March 6: Deuteronomy 4:5-9

Key Verse: Deuteronomy 4:9
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Devotion:
Have you thought about the wars which are happening around the world today? Have you tried to find an answer to why they are happening and where God is in all this war? It is difficult to try and find the pace and forgiveness we talk about with God when there is war going on instead; but God is everywhere!

We can read all about what God was trying to do with the people of Israel from the Old Testament and try to figure things out in this modern world, but we will come up against many things which we will still struggle to understand. Why? Because people are involved and where people are involved we get a very slanted view on things instead of the will of God like we do from the bible.

God wanted to be able to give His chosen people some good land and a place to live which they could call their own. Obviously someone is going to lose out if God is taking land away from someone to give to another – but He was doing this knowing the Israelites should be remembering why they were given the land and live in the love and mercy of God.

It is that truth of God’s love and mercy we should be remembering to find out why they got the land. Unfortunately when we look at things nowadays we find a lot of people fighting over things which are not Godly. We find a lot of pride and greed going on instead of the love and grace God was trying to teach them.

Points to Ponder:
What has God allowed you to have in your life?

Will you always remember God even when you are rich?

March 5: Matthew 18:21-22

Key Verse: Matthew 18:22
Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Devotion:
One of the things we find hardest to do in our lives is to forgive people when they have done something wrong – especially if we think they have done said wrong on purpose! Our simple minds cannot see the good in people when all we see is wrongs. Our hearts are broken by people doing wrongs to us and it takes a lot of rights before we can fix those broken hearts!

When Peter came to Jesus to ask about forgiveness, I think he expected Jesus to give him a simple answer so he could put that into effect. What Jesus did was to give him an answer He knew would not be easy to attain. How can we keep on forgiving people over and over again when they continue to repeat bad things against us?

Jesus wants us to look past the human element and to think of things in a way similar to how He loves us and how God feels about us. Jesus wants us to be able to overcome all hatred and to overcome those personal feelings we carry around long after the fact. He wants us to be able to forgive just as He is forgiving every sin we ever do in our lives…

But it does mean we should be willing to bring those sins to Christ in the first place. We should be willing to go out and ask people for forgiveness too, just as they ask it of us. If we are then willing to take s step toward reconciliation, He will show us just how big a step He is willing to take to show us mercy beyond our thoughts!

Points to Ponder:
Do you want people to forgive you?

Are you willing to forgive others?

March 4: Psalm 42:1-2

Key Verse: Psalm 42:2
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Devotion:
Sometimes we reach the end of our tether and we think we cannot go on any further; God is already listening to us and all we need to do is to ask for His help and guidance. Just when we start to think we have asked enough and we expect an answer, we get to wait a little longer… This is not God testing us or God seeing how much we can withstand; this is the world messing with us!

If we are willing to wait on God we will get to see just how much He can and does do in our lives. The world will push you past what you think your breaking point is because the world does not love you or care for you. God loves you and cares for you so will be offering solutions all along the way!

Sometimes we get to the point where we just want to be with Him and forget about the world because we think we cannot take any more. God is there with us and trying to help us as we go through those struggles. If we are listening and waiting for answers we will get to hear when He talks with us in ways we cannot imagine.

We don’t have to go anywhere. We don’t have to make a special temple or place where we can meet with God. We don’t have to go through a set of instructions before we hear from Him. We simply have to talk with Him and wait on answers. He will come to us and be with us just when we need Him most of all!

Points to Ponder:
Do you really wait for God?

Or do you press the point and try to make Him rush in?