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April 23: 1 Peter 1:13-23
Key Verse: 1 Peter 1:14
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
Devotion:
Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like if my generation was brought up in the same manner as children are nowadays. I see a very different culture but there is still the same undertones now as there were then – some children are obedient and others are not! I try not to judge people in how they bring up their children because I am not them and I do not know what life they lead behind closed doors – how can I make any decision on their behalf!
I have vivid memories of going for a walk in the evening with my parents and my grandmother and being told in no uncertain terms that children should be seen and not heard! This was not because they did not love us but because of peer pressure from society – this was the time of the day when people would sit out on their verandas and have a quiet drink…
Jesus was quite different in how He handled things because He did not give in to peer pressure but tried to make a difference wherever He went; not a bad influence but righteous acts which would please most people. I say most because there are some people who are inherently evil because they do not know any better – of course they will object!
Jesus wants us to be more accepting in our interactions with others, but also to uphold the truth and peace. He wants us to be more holy and less judgmental in everything we do… which can be very difficult at times! We need to be in constant memory of the lengths Christ went to bring that peace and truth and know we should be willing to go the extra mile to do the same!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are good?
What do you think God thinks of you – knowing He sees everything?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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April 18: John 3:7-15
Key Verse: John 3:12
I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
Devotion:
When Nicodemus met with Jesus it was not like most of the other leaders who tried to trip Jesus up so they could condemn Him for breaking the Jewish rules. Instead, Nicodemus came to learn more from Jesus because He knew there was more to this than just a person being a prophet or someone performing miracles. Nicodemus was searching for something but He was not sure what he was searching for!
This is much the same as most people when they are introduced to Jesus or Christianity. They see something which stirs their hearts and they want to find out more. As disciples we should be ready to answer questions in whatever way we can – even if it is telling people we don’t know the answer but we will try to find out!
Jesus wanted the leaders to know the truth but to also accept they would not know all the answers in the beginning; they would have to go and find out more by forming a deeper relationship with Christ. Jesus wants us to find faith through the unseen because that will give us more strength to face the unknown than being shown physical items. We question things because we want to know more – there is nothing wrong with questioning things if you are going to accept the truth when you are presented with it.
Nicodemus was willing to put aside what he had learned if the truth was going to be different from that – but he needed to understand things. This is the same process we will probably face when we are confronted by something which is unknown to us at the time. Believing is a personal choice to trust the source of information. Jesus has shown us He is the most reliable source of information we have – have faith.
Points to Ponder:
What does it take for you to believe?
Do you trust your most reliable source of information?
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April 17: Acts 4:23-31
Key Verse: Acts 4:31
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Devotion:
One things we see about the disciples is they were ready for everything which would get thrown against them after their walk with Jesus! On this occasion Peter and John had been arrested and taken before the Sanhedrin where they were warned against preaching about Jesus; they stood up to the Sanhedrin and said they could not back down from talking to people about what they had witnessed!
When they got back together with the others they prayed earnestly about what they had had to face even asking God why the world should come up against them and against God. I think the key point here once again in they took their fears and worries straight to God in prayer, not sitting down and worrying about things or putting things off for a while to see if they settled down – they took to prayer immediately.
This is the one thing I have learned about God – He listens to your prayers and answers them! If you are honest and up front with God in your prayers, He is going to reciprocate those prayers with honest and upfront answers too. God does not have to wait for the right moment to answer your prayers. He does not have to wait until you are on your knees under the weight of life. He does not have to wait for the priest to ask on your behalf… He is waiting and listening right now.
Now is the time to start your prayers and now is the time to be up front and honest in those prayers. God wants a closer relationship with you – that includes honesty and openness on both sides!
Points to Ponder:
How long do you wait before praying?
Will you try praying when you need to instead of waiting?
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April 16: John 20:24-29
Key Verse: John 20:27
Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’
Devotion:
When was the last time you were absolutely sure of something in your mind but when you had to face it you started to doubt? No matter how hard we try to hide our doubts, they will always show at some stage, normally at the most inappropriate moments!
