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November 17: Psalm 19:1-4
Key Verse: Psalm 19:3
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
Devotion:
Have you heard the Sun shouting out about God recently, or maybe the Moon shouting about Christ or maybe a Tree shouting about The Holy Spirit? We can marvel at the things we can see from the Sun, the planets, our Moon and so many things on this planet. All of them are silently shouting out about God and how they have been created; we just don’t hear them unless we listen to God!
Mankind has always wondered how the universe came into being and we shall only be able to make guesses about it until God explains it to us. Some of the advances mankind has made through guessing have been truly remarkable and our scientists are expanding our horizons all the time. But the more they find out the more questions arise as to how…
I am rather partial to beautiful sunrises and sunsets and have witnessed spectacular colour in the skies because of light being diffracted or filtered. We known this now because we have studied the effects of various things interacting with light… but who has made this possible?
Our God has done so much more for us than we know of and we discover things every day. He continues to make sure we can survive through all He has done for us. If we did not have the various layers of gasses around the earth we would literally roast! We find water in the air and under ground so we can be sustained even in the harshest areas… because He loves us!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you marvel at creation?
How often do you thank Him for creation?
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November 16: Philippians 1:12-20
Key Verse: Philippians 1:15
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.
Devotion:
Have you ever been envious of people who go to a mega church where they are joined with thousands of others every week? I’m not talking about going to a camp or huge gathering which spans a few days or a week, but rather a congregation which meets every week, all year. I’m sure we all want more people to come to our churches so we can spread the gospel more, but numbers are not everything.
Then there is the clash between institutional style gatherings and more evangelical or liberal gatherings… We may even be confused by people who say there is only one style and the others are not good for you… I have been fortunate enough to go to a wide variety of churches over the years and I can say there are some who love God and their people and others who seem to be constantly at odds with each other – and they cross all styles of gatherings!
Paul was chained up in prison for telling people the truth and here he reaches out to the churches of Philippi to tell them they will have to face the good times and the bad times together. He even goes as far as saying his imprisonment is going to advance the gospel – that sometimes takes a whole lot more faith than some of us have!
Don’t go to a church to feel comfortable. Don’t go to a church because lots of other people go there. Don’t go to a church because they are rich. Don’t go to a church because a vicar or pastor tells you to… Find a church where people love each other and grow together sharing the love and the gospel together!
Points to Ponder:
Are you trying to find a nice church?
Have you tried to find people who love each other instead?
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November 15: Luke 17:11-19
Key Verse: Luke 17:18
Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?
Devotion:
One of the things Jesus must have seen a lot of was the lack of people acknowledging God for everything which was done for them. Here is a case in point and one which we may have been caught up in during our lifetimes. Jesus healed 10 people who had leprosy and simply told them to go to see the priests – they were the ones who would have authority to say whether a person was healed from leprosy or not.
As they started walking to see the priests they were all healed. One of them, upon realising they had been healed, came back to praise God for the miraculous healing… only one! The person was so pleased they threw themselves at Jesus’ feet even though they were Samaritan by birth. You have to remember Samaritans and Jews did not mix at that time!
Jesus acknowledged their faith and told them it was because of their faith they had been healed. I wonder what happened to the other nine people and how they reacted to being cleansed of leprosy!
Sometimes God does things for us and we are so caught up in enjoying our new freedom, health or other blessing, we forget to come back to Go to thank Him for our blessing. We should be thanking Him daily for every blessing we have and even for those times we have to wait for the blessings. We should be praising Him for everything in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you thank God for your blessings?
How often do you praise Him and admit that to others?
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November 14: Titus 2:11-14
Key Verse: Titus 2:14
who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Devotion:
God wants us all to have full and free access to salvation… What does that mean? During the times of the Old Testament there were more and more hints about God making a way by which all people would be able to find salvation, but most authors have limited this to the people of Israel because, to them, that was the only ‘known world’ which was pure enough and also chosen by God.
When Jesus came to live amongst us He continued to teach us this was not going to be limited to the people of Israel but the everyone in the world, no matter where they come from: This is why Paul was sent out to give the gospel freely to all people outside of Israel.
The key elements of this are for us to turn our back on earthly ways, to ungodliness and things like greed, pride and lust. Instead Jesus wants us to turn toward self-control, upright ways and everything which is pure even though we live in an uncontrolled, unrighteous world. If we are eager to turn away from the unrighteous things and accept the righteous ways of Christ, then we have taken the first step.
Keeping Christ close and in the centre of our lives we have an advantage over the world because we have the guidance and strength to turn away from the ways of the world. Christ wants us presented to God as pure and innocent in every way – that is why He laid His life down for us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are not good enough to be a Christian?
Don’t you know Christ died so you can be?
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November 13: Habakkuk 3:17-19
Key Verse: Habakkuk 3:19
God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights.
