December 21: Matthew 19:13-15
Key Verse: Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’
Devotion:
I love this passage because of how much it reminds me of my childhood. I grew up in a time when people used to say things like “children should be seen and not heard!” Yes, people did use to say things like that, and it wasn’t that long ago. Of course I objected to that saying back then, and I still do now; after having children of my own and allowing them to have a voice, I do believe children should be able to speak out of turn – and given the right teaching, they can learn when it is appropriate to say things, not by being denied, but by being encouraged at the right time.
God does not scold us for every little thing we do wrong, instead He allows us to come forward and learn. He does this by positive teaching too. The more we get to see how much God cares for us and how much He is able to support us, the more willing we are to come forward at the right time and gain from His teaching.
He does not want to have ‘slave children’ but rather to have children who are willing to come to Him at any time and feel comfortable about doing so. He also wants us to know we can get support from Him at all times; sometimes we can gain from doing things ourselves whilst other times we need to stop and ask for help. As long as we are willing to listen, we will learn what is the right approach to make.
The disciples immediately went on the offensive and tried to prevent the children from approaching Jesus – but he wanted them and the disciples to know He was there for us all. Jesus wanted to show the disciples His love extended beyond the harsh teaching of the adults and into a realm where they could learn more by getting involved. God is encouraging us to get involved more too!
Points to Ponder:
Do you encourage people or discourage them?
Will you try to encourage people to know God more intimately?
December 20: Isaiah 7:10-14
Key Verse: Isaiah 7:12
But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’
Devotion:
Have you ever stopped yourself from asking God because you thought it was wrong to ask? Have you ever not stepped forward to ask a question because you thought it was a stupid question… and you’re still waiting for the answer!!!
God doesn’t want us to not ask! God knows what our issues are and He knows when we have doubts. If we do not face those doubts and step forward anyway, we are going to have those doubts for as long as it takes before we stop and ask! Just like some people do not like to ask directions because they refuse to believe they could get lost – so too people stop seeking God’s counsel because they think they are always right!
We should not be bottling up our feeling and our doubts because of our fears; we have a God who has asked us to bring our feelings, doubts and our burdens to Him. Jesus came and reiterated this by reminding us to do the same no matter what. When we start listening to God and start bringing Him our prayers, He is able to answer them and give us the peace nobody else on earth can give us!
His promise to us is as unbelievable as people’s doubts – to have a virgin give birth to a son and have people call him Immanuel, or God with us! For those who believed and had faith, they had a new hope. For those who doubted, they had more doubt. For us now, we can look back on history and see this all came to pass through Jesus being born of Mary and being our Saviour, the Son of God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep putting things off because of doubts?
Have you read through your bible to see how many promises came true?
December 19: Luke 1:39-45
Key Verse: Luke 1:44
As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
Devotion:
I think Elizabeth was just as surprised as her baby when she heard the voice of Mary when she came into Zechariah's house! Elizabeth was roughly 6 months further on in her pregnancy than Mary, so the baby kicking would have been quite a kick! Elizabeth must have been a bit worried about what she was hearing, concerned for Mary, and generally not at ease with everything which was going on; but when she heard the voice of Mary, and with her baby jumping for joy, she knew the things she had heard were all true!
This is what it can be like to be a Christian in a community which does not outwardly praise God. We can feel like we are fighting a battle every day as we are confronted by people who doubt or raise their voices against God’s Word. We can even doubt what we are doing because of the things we have to face every day. But when someone comes in who praises God openly, our own hearts jump for joy and we feel strong enough to carry on once again.
It is always good to be with other Christians when you are feeling a bit down or a bit tired of having to face off the doubters. It is like fighting a long drawn out battle for what seem like forever when suddenly the cavalry arrives to support you! You soon feel like you can continue fighting and step forward with a new vigour in your fight!
God wants us to always know we have people around us who are able to support us. He will always open your eyes to those around who can help. But if we walk around with our eyes closed or we walk around only focusing on the bad things, we may well not see the help when it arrives. Keep you eyes open, your hearts ready and willing, and be prepared to continue fighting the good fight because God will supply your support!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like you are fighting an up-hill battle?
Will you depend on Christ to bring in the support?
December 18: Psalm 72:12-14
Key Verse: Psalm 72:14
He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Devotion:
When these Psalms were composed and written during the time of king David, they were written knowing of a future when the Messiah would come to save the earth. He would not come to save the rich and famous, but would come to serve the poor and needy, those who are oppressed and in need of protection. They did not know how or when, but many believed!
We can look back in history and know Jesus came as the Messiah, though some choose not to believe it possible a mere human could be the Messiah. We can look back and see how He came forward to serve those who cried out for Him. We can look back and see how He took pity on the week, poor and needy, saving many from death. We can see how many were saved from oppression and violence…
We can also look around us now and see how Christ is still watching over us. We can see how He answers when we call out. We can see how He still serves those who need Him in their lives, caring for the week, poor and needy. We can see how He continues to answer prayers and saves people from oppression and violence.
We can see this in people who have hope in Him. People who trust in Him. People who lift up their prayers to Him. For those who ignore God, we only see what man can do and we see how this fails us all in the end.
Let us continue to hope in our future with Christ. Let us continue to call out for help when we need it and know He is listening and will answer our prayers. Let us have faith those answers will come when we ask: so let us put our faith on the line and depend more on Christ for everything in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Do you depend on Christ?
Does it scare you to depend on Him more?