November 2: Luke 14:25-33
Key Verse: Luke 14:33
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Devotion:
I wonder what the reaction from the crowd was when they heard Jesus saying these things! There are some who will tell you all about the love Jesus has for you and how much He is willing to forgive you and all the good things, but they will leave out the parts where Jesus asks things of you; because that would seem like hard work!
Jesus knew what He was letting Himself into when He stepped forward to take our position on the cross. He did not do it for nothing! He does not require we do things right before He will forgive us or love us… but what is going to happen when He asks you for something? Are you going to pretend you did not hear Him, or turn around and look the other way?
We may say we will not, but if we are honest we will admit we will turn round at some stage in our lives especially when the going gets tough and we can’t stand the work or what Jesus is asking of us. He knows this already and that is why He went to the cross first! But in order to get the best out of any situation, He is going to ask something of you and if you are not willing to drop whatever circumstance you have in your life and say yes, then He will have to ask someone else!
Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him more than the people around him. And each time Peter answered that he did love Christ; but when push came to shove and he was cornered, Peter denied Him three times! Jesus knows we are weak and we will fail, but he is going to ask us anyway because once we figure out we are weak, we will depend on Him more and make a better go at living for Christ!
Points to Ponder:
Have you denied Jesus yet?
Is it time for you to admit you are weak and ask Jesus for help?
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?