- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 733
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?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 803
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?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 847
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?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 817
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?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 880
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?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 738
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?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 776
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?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 721
May 22: John 18:1-11
Key Verse: John 18:11
Jesus commanded Peter, ‘Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?’
Devotion:
When was the last time you compared two Gospels for a certain point in time? John wrote in his own style and recorded the events which made a bigger impact on him than others – there was only a certain amount of detail each disciple could record! John’s focus here was not on the garden where Jesus took the disciples, nor on how Judas was going to betray Jesus to the officials.
Instead, John focuses on the interaction between the soldiers and Jesus. This was a small crowd of people sent to bring Jesus back to the authorities so He would stand trial for things which were not true, a small crowd which was determined to carry out what they were being paid for. They were after the one who was called Jesus of Nazareth; so they asked His name. Jesus replies saying He is this Jesus they are looking for, not once but twice – to be sure!
When Simon Peter drew his sword and tried to fight back, Jesus stopped him after he had managed to cut off Malchus’ right ear! Jesus berated him saying this was the will of God. All what was about to happen, all that was happening was the will of God. Not a very pleasant thing to go through, but the only way which would make it possible for God to demonstrate His total love for us!
Jesus was going to obey God, no matter what! This is what we need to take away from this story – not the name of the garden, where it is, who was there, what Judas did, what Peter did... just the simple fact Jesus was going to obey God no matter the cost! This is not a cost Jesus is saying we all have to bear – He bore it for our sakes and did it once and for all!
Points to Ponder:
What is God asking you to do?
Will you obey Him?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 812
May 21: John 17:20-26
Key Verse: John 17:24
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Devotion:
Read through these verses before you read my words. Read them carefully and mindfully.
This is a prayer Jesus prayed to God the Father for us! This prayer is for all of us who are believers in Christ to be one body, one church, now and forever! This is not just a prayer for us to be friends or to love our neighbours, but to be as one body, one being... just the same as Christ and the Holy Spirit and God the Father are one God! This is the type of closeness Christ wants with us – not just friends!
When we sing that chorus “what a friend we have in Jesus” it is not worthy of the prayer Jesus prays here. Jesus wants to be much closer than friends with us. Jesus wants us to be much closer to God than just believers who will get to be in heaven one day. Jesus wants us to be one with Him just as He is one with God the Father. This means Jesus wants us to be one with the Father!
Jesus made sure we got to feel the real love by giving us the Holy Spirit, that He could dwell in us and love us in a way we could not explain in words. Jesus wants us to experience the love He shares with the Father. Jesus wants us to know this love He has for us! Just as Jesus has loved us from the beginning of time, so too is this love He wants us to experience with Him and God the Father.
We may find it difficult to figure out the Trinity – how God can be three parts but one – but this is the same one-ness God wants for us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like having the Holy Spirit with you?
Will you make room for God in three persons in your heart?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 787
May 20: Psalm 117:1-2
Key Verse: Psalm 117:1
Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.
Devotion:
If there was one thing I could wish for and see it come true, it would be for all nations around the world to come together and praise the Lord! If we were able to allow people in every country to freely come to God and worship, the world would be a much better place! Instead, we continue to have to endure countries who say they accept the freedom to worship but impose such restrictions to make life impossible for those who want to worship.
God sent Christ to this world to make the choice to believe a reality and open to all people, starting with His chosen people. If we look at modern society around the world, we may be pushed to believe the countries who claim to be followers of God do allow people the choice of following God! We see politics taking over religious places and organisations making them an extension to the political world instead of places where people can freely come to worship God!
God showed us His amazing love by creating a world for us to live on. He continued to show His love by maintaining this place in a hostile universe. He continued to show His love when people rejected Him and chose worldly temptations instead! He continues to show us His love despite the world doing some horrible things! Why? Because He loves us!
Because of His love, He continue to be faithful and just no matter what goes on in the world around us. We have the choice to believe or not to believe. In the Western world this choice is open and on the table. My fear is for the people who want to find God in their countries where they would be persecuted for doing anything the governments cannot control – they cannot and never will control God! Choose God, choose freedom and pray for those who are stuck behind enemy lines!
Points to Ponder:
What one thing would you prayer for right now?
Undecided? Will you join me in prayer for the world-wide freedom to worship?