- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1253
February 13: Isaiah 53:4-6
Key Verse: Isaiah 53:4
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
Devotion:
How many times have you taken the blame for someone else's misgivings or things they have done against others? If you are like me, then the answer is ‘not too many times!’ and yet this is the example Christ gave us when He came to live amongst us. Does this mean we need to go out of our way and take on the punishment for others so they can go free? No, because we cannot and must not judge others – we have a sinful nature and will get our priorities wrong when we try to step in for others.
We need to uphold people and encourage them to leave their sinful ways behind, not blame them and allow the law to break them down so they come crying to God. Allow God to work in their hearts by showing them hope and something to look forward to; allow God to bring their sins to the surface in His perfect timing and not our blundering ways.
Have you noticed how we sometimes get things so very wrong when we try to do things right? We have problems in our lives, each of us our own problems, each of us our own sins – we should not impose our ways or sins upon others. Christ alone is able and willing to take on our debt for the things we have done wrong – He has done this already and does not have to go back and do it over and over again as we sin over and over again. But never forget that it was because of our sins He had to be nailed to the cross – it was because of our issues we (mankind) nailed Him to the cross!
But still Christ was willing to step forward and take on this mantle so we could be free from our sin debt. Christ has paid it all, once and for all; we need to accept this truth and own it! God did not cause Jesus to be crucified – it was the call of the crowd and the giving in of the governor which made it so.
Points to Ponder:
How much have you done wrong in your life?
Do you realise Christ has paid enough to cover it all?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1179
February 12: Romans 11:11-16
Key Verse: Romans 11:14
in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.
Devotion:
The apostle continued on spreading the gospel to the Gentiles making sure they understood how God’s grace covered them as well as the people of Israel. No matter if we are descendants of other people or races, we still have God’s grace covering each one of us. The Apostle was loud about this because he wanted the Israelites to hear how other people were being included in the kingdom of God – hoping they would become jealous and turn back to God in their jealousy!
Sometimes it is not what we can show people they may be able to achieve but rather allow others to see what they are missing by not listening to the gospel that matters. God has chosen all of us and waits patiently for each one of us to make the choice to follow Him – we are not turned away because we do not belong and we are not turned away because we have done things wrong in the past! God’s grace covers us all and all our circumstances!
How great will it be to see every people, from every race, from every country and from every walk of life being together and enjoying eternity in Heaven! I know I have been guilty at excluding some because of they way they have acted in the past, but I have learned from God to show mercy and grace to all people. It is the people who ask who will be given the attention first of all because they have come forward in hope. It is not that I am excluding some because of their actions – it is their actions which push other people forward in their stead.
The same can be said for our lot in front of God. If we continue to fight against Him, we are pushing other people forward because we are withdrawing from the gift God is offering. But when we step forward and accept this free gift of His grace, then we are included in the few who will be accepted by Him. Christ has paid a price which is great enough to cover every thing we could possibly do wrong in our lives – we just have to accept that and invite God back into our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get jealous when others are chosen instead of you?
Why not admit your jealousy to God and ask Him to include you too?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1310
February 11: Romans 11:1-6
Key Verse: Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Devotion:
God has always tried to make sure people understood it was and is because of grace we are chosen to be His children and His remanent. Out of all the people who had been taken out of Egypt and brought to the promised land, only a few thousand did not bow down before Baal. How many more thousands had bowed down to other gods, and yet God was willing to show them grace and mercy and bring them back into His fold.
It was not what they had done, what they had managed to keep to or what they had achieved. It was because of God’s grace the people were being called back into the fold. Without that grace and mercy, people simply would not have a chance! We are all sinners and we all get things wrong – we may well pray to God alone and not to any other gods, but we still manage to get things wrong and sin before our God!
It is His choice to show us grace and mercy and nothing else can be held up as being the reason why He has chosen us! No matter how hard we try to stick to the rules and how much we succeed, it is still God’s choice in the end. Because is this message and because of God’s promises, I know I can stand firm in those promises and expect to be taken to be with Him in heaven in the end! I know I have fallen short of the mark and I know I still break rules – but I also know God shows grace and mercy!
No matter how far you have wondered from the trail, no matter how much you think you have done wrong, nothing can compare to the grace and mercy God has to show for us. His grace is able to cover all and forgive all. We just need to step forward and ask for that grace to cover us as well. If we are not willing to admit God is God alone and that Christ came to die on the cross and be raised up to cover our sins, then God will have to continue waiting patiently until we do ask – He will not force this choice on anyone...
Points to Ponder:
Do you wonder whether you are good enough?
Don’t you know your sins have been covered by Christ and you are free?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1261
February 10: Psalm 74:1-3
Key Verse: Psalm 74:1
O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smoulder against the sheep of your pasture?
Devotion:
What goes through your head when things go wrong in your life? I know many of us turn and blame God for either forgetting about us or for allowing these bad things to happen to us! I would like you to take a step back and look at the people around you – not just the Christians or your friends, but all the people around you. When a flood happens, does it not affect your friends and your enemies? When people get sick and have to go into hospital, are they just your enemies, or does this happen to you and your friends too?
