October 5: Galatians 2:7-10
Key Verse: Galatians 2:8
For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.
Devotion:
When you think of the apostles going out to spread the gospel, whom do you think they went to? We hear of them going out to many people and so many getting to know the truth and get into a relationship with God through their teachings; but when you look at it from the apostles point of view – who were they trying to reach?
Jesus reached out to so many people but we get to hear mostly about Him coming back to the Jews and teaching in the synagogues. We don’t always think about the other people He reached out to unless we are told specifically how he talked to Samaritans or others. The apostles where guided by the Holy Spirit to reach out to specific people. Between them they decided who would go where to cover as many people as possible.
Here we are reminded how Peter was an apostle to the circumcised – the Jews. This is the side I always think about when I hear about the apostles. But Paul was encouraged to be an apostle to the Gentiles – those uncircumcised who were rejected and shunned by the Jews because of the original words from God telling them not to mix with them when they were settling in the land. This was to stop them from giving in to the ways of the Gentiles because they seemed to be easily swayed away from God (as we know from historical records!)
God doesn’t always want us to reach out to the friends and families of the church goers… Yes some of us will need to reach out to them to encourage them to come into church and learn the truth; but some of us will be asked to go to those people who our society shuns or the people who we think least deserve to know Christ!
Points to Ponder:
Do you pick the easy task when you hear God calling?
Will you step forward and accept the difficult task if He asks?
October 4: Mark 12:41-44
Key Verse: Mark 12:42
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few pence.
Devotion:
I wonder how many people Jesus upset this day when He was preaching at the temple courts. First He made them try to think deeply about whose son is the Messiah, then He turned on the teachers of the law warning people not to follow them because they were all puffed up! Then He shows how the poor widow who put in two very small coins was showing more respect to the law than some rich people who put in a lot more!
But Jesus was not trying to upset everyone; He was pointing them toward the truth where people should have a personal relationship with God, a relationship which allows us to understand more about who the Messiah is, a relationship which show us the people who are all noise and no substance and one which brings us to share more with God than we have ever done before.
The poor widow was willing to put more into the temple collection than any other person. She did not put in loads of coins like some people could, but as a proportion of her belongings, she gave more – she was willing to allow God to have more because of her deep love for Him.
As a youngster I was semi afraid of the vicars who dressed up in robes and were in charge at the church services. I used to think a lot of the people who taught others about God from their loft positions. Then I started to get to know Christ and got to see the difference between people who did a lot of talking and people who did a lot! Christ opened my eyes to what God’s work really was all about.
Points to Ponder:
Do you give toward your local church?
How much do you do for Christ because you want to?
October 3: Luke 10:25-37
Key Verse: Luke 10:29
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’
Devotion:
How do you choose which people you hang out with? How do you go about choosing friends? How do you go about meeting new friends? If we stick to only choosing to be friends with people which are related to the circle of friends you already have, or the circle of family you have, then your circle of friends is not likely to expand. The same can be said about our church… if we are not willing to go out and meet new people to invite into church, then our church numbers will continue to diminish as people pass on!
When Jesus was confronted by a “teacher of the law” this was referring to a person of the Jewish faith who would teach the Jews the scriptures and the rules as they had been taught to do by other teachers. This meant the circle of people the scriptures was reaching was not expanding other than by Jewish children being born!
Jesus wanted the teacher to open their eyes and see how limiting such an attitude was – how the Jewish church would not expand any faster than the Jewish population would expand. Jesus wanted the scripture to be made available to anyone whom was willing to learn from them, anyone who wanted to know more about God, be they Jew or not!
When Jesus said we should be disciples, He did not mean we should go into church and teach the church people about God! The vast majority of people in church services are there because they already have some sort of invested interest in God. Waiting for people to walk through the doors before teaching them about Christ is probably going to make the church expand at a lesser rate than the Jews at the time of this story. More people are likely to die than walk into church unless we go out and invite people in!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you go to church?
How often do you invite new people in to church?
October 2: Luke 17:5-10
Key Verse: Luke 17:10
So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”
Devotion:
When was the last time you thought about what it is to be obedient to God? We like to say we will be obedient, that we will answer the call when He calls us and we will do what we should do – but how many times do you look back and see where you have failed or where you could have done more?
I have been told on many occasion I am doing good work for God, but I can also look at what I do and see where I could do more! God continues to give us the opportunities to do things for and with Him, and it is up to us to fulfil those tasks at the right time. Sometimes we blame it on not having enough faith because we feel weak; these words remind us a tiny spec of faith is all that it required to get the job done!
I’m not talking about the ‘faith’ we have when we say we are going to do something and never get round to doing it, but the faith we have when we say we are going to try and we do try – even when we fail whilst we try. God is looking for obedience, not seasoned professionals who know it all!
We should always be willing to step forward when called, even when we have just completed a task and feel like we cannot do any more. If God is asking us to do something, it is because He knows we are capable and will be able to do the task in hand! Don’t give up because you think you cannot do it… if God is asking you, He already knows you can do it!
Points to Ponder:
How many times do you shy away from God’s work?
How many times have you gone back for more?