September 19: James 3:13-18
Key Verse: James 3:15
Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
Devotion:
Why would the writer describe ambition as demonic? That's what many people will take away from verses like this, but it is far from the truth. Let us take this in context of what Jesus had taught the disciples about how they should behave; about the most important rules to follow...
Jesus said the most important thing is to love God with your whole being, and then to love your neighbour as yourself... which pre-supposes you have learned to love yourself because you have found the love of Christ... What is ambition? To better yourself beyond what you think is going to happen! Or something like that!
If we have genuinely learned to love God, the loving ourselves becomes second nature and then following Jesus' command to love other the same way follows... But these verses are not talking about acts like that, they are considering people lifting themselves above and before the others around them – which does not fall in line with loving others as you love yourself. To follow Christ's commands mean we need to have a great love for God, for ourselves and for the people around us – which mean we should be treating those around us like we want to be treated.
Earthly envy or ambition is loving ourselves above all else, above God and above the people around us – this is not real love and is called earthly wisdom or love here. When we focus internally instead of externally, we lose focus on God's love and build up false pictures of our own love which turn out to be envy, greed and pride... Allow God's love to spread through your life so you can share it with the people around you!
Points to Ponder:
How far does your love for yourself go?
Will you share more of God's love with others today?
September 18: Isaiah 43:8
Key Verse: Isaiah 43:8
Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.
Devotion:
No matter what we have done wrong, no matter how much we have got things wrong, God always wants us to come back to Him and to admit our sins. It is the world and the things around us which trap us and stop us from seeing the truth. If we were all able to shut out the noise of the world, we would be able to hear the sound of God calling us!
The first thing I noticed after I moved back to a village in the countryside after living in London for a few years was the quiet and dark nights! I could hear the animals in the forest. I could hear the bats flying round at night. I could hear things instead of them being drowned out by the continual rumble of traffic noise from the highway I lived a few yards from!
God wants us to be able to hear Him and to know we are loved in so many ways by Him. If someone did not first tell us of this great news, we may well have continued to listen to the traffic and think that was normal! If someone did not tell us of the light of Christ, we may well have continued to be blinded by the hustle and bustle of the city!
Yes, we all need to stop focusing on the world and spend a bit more time seeking God; but we also need to tell others about Him so they will know they have to seek Him out too. If we don't mention God in our lives, people will not know He exists because of the deafening and blinding ways of the world...
Points to Ponder:
Do you focus on the city lights and ways?
Will you try to share Christ's light with someone today?
September 17: Psalm 14:1-3
Key Verse: Psalm 14:3
All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Devotion:
You may be forgiven for not liking what you read in these verses, after all it sounds very much like the scriptures are against us... When God gave the commandments to Moses to give to the people, it was not Him setting up a trap through which He could reject everyone because none of us can keep all the laws... the commandments were given to us to show us we have no hope without God. King David must have gone through this in his heart quite a few times because he knew he had done many things wrong – but he also knew in his heart God was willing to forgive if we come to Him with humble hearts.
No matter how much we think we have done everything right, there has always been times in our lives where we have thought the wrong thing or said the wrong thing in the heat of the moment. God wanted us to know He sees and hears everything and so nothing will escape His judgement.
But He also wanted us to know there was going to be an ultimate sacrifice which would cover all of our wrong-doings, no matter how bad they were. When Jesus came to live amongst us, He made sure people understood this and He also made sure they understood we have a choice to make. If we choose to go against God, then we are actively choosing to say Jesus was not good enough to cover our sins...
I am thankful Jesus came to live amongst us in human form so He could take on the sins of the whole world being our perfect sacrifice – once and for all. I know I have done things wrong in my life, but I also know Jesus is willing to forgive me because He promised me He would when I come to Him and ask for forgiveness!
Points to Ponder:
Do you still feel guilty?
Have you asked Jesus to forgive you?
September 16: Isaiah 40:6-8
Key Verse: Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures for ever.’
Devotion:
How many times have you been discouraged by someone who steadfastly refused to listen to you talking about Jesus? I know I have been discouraged on occasions when people seem to turn off their minds when you start to talk about Jesus, God, Christianity or anything close to it! After listening to the introduction of the Alpha course I am encouraged to continue talking about Jesus no matter what!
Hearing some of the honest answers from people as they admit to either not knowing Jesus or even thinking He did not exist makes me want to talk about Him more. When we get to know Jesus in person, we have our eyes and hearts opened up to many things – things which continue to be hidden from this world because people don't want to talk about Jesus!
The more we are able to say things, the more people are going to hear things. The more we are able to tell people about Jesus – the more their hearts and eyes will be opened to what He has done and continues to do in our lives. We just have to open the door so people can see Jesus for themselves...
If the doors remain firmly shut, how will they ever get a glimpse of Him or what He can do? But if we are able to open the door a little so they can see in, or even just a crack so their interest will be kindled and they will start to want to open the door to see what is behind it for themselves. God wants us to open the doors, even if it is just a little crack.
Points to Ponder:
How many people around you close off the door to Jesus?
Will you try open it just a crack so God can have a turn?