Even though the disciples had been with Jesus all the time and had been taught as much as they needed to know, they still did not fully grasp the importance of the resurrection and when they were faced with it face to face, they had doubts it was real! This gospel tells us all who were present when Jesus appeared in their midst were overjoyed – but you can imagine the shock of Jesus suddenly appearing there! Thomas was not there and so doubted his fellow disciples were telling the truth…
A few days later Jesus again appeared in their locked house and Thomas was given the option to touch Him because Jesus could see the doubt in his soul: how could this be true when he saw Jesus die! Jesus knew how important it was for these chosen disciples to believe and have no doubts, this is why He came to visit them on more than one occasion after His resurrection. Thomas would travel far and wide for the rest of his life spreading the gospel as far as he could.
It is alright to have doubts in life, but if you have doubts about God then take those doubts to Him and He will give you a way of dispelling those doubts. For Thomas it was the invitation to touch Him after he appeared before him. For me it was hearing how other people had been affected by my prayers in ways which could not be explained by earthly means!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have doubts about God?
Have you admitted those doubts to Him yet?
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April 15: Acts 4:13-21
Key Verse: Acts 4:19
But Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!
Devotion:
This is one of those contentious issues where things get taken out of context all the time and people start arguing with one another! You will get people in the church hierarchy calling for people to fall in line and obey the rules and you will get the eager rebellious folk storing up feelings within the church. What it should always come down to is “listen to God!”
The Sanhedrin were gathered together to stop Peter and John from causing crowds to gather and preaching and doing things in the name of Jesus Christ. Why, because they were too used to being in charge of the church and they did not want to let the people get control of things instead of them. They believed they were listening to God because of the law laid down by Moses so many years ago. They had changed a few things along the way to fit in with they lives, but they largely were following the scriptures.
The issue came when they would have to admit to Jesus being the Messiah. In their minds they had not seen enough proof He was the Messiah. Peter and John healed people who stood before them, but they did not want to believe this was because of Jesus; that would put the control of the church into Jesus’ hands and into the hands of the disciples in people’s eyes.
This still goes on today. Someone stands up and does something in the name of Christ and church leaders play it down or reject it because it did not come from someone who has trained for many years to be a priest or other leader. Whatever happens in the life of the church needs to be grounded in Christ’s teachings and following Christ’s ways – that is just one reason why God sent Jesus down, to teach us what is righteous.
Points to Ponder:
Do you stick to the religious rules?
Will you try listening closer to Jesus?
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April 14: John 21:7-14
Key Verse: John 21:11
So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.
Devotion:
I wonder if you have ever done silly things just because you loved someone… There is something about the love we share with others which will allow you to act out of characters and do things which you otherwise would not have thought of! Those disciples which were fishermen had gathered together and went to try and get some fish again – what else were they going to do no Jesus was dead!
They already knew the answer to that – they should go out and make disciples! But they chose to go and fish instead. Nothing was caught initially until Jesus told them to try the other side of the boat; where they caught more fish than they had before. So what’s odd about that? First, Peter launched himself off the boat into the water to get to Jesus as quickly as possible just like a child would do when they saw their parents. Next, when the boat came in they dragged the net to shore, which seemed too full to be true! Professional fishermen would not put their net in jeopardy to bring in the fish, some would probably have been let out so the net would certainly not break… instead they dragged the whole net in.
This shows the two sides of people whom God has called to serve. The one side being where the people put it off because they are not sure and go back to the old life because they know that. The second being obeying – they listened to what Jesus said and fished on the other side of the boat. The third is being joyful in Christ and showing the rest of the world you are joyful. The forth is trusting; they trusted Jesus knew the answer and pulled in the net when it was too full.
Jesus calls us when He knows the answer already. He is not going to call someone whom He knows will always fail; He calls those whom He knows are ready on the inside – they just have to put the world aside, obey God, be joyful in the work and trust Jesus does indeed know...
Points to Ponder:
Do you carry on going back to your everyday life?
Is it time for you to listen to God?