Bad things happen to all of us because we all live in this sinful world. It is not God lashing punishment upon us for doing wrong or forgetting about us because we have not done something right – stuff just happens, and it happens all around us! It is us who have the change of view on what is happening and why it is happening because we assume God is going to place a hedge of protection around us from all bad things such as debt, disease and natural disasters.
If we listen closely to God, He may well be telling us what to do to avoid these sort of things in our lives, but sometimes we have to go through these bad things just as the people around us go through them. It is part of our education and growth in wisdom and spirituality. God is always there and is always looking out for us – the world just does not care one way or the other…
Do not give up on God just because something bad has happened in your life. Do not give up just because you think you don’t deserve it – nobody deserves bad things, not even the bad people. God will throw light on the bad things we do to try and educate us into doing the right things for Him, but He does not level us with a flood just because we did something bad. We live in this world and we have to put up with the good and the bad things which happen – but every step of the way we can know God is with us and is able to give us the strength to get through the bad times...
Points to Ponder:
When was the last time you blamed God?
When was the last time your praised God?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1308
February 9: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 3:20
and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”
Devotion:
Have you ever been guilty of thinking you know more than others, only to be proved wrong when things turn out to be different than your understanding? I know I have done so & I know I have been on the receiving end of others thinking they know better – but when it comes down to it, the person in charge will probably get their own way first!
When mankind begins to think they know better than God, it is only a matter of time before they realise just how wrong they have been all along; it may well be they only find out when it is too late, but I pray they will find out before it is too late! God is the embodiment of wisdom and everything else can be counted as foolishness against His wisdom… we just have to accept this!
Mankind may come up with some pretty amazing inventions and ways around problems which will keep up bewildered, but still this falls short of God’s wisdom and His power. When we see governments bending the truth or having their own way, we can only stand back and pray for them to see the light before they find out directly from Christ – when it will probably be too late for them to do anything about it!
We stand at the cusp of many things failing in our communities because people have either turned a blind eye or the powers that be have corrupted the truth to server their own benefits and greed. God sees through every one of these actions and does not forget them because they are worked against His people. We should not be boasting about how great a leader we have or how great a country we have but rather be boasting about how great a God we have and how He enables us to live the life we live with Him!
Points to Ponder:
What do you see as powerful in your country?
Do you realise God is watching over this all?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1192
February 8: Psalm 93:1-5
Key Verse: Psalm 93:4
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea - the Lord on high is mighty.
Devotion:
Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses… Our lives are pretty hectic and the more we embrace modern society the more our lives seem to overtake us and get us involved with so much more than we can normally handle! When we feel overwhelmed, we need to stop and consider just who is in charge and who hold all the power.
There are going to be governments and leaders who will claim they own all the power and they have ultimate control over everything, but if truth be told, they too are subject to the one who is all powerful – God! I don’t know if you have all experienced the power of waves on the sea-front, but you can quite easily get knocked off your feet by a bit of water! Rain, snow and floods can be quite devastating inland as well, and yet it is ‘only water’. God’s power is so much more than anything we have encountered but still we look at it in a similar light to waves etc.
God’s power is not to be taken lightly and certainly not to be ignored. The people in the Old Testament grew to experience the power of God first hand in many cases, they knew all too well that God was more powerful than they could imagine. In modern society we tend to get carried away with seeing so many extraordinary feats and events and we lose track of God’s real power because we only look up to the power of the world, be it the natural world or the man-made world.
If you ever have had the privilege of seeing a waterfall from up close, then you can feel the power of the water as it thunders down, encompassing everything in its path. Whilst this can be overwhelming to see up close, God’s power is probably hidden far more from us than the waterfalls and so we do tend to take it for granted and even ignore it. Heaven and earth cry out about the power of God – we need to stop and listen and embrace this power which will help and protect us if we ask for it to do so...
Points to Ponder:
What is the most unsettling power you have seen?
Do you know God’s power encompasses that too?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1298
February 7: Ephesians 2:19-22
Key Verse: Ephesians 2:21
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
Devotion:
When you move out of home for the first time or go to live in a strange place whilst at university or college or even go on holiday and share a place with strangers – you look at everything around you and wonder who is the stranger, them or you! Sometimes you don’t fit in with the others and you try to move somewhere else, other times you fit in with most people and another person moves… we just don’t mix with everyone and anyone… or at least that is how we see it!
But when we look at it from Christ’s eyes or through God’s eyes we see the potential to mix with everyone and we try to get on with everyone; after all Christ taught us to love everyone as much as we love ourselves. It’s the attitude we take into a new place which will make more of a difference than the mix of people we meet there. If we see problems before we get there, we find problems in every point. But if we see potential everywhere, we find opportunities everywhere instead.
