July 10: Matthew 9:14-15
Key Verse: Matthew 9:14
Then John’s disciples came and asked him, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’
Devotion:
How many time have people stopped you to ask why you are not doing something the way they think Christians should be acting? If it is none, then are you acting like a stereotypical Christian, or are you following what God wants you to do in your life? Sometimes we get too caught up in the way we think we should act and we lose focus on what God wants from us in our lives.
We need to be lights for Jesus – this is not to say we have to be Jesus in the eyes of others, but we should be shining like Jesus did. Jesus set Himself apart from the people because He did things differently. Not because He wanted to rebel, but because He wanted people to see He was not the same as everyone else.
When we say we should be lights for Jesus we should be more of a reflection of what Jesus was like – not as someone who follows an exact set of rules and will not change, but someone who takes into account the people and places around them and does what is right!
Jesus wants us to set ourselves aside from the worldly ways of the people around us and to make people stop and think why we are doing things the way we are! If we simply do as others have done all along, then we are not following the will of God but rather the rules as others think they should be followed...
Points to Ponder:
Do you follow rules for rules sake?
Will you do what God wants you to do instead today?
July 9: Matthew 9:9-13
Key Verse: Matthew 9:12
On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill.
Devotion:
How do you feel when your prayers are not answered in the way you want them to be answered? Do you get upset if your prayers are not answered? How often do you pray for yourself, and how often do you pray for others? Just some of the important questions we need to come to terms with when we look at prayers and how and when God answers them!
But there is another side to things and that is the selfishness or selflessness of ourselves and our prayers! Jesus had no problem going to Matthew and calling him to be a disciple; whereas the people around Him thought this was a terrible travesty because Matthew was a tax collector who had got more out of people than they should have paid – that is how they made their money (much like debt collectors nowadays who get more out of people than the person or company sold the debt for)
Some will say it’s business. Some will say it’s wrong. What God looks at is the heart of the person on each side of the debt. He looks at the person who owes the money to see if they will own up to their debt. He looks at the integrity of the person collecting the money. His focus is not on the money, but the honesty and humbleness and mercy of the people concerned.
When the people around Him complained about Him eating with the ‘sinners’ Jesus turned things around and said these were the very people who needed to get to know God more than the honest and upright people because they were furthest away from the truth to start with. God wants us to serve on a level playing field where we all know the rules and try to obey them!
Points to Ponder:
Do you pray for good people?
Will you pray for someone you consider to be bad?
July 8: Matthew 6:5-8
Key Verse: Matthew 6:7
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Devotion:
After Jesus had told the disciples how they should not behave as the hypocrites were behaving in the synagogues, He reminded them they should keep their prayer life in a similar manner and not to go after publicity for what they were saying! When people are saying things out loud just so others are going to hear them and think well of them, they are just saying things out loud! Jesus wants us to pray to God from our hearts and not necessarily from our mouths!
Jesus often closed Himself off from others when He was going to pray to His Father; not because it was a big secret what He was going to pray about, but because it was a very personal time between Him and God the Father. This is still how God would prefer us to handle our prayers too – so they come from our heart directly to God’s ears...
It is not as if we have got to pray before God will look out for us; God already knows what we need in our lives and He already has a plan to do what is right. But, we need to know in our hearts we are asking God so when our prayers are answered, our faith will be made whole by seeing them answered.
If we go about shouting our prayers out to make sure other people hear them, then you could say we have already had our rewards – because we have let others know our requests and we know they have heard them... This does not mean God is going to answer them. He would rather we ask from our hearts and allow Him to do what is right and at the perfect time.
Points to Ponder:
How do you pray to God?
Will you spend some quiet time with God today?
July 7: Matthew 6:1-4
Key Verse: Matthew 6:4
so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Devotion:
How many times have you done something just to be noticed by others? I know when I was growing up in junior school, I used to get up to all sorts of things just so I would be noticed! I did work out it was not getting me anywhere, but the temptation was always there to do something to be noticed. I like to think I am different nowadays, but I know if the temptation is too great, I may well give in!
But this is where God can help us in our lives. If we are willing to make Him a bigger part of our lives and do things to please Him instead of the world – we will get a lot more out of things and even find we have more strength to resist those temptations which come our way.
God wants us to stop trying to do things to help ourselves and to start doing things which are going to help others. This is what Jesus came to teach us face to face; how to be better people by loving others! The only reward we are going to get from doing things for ourselves is that – what we get out of doing things. But when we start doing things to please others, we not only get to please others and ourselves, but we are helping them and pleasing God too. For this, our reward will be in Heaven!
So let us stop trying to make things bigger than they are. Let us stop trying to make ourselves look better than we are. Let us stop making big of the small things in life. Let us, instead, make more of other people and show them God’s love through what we can do for them. Let us show others we are willing to be servants just like Jesus came to be a servant for us. Let us take the small things in life and share them with everyone!
Points to Ponder:
Do you build things up when you tell others about them?
Will you try telling God’s truth instead?