December 3: Matthew 10:1-8
Key Verse: Matthew 10:1
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and illness.
Devotion:
When the time came for Jesus to tell the disciples what they should be doing, He gave them far-reaching instructions. To start with He gave them the authority to drive out spirit and the heal people. This does not mean He gave them the power to drive out spirits or heal people; He gave them the authority to do so. When Jesus drove out spirits or healed people He did so knowing it came from God and without God He knew He could do nothing as a mere human being. The same goes for us!
Jesus gives us the authority to go forward and do things through His name. He is the Son of God and God gave Him authority to do so much more. Jesus in turn gives us the authority to go forward and do things. Never walk into the world thinking you can take over the world or do things without God – that is not what Jesus did. Jesus, being the Son of God, had the power to do all of those things but only did them through the authority given to Him by His Father.
Jesus also told the disciples to go forward without taking the world and its treasures with them. They were to leave the treasures and trappings of the world behind and do things as He gave them the authority to do so. They were obedient to Christ!
Jesus does not want us to hold back but to go forward as disciples. A disciple is not someone who just tells other people about God. A disciple will move forward with people to invite them into the kingdom of God and give them the authority to go forward to do things for Christ too. A disciples job is to make disciples!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get scared of doing things for God?
Have you ever thought of it as inviting people to be your closest friends?
December 2: Matthew 9:27-31
Key Verse: Matthew 9:30
and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, ‘See that no one knows about this.’
Devotion:
This story draws many pictures in my mind; firstly the fact the two men were blind and yet continued to follow Jesus around. They could not see Jesus and yet they were able to follow the crowd and work out where He was according to the commotion and other people – a selection of people who may or may not have believed in Jesus, but nonetheless they were unknowingly guiding the two blind men toward Jesus! This should speak volumes to all of us – no matter how much we tell others what we believe, as long as we continue to show people the way toward Christ through what we do and say, it is for His ultimate glory!
The second is that the men did not give up. They continued to follow Jesus and when He went indoors, they went indoors too knowing they would be able to get a bit closer! What the other people around them must have thought about these two is a whole different story! Sometimes we are too scared to admit to the world we love and follow Jesus; when we do that our faith is almost diluted in other people’s eyes. But if we are willing to continue reminding people we love Jesus, then He is going to take notice of us!
Which brings us to the final point for today. Jesus takes notice of what we do. If we are going to avoid Him, then that is our choice. But if we continue to try to get closer to Him, He will answer us and find out what we need in our lives. Yes He already knows, but by us asking Him we are reminding ourselves just who He is and how much we do depend on Him!
Points to Ponder:
Are you actively following Jesus?
What picture do other people get of your relationship with Christ?
December 1: Psalm 118:22-24
Key Verse: Psalm 118:22
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
Devotion:
Do you ever think you are not good enough for God to use you in spreading the gospel? The more I get to share the gospel the more I realise every single one of us has a way we can share the gospel; if we all did it the same way we would probably have a very limited demographic of people hearing about Christ, but because we all have our own ways of sharing the love we have for Christ, more and more people get to hear the truth!
When we look back on the Old Testament we see so many references to Jesus being rejected by the people God actually chose as His people; now we can look back on the life of Jesus and compare all the prophetic words with what happened – including these words. Jesus was the ‘stone they rejected.’ The Israelites chose to follow their own teachings instead of God. I believe they were probably doing it out of a combination of ignorance and self pride; they could not get their heads round the fact their Messiah was actually here and they did not want to let go of the important positions they had made for themselves.
Christ, on the other hand, laid Himself down to be the cornerstone of the church. Can you imagine putting everything your life stood for aside just so you could do things for other people? This is what Christ has done for us!
God’s love for us stands for so much He was willing to lay down everything to serve us and to be our advocate to ensure we can join Him in Heaven for eternity. This means He must want us to be with Him so much! Can you imagine being with someone for longer than your whole life? Rejoice and be glad!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel you are not good enough for God?
Do you realise what He did just for you?
November 30: Romans 10:16-18
Key Verse: Romans 10:17
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Devotion:
God does not force any of us to believe in Him or to follow what He says; He has given us the choice. Our choices have consequences! Jesus came to demonstrate the fullness of our reward if we choose to believe in Him and trust His words. He gives this same choice to everyone in the world, whether we are of His chosen race or otherwise...
How did you get to hear about Jesus and what He had done for you? I can remember going to Sunday School at a very early age, but none of that made much sense to me at the time; my parents attended a church which was fairly set in their ways – all I remember from that side is people dressing up and acting polite to one another. When I was in high school I started to attend a church which put me forward for confirmation after I attended classes… again, not much of that stuck because it all seemed like school at the time.
But when one of the seniors in school sat down and explained what Jesus had done and why He did it, I chose to follow Christ! I was finally given the choice to follow Christ and to believe what I wanted to believe given the truth; it was no longer just a scholastic lesson I had to complete!
We get to hear God’s Word from many different angles in our lives and we get to choose what we do with those truths. If they are not fully explained to us, we fall short in our understanding of the situation and we may not make the right choices. This is why God calls each one of us to come forward and retell the story in our own words – that is what will make others choose to follow Christ or not. It makes all the difference!
Points to Ponder:
Do you understand what Christ has done for you?
Have you chosen to believe He did it for you?