November 13: Malachi 4:1-3
Key Verse: Malachi 4:1
‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.
Devotion:
I think many Christians grow up thinking everything is going to be OK and we will all get to heaven in the end. What God has warned us about and has told us over and over again in the scriptures is there is going to be a time when He says enough is enough! That day is not going to be what many people expect. There will be some who will tell you when this day will be, but remember, Jesus told the disciples He did not even know when He was here as a human being!
As long as we truly believe Jesus has done what He did for us and is our Saviour, then we will not have to worry about this day because we will get to be with Christ in heaven before the destruction of things. This is not to say we will not see natural disasters and horrific events (such as the ever present worry about a nuclear event) because these continue to happen (but hopefully not the nuclear one) all around the world.
Then there is the ‘reality’ side of things where we live in this world and have people who seem to be intent on the destruction of property and/or people. We all live in this world and so we are all affected by these types of people. Just because we say we are a Christian will not stop us from being hurt when we are standing next to someone when an avalanche happens… I believe if we are truly listening to God, then He would warn us to stay away from that place if we have more work to do for Him…
God is good; it’s the people of this world we have to worry about!
Points to Ponder:
Do you believe and trust in God?
Do you listen?
November 12: 3 John 1:5-8
Key Verse: 3 John 1:6
They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honours God.
Devotion:
How many strangers have knocked on your door recently; maybe trying to sell something, to ask for money or your vote or other strange reasons. How did you treat them? Would you have treated them any differently if they had known you were a Christian?
We do tend to treat people differently based on current circumstances, how well you know them and how much you like them. How does that relate to the way Jesus treated people when He was with us? Jesus treated all people equally. It did not matter if you were a king or a beggar, He would treat you with respect and humility. But if you worked against God then Jesus would have no problem telling you where you had gone wrong and what God thought of it!
When I was young and just out of university there were not many jobs going so I went along to join a sales team with some door to door sales… This is where I learned a very different story to the advert for the job; the sales people were dishonest in their dealings with people. I could not handle telling people lies when I could see they clearly could not afford the books we were trying to sell them! I left before the day ended!
Jesus wants us to treat strangers the same way as we treat our friends and family, always telling them the truth and sharing the gospel story with them wherever we can. When we see others doing God’s work, we should be willing to step in and help wherever we can too. The goal is to share Jesus with the whole world!
Points to Ponder:
How do you treat strangers to your door?
Will you greet someone differently today?
November 11: 2 John 1:4-9
Key Verse: 2 John 1:6
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
Devotion:
Today we remember all those who have gone before us and have served their country in order to keep us safe. We remember them for their sacrifice and their willingness to give the ultimate price for keeping other people safe – what love!
Jesus always reminded people they need to love one another and the disciples took this forward to all the places they visited, encouraging more people to share love instead of wars. We continue to face wars and all manner of fighting from people not sharing love and not caring for others; the opposite of what Jesus was trying to get us to do.
What is left from all the wars and the fighting? The pain of sorrow. Our feelings for those who have given their lives for us should never diminish over time, but they do because our memories grow cold and as generations move to new generations, people don’t remember the fallen like those who’s brothers and sisters fell.
God wants us to remember our love for others, even during these torrid times. He wants us to remember love will be so much better than the loss we will incur after fighting wars with our neighbours. We need to continue remembering the fallen generation after generation so the new generations can see the loss in real terms, but we also need to share the love so they can compare the loss with the love...
Points to Ponder:
Will you remind your children of the importance of remembering the fallen?
Will you remind your children of the importance of love to prevent the wars?
November 10: Luke 17:20-25
Key Verse: Luke 17:23
People will tell you, “There he is!” or “Here he is!” Do not go running off after them.
Devotion:
Have you ever been asked what Heaven is going to be like? I know I have been asked by many a youth as they tried to get to know God better, but it is an answer which I could not give in the way they wanted. We describe Heaven as being a place where there is no hatred and no suffering, and yet we cannot describe it as being a place where we all get married to the perfect partners and have a jolly good time...
We long to be able to see things with our own eyes so we can believe them. We try to imagine everything in terms of what we have seen before. Heaven is not going to be like anything we have seen or experienced before because it is going to be so very different! How can we then try to describe this place to people who want to know?
I like to try and describe it in terms of inner feelings rather than outward seeing. I try to get people to imagine something which they will not see unless they have their eyes closed… how can we see with our eyes closed? It is not the physical seeing we need to do but the spiritual seeing, and that seems to fare better when we do have our eyes closed!
We are going to get people who try to con us by saying they have seen where heaven is and try to get us to follow them. Instead, try to think of it in terms of Jesus descriptions where He does not give physical descriptions but tries to show us through spiritual meaning.
Points to Ponder:
Do you ever try to figure out where heaven is?
Will you trust Christ to have heaven prepared for you, no matter what?