Feb 1: Mark 6:7-13

Key Verse: Mark 6:8
These were his instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.

Devotion:
One of the things I continue learn every day is God is with us no matter where we are in our journey. As you may have noticed there has not been much input from me over the past several days – unfortunately I suffered another setback in my health once again, an ongoing issue I though I could dodge after my pancreatitis. All the doctors at the time continued to ask me if I had any signs of diabetes and I had not, but five years later after battles my body gave in. Fortunately I had been watching for signs and went to the doctors before the doctors came to me!

Being prepared for our journey with God does not mean we have to be strong and courageous in the face of any odds and fights, it just means we should be willing to allow God to be in control. He continues to try and give us the right moments at the right times when we will be able to make a difference in the communities which surround us. I am blessed to be able to say I am both a child of God and a servant of God.

I did not step out and take huge strides and make a big name for myself, I patiently worked with God by my side to bring His Word to the people around me. I will continue to do so too. I don’t take anything with me but go where I can serve His best and help the people who need to know Him.

This is all God asks of us. Not to become a famous church leader, youth leader of whatever – just to love Him and share that love with the people around us; let Him take you through thick and thin...

Points to Ponder:
Do you allow God to care for you?

Will you give Him a bit more control today?

January 24: 2 Samuel 7:4-17

Key Verse: 2 Samuel 7:14
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.

Devotion:
When David wanted to build a temple for God to dwell in after so much travelling through the desert carrying the arc of the covenant, God’s answer was a bit different than David expected. God reminded David He had been living in the tabernacle ever since they left Egypt and all that time He had not asked for a temple or any other house to be built for Him.

Instead God turned the tables and promised David He would build another type of house based on people, all from David’s descendants! Then God reminded David He was his Father, and David His Son; and just like a father God would punish him for doing wrong, but it would be punishment given by human hands and not God.

This is the promise He continues to have with us. He will look after us both in the good times and the bad times. When we are out of line, God will allow us to be punished by human hands because He does not want to punish us as we are His children. God has every right to judge and punish us and if we take things too far, we cannot say He will ignore things.

But His love for us means He will continue to try and give us what is best for us. He will continue to put the right people at the right place and time so that we can choose to prosper in His sight. That is the love a true father has for his children!

Points to Ponder:
Do you get punished when you break the law?

Will you allow God to guide you in righteousness?

January 23: Mark 3:31-34

Key Verse: Mark 3:34
Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.

Devotion:
This is an interesting one which worries many people but shouldn’t. Jesus was inside talking with His disciples and others when someone came in to tell Him His birth mother and brothers were outside looking for Him. His response will make some people feel ecstatic whilst others will feel distraught; and, I may say, both side may well be Christians.

As we grow as Christians we begin to understand more about Jesus and the ways of God. As we learn more our understanding of the ways of man and the ways of God expand as well. Sometimes some things are very hard to accept in our lives because we have lived with many ways all of our lives. The older we get the more resistant we are to change in any form!

This must not be taken out of context and in any form be taken as Jesus turning His back on His mother, Mary, or His brothers. But it is a statement from Him to show something more important. Once we become Christians we have a much wider family to take care of and to share things with.

Our birth families remain just that, our birth families. And depending on your own feeling you birth family may be the most important thing in your life. I am now at the age where I no longer have a birth mother or father because both have passed on; but I have a step mother who is as important to me as a birth mother. I also have an extended family who are all as important. But I also have a wider church family who are important as well. God is the one who gives me the love and strength to take on such a family!

Points to Ponder:
What does family mean to you?

What does God’s family mean to you?