June 27: Matthew 8:18-22
Key Verse: Matthew 8:22
But Jesus told him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’
Devotion:
This may sound like a really horrible thing for Jesus to say to this person, but let us not forget Christ would have known what was in their heart and not just what came out of their mouths. Quite often we hear what someone has to say and we take it the wrong way because we cannot know their hearts without God guiding us. I know I have got into trouble a few times for saying something which turned out not to be what the other person needed to hear!
This person came to Jesus and said they were willing to follow Jesus wherever He went. Jesus then said something which seems strange “foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” This seems to be a dig at the people around Him by saying that animals and birds have their homes allowed them by God, but Jesus would not be able to stay with any of them – suggesting most of the people around Him would not give Him a place to stay in their hearts.
Another disciple must have know this teacher of the law and said Jesus should let them off because they had had a death in their family. Jesus’ response was to reject them by saying the dead should bury the dead. This does not mean leaving the body of the person’s father to physically dead people to bury but to leave that task to the spiritually dead people to bury the father.
Christ’s rejection serves to remind us He wants a firm commitment from us, not some sort of “wishy washy” decision we make when we are standing in front of others. Christ wants the decision to follow Him to come directly from our hearts out of love and not through pride or any other emotion. Allow Christ to know your true feelings!
Points to Ponder:
How honest do you think you are with God?
You do know He knows already – don’t you?
June 25: Matthew 8:14-17
Key Verse: Matthew 8:16
When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.
Devotion:
Soon after the centurion’s servant was healed without the servant even having to be with Jesus, the flood-gates opened and everyone want to be healed by Him. It was the first demonstration of faith which allowed more people to have faith and their faith grew on others; before long the queue was probably very long!
When I came back into hospital yesterday I was faced with a long queue of people trying to get admitted to hospital too. This was not to see Jesus and be healed unfortunately, but we all had a need to have some respite from our ailments. It is moments like those we see the frailty of our bodies, for desperate circumstances and the unfolding issues in our communities.
I thank God He is with me and gives me hope and peace to continue on. I see the desperate situations of patients around me but also the desperate situation the medical staff find themselves in because of lack of staff, time and space. This is very different to the way Jesus was handling things – though I’m sure He would have felt overwhelmed by the number of people reaching out in desperation – knowing they were seeking something more than what they thought they needed.
As the doctors, consultants and nurses discuss what can and should be done with me, they have to work within some restrictions which they do not like having to face. They try to do what they can in the time and budget given to them, but want to be able to be more like Jesus and give out absolute healing rather than patching people up and moving down the queue. Allow Christ to heal you from the inside so your life will have more meaning!
Points to Ponder:
What sort of healing do you think you are looking for?
Will you allow Christ to work with your heart?
June 24: Galatians 3:23-25
Key Verse: Galatians 3:24
So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.
Devotion:
Have you ever had to stay in a place which had lots of very strict rules to follow? Boarding school seemed like that at times with lots of rules to follow which were strictly kept by the prefects and masters. To a large extent it made sure we behaved properly most of the time, but there were times we got into trouble because we broke the rules...
Israel was like that in the beginning because they had so many rules to follow so they could please God; when they broke the rules there would be consequences and the people would have to atone for what they had done wrong. After atoning they would be forgiven and life would continue.
When Christ came to live amongst us, everything changed. No longer would we have to live strictly by the rules and atone for everything we did wrong. Christ laid down His life to atone for all of our sins instead of us having to sacrifice animals or birds each time we got things wrong. Instead we are instructed to have faith – faith that Christ has died for our sins and we will be forgiven when we ask Him to forgive us.
No longer do we have to carry out the physical deeds to make sure we will be forgiven, our faith in believing Christ has paid the price once and for all is all that is required of us… just like the people had to have faith in looking up at the snake statue after snaked ran rampant in the camp of the people of Israel. All they had to have was faith that God’s promise to cue them and keep them safe would become true when they looked up at the statue of the snake.
Points to Ponder:
What do you think is the weak point in your faith?
Did you know Christ died to cover all of our weak points?
June 23: Luke 12:35-40
Key Verse: Luke 12:38
It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or towards daybreak.
Devotion:
One of the mysteries we face in life is when will Christ return. The disciples were closest to Him and yet they understood they were not going to know when He would come back, but only after it was told to them multiple times. We like to be in control of things in our lives and having an uncertainty hovering over us makes us uneasy at best! Christ is asking us to have faith and to be ready...
The best description of His return date is like a thief who will come in the middle of the night. We don’t know when the thief will come because they don’t announce their coming, instead they approach with stealth and try to leave again with stealth so they will not be caught out. If we have the right stuff like security systems then we may well be alerted about the thief – but only after they have arrived!
So how do we stay ready all the time? Should we not sleep or work? God does not want us to give up on life but rather the live our lives to the best we can. He also wants us to be prepared so when He does make His surprise visit, we will not find ourselves in a difficult or compromising situation! He wants us to live our lives as Christians who know Christ is returning and are ready for it.
This means knowing what we should do by reading His Word and preparing. He wants us to be disciples. Being a disciples does not just mean staying home and studying the bible. Being a disciple means taking what we know and passing on that information to others – going out into the world and encouraging others to follow Christ as well.
Points to Ponder:
Are you getting ready for Christ’s return?
Will you help someone else to get ready too?