search high and low to make sure they have as much data behind them to defend their clients to the best of their abilities. They will be standing up in front of a judge and jury to present their case and so they need all of this data behind them. They are the witness for their client...
When we try to witness to others about Christ, we need to know as much as possible so we can witness to the best of our abilities. This does not mean we need to know everything. Just like a new lawyer, we are still learning and we have to discover things before we can present them before others. We effectively need to study the law.
So what is the law we need to study? Is it the cases presented by the teachers of the law during the time of Jesus life on earth? No! Jesus was not impressed by them either. We should take on board what Jesus stood for and the law He used as His example. That law is the scriptures, or our bibles.
There is nothing more precious than God’s Word for us because it is the truth we need in order to be witnesses to others. This is the law we should try to study to be the most effective witnesses we can be. This is the law being talked about in these verses where the writer describes it as being the most precious thing we have. God’s Word!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you study the law?
How often do you read your bible?
January 13: Mark 2:1-12
Key Verse: Mark 2:9
Which is easier: to say to this paralysed man, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up, take your mat and walk”?
Devotion:
I love this story about how Jesus was able to release this man from his past, not just spiritually but physically too. Jesus first reaction was to help the man with what they were struggling with; in this case the man must have been really struggling with the fact he was paralysed and was probably blaming his physical condition on what he had done in the past.
So many of us will blame ourselves for the spiritual and mental positions we are in by looking at the things we have done wrong in the past. This is not how Christ works! Jesus first healed the man of his spiritual problems by forgiving him – this was unheard of and the teachers immediately said Jesus was blaspheming! How could he forgive the man when it should only be God who does such things!
This was the teachers first fault, overlooking the fact Jesus was their Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Nothing they could do would have released this man from his problems, but what Jesus said released him immediately!
Sensing what they were thinking Jesus turned to the teachers and asked them which would be more difficult, to simply say the man's sins were forgiven, or to physically heal the man just by telling him to get up and walk! As soon as Jesus told the man to get up and walk, he did! This should have put an end to any doubt those teachers had about Jesus; but it probably didn’t!
Points to Ponder:
What do you look to Jesus to do in your life?
Will you accept what He does for you in faith?
January 12: Hebrews 3:7-14
Key Verse: Hebrews 3:10
That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, “Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.”
Devotion:
How many times have you said something horrible in anger after being provoked a bit too far? I’m sure we have all said things we don’t want to say or even repeat because they were out of character for us; that alter character being born from anger and provocation from people who were not thinking about your feelings...
Now think of that feeling a short while and see if you could have changed your ways at the time? The answer would probably be that you would very much like to change your actions at the time, but your were not in your normal state of mind because of the things which had probably been done and said to you just before that!
God had to put up with the people of Israel doing and saying horrible things time and time again. Eventually He got so angry with the people He made an oath which He looked back on and knew it was harsh – but if truth be told and we look back on the actions of the people of Israel at the time, those reactions may well have been deserved… but out of character for God. This is why we know God as a wrathful God. You continue rubbing Him up the wrong way and it may be inevitable He does something out of character!
This is where Christ comes in. He willingly paid the ultimate price for us so we could be forgiven for the things we do; you know, the time when we have provoked God so much we just know He is going to do something to us! That is the amazing love God has for us; He enabled His own Son to step up and take the blame when we deserved it!
Points to Ponder:
Have you provoked God recently?
Will you seek Jesus to forgive you?
January 11: Mark 1:35-39
Key Verse: Mark 1:35
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Devotion:
Have you ever got caught up in work and forgotten something you had promised someone close to you? I know I do get carried away with work and have been known to forget things – on more than a few occasions! Jesus knew how important it was to make sure He made time to pray to His Father in Heaven. Just when things were getting busy and the disciples were getting excited about all the healing miracles and things, Jesus would try to calm things down a bit...
We often get far to busy with life and the world around us, forgetting how important it is to talk with God. This is what prayer is about – us making time to commune with God over everything, the mundane and the important! God wants to hear from all in all aspects of our lives and not just when we panic and need Him to fix things!
The disciples would get caught up in the world many times whilst they were following Christ. It is not that they lost faith or that they stopped doing things for God, they just got a bit busy and got caught up in worldly things instead of spiritual things!
God wants us to remember the spiritual aspects of our lives all the time. Jesus was well aware of this and made sure He spent time communing with God. Jesus would take Himself away from the business of life to make sure He could not just talk to God, but stop to listen properly as well. It is the listening part which we overlook when we are busy...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you pray?
How often do you stop and listen?