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October 20: 1 Corinthians 3:10-17
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 3:16
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives among you?
Devotion:
What do you build your Christian life on? Do you advertise the fact you go to a huge mega-church as if it means something special or do you hide the fact you are not attending any church because you cannot cope with the people in church? We all have our differences as Christians just as all people are different in ‘normal’ life; we each have our own personal needs.
But, as the writer reminds us in these verses, we have to build our Christianity on a true and solid foundation – and that foundation is Christ Jesus! If we build our lives on anything other than Christ at the centre, we are living a life in this world instead of living a life with Christ.
Even though the Holy Spirit lives within each of us, if we are not going to allow the Spirit to work in us, then we are ignoring God’s constant calls. We need to take heed of what God says to us, not just from the words written down in our bibles, or the words recorded by others which Jesus spoke, but every step of this relationship with Christ through the Spirit.
Take time to stop and listen to what God says in your life. Take time to think about what God has in store for you. If you blindly rush into things because it could be what God is saying, you are living your own life and not what God wants in your life. Listen careful and prayerfully to all of what God is saying to you in all ways. If we are depending on Christ, we are all working toward the same goal – just in very different ways to what churches expect!
Points to Ponder:
Do you live with Christ at the centre of your life?
Do you listen carefully and prayerfully to the Holy Spirit?
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October 19: Joshua 1:7-9
Key Verse: Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’
Devotion:
How many times do you have to be told something before you believe it? How many more times do you have to be told before you have the courage to do it! If truth be told, we often have to be persuaded a lot more time to actually do something rather than just saying yes to it. I know I have been asked to do things before and have been too scared to follow them through!
We should only have to be asked once or told once for us to do God’s will – but our human emotions, faith and many other things get in the way of what should be done and what ends up happening. Don’t worry, you are not alone either! We are not told how many times Joshua had to be told, but I find it very interesting the request for him to be strong and courageous is listed three times in the first few verses of the book of Joshua.
What we need to remember is echoed in the words of this verse I have chosen... “for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go!” God is not going to say something and just expect us to run off and do it. God is going to be with us every step of the way. The Holy Spirit is with and within us. Jesus made sure of that for us.
When we do finally put our fears behind us and our faith in order, we find just how much God is with us and how much more we can do than we realise. I love it when a plan comes together – but I love it even more when I see just how much God does to make sure His plans do come together!
Points to Ponder:
How many times do you get told before you listen?
How many times do you get told before you DO?
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October 18: Jeremiah 29:4-14
Key Verse: Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Devotion:
As we go back into a partial lock-down once again in London, things do not look as rosy as they used to be; something which prays on the hearts and minds of many people who have tried doing all they can to build up communities. As a member of an Eden team in London, we continue to do all we can to support and love our community in all ways we can – part of that is just living here!
When the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon, Jeremiah gave them the words from God to stay where they were and to try and prosper in all ways. God wanted the people to thrive despite their circumstances and to continue to show others there was still hope because God was on their side!
Just because we are being physically separated from our friends and neighbours does not mean we should have to spiritually or emotionally separate ourselves from our communities. Far from it. Now is the time to thrive. Now is the time to make a difference where we can!
God wants us to continue to be the people who others look to. He wants us to be the salt and the light in our communities. We can do this because we have God on our side! God did not say we would have an easy life as Christians, but He does say He has plans for us to prosper and not for us to go down the plug...
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel a bit daunted by this pandemic?
Will you stop and listen out for God’s instructions?
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October 17: 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
Devotion:
How many times have you started to read a verse or passage in the bible and just stopped because it was all a bit too much? There are going to be times when we do find things all a bit too much and we have to stop for a season just so we can get back on level ground. It is very hard to play a game of football on a slope because the ball will always run away from you... having level ground helps you to feel like there is some reason for trying something!
The thing is, unless we try to do something, we are not going to know if it is possible or not. If we try and we fail, then we will have a new knowledge of things which do not work. If we try but we succeed, then we know a way forward. But it is hard when you continue trying and failing – that is when your strength and resolve start to be tested.
