June 28: Psalm 5:8-12
Key Verse: Psalm 5:8
Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies – make your way straight before me.
Devotion:
This again is one of the hard things about having any sort of belief – what happens to those people who do not believe in what you believe? And if you believe in something, are those people who do not believe your enemies? Philosophical questions which I tend to avoid!
I believe in God, I believe in Jesus Christ and I believe in the Holy Spirit. So when I read through verses like these I have pity on those people who do not have beliefs like mine; probably one of the reasons I like wearing various forms of “Jesus T-Shirts!” I like to show I have hope in my life, not that I am against anyone else, not that I am an enemy to anyone else, just that I have hope because of what Jesus has done for me!
But, back in the days when these words were recorded, God had told the Israelites not to befriend anyone because of the chance they would be distracted from God and do strange things or follow other gods! Thus, they were looked at as the enemy! Something I still struggle with even though I know it was accepted back then!
Even though they were “the enemy” there was still hope for those who would choose to turn from their ways and turn towards God’s ways like the Israelites did. These verses even ask for protection for anyone who is willing to follow God and take refuge in Him. So don’t turn your back on anyone just because they are different or believe in something different – let them see how much you get out of believing in and following God; it will encourage them to seek the truth too!
Points to Ponder:
How do you treat others?
What if they believe in something different?
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?