January 30: Luke 2:25-35
Key Verse: Luke 2:26
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
Devotion:
We don’t know how long Simeon had been waiting to see Jesus, but we are told the Holy Spirit told him he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Once he came into contact with Jesus, he knew this was what he had been waiting for for so long. What I find amazing is how long Anna had been worshipping faithfully in the temple night and day, and she came up to them at the moment Simeon came into contact with Jesus. That is the most amazing answer to prayer I can think of!
God uses every opportunity to bless the good and faithful people who continue to praise and worship Him. It may not seem like it when we worship and don’t seem to have our prayers answered immediately, but if we are willing to continue on without setting limits to what we do for God, He is not going to set limits on what He is willing to do for us!
Jesus had to be born fully human in every way so He could become the ultimate sacrifice for us all. If He continued to be God it would have been seen as some sort of wizardry that He would die so He could rise up again – but because He was fully human, we see it for what it was, a true miracle of God!
All the right people had lived in all the right places at the right time so Mary and Joseph would be together at the right time for Mary to become pregnant and to have a baby boy who could only have been created by God. This is our Messiah who came to set us free from the sin debt we owe, and this is how He was presented at the temple just as any first-born human male at the time appointed by God for all to see.
Points to Ponder:
Are you impatient with your prayers?
Will you give God the time to do what He knows is best?
January 29: Mark 4:35-41
Key Verse: Mark 4:38
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’
Devotion:
When was the last time you questioned whether God was looking out for you because things just didn’t seem like He was! I know I have been there and have questioned whether God is watching over me, but spending a time in hospital a couple of years ago made me realise just how much He does care for me – despite all I do wrong!
When the disciples were trying to get across the water in the boat, they did not count on a bit of a storm popping up when they were half way across! You must remember some of them were fishermen who would have been used to bad weather, but they would also have kept an eye out for the weather and turned back to shore if they saw any approaching. So why did they get upset?
Not all of them were fishermen to start with. They were all concerned for the weather and yet Jesus was sleeping it off! It was not so much them being afraid of the weather, but the fact Jesus did not seem concerned at all. One flippant comment from one of them would have caused them all to start over thinking the situation. Just we we overthink things when one part goes wrong, they too were troubled by their own minds!
Jesus immediately calmed the storm and them as soon as He was woken. He was asleep because He totally trusted God would look after Him, no matter what! Sometimes we do lose focus on just who is in charge and who has the upper hand in our lives. If we are willing to give it to Christ and allow Him to look out for us, He will! That is what I found out in hospital. I could not do anything and the doctors had their doubts; but God didn’t!
Points to Ponder:
Do you doubt God’s watchful eye?
Will you stop to give God a chance?
January 28: 2 Samuel 11:1-17
Key Verse: 2 Samuel 11:2
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman washing. The woman was very beautiful
Devotion:
This is written down in history so we can see we all have our issues and we all give in to temptation at some stage in our lives. King David is looked at as being the king who always sought God and set a good example for the people of Israel to follow… but he also had his own issues! David was tempted from seeing a beautiful woman washing and called for her to come to him. What the king says goes!
David sent someone to find out about the woman and then, despite knowing she was a married woman, still sent for her to come to him. He then proceeded to sleep with her and made her pregnant at that time. When he learned she was pregnant, he sent word for her husband, Uriah, to come back home to her in the hopes he would sleep with her. This would give him an excuse to say it was not him who made her pregnant.
However, Uriah did not want to take advantage of being in his home town to sleep in comfort at home whilst all his fellow soldiers were still camping out on their military campaign. That put David’s plans to no avail and he would not be able to cover up his deeds!
At this stage David was not willing to admit to anything and so went a stage further. He sent Uriah back to the front to serve in the most dangerous place he could be in the hopes he would be killed and not be able to complain about anything which happened back at home! We can look back and see how many opportunities David had to say no, admit to sinning and ask for forgiveness. Instead he went deeper and deeper until it ended with Uriah being killed!
Points to Ponder:
How far do you go when you know you are wrong?
Will you admit to being wrong before it becomes too late?
January 27: Mark 4:21-25
Key Verse: Mark 4:25
Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.’
Devotion:
When we read some verses, we may get a bit scared by the words we read; but every part of the bible needs to be read in context and not as single verses by themselves. That would be like finding someone guilty of murder because they said “I’ll kill you” even when it was said as part of a story being told about someone else...
When we read how things can be taken away from us, we should get worried! Not for ourselves when we continue to follow Christ, but for people who have not yet heard about God! We have our bibles which contain so many facts about God, about Jesus and about the Holy Spirit. We can go over the words and meditate on them and be strong in our belief just because we have had the opportunity to hear these words…
But what about someone who has not yet heard about Christ? What about the person who has not yet had the chance of getting to know Him and what He can do for them. These verses are warning they may well lose more than they bargained for when the time comes for Christ to return. We can expect our faith to be bolstered by us reading the bible. We can find strength and direction when we know what God’s word says.
But for the people who don’t get to accept God’s word, there is not a lot to look forward to. When they reach their end of days, that is the last good thing they can have to look out for. We need to be aware of this so our time can be spent sharing God’s word and giving people hope in this otherwise hopeless world. They can look forward to receiving a whole lot more than just the words they hear or read...
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep God’s Word from others?
Will you encourage someone today to read God’s Word?