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May 9: Philippians 1:15-18
Key Verse: Philippians 1:18
But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Devotion:
What kind of preaching gets to you most? Is it the person who quietly sits down with you and explains the gospel, or someone who stands up on a stage and shouts out to everyone? We all have our differences and we all like different things too – but the gospel is the gospel no matter how it is preached...
I have been to very big festivals where preachers have got up on stage and talked up a storm and I have been to very small churches where the preachers have dug deep into God’s word in great details. I love both! I even like the cases where the person tells their own form of parables, using new world examples and life choices to get over the gospel as we live in it nowadays.
It is not our task to judge which preachers are the best because of how they deliver the word. It is our task to listen to and meditate on that word. God supports all styles of preacher who are willing to step forward and explain the gospel to anyone who is willing to listen. God does not choose one over the other because there is room for all kinds of preachers, teachers, pastors, vicars and the like!
The heart of the person delivering the message may well be different to our heart; they may well live a very different life to us, but as long as God is using them to reach out to someone, then they have a place in delivering the gospel just as any other preachers or teacher. Take the truth from anyone who is willing to give you the truth and try to understand how they are living their own lives...
Points to Ponder:
Do you seek the most evangelical of preacher?
How about listening to the most sincere of teacher - God?
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May 8: Acts 10:44-48
Key Verse: Acts 10:45
The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.
Devotion:
You can tell by the tone of these words Peter was not expecting the Holy Spirit to come on the Gentiles; after all it was the Jews who were the chosen people and the 12 Disciples who were Jews who first received the Holy Spirit in such an open way. But this is God showing His love for all people – all who are willing to believe what Jesus has accomplished and what He has promised for us all.
And, once again, it was not a private indwelling of the Spirit on a single person, but a very public outpouring of the Spirit on all the people in a crowd. This is where God shows the difference between the love a person has for another and the love which God has for us all! This is a very public and physical love as well as spiritual and all encompassing!
God continues to try and open people’s hearts to the truth, but because the world shouts very loudly at times, it is hard for people to focus on Him instead of the world. But when we join together in a crowd, we can tune out the world and focus more on God. This is why He encourages us to gather together, just as these people had gathered together to listen to Peter.
Peter encouraged those who accepted the Holy Spirit to take a very public step forward and get baptised. Which bring forward the best example of what baptism is – a public declaration of what you have already accepted in your life! Baptism is not a conversion but a show of your conversion which has already happened... and if you think otherwise then you should question why. Accept Jesus as your Saviour and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into any public declaration, don’t let the public declaration be “the thing.”
Points to Ponder:
Have you accepted Christ as your Lord and Saviour?
Have you stopped to listen to the Holy Spirit?
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May 7: Psalm 121:1-8
Key Verse: Psalm 121:2
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Devotion:
Being on top of things all the time takes a lot of work and energy. Some people will try to convince us to continue to be on top of things so we can go far in life or gain great wealth or health... but where does this wealth come from? It comes from other people... The more we try to gain out of the world, the more we are taking out of it. If we are not careful we will take a whole lot more than we put into it.
We are currently moving toward a state where we take too much out of the world and the earth will not be able to carry on giving without something going wrong – some will call it global warming, others ecological crisis, others the divide between the rich and the poor; but really we are doing all of this to the earth at the same time.
God wants us to think more about the world and about other people and less about ourselves all the time. The more we concentrate on selfish things, the more selfish we will grow. But, if we are willing to look to the one who can give us the love and support we need to survive this world, we will be able to do a whole lot more.
God does not have to sleep or take a power nap so He can continue loving and supporting us. He continues to watch over us all the time and is always ready and willing to help us to do what is best for us. This Psalm recommends we continue to look up to God and look for the help He is willing to give us. God has created this world for us and continues to make sure the sun provides warmth and growth for plants, which gives food for us and animals. This is all in place for us to live in and with – don't spoil things by focusing on yourself only!
Points to Ponder:
What do you consider to be the most important thing?
Will you allow God to occupy that slot in your life?
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May 6: Psalm 139:1-6
Key Verse: Psalm 139:5
You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
Devotion:
I know when I was a very young lad, I used to feel happiest when someone was looking out for me, but as I grew into a young boy, I wanted to have some sort of freedom and didn’t want to be looked after all the time. But as you grow older and, hopefully wiser, you realise you are ultimately safer when you have someone who is watching over you – not because they will be able to prevent you falling off anything, but because they will be there if you do fall off!
