April 15: John 17:1-5
Key Verse: John 17:5
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Devotion:
How often do you feel guilty about praying for yourself? I know I sometimes do even though I know God is listening to me and I know God will answer my prayers, I still feel guilty about asking God for things when so many people around me do not have things! We don’t have to look very far to see the desperate need of so many people around the world; from those in war torn countries to those where disasters have torn people away from the basic needs of their lives!
Yet, despite all of this, when we pray to our Heavenly Father, He is listening and He will answer! Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him and He still stepped forward into the breach! What gave Him to confidence to do so – the Love of His Father for us and the love He has for us!
Is it OK to pray for yourself? YES! God has promised us eternal life when we believe in Him. When we feel that is threatened or we are losing confidence, we should be praying for ourselves so we can get back on track! Jesus knew what was going to happen so He prayed God the Father would glorify Him just as He was when He was in Heaven. Did He need to pray this? I don’t think so because God had already said this was His Son; but He prayed this for a reason.
When we go back and read what Jesus did this day many many years ago, we are shown the example by which to live. To make sure God is involved in our lives before anything else! Jesus prayed for normality before He prayed for anything else, because that is what was important. When we are down or threatened, we should be praying for ourselves so we have the courage and strength to step forward and pray for everything else because praying for anything is a lot easier when we know we are safe first of all!
Points to Ponder:
How safe do you feel with God?
Will you secure your place so you can pray confidently for others?
April 14: John 13:1-11
Key Verse: John 13:8
‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’
Devotion:
As we remember the events of what happened almost 2000 years ago, we mark today with various events which help us to remember the story. After the Passover meal, Jesus, knowing what was going to happen to Him in the next few hours came together with the disciples for their evening meal. Instead of having a normal meal together, Jesus got up and started to do something very different.
It was customary to wash your feet, or have them washed, after a long day. The open sandals or other footwear they had did not stop the dust and dirt from getting onto your feet – washing them so you could walk inside without spreading further dirt was a very good idea! But Jesus did not get a servant to fetch water and start washing people’s feet, He got down and started washing the disciples feet Himself!
When it was the turn of Simon Peter, he objected and said he should be washing Jesus’ feet and not the other way round. Jesus reply was to allow it to continue, not because it was right or wrong, but because it was something which needed to be done for them to understand what Jesus was doing later on. Simon Peter then jumped at the chance and said he should have his whole body washed if it was that important!
Jesus’ symbolism with the next words needs to be remembered by us all. For those who have had a bath (or been washed) need only have their feet washed to be totally clean – in other words, if we have been forgiven our sins, then we only need forgiveness for the sins we have done since we last were forgiven. He said these words knowing that one of the disciples had already organised to sell Jesus to the authorities!
Points to Ponder:
Do you continue to ask for forgiveness?
Have you brought your latest sins to Christ?
April 13: Hebrews 12:1-3
Key Verse: Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.
Devotion:
When people ask me why I believe in God or in Jesus, my answer normally starts with “take a look at the world around you.” The more we look into the nature and design of the world around us, never mind the universe, we see so much detail we can be forgiven for getting totally absorbed with looking instead of getting on with our lives!
As a young man I spent some time trying to design what I thought would be the next computers we should be using – my thoughts were deep into using the power of microprocessors and LCD displays to make something portable. I was quite taken by the size and power of microprocessors but also knew they would be worthless without some sort of intelligence being programmed into them to start with.
Forty years on and we now have phones which have more computing power than I had ever dreamed of – and they are totally useless without the operating system to make them work! Without the intelligent design which has happened over the last few decades, we would still be using analogue devices instead of the wonderful digital world of devices we have now.
Then I look at the world around me and I marvel at the intelligent design which has gone into nature in order for us to live on this planet. We may well be destroying it with our greed and lust for everything, but underneath, the world is even more amazing than the devices we take for granted! God made this all possible, and Jesus came to set into motion the instructions which would change our destination forever!
Points to Ponder:
What do you find most amazing about the world?
What will you do to make the world an even better place?
April 12: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 1:21
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Devotion:
How many times have you tried to figure out the questions like “why do things go wrong?” or “why do we have death?” Those are the sort of questions which stop us from understanding God. The more we seek after the answers, the more we figure out we don’t know and the more confused we become about life. God is not asking us to figure out those sort of questions or their answers; He does not expect us to have to find the answers because He knows them already!
Back in the days of the prophets, God wanted us to know we would be confused by these questions and that they should best be left for Him to answer. God tried to get us to understand the more we sought those answers, the more confused we would become and the more frustrated we would be about them.
God wants us to allow Him to handle the difficult questions in our lives and to simply trust Him to do what is best for us. The more the teachers of the law tried to understand the laws, the more they would trip themselves up because the more they would be confused by life.
As time went by, different people sought after different goals because they each chose different answers to the questions they were asking – even though the questions might have been the same to start with! The Jews demanded signs from God so they could believe. The Greeks looked for wisdom and started trusting the philosophers in preference to the prophets.
Points to Ponder:
What are your beliefs based on?
Will you believe and trust in Christ?