July 22: 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:16
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
Devotion:
Once we take on the belief Jesus died for us we should be able to reconcile we have all effectively paid for our sins through death. He gave His life once for all of us so we would not have to pay with our own lives. Yes, we still face a physical death at the end of our earthly lives, but after that we join Jesus in Heaven for our eternal lives!
So once we get our heads round this and accept we no longer have to fear our physical deaths we are no longer bound by that death. We no longer have to judge ourselves or anyone else by what they have done in the past – only Christ can be the judge because He has given His life in our stead – He paid for our lives with His own death.
If we can accept Christ has paid for our lives, then we should be able to accept He has paid for our fellow Christians lives; and if He has paid for our lives, then we no longer are bound by the sins we have done in the past because they have been paid for once and for all by our perfect Sacrifice!
Put aside your old lives and live a new life with Christ. No longer do you have to be bound by anything the world has against us or anything we owe the world; once we die physically, we will be with Christ in Heaven eternally. So why not change your own life so it can be closer to the life Jesus led here on earth; why not put aside the sins of the old life and take on the mantle of this new life with Christ...
Points to Ponder:
Have you accepted Christ gave His life for you?
Will you stop holding other people’s lives against them?
July 21: Matthew 13:10-17
Key Verse: Matthew 13:17
For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Devotion:
The majority of us will not see physical miracles happen before our very eyes, and that seems to be a problem for many of us – how are we going to believe something unless we see it with our own eyes! For Christian, we see and feel what God is doing in many people’s lives and our faith is built up in stages… it is because of our belief in Christ we get to know these things.
But for many who do not make that first step of joining that longing in their lives to belief in Christ, the words in our bibles and the words from Christian friends do not make sense to them. This is what we are fighting against as disciples of Christ; we fight an unseen barrier which is bolstered by unbelief and worldly sayings and deeds.
Jesus knew who was going to come to Him and He knew who would continue to live their lives in unbelief – we don’t have the luxury of anything like that! So we should try to open the gospel to all who are willing to listen. But we should do it in a manner like Christ did. If we go out all guns blazing, we may be giving the unbelievers ammunition for their unbelief by them thinking we are some sort of cult or worse!
Jesus talked openly to people in parables. This would mean the people who did not want to believe would not have direct ammunition to shout out against the Christians, but those who did want to find out more would come to realise what the parables meant and that would give them hope.
Points to Ponder:
Have you thought about how you talk to others about Christ?
Will you try something different to give people hope?
July 20: Matthew 13:1-9
Key Verse: Matthew 13:8
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Devotion:
What sort of sower are you? Do you pick out your seeds very carefully and plant them one at a time where you know they are going to grow so you are guaranteed of a crop even if it is small? Do you pick up whatever seeds are available and scatter them liberally all over the place and sit back to see what happens? I hope you are neither of these but something very different!
In order to share the gospel with people we need to do some sort of preparation to the land. It is no good sowing seeds if you don’t know what the land is like and have not turned over the soil and are not prepared to follow the sowing up with a lot of tending and watering where necessary! God does not just want us to be sowers but to be workers of the land.
You will know about some of this work if you have ever tried to grow your own produce or be self sufficient in any way. If you know any farmers how about spending a short while with one and finding out how much work goes in behind the scenes, work which we don’t always get to hear about or see… No matter what line of work we are in, there is normally a lot of preparation before the work and more support after the work so the work can succeed; the same goes for our work with God to share His Word.
We should not pre-judge our land either. Our task is not to judge who we think is worthy of the gospel but to share the gospel wherever God has led us to share it. This could be in a place which makes you uncomfortable or in a place where you think nothing is possible. Jonah was sent to take the scriptures to Nineveh, a sprawling metropolis where everyone had lost their way, a place where it was unlikely anyone would listen to him; but God knew the time was right.
Points to Ponder:
Do you pre-judge your sowing grounds?
Will you go where God asks you?
July 19: Matthew 12:46-50
Key Verse: Matthew 12:50
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
Devotion:
How many times have you given in to temptations around you rather than doing something you said you would do for someone else? I know I have given in to worldly temptations in many cases and in many ways, not always instead of fulfilling something I promised, but seemingly having the same consequences!
When the crowd told Jesus His mother and brothers were waiting to speak to Him, He took the opportunity to impress on them a new point. When Jesus had said we should love our neighbours after loving God it was to reinforce the fact we have to look out for the people around us just as much as we look out for ourselves – after focusing on God first of all!
Jesus knew it was His earthly mother and brothers waiting but God had given Him a commission to teach the disciples how to follow God and change other people’s lives. If they focused on earthly ways of doing that, they would be limited by earthly results; but by focusing on spiritual rewards and ways, the disciples would be able to do so much more. In effect the disciples were now the family Jesus had to work with, they were more than just neighbours.
God wants us to reach out to others in similar ways, not by limiting ourselves to earthly ways and rewards, but by opening ourselves to the spiritual ways the Holy Spirit can guide us through. By allowing more in (from God) we can give more out because of what God gives us. Some of our neighbours will be the new family we have to help us spread the Gospel through spiritual means...
Points to Ponder:
Who would you say are the closest people to you?
Who is closest spiritually speaking?