March 15: Isaiah 1:18-20
Key Verse: Isaiah 1:18
‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Devotion:
We often think of forgiveness as being a moveable line or amount; we can forgive some people for virtually anything, but for others we will accept their apology but still carry a grudge against them! God does not have a measure for forgiveness, His forgiveness is total and forever!
If does not matter what sin we are talking about either. It could be something we did which does not affect anyone else, but we know it. It could be something which affected the whole community, but we did it anyway! I know I have broken rules in the past which have affected many people and potentially been measured by more money than I have earned in my lifetime… We always have measures for everything in our lives!
To God, sin is sin, no matter how big or small we see it as, it is sin and it is wrong! If we want to be forgiven for that sin, we have to bring that sin into the open before God and ask Him to forgive us for what we did wrong. Sometimes it is going to be easy for us to admit to it, but more often than not, it is going to be hard for us to admit to it – because we don’t like admitting we are wrong. When we do bring it forward and Christ accepts our admission, those sins will be removed from our lives once and for all (at least in God’s eyes they will be forgotten)
But when we don’t want to admit we have done wrong, we have to carry that guilt around with us all the time. Those feelings are going to hound us for the rest of our lives – only Christ will be able to release our guilt, which is why we need to bring them to Him in the first place!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like admitting to sin?
Will you trust Christ to forgive you?
March 14: Psalm 79:8-9
Key Verse: Psalm 79:8
Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.
Devotion:
How many times have you got into trouble because of what someone else was doing; the only real thing you are guilty of is being there at the same time? There are always arguments from both side about who is guilty and how people can be guilty just because they were there with the guilty party at the same time. This is why there are laws and lawyers who uphold or keep those laws on our behalf when we get into trouble or are defending ourselves.
But what about being guilty just because of something in your past which you had no control over? I once went along for an interview at an aircraft design and manufacturing plant but was not allowed to enter the plant because I was born in the wrong country! Yes, it was a civil defence establishment but I was not made aware of any requirement to not being born in a neighbouring country…
We are going to face these sorts of issues in our lives and we have to work with them to get by. Whilst some of the laws we come up against may not seem fair, they are designed to cover the vast majority of cases and not the insignificant one off's. God is a just God and will uphold the law at all times. But He is also just in that He will not see us being punished for something we are not guilty of – at least according to His laws. I’m afraid man's laws have many holes in them and we will get caught out by them from time to time!
Call out to God to ask for help and not just the strength to endure. He is merciful even if He is just and holy. When God does help us, we need to tell people how He is helping us so He gets the correct glory for all He is doing and not just our luck of being able to escape from circumstances.
Points to Ponder:
Do you give God the glory?
Will you stop and take time to see how much God has helped you?
March 13: Genesis 15:1-6
Key Verse: Genesis 15:5
He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’
Devotion:
What is stopping you from having faith in God? I know we all say we have faith and we will obey God and all the rest, but when push comes to shove and we are faced with hardships beyond what we think we can handle, things tend to break down and our faith can falter. We are not alone! Abraham, or Abram as he was then, also doubted and so did his wife. They contrived to have a child with one of the maid servants just to be sure they would have a child!
But God wanted Abraham’s faith to be more than he realised himself. God told Abraham in no uncertain terms the child he would have between him and his wife would be the heir to the throne. That child would be the one who would start off a family tree which would number greater than all the stars in the sky which Abraham could see with the naked eye!
We should not put limits on the things God can do or will do for us. I have learned this by being in hospital and seeing all manner of things unfold before me. I have seen people of no faith lose hope in everything and wonder what life is all about. I have seen people with solid faith having it tested in hospital as they faced things they did not want or expect. But the best is watching someone step back and place their faith in Christ and wait patiently for their prayers to be answered!
Waiting patiently on God is the measure of our faith. If we are willing to allow the clocks and everything else keep on turning while we stay still, then we will see our prayers answered in ways we can look back on; these moments will solidify our faith in God above anything else in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Are you struggling waiting on God?
Will you give Him your time while you wait?
March 12: John 6:32-40
Key Verse: John 6:35
Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Devotion:
I wonder what went through the disciples minds when they heard Jesus talking like this – about being the Bread of Life! This was soon after Jesus fed the five thousand, so they had seen Him provide physical food for the people following them even when they did not have enough. They had been focused on the physical aspect of having bread to eat rather than the daily bread we now think of.
I do like my daily bread – the kind I bake myself using my bread machine – but I also like the daily bread I get by sitting down at my desk and reading the bible before putting these words down for many more to read. When I look back on how long I have been doing this, I am amazed at how I have been able to continue writing stuff for over 2 decades! Yes, I repeat myself now and again, but it is always in a new light.
The Word of God has been given to us for us to learn, remember, digest, meditate on and mimic in whatever ways we can. These are the instructions to life God has given us and how we will always be able to come to Him. Jesus came to earth to support and fulfil the words in our bibles. These all came from God in the beginning and will be with us throughout time!
When Jesus came to fulfil these words, He made sure everything He did was what God the Father told Him to do and everything He said was with God’s backing and blessing. When Jesus was baptised the word of God spoke out loud and declared Him as the Son of God. Whatever Jesus has taught has been the Word of God – our Daily Bread.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you read of your bible each day?
Will you spend an extra few minutes with God today?