May 26: Psalm 104:19-24
Key Verse: Psalm 104:19
He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.
Devotion:
I can remember talking about the sun coming up and going down as a youngster; yes, I know it is the earth which is spinning round and circling the sun... but that is not how we look at it when we are young. It takes time to learn how things work. Mankind took a while to realise the earth spins round an axis, which is not quite straight, wobbling as it spins, circling the sun as the moon circles the earth...
When we started out as Christians, we could not get our heads round what we know now. We did not know how much God loved us, or what Jesus did for us... yes, we had heard the words before we got to know Christ, but we did not believe those words in our hearts at first – that took time and learning...
If we look at nature, we can see so many things which we take for granted but still cannot explain properly. The animals don’t set up farms, buy houses and work to earn money to live off. They exist and they rely on someone else to give them the supplies they need. For our pets, that is us, but for the animals in the wild, that is God who supplies all their needs. When they are fed, they are happy and go about their beautiful lives; but when they get hungry, they can’t just ring up the supermarket and place an order – they have learned to wait on God for everything.
We need to realise just how much God looks out for us too, not just the animals out in the wild! We can and should depend on Him for more things in our lives. When we build up our little empires and safe places, they are fickle and temporary solutions. But God offers us a permanent solution to the needs in our lives – if we are willing to be more like the animals and trust in Him for more!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you trust God with in your life?
Are you willing to place a bit more trust in God today?
May 25: John 15:26-27
Key Verse: John 15:27
And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
Devotion:
Before Jesus went to the cross, He tried to make sure the disciples were ready for what was to come. We cannot see the future and we have to work with the here and now, making decisions which will affect the future – which can seem daunting when we live each day as it happens. But God promised to help us by making sure we had a constant companion who would be able to guide us all the time.
Jesus tells the disciples here the Holy Spirit will come to be with them after He goes, not because Jesus was going to leave a ghost behind, but because God made the promise in the beginning, a promise to make sure we have someone with us at all times!
This does not mean we can leave it all to the Holy Spirit; after all it is the Holy Spirit who explains God to people, from the inside out. Jesus warned the disciples they would have to knuckle down and be like the Holy Spirit, testifying to others. This means stopping and talking to people, allowing them to see what it means to live as a Christian... not some person who thinks they are more righteous than others, but someone who is willing to show others a God who cares for them from the inside out!
We have a task ahead of us, one which God has entrusted us with, just as Jesus told the disciples, so to is He telling us to be faithful witnesses for Him. Sometimes this may seem like being out of your comfort zone, but why not start to look at it as a opportunity each time. Not an opportunity to push the bible down someone’s throat, but a chance to ask if you can do something for them. Why not ask them if you can pray for them, or just help them do what they are doing...
Points to Ponder:
Do you worry you cannot tell people about God effectively?
Why not show them a bit how Jesus lived?
May 24: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Key Verse: Ezekiel 37:14
I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.
Devotion:
Sometimes we get to see just how merciful and powerful God is – when He answers the prayers we never thought possible! But, just like Ezekiel, we have to have that tiny spec of belief within us, the belief Christ can do anything! We need to know in our heart the Holy Spirit is with us and encouraging us to depend on this belief!
God wants us to be secure in the knowledge He is with us and has saved us, not because of anything we have done, but because He has loved us from the very beginning. We need to know Christ put His own life on the cross to cover the debt for any sin we owe. We need to know God the Father sent His Son to come for us and then sent the Holy Spirit to be with us after Jesus went home to be with God.
This is the belief we hold dear in our hearts as Christians. This is the belief which can change the world when we ask for things in Christ’s name. Yesterday was the Day of Pentecost when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the promises made by Christ, completing the actions God started because of His love for us!
When Ezekiel was asked to prophesy to the dry bones in the middle of the valley, it was not a test for him, it was a way he could see the promises of God being fulfilled. These are the things God has done throughout time so we can know His promises stand sure and give us something to believe in. This is the circle of belief God gave us because He knows we will doubt and He knows we will look for rational answers instead of the miracles He does in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
How many promises can you name God has carried out?
Will you ask Him to fulfil just one more promise?
May 23: Acts 2:1-4
Key Verse: Acts 2:3
They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
Devotion:
I wonder what it was like to be there on this first day of Pentecost? I know we celebrate this day every year, thinking back to what happened nearly 2000 years ago, but what was it like for the people there on this first day? We can look back and put two and two together because we know Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come to the disciples; but it was all a bit alien to them then!
I have been in places where we hear the wind blowing whilst we prayed, and it always made me think of these verses. Yet in the Old Testament we read how the Spirit may not appear when the wind blows hard, during earthquakes or other visible prompts – sometimes God is whispering to us in the quietest of voices which are hard to hear. It is up to us to listen for the right thing!
No matter how the Spirit makes themselves known to us, we will know, and we will see the results! It may not be the earth-rumbling shakes of an earthquake, but the results will be as visible to us as the results of an earthquake; we may not realise it until after the event, but we will know.
I pray this day we each get to know and feel the presence of God in a very special way just as the disciples had a very special demonstration of the Spirit indwelling them on this day so long ago. God wants us to know Him from the inside out, not just as someone we have to think about and wonder whether He is there. God wants us to know His presence and know He is with us every step of every day. But it has to start by us waiting on Him...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you wait on God?
Will you wait expecting Him to show you something special today?