December 6: Mark 11:27-33

Key Verse: Mark 11:30
John’s baptism – was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!

Devotion:
When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and whilst He was walking in the temple courts, He was confronted by the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders: they wanted to know by what authority Jesus was going round doing the things He was doing. They had assumed the positions of authority and they did not expect anyone to confront them or do anything without their authority! They had in effect taken charge of all things in the temples!

Whilst we do have people who have been given charge of congregations, teaching people, watching over the communities and being in charge of church organisations, Christ should remain the head of the church at all times. He is the one who came down to be with us and to give His life in our stead. It is He who stood up to the sin debt we owe and took on the punishment we deserve!

When the teachers and priests confronted Jesus and demanded answers, He turned the situation round and asked them to explain where John got his authority to baptise people in the Jordan river. They were confronting Jesus in his human form, so He confronted them with the same issue.

John had been sent by God to make the way clear for Jesus to come and sort things out once and for all. Jesus simply asked them to confirm this. But if they confirmed it was from God, then His work could be described as coming from God because of the similarities of the works. But if they said it was from man they would have to face up to huge crowds who would reject their statement… The worldly power they had built up was about to come crashing down!

Points to Ponder:
Do you acknowledge Christ as the head of the church?

Do you give Christ the power to do things in your life?

December 5: Isaiah 35:1-4

Key Verse: Isaiah 35:3
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;

Devotion:
Isaiah had a special relationship with God and was told in many ways of the wonders which await us when we put our faith and trust in God. The way he describes it here in these words depicts a happiness which comes to those who seem to have no hope and nothing to look forward to. If you are in the middle of a desert, you have a rather bleak outlook no matter which way you look – but there is hope for those who know there is something beyond what they can see…

Our world may seem like a desert to us at times because we cannot see a way forward and we cannot see how there can be hope when we are faced with so much which seems wrong. Just like a crocus waits for the right time before it blooms into life, we may have to wait until the time is right before God will open up the doors in our lives.

God wants us to know there is hope, not just for us, but for everyone in our world. Isaiah talks about giving strength to the weak and fearful, not because we will eventually get something right in our lives, but because God has set in motion a string of events which will lead to something profound in our lives. We cannot see it yet because all we see is the desert around us. We cannot understand it because we don’t know where the water or strength is going to come from – but that does not mean it is not there!

God is our strength. Christ is the Living Water. We have this hope in our lives and we have to live them as if we know there is this hope. If we reject that hope we will only ever see the despair which surrounds us in this world. If we cling to the hop Christ gives us we will be able to see a world which goes far beyond our imaginations and far beyond our normal understanding. That world begins with hope and continues with faith.

Points to Ponder:
Are you watching the world or God?

Do you have hope in a future with Christ?

December 4: Romans 15:4-7

Key Verse: Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

Devotion:
How do you look at the scriptures? Do you see them as a series of laws and rules by which we should live? Do you look at them as a suggestion of how we should aim to live? Or do you see the scriptures in a different light altogether? How you see the scriptures will shape your whole life with God...

We can look back on the Israelites and see how they took the Torah as everything they had to live by. We can see how they could never live up to the rules and regulations and so endured a life in which they had to continually offer sacrifices and plead with God for forgiveness in order to draw closer to Him. We can, however, also see how God chose them to be His people and did so much for them in so many ways giving them countless ways in which they could be forgiven for the sin in their lives.

This is because God wanted them to have eternal life and not to be burdened by guilt and shame all their lives. God showed them the things in life which they would have to face but also gave them hope for a future which was yet to come. This same God also gave them, and us, Jesus Christ as a Saviour who would be able to pay the ultimate price so we would no longer have to offer sacrifices and live under the burdens.

Through everything God has done for us and for everything which is recorded in the scriptures, we should be thankful and happy it has all come to pass. This gives us genuine hope for a future with Him in Heaven; for this we should be trying to live our lives in the manner in which Jesus lived. Whilst it may not be possible for us to attain the level of righteousness He had, we can attain the forgiveness because He has already paid the price on our behalf.

Points to Ponder:
How will you see the scriptures this Christmas?

Will you praise God for all He has done?