August 11: Psalm 78:58-62
Key Verse: Psalm 78:59
When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely.
Devotion:
Do you often think what God thinks of you? Do you worry He is cross because of what you have done in your past? When we read verses like these in our Bibles, it can be the trigger which sets off feelings like this; it can be what makes us think God has rejected us. But we must remember what Christ has done for us and realise where God stands in this.
God is holy. He cannot abide sin. Does this mean we are done for before we start? Far from it because of what Christ has done for us. This is not an automatic get out of jail card we can play whenever we feel like it, but it is a get out of jail card! God was angry with Israel because they were unrepentant with what they were doing. They had turned their backs on God and were following other gods and idols. This angered God to the point where He was ready to reject Israel altogether.
What we need to realise is Jesus has made the bridge between us being excluded from Heaven and us being with God in Heaven. The bridge is there for us to cross, but we do still have to make the choice to cross the bridge! It is not an automatic thing where we will be pulled over the bridge even if we don’t do anything… we need to make the choice to ask Jesus for help to cross that bridge.
When we make that choice, it should be reflected in our lives to show we have made the conscious choice to do so. If we say we have made the choice but never commit to the choice, then we are only fooling ourselves because God sees the truth in our hearts. If we think we are too guilty to cross the bridge we are wrong. Jesus went to the cross to make sure every one of us is eligible to cross that bridge through our own choice!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get scared you have been too bad?
Do you know Jesus gave 100% for us and that is more than good enough?
August 10: Ezekiel 9:1-7
Key Verse: Ezekiel 9:4
and said to him, ‘Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.’
Devotion:
Often when we read the words of the prophets like Ezekiel we lose sight of the compassion and mercy of God and simply look at the death and destruction which is portrayed in the words instead. But we have to read the words of the Old Testament fully and understand what is written. The New Testament words are often more straight forward and we find them more digestible...
In amongst all the death and destruction we read about, we must remember the words of verse 4 where the holiness of God is revealed showing His compassion and mercy. We must also understand the judgment on the idolaters would probably carried out by angels and not by men; God would not leave the final judgment of His people to be done by other men.
Even amongst this judgement God had appointed someone who would visit each person and see whether they were sorry for the things which were being done by others – this is not by asking them in person but by looking into their hearts for the truth. This would not be able to be done by mere humans unless God was instructing them!
We also need to see the holiness of God as fully encompassing all mankind and not just the people from certain areas. As humans we often pass judgment on people just because they live in a different area or because they go to the right or wrong church! This is not what God does. He looks into the hearts of all people all over the world, in every corner, and makes His decision based on what He sees in our hearts.
Points to Ponder:
Do you think of some churches as being better than others?
Will you trust God to be the judge?
August 9: Matthew 18:10-14
Key Verse: Matthew 18:13
And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
Devotion:
When Jesus was talking to the disciples about the relationship they should have with God the Father, He would describe them as being His children. At the beginning of this chapter Jesus called over a child and sat the child between them using this picture of the trust of a child to show how they should trust God; trust without questioning! He said here the angels who look after the children will always have a direct connection to God in Heaven – we should always remember that!
If we are to get through to people and convince them about our God, we should remember the children because they are closer to Heaven in their relationships than we realise. Setting the right spark to ignite their passion for God at this stage in their lives is what we should be aiming for. Jesus reminds them He is here to look for the lost and to tell them the truth – what we should be aiming at doing too!
The parable Jesus uses here is of a man who owns a hundred sheep; if one of them should wander off, the man would go out of his way to go and look for the lost sheep to bring it back to the fold. We should be aiming at looking for the lost children of God too & encouraging them to come and seek out Christ in their own lives.
The joy of finding one lost soul and bringing it back to safety is much more than the joy of keeping souls which are not lost. When we go out to tell people about Christ, should we not be telling people who do not know Christ so they have the chance to get to know Him. If we simply continue telling people who do know Christ, what good is that other than strengthening their resolve?
Points to Ponder:
Who do you want to talk to about Christ?
Will you try speaking to someone new?
August 8: Matthew 17:24-27
Key Verse: Matthew 17:27
‘But so that we may not cause offence, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.’
Devotion:
When Jesus and His disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collector of the temple tax confronted them demanding the tax for entering the temple. This was something of a historic act which had been done for many years and was used for the upkeep of the temple and all who served in it. Jesus’ answer to whether they should pay the tax was to compare them as being children of God and showing how children are not normally asked for anything from the parents.
But, because this had been the normal, for everyone to pay the tax, Jesus sent Peter to throw a fishing line into the lake and catch a fish – from the mouth of that fish would be enough to pay the temple tax for him and Jesus! He did this, not to admit He had to pay the tax, but to appease the collector of the taxes; to appease the humans who were demanding the tax!
This tax is not the same as tithes we give to support the churches in our communities because tithes are voluntary and are given by us knowing we are helping to keep the church together and have a safe place to worship God. The people from the temples were demanding the taxes because it was what they had always done. It was a set amount and everyone was expected to pay!
Christ wants us to do our best to promote and keep the church going. This means giving willingly toward the upkeep of the church building and helping the teachers, priests and workers to keep going as they willingly give of their time and possessions. God likes it when we give willingly and cheerfully...
Points to Ponder:
Would you object to having to pay to enter your church building?
How much are you willing to give to God?