When a sower tosses seeds into the field, they know not every seed is going to produce something; but they sow because they know some will succeed. There is a limit to how much you can sow and through practise we get to know just how much we have to sow. If we sow too little, then we find the harvest will not be as much as we expect. If we sow too much, we find we have a good harvest, but we have also spent too much on seeds to have a good return on our investment.
When we show we are willing to try, people notice, and some are willing to help. When we show we are trying, others are more willing to step forward and give good advice, so we are more likely to succeed. Just as there may be more opposition, there will also be more support and God will be at the centre of that support!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like giving up?
Will you try something slightly different today if it has not worked?
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October 16: Philippians 4:10-13
Key Verse: Philippians 4:11
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
Devotion:
As much as we may think we can give all the time, there will come a time when you must receive instead of giving. How you go about this will show a lot about your true personality to others. I love the way Paul seems to get a bit tongue tied here and especially in the following verses. Each thank you which comes out of his mouth seems to be the wrong words and he adds a few more... If we are honest, we will admit to being much the same!
It seems a lot easier to give than receive because you can make some great statement about giving or how much the person deserves or needs what you are giving – but when it comes to receiving, we often don’t know what to say. We may want to say, ‘Yes Please, can I have some more!’ or we may want to say, ‘Just what I needed!’ but we end up apologising in some way instead.
God wants each of us to be honest and open about our circumstances – which can be, and often is, very difficult to do. We don’t want others to worry about our circumstances or to worry about what we need... but as Christians we need to be honest and open as much as possible. Being content with what we do receive is always going to be the best approach for our own wellbeing.
If we set our hearts on desiring more, the more we receive, the more we want; and the cycle continues until our greed takes over our lives. If we set our hearts on wants instead of needs, we end up having lots of stuff, but not all we need. God can supply us with so much more than we need but being content with what He gives us is all we really need.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you receive, honestly?
How much do you want instead of need?
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October 15: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Devotion:
I do like the way Paul writes about how he wants to boast all the time – I think that is something we can all relate to. But many of us do not want to boast about ourselves because we want to give God the glory. One thing we can do as Christians, though, is to boast about our weaknesses rather than our strengths! We get our strength from God.
I know many people like to boast about how hard life is or how much they have to put up with – we all get trapped in that at some stage in our lives, but we don’t have to brag about how much we can put up with – that again is building up and boasting about yourself rather than God!
To give God the glory, we should make sure people understand what we have in our lives through the hope Christ gives us and how much we fall short of the mark when it comes down to it. We are all sinners in one form or another and bragging about that sin does not seem right. But what we can do is to show people God gives us so much mor through His grace and His strength. We have the ultimate hope of eternal life because of what He has done for us.
If you want to start bragging today to get it out of your system, then start bragging about how God covers your weaknesses, how He has enough grace to cover your faults, how He is faithful to forgive no matter what and how others can get this all too. Don’t lift yourself up above others. Rather, lift God above all else and show others how important God is in your life!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like a little boast now and again?
How much do you boast about God?
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October 14: Judges 10:6-10
Key Verse: Judges 10:10
Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, ‘We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.’
Devotion:
Sometimes when I read through the books of the Old Testament, I wonder how the people could ever go against God... then I remember the big gap in my life when I walked away from God and see just how easy it is to turn away from God. But how much do we have to go through before we turn back to God and ask Him to forgive us once again?
For the Israelites during this time when Jephthah was trying to lead them, they turned their backs on God and instead turned to all the other gods they could think of just to try and make life easier and more enjoyable. That is the key. We look at our lives and the lives of people around us and we think they have it better in some way, not knowing the pitfalls of their lives and the troubles they live with; we don’t know until it is too late and we are falling in those same pits and living the same troubles.
The Israelites were trapped in this life for 18 years! That’s about the same length of time I left God behind! But when you realise what you have done and how far you have gone, how do you make amends? How do you face God and try to apologise for all those years of running away?
That is the beauty of God’s grace and faithfulness. He is always waiting and faithful to forgive you when you come to Him. I know how hard it felt at the time when I knew I had to come back to God; but the act of coming back turned out to be the easiest step in my life!
