March 2: John 8:1-11
Key Verse: John 8:11
‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’
Devotion:
As we continue to watch an horrific war happen on our doorsteps in Europe, we lift up the people of Ukraine and all their friends and families pleading for God’s grace and mercy, strength and guidance, and for a reminder for the perpetrators they are fighting many Christians. Whilst there may not be too much many of us can do, we can pray and we can open up our borders, homes and hearts to those being displaced.
This story from the Gospel of John reminds us of two things in particular; the first being that we all have guilt in our lives and we should not be blaming others for the guilty things they carry round when we know all too well we are still guilty! One of the first song I used to teach young children in our church groups was “is there a plank in your eye” which reminds us we cannot hope to find the small things wrong in others lives when we have something big wrong in ours!
When I look at the situation in Ukraine, I cannot help but think of the troubles many of the Russian soldiers must be facing, wondering whether they are doing the right thing as they get to see the war on the front line. It’s the knowledge they have things wrong in their lives and their countries, so why should they be looking at what someone else says is wrong in their enemies lives!
When we stop to think about things, God will fill us with mercy and grace – the mercy to forgive those people who have done wrong, and the grace to step forward and say “you are forgiven!” Don’t allow the things in your life spoil other people’s lives. Rather accept we all do get things wrong from time to time and try to forgive and move on.
Points to Ponder:
Do you carry round guilt in your life?
Do you know Christ is willing to forgive you no matter what?
March 1: Psalm 89:1-4
Key Verse: Psalm 89:2
I will declare that your love stands firm for ever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
Devotion:
How much of the news do you believe? We hear two different stories coming in about the war in Ukraine; we hear the Russian side which says everything is going as planned, and we hear the Western side which says nothing is going to plan… so who do we believe? I would like to believe the Western Media is getting us the truth, but I have been deceived by the Western Press a few too many times to believe everything they say!
Are we going to be seen in that light when we present the gospel to people, or are they going to see us as people who are doing everything we can to make sure the truth is presented above all? Jesus wants us to tell people the truth and to allow Him to work in their hearts instead of us trying to do so. When we try too hard to tell people to believe in what we have to say, it normally comes over as us bending the truth or covering it up in some way… because we live in a world of deceit and mistrust!
The apostles must have had a very difficult time trying to get people to listen to them. They were fighting against the religious leaders at the time – the leaders who had been deceiving the people for so long, they had started to believe the lies… or the half truths!
God wants us to present the whole truth and not to try to make people believe. He wants people to hear the truth so they will be able to find out what God has done in the past and what He promises to do in the future. We should allow God to open peoples hearts and not try to do it ourselves. When we try, things go wrong...
Points to Ponder:
How do you tell people the truth?
Will you use the same method to tell people the gospel?
February 28: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Key Verse: 1 Peter 1:6
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
Devotion:
Sometimes have have to face trials in our lives and during those trials we often start to wonder whether God is looking after us or whether we are on our own! The thing is, we live in this world in which there are all manner of people, those who believe and those who don’t, those who are good and those who aren’t. Because we live in proximity to evil, we have to endure what evil does from time to time.
It is not that God has forgotten us, or that we have gone so far away He can no longer reach us; it is simply the fact we are in close proximity to evil! We can see this in the world today as we see the evil of various dictator and tyrants who impose their own ways on anyone who gets close to them, or anyone who stands in their way!
Let us pray fervently for Ukraine at she faces the evil onslaught of someone who has gone too far. We are all affected by this simply because we are close to where they are. Unfortunately, the world is getting “smaller” as we have the means to travel to the other side of the world today – which means Ukraine is on our door step!
We cannot all pick up arms and face the evil which is descending on Ukraine, but we can all get down on our knees and pray for God to intervene. We have written records of how much God has done for people He loves and looks after – this has been happening for thousands of years. Yet, when we grow weary and stop praying like we used to, we cannot expect God to continue doing everything for us.
Now is the time to pray. Now is the time for God to show us His love.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you pray for your loved ones?
Will you share a prayer for Ukraine and Europe?
February 27: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 3:15
Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
Devotion:
One of the biggest problems with people and the bible is how we refuse to believe something which is written down because it happened such a long time ago. However, the Jews continue to uphold the scriptures which Moses gave to the Israelites so many more years before this! They are caught up in what was written for them and they refuse to let it go even though that same scripture tells them of the coming of the Messiah who would turn things around for them!
When we set about learning from a text book, we get transfixed by the words in that book and we tend to discard other information we may receive. This is the same with the Torah and the Bible. The Jews knew the words recorded by Moses and kept generation after generation were true; and because of that they will not let those words go. Even though Jesus came as the Messiah and fulfilled everything which was written about the messiah, they will not let their ancient scriptures go.
They had become dull to the words of Christ and the apostles. Their hearts are set on what Moses did and said and they do not want to let that go. The same can be said for many things in life. The text books in my schools used to teach of colonial rule and correctness; what we now know as the truth is the corruptness and deceit of the colonial rulers – not what we were taught in school!
God wants us to take what we know, learn more and continue to live with God explaining the truth to us as we grow with Him. If we refused to embrace the truth, we will be stuck in the past and will not get to know the truth. Once we accept what Christ has done, we can move forward with that truth and find out so much more!
Points to Ponder:
How many books did you learn in school?
How much of the bible did they teach you?