January 27: Hebrews 10:32-39
Key Verse: Hebrews 10:35
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
Devotion:
How long do you tend to hold on to something before you get weary and give in to the world around you? I’m not talking about hanging onto the end of a tug-of-war rope to see how long you can last, but the the spiritual and mental tug-of-war we have to endure every day.
Life is not just about physical labour and seeing how fit you are to keep on going; we have to face all manner of things which are spiritually and mentally challenging – those are often the hardest things to overcome because you cannot see and end to any of them. For something physical you can see and end and you can prepare yourself for how long it will take. Not so for mental and spiritual battles.
Here the disciple reminds the Hebrew people they are going to face battle and they have already done so on some fronts. They have managed to get through some of those battles already, so the disciple reminds them they have managed to get through and if they persist in a similar manner, they will be able to get through more.
God does not want us to give up but rather to persist in our battles because He is standing by our sides and He will give us the strength to endure what we will face. If you are in a battle of tug-of-war, you trust the people behind you are not going to let go and you concentrate on what is immediately in front of you. Why not try to do something similar to the internal challenges you face – just concentrate on what is immediately in front of you and trust God is backing you up all the way!
Points to Ponder:
Do you rely on God as your back-stop?
Will you give Him a bit more credit?
January 26: Hebrews 10:19-25
Key Verse: Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Devotion:
What are the things which give you hope in your life? Do you base your hopes on dreams and wishes, or is your hope bound by a deep seated truth? If we go about setting our hopes on dreams which are intangible, or on what other people say, then we may just find out those are nothing more than dreams. But if we base our hopes on a truth, no matter how deep and buried that truth is, we can be sure our hope has a foundation!
Christ came into this world to allow mankind to realise the dream of being with God in heaven. He made the firm foundation which we can base all of our hopes on. He continues to uphold the truth upon which this was all built and wants us to know our hope can be held firmly in His grip.
What does He ask of us? He does not demand money or sacrifices or any other worldly position or possession. He simply asks we have faith in this truth which He has opened up for us. He asks we place our trust in His hands. He asks us to do this with our hearts and souls and not just to say we will do it one day! We don’t have to feel guilty about accepting this hope. We don’t have to feel guilty about what he has done for us. He did this out of love and wants us to love Him too.
The best way forward is to continue encouraging one another to seek out the truth, to base our hopes and dreams on this truth and to trust Him for whatever is ahead of us. This is not an onerous task to do – but the world may well make it feel onerous because the world does not want to allow us to have a firm foundation for our faith; but we have!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have dreams?
Will you allow your dreams to be based of Christ’s promises?
January 25: Galatians 1:11-16
Key Verse: Galatians 1:12
I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Devotion:
The more we get to know God’s Word the more we are able to understand just how special it is. All the books I have read (not many though) have all had their faults in them. I have never been very good at reading or English language and literature; instead I have muddled my way through by understanding the world around me instead of the language. I can understand drawings and pictures, shapes, mechanics and electrics, but languages mess with my brain...
But when I read the Bible I am always pleasantly surprised to be able to understand it, not through being taught what I should think about it, but by revelation through Christ and the Holy Spirit. I enjoy finding out what God has in store for me each day and I read through passages to find out what he wants me to pass on to others. I enjoy the journey travelling with you all.
I grew up in a Christian family, but one which did not always go to church and did not always get things right. I was horrified at some of the things I faced; but we went through those times as a family who loved each other. My school days were always short of the mark as I got into trouble much of the time for the most mundane things (at least I thought they were mundane!)
But when I spent time to sit down with God and go through His Word with Him, my life changed in many ways. I was challenged in new ways, got to do things I never dreamed of doing and because a disciples of Christ. My task now is to stretch out and invite others to do the same as I did and get to know what living with God is all about – and it’s not about going to the right church or living in the right place… it’s loving people like Jesus wants us to!
Points to Ponder:
Do you spend time with God in the Bible?
How has He shaped your life?
January 24: Psalm 40:6-10
Key Verse: Psalm 40:6
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire – but my ears you have opened; – burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Devotion:
These are the words the disciple spoke of when he was writing to the Hebrew people about what Jesus had said. This was a reminder they had had the truth written down for all these years – the truth given to them by God through the prophets. Yet we choose to ignore words like these when it does not seem to fit in our current situations...
God has given us His word and made sure these words were written down, we saved, were foretold and retold to try and bring it home they are the truth. Yet mankind continues to choose his own words and his own interpretations of the words he reads. God wants us to know the truth and to believe the truth as He has given it to us. I’m not going to get into an argument about which version of the bible is more accurate or which one we should us because mankind is still studying God’s Word!
Until mankind believes the words and writes them down as law, we are all still going to argue about what is right and wrong. It is a choice we have to make and one which will change our lives when we make the choice. Once you make the choice you will strive to learn more and understand more in whatever language or style or writing you choose to do so – you should try to find the truth plain and simple.
God does not want us to get hung up in arguing with each other because that has all been done and mankind argued so much they made up their own rules about what people should do for God. This is one of the reasons why Jesus came – to get rid of all the rules mankind has created and to try and go back to the simple truth from God!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you think about what you read in the bible?
Are you willing to allow God to explain it to you?