God loves you more that you know and wants you by His side – no matter where you have been, what you have got up to and how far you wandered off. Come back!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like you have wandered too far off?
Do you know you have not gone as far as God can reach?
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October 13: Jeremiah 1:4-10
Key Verse: Jeremiah 1:5
‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’
Devotion:
One of the hardest things I face every year is seeing young people grow more and more disillusioned with the world as elders tell them they are useless or cannot do things! This is the way to destroy a country, not build it up! Young people are our future; they are the ones who will be doing things when we no longer can due to age or illness – lift them up and encourage them!
God knew this was the way forward as He picked people out when they were young and showed them just how special they are, how much they are needed and how far in life they could go. Prophets and kings have been chosen as young people and brought up in God’s arms so they can rule kingdoms and countries!
This does not mean we pre-select the rich people who are more likely to succeed; that is a man-made limitation, and one God has never chosen. God chooses the people He knows will make a difference and makes sure they are placed in the right place at the right time to take on the work required. Sometimes that work is going to be very hard and it will take a strong young person to be able to do things right for God.
Sometimes it is the elders who are too set in their ways which prevents God’s work from being completed. This is something I have grown to accept as I get older too. I have been doing youth work for a couple of decades but am learning so much from the youth during these harsh times of Covid. What pleases me most: When a young person steps forward and does something they learned as a child in my care years ago! Imagine how God feels when we do something righteous!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like God is calling you?
Are you listening to God or giving in to peer pressure?
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October 12: Exodus 32:1-6
Key Verse: Exodus 32:2
Aaron answered them, ‘Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.’
Devotion:
How long does it take for you to forget about the things God has done for you? No, it’s not an unfair question... it is a real question which is designed to stop and make you think! Often, we get carried away with the things of this world and leave God behind for a season; we switch off to the things we should be remembering and focus on the here and now so we can get through the day!
Just because something is starting to get hard to handle or manage, does not mean we should put it to one side and continue with something a bit easier to handle. God has warned us enough time about the road to Heaven being narrow and steep. When was the last time you tried to climb a mountain... I bet it was a narrow path which you could take, and it got steeper as you got closer to the top!
God knows we will face hardships during our walk with Him, but they will be nothing compared to what Christ had to go through for our sakes. God is going to be by your side every step of the way. If you turn and look the other way, you will not see God standing right next to you; instead you will focus on all the hard things facing you and grow weak and weary.
The Israelites took their focus off what God had done for them and looked back at the things they got up to which made it easier for them to handle. Instead of waiting out for Moses, Aaron took to their old ways and lost focus on God. What happened to the people – they all lost a lot of gold as it was placed in a pile and melted down to form a golden calf. When we lose focus on God, we lose focus on many of the things in life we have and often end up in a very bad place, both spiritually and physically!
Points to Ponder:
Do you always take God with you?
Are you focusing too much on the world around you?
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October 11: John 3:27-30
Key Verse: John 3:20
He must become greater; I must become less.
Devotion:
When John was baptising people, a lot of people had ideas about who he was; some saying he was the Messiah they had been waiting for... But that was just the hope the people had overflowing and becoming confused with what they were seeing. John made sure people knew he was not the Messiah but that God would be sending someone from Heaven to come and do much more than he could do.
John knew he had a task to do which was given to him by God and he did not stop trying to do as much as he could telling people about Christ and God.. I wonder how many people tried to stop John from baptising people. I wonder how much opposition he got from the Pharisees and people in charge at the time...
When we step forward in faith and do what God is calling us to do, people are going to make up their own minds about who we are and what we are doing. I have been labelled as many things which I put down because they are too fanciful for me, a plain human being, doing what God has called me to do. I don’t do it for fame or fortune. I do not do it for recognition. But I do stand up against people who will try to put me down for doing what God has called me to do!
When need to remain faithful to the calling God has called each of us to do. We need to remain vigilant to those who would oppose us and berate God. We need to continue making sure God gets the glory for what He has asked us to do. When we are faithful and continue to work as He asks – He is faithful to give us what we need to accomplish His requests!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you do for God?
How much recognition do you require?