The safety is not in knowing you are protected from breakage, comes in knowing there is someone close by who will be able to pick up the pieces and help with putting things back together! When we, as Christians, talk about feeling safe with God, it is not so much safe from being stupid, but safe in the knowledge that is we do mess up, God is going to be close at hand to help us put things back together again!
God knows everything about us – and because He is not limited by time as we are – He knows what is going to happen to us. Should we get a bit close to falling off the rails, He is going to try and encourage us to a position of safety before we fall off the rails. This is not going to stop us from being stupid and stepping off the rails!
Allow God to constantly guide and protect you. He does know what is in your heart. He does know what will happen before it happens. He does try to direct you to safer places... but if we are not going to listen, then we will not stay in those safer places by ourselves! God will try everything to make sure we are safe, including using the space around us as well as the people around us to keep us safe. This mind-blowing, knowing God can be totally in control if we let Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are a strong character?
Will you try to listen to God more?
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May 5: John 14:25-27
Key Verse: John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Devotion:
Jesus wanted the disciples to know even though He was not going to be physically with them for much longer, He was going to be spiritually with them through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would not just be with them, but would continue the work He was doing – teaching, encouraging and also loving and supporting!
Jesus’ love and support was a focal point in His ministry. Everywhere He went and everyone He spoke with was made aware of His love and mercy at all times. His purpose was to continue the love the Father has for us in personal encounters with people as He physically met with them. When He was preparing to go back to Heaven, He made sure there was going to be someone in place, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who would continue that personal encounter with people.
When we are open with the Holy Spirit, we continue this loving, merciful relationship with God – hence Jesus called Him the Advocate. But this is not just some person we or God has hired to be in place because it’s his job! This is God in the Holy Spirit who wants to continue loving and supporting us in the same way as God wants to and the same way as Jesus wants to.
The love and support we have through the Holy Spirit is greatest when we stay close to Him. If we ignore Him, we are not going to hear the things He wants to teach us. If we walk our own ways, we will not hear about the right ways of living with God. But if we are willing to stop and listen to God, we will experience the full love and support He continues to promise us every second of every day!
Points to Ponder:
Do you long to hug someone during this pandemic?
Are you fully embracing God through the Holy Spirit?
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May 4: 1 Corinthians 10:14-17
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:17
Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
Devotion:
The more Paul went about teaching people about what Jesus did for them and how it made the scriptures come to life, the more he must have got frustrated with the people who refused to believe this truth. We, as Christians, get it! We can see Jesus is the Son of God and He came to save us from our sins... but to outsiders or those who worship idols or sacrifice to other beings, it does all seem a bit easy!
As people, we like to think of difficult ways of doing things because, that, in some way makes us feel better about having to do difficult things to gain a reward! Jesus did not come to make things more difficult, but to simplify the whole matter so we can all gain access to God!
As we go about our daily lives, we should continue to include Christ in everything we do. One way is to always remember Him when we eat or drink – these two acts, when shared with others, can bring us together as we remember just how much Jesus did for us by laying down His life on the cross. And, because we do this together, we bring ourselves and others together as one family in Christ – Christians!
Let us not get bogged down by the difficulties of the earth or the difficult laws mankind makes up to make their goals seem more worth reaching... We have the ultimate goal of being together with God, safe from everything, for eternity. And there is no bar we have to be higher than, no pit we have to fill in and no sacrifice we can ever make which will replace what Christ has done for us. Let us rejoice in Christ, daily!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like sharing meals with others?
Will you remember Christ together during your next meal?
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May 3: 1 John 4:1-3
Key Verse: 1 John 4:2
This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
Devotion:
As we saw yesterday, Philip was listening to the Spirit and answered by stepping forward to see if he could help the eunuch understand the book of Isaiah as it related to Jesus. This warning in the letter written by John, reminds us there are more spirits in this world than we first give credit for; and not all are of good character!
John wants us to remember our lessons from the beginning of time when the evil one tried to lift himself up higher than God. His spirit tried to take over and was in no way acknowledging God as our creator and God. This is the same greed and lust for power we see in people all round the world, but of much more danger to us because of the power of these evil spirits.
God wants us to remain safe and secure and as such, asks us to walk a close walk with Him, staying close to us and always acknowledging Him as Creator God. When we do, we are robbing the evil ones of their power to control us and to deceive us from the truth Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came in human form to give His life for us – coming directly from God the Father!
