May 30: Isaiah 6:1-8
Key Verse: Isaiah 6:8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’
Devotion:
I love reading the descriptions of the Lord and angels in the Old Testament. They are so out of this world at times and yet so personal at times. This passage from Iasiah tells of the splendour of our Lord and the seraphim who were over Him, reminding us of the days when the Ark of the Covenant was taken everywhere to show the people God was with them... mankind has always sought some sort of visual aid to remind us the Lord is with us!
Many times now we use the cross as a reminder of the things the Lord has done and how He promised to always be with us after His death, burial and resurrection. It was no different back then as people looked for various descriptions of the majesty and splendour of God to make sure they never forgot His position in their lives!
We must never forget His majesty, splendour and power; we must never forget His humanity and closeness at all times. We must never forget His promises or the demonstration of all He has done for and with us. And then we must also remember what has caused all the problems He came to fix and to pay for with His life – our sins and giving into temptations!
But, throughout all of this, our focus must be on what Jesus did to set us free and to allow us to be closer to God at all times. No matter the debt we owe due to our sins, Christ has done enough for you and I to ensure we have a place in Heaven close to God. We must remember God is Holy and just, but loved us so much He sent His Son to be the ultimate sacrifice which would cover all our sins and set us free! What are we going to do in return?
Points to Ponder:
Do you make light of Christ’s life?
We must remember what Christ has done and step forward saying “here I am!”
May 29: Romans 8:12-17
Key Verse: Romans 8:12
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
Devotion:
Yesterday I saw a tweet about how people are going to be talking about the Holy Trinity every day for a week, just because it will soon be Trinity Sunday when, as Christians, we celebrate the Holy Trinity... So, I thought I would look over favourite verses and come up with something different!
I don’t think I have ever tried to fully explain the Holy Trinity other than by quoting verses and showing how God is, well, just unique! But what about us? God created us in His own image – this is what the bible tells us, the words scribed by Moses to tell generation after generation amongst the Jews. That is so very special! Look at all of nature around you and the amazing beauty we are surrounded by; but God chose to make us in His image rather than in the beauty and splendour of the world around us!
That set a precedence for us to follow. No longer are we just homo sapiens, or just people, we are human beings who have been created in the image of God. We certainly do not all look alike – in fact each one of us is totally unique, even identical twins have differences! God has made each of us our own people. He has given each of us a choice as to how we live our lives and what we do.
We may feel like we can get trapped in certain things in life, but God still gives us the freedom to live our lives the way we want to. We can live life to the fullest and still die without anything. We can gain all the riches in the world and still have nothing. Our lives are not just the physical lives we see and hear, but the deeply spiritual connections and lives we live on the inside – the lives God gets to see, the lives God loves! We are children of God because He chose us and made us the way we are... don’t throw it all away!
Points to Ponder:
What are your goals in life?
Will you include your spiritual self in the life you lead today?
May 28: Matthew 9:1-8
Key Verse: Matthew 9:8
When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.
Devotion:
This is the power God gave to Jesus while He was yet a human being walking amongst us; not just to heal people like this paralysed man, but to forgive their sins! When Jesus was going to return to the Father in heaven and bring the Holy Spirit to be with us, He wanted people to know they would have the power to ask for many things in His name and He would make it so!
This is similar to the promise God gave Jesus – to be able to ask for many things and have the surety God would answer and provide. God wants us to know He is listening to our prayers and when we ask for things in the name of Jesus – Jesus will take those prayers directly to God and plea on our behalf!
Now, there are going to be many people who will try to tell you prayers will not be answered for one reason or another. Many will claim we have been too naughty to receive and answers to our prayers. Many will claim God is no longer listening because the world is so corrupt. But I put it to you God is listening even closer because He can see how corrupt the world has become and He knows Jesus paid the ultimate price to cover our sins!
If we want to see the world become a better place, then we need to start by behaving like Jesus did. Not totally righteous and without sin, because we have already gone too far and have sinned before God, but by asking things of God through Jesus’ name and expecting a positive response! God wants to answer our prayers – but if we don’t believe He can or will answer, then why do we ask in the first place! Trust in what Jesus has done and lift up your prayers in expectation!
Points to Ponder:
What attitude do you have with your prayers?
Will you expect more from Christ today?
May 27: Mark 10:42-45
Key Verse: Mark 10:43
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant
Devotion:
Jesus was very quick to point out the failings of mankind to the disciples, and quick to point out it was because of those failing that He had to go through everything He would have to! Pride and greed are just a couple of things which bring us down – when we sense the power we can gain from a position of authority or social stance, we tend to forget about justice and righteousness – choosing the ways of the world instead of God’s ways – and bringing everything down around our ankles!
God wants us to take notice of the things in our lives which will bring us down – they are not called temptations for nothing because they will tempt us away from the path God is trying to guide us on and they will cause us to falter and even fail!
Jesus used the state of the government to show them what was likely to bring down society and work against God. But it was not something the disciples recognised until it was too late and He had paid the ultimate price on the cross for our problems and sins! Jesus wanted them to see they would have to give up their desires for riches and glory and allow God to get all the glory. They would have to put down their desires and try to fulfil the wishes of their God!
When we go into the world to try and show people what our God is like, we have to be more like Jesus and less like mankind. We have to put aside our desires and lift up the will of God. We have to reach down and pick people up when they are low. We have to allow people to see how much God wants for them in their lives and less about how much we want!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like the sense of power in authority?
Will you give God the authority in your life?