November 26: Luke 21:34-36
Key Verse: Luke 21:34
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.
Devotion:
Have you noticed how easy it is to give in to the world and all the things going on around you? Even when you think you are strong enough to avoid the temptations you find yourself in the middle of things before you know it! The world around us is full of people who want to do their own thing and not want to have to listen to authorities, and seeing them go their own way and do their own thing makes you think it is safe to follow them...
God warned the people of Israel about getting involved with the locals because He knew they would be tempted to follow the ways the locals were going – and those ways were not following Gods ways! Jesus warned the disciples of similar things because He too could see the disciples giving in to the local ways.
We now have these words written in our bibles to continue to remind us of the temptations which we don’t see coming. Jesus wants us to follow His ways and the most simple way of starting out on that path is to read your bibles and commune with God every day – that means stopping doing what the world around you is doing and having a good and honest talk with God!
The way is described here as being vigilant by watching what is actually going on – comparing it with Gods ways so you don’t run off in the wrong direction. Praying all the time – talking with God and listening too! If you feel overwhelmed at all then its way past time you had a chat with God!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you commune with God?
How often do you commune with the world?
November 25: Matthew 11:7-15
Key Verse: Matthew 11:8
If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces.
Devotion:
Where do you go to get your spiritual food? Do you go to the biggest and best church buildings? Do you go to the one which is publicised the most or talk about the most? Do you try to find out which one has the biggest number of people being saved or added to the church? Or do you try to seek out a person who is willing and able to tell you the truth about Jesus?
I can remember going to a big church with a friend when I was in high school, and being horrified at what was happening during the service. People used to speak about this church as being alive and where many people were being saved. They used to talk about the people who talked in tongues and the many things which happened each week. What I felt when I went to the church for the first time made me question whether the people there were worshipping God or making a scene to promoted themselves!
Jesus was talking to the crowd about why they wanted to go to where John the Baptist was teaching and baptising people. Looking into their hearts He recognised they did not go there to see the beauty of nature, nor to see men dressed in impressive clothes; He saw they went to meet with a very special prophet who was teaching the truth and preparing the way for the Messiah!
Jesus is not going to be found because the church is big, popular, glamorous, loud, light up like a Christmas tree… Jesus is going to be where the people meet to find out more about Him and where they share the truth with love and respect. He is going to be where the people are giving Him the glory and not taking it for themselves!
Points to Ponder:
Do you go to church for the right reasons?
What are your reasons for going to church?
November 24: Isaiah 41:11-13
Key Verse: Isaiah 41:12
Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
Devotion:
If you had asked me “what is the hardest thing to do as a Christian” when I first became a Christian, I would have answered it is to fully trust God and rely on Him for everything. Nowadays I do find it a whole lot easier to do after having to do exactly that over the past few years. God is Good!
It may not seem like these words are coming true when we are faced with an enemy who is getting the better of us… Why do they continue to succeed when our world seems to be falling apart! Again a question which is much easier to ask than to answer. I now answer this question with patience. Often we are too impatient and we expect God to do everything before we get into deep water; sometimes it is the deep water which will teach us to trust in Him more and to devote our lives to His will and His ways.
Sometimes we just want to find out who our enemies are so we can avoid them, or worse, do something to them! This is not God’s way. His way is to allow them to see their own folly but not to judge them. If we judge them, then surely they are allowed to judge us and we know we have done things wrong so we know we are going to get into trouble!
If we are willing and we fully trust in Christ our King, then we will get to see w whole new side of life where justice does prevail. God may want us to wait for the justice because our vision is clogged with ill feelings and judgement. God may want us to see how bad things can get before they get better so we will not be afraid of those things; remember, He is with us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you give in because things are not going your way?
Will you be a bit more patient with God today?
November 23: Luke 21:12-19
Key Verse: Luke 21:13
And so you will bear testimony to me.
Devotion:
When Jesus was telling the disciples about the end times when He would return, He also warned them of the times before then, those leading up to that time. One of the biggest things we (Christians) will have to face is the persecution we are going to face just because we are Christians. The world will learn to hate us because we stand up for all which is right and just. With the continued corruption we see growing in the world nowadays, we will come to odds with people simply because we don’t want to give in to the temptation of doing wrong against others!
Christ wants us to continue to stand up for righteousness and continue to try and follow His ways… why? Because that will give Him the glory as people see we are different from the world and will want to find out why. This is just one way in which we can bear testimony about God!
One of the questions I get asked a lot is how are we going to defend ourselves against the world. The answer is to fully rely on Christ for guidance and support and not to try and do things by ourselves. This is probably the biggest lesson I learned over the past few years of being in and out of hospital. I could not make myself better and the doctors were guessing at some stages because they admitted they did not know the answers – but as long as I continued to rely on God and trust Him to get the right doctors and nurses around me at the right times – then things continued to go smoothly!
We may well have to face family and friends who either work against us or stop wanting to be with us just because we are Christians. If that is the case then they are the ones choosing to go the way of the world instead of God’s way. It is not for us to judge them though. We need to continue to show them Christian love and support and allow God to work in their hearts...
Points to Ponder:
Do you worry about what people think of you?
Do you follow God’s guidance?