When we come together as Christians we should be showing the world we have a brotherhood who love and trust each other, looking for and expecting the best out of all situation just as we offer our best in those cases too. Sadly, we fall short of the mark. But, even though we do fall short of the mark, God still treats us as members of His household. In Christ the whole body of people is joined together as one and becomes the holy temple in which we meet.
God lives in us by His Spirit through whom He can encourage us and guide us into seeking potential and opportunities every step of the way. Stop looking for the problems and listen to the Spirit who can guide you to the opportunities to improve and expand your way of life in Christ’s body!
Points to Ponder:
Do you look for issues or do you look for opportunities?
Will you allow the Spirit to guide you to your next opportunity?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1218
February 6: 2 Timothy 2:20-21
Key Verse: 2 Timothy 2:20
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use.
Devotion:
I love these verses which follow yesterdays devotion where gossiping is put down; reminding us that we are all very different in the way God made us. If we were all the same, society would collapse and we would not get very far. We need the people who maintain the sewers, we need the people who farm crops, we need the people who raise livestock, we need the people who study science and medicine, we even need the people who are in government…
We are a society of many different branches all of which contribute to form this society – once one branch gets cut off, either the rest of the branches have to take up the slack, or they whither and maybe die due to lack of support. We are all different and we need to celebrate our difference!
God created some of us to sit down and silently study the bible so we can teach others, but He also created some to simply sit down and study the bible to build ourselves up. God created us different so we can help support each other in everything we do; this is the base of the love Jesus taught the disciples to have and forms the cornerstone of our communities. This means we need to show that love and support to everyone in all positions in society and in our communities, not leaving out those we think of as not deserving in some way because of the position, looks or cleanliness!
God has created the right people to fulfil the right jobs – but we don’t all listen to our Father in heaven! Some of us are put in charge of things everyone takes for granted and many times we feel like we are taken for granted too… yes we are… but there are also those put in power or in royal positions which many take for granted too. We all have our positions which we should be trying to fulfil to the best of our abilities. I have not been able to do much over the last year because of spending so much time in hospital; this gave me greater insight into the work I do and how much it means to other people in our community and church.
Points to Ponder:
Do you ever feel you are taken for granted?
Do you take God for granted sometimes?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1252
February 5: 2 Timothy 2:14-19
Key Verse: 2 Timothy 2:16
Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
Devotion:
I’m sure all of us can admit to gossip at one stage or another – I know there are some who will say they have not, but what I am talking about now is not the constant gossip like we see is some soaps on TV, but the telling of something which is not the truth just to get your own way. As a parent, I must say I was guilty of this quite a bit, telling my children to do something because of some made up reason. I believe this is also included in this portion of the letter to Timothy here.
We should not get into a huge argument over words or wording either because by doing so we are pushing our thoughts onto others and as we get more and more upset or heated up about the words, something comes out which may not be the whole truth! Yes, I am guilty of that one too!
Last week, during our staff meeting, we were talking about the way yeast spreads through dough until it engulfs the whole dough. Unless that yeast is checked, it will continue to spread into all dough it comes into contact with… just like the words of gossip we like to spread. It is amazing how quickly word can get around just by telling the right people who you know will go on to tell many others!
But imagine what will happen when the wrong word gets out and it starts spreading quicker than the truth. Just like the Coronavirus is spreading much further and faster than first expected (please do continue to pray for all people and families affected by this virus around the world) bad words can spread so much quicker and further than we want. I have seen far too many relationship break apart because something was said out of order, even though not true!
Points to Ponder:
Are you spreading gossip?
Or are you spreading the gospel?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 1311
February 4: Acts 20:22-24
Key Verse: Acts 20:24
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Devotion:
Have you ever faced a decision where no matter what choice you make, the choice looks like a bad choice or a bad outcome will be awaiting? I can remember times at school when I would have to make the choice of going to see a teacher knowing the outcome of that meeting would mean me having to go and see the deputy head or generally get into trouble; but I had to face it!
Paul knew what was waiting for him in Jerusalem was not going to be nice because God had warned him through the Holy Spirit on many occasions. Now was the time he had to make the choice of having to go back to Jerusalem and find out what horrors would be there waiting for him! He kept his faith in God and walked back into Jerusalem.
When God has asked us to do something and the only outcome we can see seems to be a bad outcome, we need to have faith God knows what He is doing and has planned for this to bring glory to Him in the right manner. Yes, we will face hard times and we may even have our hearts broken – but giving the situation to God and trusting Him for the right outcome is what He is calling us to do.
We have many situation in our bibles describing people who have given their ‘bad choice’ to God and asked Him for protection; and in each case God has received glory far beyond what He would have received if those people had not fully trusted in Him. So, next time you are faced with a decision where the outcome looks very bleak, lift up your situation to God and place it firmly in His hands – don’t try to work out the outcome for yourself because you will end up spoiling God’s perfect planning – listen closely to what God has to say and trust in those promises He made to us in the beginning.
Points to Ponder:
Do you like making horrible choices?
Have you tried to place your horrible choices fully in God’s hands?