November 24: Hebrews 13:15-17
Key Verse: Hebrews 13:16
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Devotion:
Gone are the days where we must find unblemished lambs, goats, doves or heifers and sacrifice them to atone for our sins! Thank goodness! Jesus took on that mantle by giving Himself as the perfect sacrifice to cover all of our sins forever. He gave His own blood so we can live with no fear of the debt we owe for our sins.
So, what do we do now with all the “free time” we have not having to find the animals and sacrifice them and all that goes with that? We have been given clear instruction from Christ we ought to give the sacrifices of praise and spreading the gospel. This means taking time out of our busy lives and spending it giving glory to God for all He has done for us. Then telling other people why we do what we do and why it is necessary.
We have church leaders who have continued to tell us what God has done, what Christ has achieved and how the Holy Spirit continue to be with us. These are important parts of our lives with God and our leaders continue to obey God by spreading and teaching the gospel. We too have a task to spread the gospel to those around us who do not know about Christ yet.
God has also told us we will be held accountable for the times we do or do not tell people about Christ. It should not be seen as a burden we have to do so we don’t get punished but rather seen as a joyful thing we can do to help others. Telling people about the hope we have through Christ and the joy we experience is not a burden – it is a joy! Everyone does want to know about hope and joy...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you speak to others?
How often to you tell others about your relationship with God?
November 23: Hebrews 13:1-8
Key Verse: Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Devotion:
The more we continue to love the people around us, the more we get to see how much more a true community can do instead of a bunch of individuals. But it is not about putting up with the others just to get the job done, it is about loving them as if they are friends and family so you build up a trust relationship with them.
The more we can fully trust the people around us, the safer we feel and the better we can work to achieve our goals together. Those people around us may be our neighbours or they may be people we work with or in proximity to. If you work in a prison, then those people around you are mostly prisoners. If they can feel totally confident you are doing the right thing and will always strive to keep them safe as well, they will respect you and trust you.
If we go about trying to do thing for ourselves without caring about the people around us, then we are failing at what God is asking us to do. We are going to face all manner of difficulties along the way, some through the type of people we have to interact with, some when God asks you to move to a new place to continue His work...
But each of those difficulties can be overcome by continuing to listen to God and continuing to obey what He asks of us. He will always look out for us and we need to remember to always trust Him wholly! We must remember God does not change and will always be there!
Points to Ponder:
What is God asking you to do?
Are you obeying Him?