October 9: Psalm 66:8-11
Key Verse: Psalm 66:11
You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
Devotion:
One of the things we often overlook or try not to think about is how God will always try to get us to do things His way. This does not mean He is going to act like the devil did against Job, but He will try things which may well persuade us because we don’t like them happening!
God will not directly punish us to get us to change our minds; that would mean He is going against His promises to us! Instead, God may well allow us to walk directly into trouble if we are convinced the path we are taking is the best when He knows it is only going to lead to trouble! This is like allowing your friend to taste something horrible after you have warned them many times it will not taste good! It is not like He will make sure we taste the horrible thing, but more like we have refused to listen to Him and now we are going to taste it because we think we know better than God!
When we meet together to praise and worship God, we should be reminding each other of all the good and righteous things we have learned, and also leading each other away from danger when we see another walking toward danger. God tries very hard to not let us get into trouble – but far too often we ignore His calling and step off into the deep waters of life just because we think we know best!
God tries time and time again to get us to listen and learn. The more we do not listen, the more things will probably go wrong and the more we think God is punishing us! It is not God punishing us… it is us walking into the dangers He has been trying to warn us against...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you get into trouble?
How often do you think God tried to warn you?
October 8: Luke 11:27-28
Key Verse: Luke 11:28
He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’
Devotion:
How do you count your blessings? Do you look at the physical aspects of your life and count your blessings based on the physical rewards, or do you look at it in another way? Although this woman was saying the mother of Jesus was a blessed woman, Jesus corrected her by saying it was not because of the physical aspect of having Him but the spiritual aspect of her believing He was and is the Son of God which blessed her!
Most of us do look at the physical aspects in our lives when we count our blessings, it is not always the physical reward which are the true blessings. Yes we do find we enjoy many physical rewards when we trust in Christ, we also have to look at the spiritual aspects which are the true and long-term blessings in our lives.
God promised Abraham he would be the father of a nation which would be numbered as the grains of sand on the beach, but Abraham did not end up having a multitude of children to see this promise come to pass. Instead he would have to have faith in God to produce the numerous people in the family and not have this himself.
Our faith in Christ is what counts far more than the physical rewards we see in our lives. The spiritual blessings we receive in the long run are far more numerous than the rewards we see. Many of those spiritual blessings are also going to be in our eternal lives with God afterward – some of which we will not get to see until we are with God in Heaven.
Points to Ponder:
Are you counting your earthly rewards?
Will you compare them to your promised spiritual blessings you receive through your faith?
October 7: Galatians 3:7-14
Key Verse: Galatians 3:12
The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, ‘The person who does these things will live by them.’
Devotion:
The people during this time in which the apostles went out to teach others were still fixated on the laws of Moses, or the scriptures as they were also known. These were the laws given to Moses for the people of Israel to live by – until they they had not had a strict code of conduct by which to try and live by. The problem being the laws were so numerous and strict nobody really had a chance of being able to live by them.
This was not a trick by God to make sure everyone was guilty, but a sign to show the people they could never compare to God and His ways. If the people wanted to be justified, they had to live up to all of the laws – a task which was impossible for mankind! But the scriptures also talked about being justified by faith, as Abraham was.
Some of the great leaders in our Old Testament were serious sinners as defined by the scriptures. Abraham and David both came to the conclusion they were sinners and had to have something more than the law to live up to otherwise they would never be able to be justified. They had faith God was going to give them a way through which they could be saved from the debt of sin they owed.
The laws were all written down so people did not have to have faith they were there – they were actual laws. This meant everyone who tried to live by them was condemned because they could never live up to them! But Christ came and allowed Himself to be cursed so we would not have to be cursed. He redeemed us so we could live up to the blessing given to Abraham; but people had to believe this was so otherwise they couldn’t live up to it – this was their faith!
Points to Ponder:
Do you believe Christ has given you a way to be forgiven?
Will you accept that way and be forgiven?
October 6: Mark 13:9-13
Key Verse: Mark 13:10
And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.
Devotion:
When Jesus was warning the disciples about what lay ahead, He warned them they would be persecuted just because they knew Him and tried to tell people the truth. He warned them they would be put before governors and kings who would be accusing them of things; but throughout all of this they should also be trying to tell the truth about Jesus wherever they went – even before the governors and kings!
We are going to face all manner of people in our lives too, some of which we may not dream about having the privilege of meeting. What we do before them is going to count! If we act like any other person, then they will see us as just another person. But if we reflect the light Jesus shined for us, then they will be looking to find out what is different. This is our chance to be witnesses before them!
Jesus also told them they should rely more on the Holy Spirit to guide them in what to say. I know I used to have trouble trying to tell people about God because I would try to think of the words to say all be myself. I have never been good at English, reading or public speaking because I get myself mixed up with what to think and say. But when I give myself over to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I seem to be able to say an do things I never thought possible for me! Indeed they are probably not possible for me, but with the Spirit, they are possible!
One of the hardest things to do was for me to stop trying to show people what I could do and to allow God to show me what they needed to hear and see. This puts a whole new slant on everything in my life and allows me to put a bit of Christ’s light into other people’s lives. This is what God wants from us all...
Points to Ponder:
Do you have trouble with telling people about God?
Will you try allowing Him to guide you as to what to say and do?