March 7: Leviticus 19:11-18
Key Verse: Leviticus 19:13
Do not defraud or rob your neighbour. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
Devotion:
I’m sure many of us can get most of the ten commandments right because we hear a lot about them; but this is just a small section of the commandments God gave through Moses. Here we have another look at what God was trying to impress on the people. God does not want us to take the laws as they are written and stick to them according to your interpretation or your translation of the words… God wants us to think about the words He has given us and apply them through our hearts!
When I see the back-biting and slandering which is going on because of the war in Ukraine, I want to be able to shout out some of the lesser thought of commands God has given us such as these highlighted today! Don’t gossip about the people around us. Don’t defraud them, don’t keep things away from them, don’t hold back money owed to them…
When Jesus reminded us to love our neighbours, it was not an idle word said in the heat of the moment; this was Jesus trying to get us to stop and think about how we are treating the people who are around us. The Russian leaders are ignoring these words and doing and saying things which are wrong and even evil; but then so are some of the Western leaders unfortunately!
If we are going to spend time praying for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine like we pray for our brothers and sisters in our church, we should also be willing to treat them like our brothers and sisters and not leave them to their demise just because we didn’t sign a treaty at the right time and place with them. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ; isn’t that enough?
Points to Ponder:
How do you treat your family?
How do you treat your church family?
March 6: Psalm 91:14-16
Key Verse: Psalm 91:14
‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
Devotion:
No matter where you look at the bible, there are many places where God keeps His promises. You can see the results of those promises being kept and you can read about the hope it gives future generations as they look to God for hope, strength, mercy, salvation and much more!
God’s chosen people elected to obey God in the beginning. The people around them chose to oppress and abuse them. The people of God chose to continue depending on God, trusting Him with everything. God saw this and had compassion. He promised to look after them and we have seen that promise come true. We have also seen how people have gone back on their word and not followed God – only to find out life was too difficult on their own.
With God’s help, we can overcome so much in our lives. We can stand strong in the knowledge He will protect us when we are willing to trust in Him. That being said, we live amongst evil and despicable people. Because of this, we often get into trouble because we are close to those evil people. Don’t blame God when things go wrong because of evil people – blame them instead.
My prayer today is for more people to come to know the power and mercy of our Lord God. I pray for people to make God their own refuge and to uphold the name of Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Through this they will see the love and protection of God – for which there is no match in this world.
Points to Ponder:
Do you give God the glory He deserves?
Will you trust your life in God’s hands?
March 5: Isaiah 58:9-12
Key Verse: Isaiah 58:10
and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
Devotion:
When you think about helping others, what do you think about? Do you step forward and help someone because you know you can help them? Do you shy away from helping when you know you cannot do much or anything to help? If you see someone in need but they are on the other side of the country or world, do you give up and focus on something else?
I know these are hard questions to ask because we want to say we will help whatever the cost, but in reality we do shy away from many things in our lives because of the personal cost. I have stood up and gone to help people. I have walked away because it was too hard. But all the while I have been asking God to do what I cannot do. I know that is little consolation to those on the other side but this is life.
It is not God’s will that Ukraine should face such horrors at this time. It is the fault of an individual who has corrupted so much and so many. The person who is behind the evil is the one who is responsible, not God. God has promised to give us control of this world – this means we are responsible for what we do. The people who look away from God will only see the bad and the evil; they will work with what they see and live by those thoughts.
If we are willing to look to God and live by His word, then we will see a whole new world in which we can make a difference. When we step forward to do or say something, others will take notice and be encouraged by what we do. God is willing to guide us when we look to Him; His will is not to see us fall but to see us thrive. It is the will of the evil ones to do otherwise...
Points to Ponder:
Will you help to rebuild what has been broken down?
Will you show people God’s love through your actions?
March 4: Isaiah 58:1-5
Key Verse: Isaiah 58:4
Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Devotion:
As we move deeper into lent, have you given much thought to why you are giving up doing whatever it is you are doing? Is it for you or for someone else? I have never been one to declare I was giving up anything for lent because I knew in my heart it was not going to continue. Those things which I have given up without shouting about have been because I wanted to make a difference to myself and the people around me. I have tried to continue those inward promises and will continue to do so as long as I can...
When the time comes and I break down and give in, I will look back and make a judgment call as to whether to keep on trying or to revert back to normal. You may think “that’s pragmatic” or “that’s life,” but when a choice is life-changing, we should take it seriously and continue to follow it up even when we falter.
God wants us to make changes in our lives because we know it is for the better and we know other people may take notice and want to change too. But when we just do something for lent, we are liable to fail and ignore the result because we know we are going back to normal afterward! Not what God had in mind!
God wants us to see the lives we lead, not in the light of the world, but in His light. He wants us to see them as He sees them. He wants us to admit to the things we have in our lives which make Him stop and take notice! For some of us, that is quite a lot! But, even though we may have a long list of things to give up, we can only do better if we allow God to walk with us in the journey!
Points to Ponder:
Did you promise to give something up for lent?
Are you taking God with you on the journey?