Feb 18: 1 Peter 3:18-22

Key Verse: 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Devotion:
One of the things we may get perplexed by as Christians is the bad things which seem to happen to Christians in our modern world. We look at how Christians are suffering or how evil people seem to succeed whereas Christians do not. Often we are looking at things from the world’s perspective instead of looking at things from God’s point of view.

Yes, when we look at life from a worldly point of view, we do not fit in very well as Christians. The reason why we don’t fit in very well is because we do things differently from the world – or at least we should be! God does not want us to conform to the worldly ways but to aim for righteousness and living a life in hope for Christ’s ways to fill our lives.

We can look back and wonder why God sent the flood during Noah’s time, or we can look back and ask why people faced hard times when they seemed to do what God asked of at the time. What we don’t always look at is the bigger picture and what is actually causing the issues to start with!

People do! Many people are not Christians and they do not live their lives in a Christ-like manner! We could say some people who call themselves Christians do not live in a Christ-like manner either, but we won’t go there now! Those who live evil or unrighteous lives may well bring that evil into our lives because we are simply near them! This is not God bringing this stuff into our lives, but other people! What we do about it will shape our lives with Christ...

Points to Ponder:
Do you live amongst people who are not Christians?

Have you noticed how their lives sometimes rub off on you?

Feb 17: Luke 5:27-32

Key Verse: Luke 5:32
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Devotion:
One of the things Jesus made sure He always did was to include everyone in what He was doing. He actively went out of His way to make sure sinners were welcome and got to hear about the good news! In this section of scripture Jesus approaches a tax collector, a person who was regarded by everyone as a sinner because of he methods they used to get money out of people – and not always the right way!

For Levi to get up and follow Jesus at the drop of a hat means Jesus had approached Him with authority! Tax collectors were people who followed authority and did what the people in charge said should be done. Levi had probably heard about the things this man Jesus was doing, must have heard about the scriptures as the people around him talked, and instinctively knew Jesus was the man to be able to clear this all up in his head.

The Pharisees and teachers of the law did not see the humane side of things but, instead, saw a dreadful sinner who should not have been approached to start with. Then when Jesus went off to have a meal with these sinners, that was the last straw for them.

This demonstrates the polar opposites between the Pharisees and Jesus. The Pharisees shunned anyone who did not listen to them and obey their rules. Jesus invited everyone to come to the table! We need to be more like Jesus in the way we approach others when it comes to telling them about the good news – everyone is invited!

Points to Ponder:
Do you shy away from talking to some people about God?

What if you were never told about God?

Feb 16: Matthew 9:14-15

Key Verse: Matthew 9:15
Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Devotion:
How many times have you read a part of scripture and a thought came to you about the meaning of that passage, or you saw a different light on the passage from what you have been taught all along. God talks to us in many ways and just one of those ways is when He opens our eyes and hearts to new meaning in the scriptures.

As I was reading these verses a thought came to me which I had not expected. John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked Him a serious question, one which was grounded in their culture and in scripture – and one which people still do wonder about and even ask. What about fasting? Why do some choose to fast and others not to?

Jesus’ answer is one which should be thought about and not just taken as something we do because Jesus did… The disciples had learned about fasting and Jesus was not going to tell them not to, but He was going to put a light on it for us to think about. The time Jesus had on earth was limited and He had to teach the disciples as much as He could whilst He was here…

Fasting should not just be something we do once a week because it’s time to! Fasting should be done because we want to focus our minds on God and the things of God. To do that we need to take time out of our busy schedules and set it aside to commune with God. That means stopping what we are doing! Jesus still had much to teach and did not want them to take time out because He was here with them!

Points to Ponder:
Do you set time aside for God?

How do you use that time with God?