So how do we tell? We make sure every spirit we listen to agrees that Jesus Christ came in the flesh to save us. If what we hear, be it in our heads or hearts or even physically, does not agree with what we know about Jesus and God, then we should be very wary of who we are hearing from. Trust God and make sure you keep walking close to Him every day.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you know about Jesus?
Do you know enough to trust your judgement?
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May 2: Acts 8:26-31
Key Verse: Acts 8:29
The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’
Devotion:
What would you do if a voice told you to do something outside of your comfort zone? Would you just go and do it, or would you look into things a bit more to find out what is being asked of you? If you rush in when you hear the first thing which comes into your mind – you may well get yourself into all manner of trouble... Philip was eager to listen to God and when an angel of the Lord told him to go, he went!
But have a look at how he responded. The angel told him to go south to the desert road which went from Jerusalem to Gaza... not going to be a comfortable journey walking through the desert! But as he went along, he spotted a man who was returning home from going to worship in Jerusalem. He was trying hard to read the book of Isaiah, but obviously struggling!
Philip obeyed the Spirit when it told him to go close to the chariot – this is where he heard the eunuch trying to get their head round the scriptures. This gave Philip the encouragement he needed to know this was the Holy Spirit talking to him and not just any voice in his head! So he stepped forward and asked if he could help!
When God asks us to do something, we can be sure we will get the encouragement and wherewithal to step forward and do whatever God is asking of us. In this case, Philip understood what was written in the book of Isaiah and so he proceeded to help the eunuch to understand God’s Word. We may know a little bit of the bible through studying or through teaching – we can use that little bit of knowledge to help someone else who doesn’t get it... Trust God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you don’t know enough about the bible?
What is your favourite story in the bible – how about telling someone about it?
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May 1: John 14:6-14
Key Verse: John 14:13
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Devotion:
When the disciples started getting worried about what was going to happen to Jesus and that one of them was going to be the guilty one who would betray Him, Jesus did not reprimand them or cut them short; instead He comforted them with words which could only come from the Son of God!
Jesus made sure they understood there was no other way to get to be with God other than by accepting Him as the Son of God and asking everything through His name. He gave them a way to get their prayers answered; the only stipulation was the Father, God, should be given the glory for the answered prayer. You see, Jesus was not seeking glory for Himself, but glory for His Father in Heaven. Jesus was making sure they understood this as well.
But He also wanted them to know that they had seen God in person, because He is part of the God-Head (as we know it.) We cannot really explain how God can be three persons, but also be one. What Jesus was trying to give them was the answer before they tried to understand it – physically we cannot explain it nor come to the right conclusion. But, by faith, we can believe it and know it in our hearts.
This then gives us the power to lift up our prayers to God, by knowing He is listening through Jesus and through the Holy Spirit; because they are one and the same. The more we get to understand about why Jesus did things the way He did, the more we get to understand how we should be trying to live – so we too can draw closer to God every day and give Him all the glory when He answers our prayers!
Points to Ponder:
Do you struggle with God in three persons?
Why not settle to asking God through Jesus?
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April 30: Isaiah 30:18-21
Key Verse: Isaiah 30:18
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Devotion:
One thing I have learned the hard way is to be a Christian, you have to live like one! This means loving God with all your heart and soul and loving the people around you. God is always going to listen to us, and He will always do what He can to allow us to live the lives He wants us to live. No matter how tough things get, we can always count on God to see us through the troubles and to share everything He can with us – with God, nothing is impossible!
When we grow tired and weary, we need to depend on God more in our lives. When we think we are at the end of our tether, God is waiting to answer more prayers and lift the burdens from us. Don’t worry about God not hearing, because He is with us every step of our lives and listens to and watches everything we do. If we do go through tough times, then we need to listen a bit harder to find out what we should be doing – these instructions may come directly from God, or they may come through others who God has brought into our lives.
The more we are willing to listen and learn from what God says, the more we will be able to live with what comes our way and the more we will know He is watching over us. Whether we are feeling down and out or whether we are feeling on top of the world – if we turn from worldly ways and listen out for God, we will hear His instruction and we will know what to do.
God is constantly trying to show us the way forward, a way which is best for us and those around us. If we are willing to listen and learn, we will have a life which is more blessed!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you talk to God?
How often do you listen to God?