April 23: Psalm 118:14-21
Key Verse: Psalm 118:18
The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
Devotion:
What happens when you give someone control who is more than capable of doing the job in hand – normally things work out pretty well and a successful time is had by all. But if we rebel against the person in charge and continue to want to do things our way instead of the right way, we get into all manner of problems!
This is what it is like when we try to do things our own way in our lives instead of giving control to God when He needs control! He is the one who does know what is best for us and what needs to happen at the selected times – we are the one running round in circles thinking we are doing it right! We should not be surprised to see we have a hard time when we try to take control from God!
When you look around you and see the results of what happens to others when they get the right help at the right time, you may be discouraged because things are not going your way when you try! Stop and think “why are they having great success when I am not?” Is it because they are doing the right things and allowing God to have control of the situation?
God is not going to run us ragged and make us have a bad time when we listen to Him. He is trying to do what is best for us and is trying to make sure we do get to enjoy ourselves along the way. He loves us! He wants what is best for us! His love for us will not end! If we are going through hard times, just maybe it is because we are not following God, or the people around us are not following God – we still get affected when others don’t follow God too!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are good at following God?
Do you encourage others to follow God too?
April 22: Acts 4:1-12
Key Verse: Acts 4:10
then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Devotion:
How brave do you think you are when it comes to telling people the truth about Jesus? We may think we are very brave and willing to tell the truth no matter what – much like being asked “are you willing to die for your beliefs.” When asked, we like to think we would be willing to die, but when push comes to shove and we are faced with death, we often choose the easier route out!
Peter shows us how much the Holy Spirit can and will do for us. Despite being thrown in jail overnight because he was telling people about Jesus, he stands in front of the high priest and the local rulers and declares this has all happened because they dared to crucify Jesus who was their Messiah! If he was thrown in jail for talking about Jesus, calling the priests and rulers out for killing Jesus was a step further!
Peter had previously denied Jesus three times before His crucifixion and now he is standing up to people from the highest positions in the country to declare Jesus as King of Kings! He did not get this power and strength from “inside;” he had proved himself to be weak beforehand. Now he was getting strength and courage from the Holy Spirit who was also giving him the right words to say to the right people to get the maximum impact!
I have learned to make sure I ask for God’s help in everything I do. I have learned the hard way I don’t know enough by myself. I know I am not brave enough by myself. But I also know that as long as I am depending on God, I will prevail in the right way. My way may not be the right way because I see things as people on earth do; I need to listen to God to make sure I do things His way!
Points to Ponder:
How brave are you?
Do you give God control in your life?
April 21: Acts 3:11-16
Key Verse: Acts 3:16
By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
Devotion:
I do love the way Peter reacts to the crowd which started forming around them after the man was healed. Peter did not take the praise or build himself up in any way; what he did instead was to remind the people of the events which had happened because of the people’s lack of faith or ignorance.
The Jews had seen what they wanted to see. A human who had dared to call themselves equal to God. They had seen this because they were not ready for the Messiah to come to them; maybe they were fearful of the consequences of their own sins or just a lack of understanding of the scriptures. They could not see what was happening before their eyes.
Peter tried to lay it out before them. He reminded them it was the power of God which allowed this man to walk again. He reminded them God had glorified this man Jesus in front of them. He reminded them they had handed Jesus over to the authorities. They had disowned Jesus in front of the state ruler, Pilate. They had asked for a murderer to be release in stead of Jesus. They had effectively killed Jesus…
But God had stepped in again and raised Jesus from the dead in front of many witnesses – something many people refuse to believe because it did not happen in front of them. But this man, by his own faith in God, was able to receive healing in walk again. This is a touch of the faith Jesus showed us by trusting in His Father all the time.
Points to Ponder:
How much faith do you have?
Will you try to trust Christ a little more this week?
April 20: Luke 24:13-35
Key Verse: Luke 24:25
He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Devotion:
Just like Mary did not recognise Jesus when she came out of the empty tomb, so too these two did not recognise Jesus. This is one of those things where we cannot bring ourselves to believe what we are looking at because we cannot conceive it as being possible, so we make up something else in our minds which we can believe. Mary assumed the role of a gardener on Jesus, whilst these two assumed the role of someone who had not heard anything which had happened over the past three days!
Jesus did not berate them for not recognising Him, but He did remind them of everything the prophets of old had said would happen when the Messiah came on the scene. He reminded them of the parallels with what He had been through and how this was all as it should have happened… Still they did not conceive it as possible so they continued to make up things in their own minds instead!
It was only when Jesus broke bread with them to have a meal they finally recognised Him for who He was! Sometimes it does take something physical to remind us of what Jesus is all about and to remind us He is with us all the time – even when we cannot think of it as possible because we are going through so much!
Christ wants us to know He is going to be with us all the time. Just as He promised the Holy Spirit would be in us, He promised us He would never leave us or forsake us. This is a promise and not just something He said idly whilst doing other things! God’s promises given to us from the beginning of time still hold true and we should expect all of them to come to pass!
Points to Ponder:
Do you struggle when things get uncomfortable in life?
Will you hand those things over to Christ and trust Him?