November 1: Ephesians 1:11-14
Key Verse: Ephesians 1:14
who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.
Devotion:
I can remember studying this letter to the Ephesians for the first time and having to go over and over various sections because I could not wrap my head round the things I was reading. This is the enormity of God’s love for us expressed in ways which we can only dream about, but the writer tries to describe this love God has for us in the letter.
It is really hard to wrap your head round the fact God knows this all before He sent Jesus to do what He did. It is harder still to accept God had a plan all along which we got to hear about after the fact… what makes it hardest still is we live in a world where so many things go wrong around us and we immediately wonder how God could allow these things to happen!
We are human and we are sinners, ergo we do things wrong. This affects us and all the people around us… so when things go wrong, it is not because God deems it necessary for those things to happen, but because we live in a corrupt world where things happen! Good things and bad things happen to us and all the people around us…
But God had this plan to allow Jesus to pay for our sins and to send us the Holy Spirit so we could get to know Him better and also feel His presence even when things go wrong. The Holy Spirit is always with us and gives our souls the hope we need to continue onward aiming at the great calling of being with Jesus in Heaven forever!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have doubts when things go wrong?
Do you remember God is always with you?
October 31: Luke 14:12-14
Key Verse: Luke 14:13
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
Devotion:
When Jesus went to the house of a prominent Pharisee on the Sabbath, He watched the people around Him carefully. When a man in front of them clearly needed help with the abnormal swelling of his body, Jesus first asked the Pharisees if it was legal to heal on the Sabbath – He knew they had very strict rules about doing anything that may resemble work on the Sabbath… even though they would expect to be fed on the Sabbath!
When He saw the guests all striving to take the seats of honour, He told them they should not go to the best seat in the house in case the person who invited them had invited someone of greater stature than them; to save on the embarrassment of having to move! He could see they were more worried about what other people thought of them than the actual reason they were at the gathering!
He then told them they should not invite all the great people and honourable people but the poor, crippled, lame and blind – the people who were not seen with great honour in the community. His reasoning was they would be blessed greatly by inviting people who would not be able to pay them back… in other words we should be taking care of the people we know cannot pay us back!
If we simply go about doing things for people who we know will do something for us later on, then we are not really blessing anyone other than trying to gain blessing ourselves! God wants to bless those who are willing to give all and expect nothing in return. To Him those are the people who have genuine love in their hearts...
Points to Ponder:
Do you have parties to have more parties?
Will you try to help someone who cannot hope to pay you back?
October 30: Luke 19:1-10
Key Verse: Luke 19:7
All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’
Devotion:
I wonder how many people have looked at me and said something similar just because I offered help to someone who was unjust in their eyes… I know I have gone against what some people say I should have done; I didn’t do it to rile anyone or to make them angry… I did it because I had compassion for the person I was helping at the time.
Having someone standing with their face a few inches from yours and shouting at the top of their voices is intimidating at the time, but quite amusing after the fact. Having them break things around you whilst you stand up for the truth is always scary. But standing up for the truth is what Christ wants us to do as much as we can.
This is why I love this story about the tax collector named Zacchaeus! The tax collectors were amongst the most hated people at the time – some still hold grudges against them nowadays. Jesus did not see him as a hated individual; Jesus saw a man in need of a Saviour and one who would accept Christ in the near future if given the right chance.
What was that chance? To be loved by someone and to be shown compassion! Jesus knew he could love Zacchaeus and knew Zacchaeus would come to love Him too. If we could see into the future like this we may want to show compassion to more people in our lives just because we know what is going to happen. What Christ wants from us is to trust Him and show that compassion even when we do not know the outcome!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like helping people?
Will you help someone even though you don’t know if they will like it?
October 29: Philippians 1:18-26
Key Verse: Philippians 1:18
But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Devotion:
As the apostle wrote these words, I’m sure he would have been thinking about the joys which await him in Heaven rather than thinking about the persecution or other woes which could await him on earth. This is one thing we face as Christians all the time, facing rejection, ridicule and other horrible things just because someone objects to you pointing out the truths in life!
Nobody likes to be told they are wrong or that there are shortcomings in the way they live or act. I can remember a few times in my life where I pointed out the shortcoming of the business that I was involved with and the bosses objected strongly to what I had to say – so much so I was forced to resign on one occasion just because I did what had to be done to save my bosses from blame for what was about to happen.
I thank God I do not have to do such things for God because I know He always stands for the truth and always expects righteousness in all cases. I am not ashamed for standing up for God at any time. What I do get ashamed about is when people ask me to stand up for them when I know they are doing things wrong.
Christ did what had to be done and was blamed for doing what He did. He stood up for the truth and people objected. They upheld their own ideals instead of the truth Christ was holding up. This is what we need to do as Christians – Jesus set the example for us to live by.
Points to Ponder:
Do you take shortcuts to save embarrassment?
Will you stand up for Christ’s truth?