Devotion:
One of the hardest things to understand in life is rejection or not having things go as expected in life. I’m sure we can all pick a time in our lives when things have all seemed to go against our expectations or against our wishes; especially when you have pleaded with God to allow things to go a certain way! This seems to compound our disappointment!
I don’t often get to read all the books of the minor prophets in the bible, but when I do I seem to be able to relate to what they talk about and how my life seems to unravel or play out! We are not all great and strong leaders like David or Solomon or the disciples and so we should not expect our lives to live out as if we were.
God has planned a life for each of us as unique individuals; each of those plans are going to differ from our neighbours and from our friends lives. Our church leaders may be trying to teach us of a life with which we cannot fully relate because we are very different than they are; so these words should be taken to heart by each one of us!
Not everything we do will be a success. Not everything will go according to plan. Sometimes it may seem like we have done this all for nothing this time round! What we must aim to do is to always rejoice in Christ and to exult God no matter what happens in our lives. Yes it is hard. Yes it may seem pointless sometimes. But when we see why He has chosen our path in life we will soar like eagles!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get down when things don’t go your way?
How many times have you listened to God’s replies to prayers?
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November 12: Philippians 4:8-9
Key Verse: Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
Devotion:
This letter to the churches in Philippi brings to mind the new life Jesus talked about. One where we dare to leave the sinful lives we have led behind and follow Him, not just in name but in spirit and ways too. The apostle talks about a different way a life, one where we do not focus on the lies, the social stigmas, the injustice and horrors of this world; one where we focus on the truth, upright, admirable, praiseworthy and beautiful things.
The world is full of such things but mankind continue to focus on the opposite things, all the ways which bring sorrow, hatred, wars and ill feelings. God wants us to set war behind us and to love our neighbours as our selves. That means turning our backs on the sinful ways which cause disruption and bring together all things which will allow us to share the truth and love one another.
Many churches around the country will celebrate Remembrance day in their congregations just as the world tried to celebrate it yesterday. Many people objected because of the wars which are continuing. Many people no longer want the wars and strife but don’t know how to open their hearts to Christ and to others.
Step outside your comfort zones today and show people we can make a difference when we come together in love instead of in wars. This is what Jesus is trying to teach us...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you hear about wars in the news?
How often do you spread good news and love?
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November 11: Romans 16:3-9
Key Verse: Romans 16:7
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
Devotion:
These are a few of the personal greetings Paul sends out to the church people, each one of which he attaches a brief description of how he knows them. I chose the highlight to be this verse because he lists two people who were also Jews and who also were in prison with him at some stage. He describes them as being in Christ before he was.
To write out a list of people like this takes a personal touch and gives deeper meaning to the people who he came to know through the church and all because of Christ. How many of your friends can you name and describe how you met them? What sort of impact have they made on your life?
Now we turn the tables and try to think what sort of picture our friends will paint for us in a letter like this? How do they see us and can they remember we are Christians and what we have done in the church? When I first got to know Christ I also started to get to know people in the churches I went to and I remember what sort of impression they made on me. Not all of them good!
As we grow in Christ we get to meet more and more people. We get to see the people for who they really are if we spend time with them. If we make time to greet them and to listen to their stories in their lives we get to know what sort of lives they have lived and can gain a lot by just listening to them!
Points to Ponder:
Do you try to tell people how they should be as Christians?
Or do you try to show people what sort of a Christian you are?
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November 10: Luke 16:1-8
Key Verse: Luke 16:8
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.
Devotion:
This parable may sound a bit strange when you first read it because the rich man was scolding the manager for doing a bad job, but then the manager went round all the debtors and halved their debt and the rich man then commended the manager!
But they key is in this last verse where Jesus separated the master from the dishonest people which now included the manager. The rich man knew he had people who owed him money and he was using his staff to go out and try and get the money back, maybe even raising the interest on the loans or debts. When the manager did dishonest things by halving the debts he probably inadvertently allowed many of the people to be able to pay back the debts!
The rich man had probably not thought of things like that because he was honest and kept the debts up to date and had them chased as well. But the manager showed his true colours by being dishonest about all the debts because he was acting like the people who still had outstanding debts. Dishonest people attract dishonest people…
Jesus wants us to see how different people of the world are and to try and make ways in which they can be invited in to see how different Christian life is. If we stand up as staunch Christians many people will stay away from us because they don’t want to be shown up. But if we allow them some room to change, they may just do that and surprise us all!
Points to Ponder:
Do you always make sure the law is upheld?
Would you be willing to allow others to show you why they are different?
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November 9: Luke 15:3-7
Key Verse: Luke 15:7
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.
Devotion:
This is one parable we probably cannot relate to because we are probably not shepherds and we probably don’t know any shepherds… at least that is what it is like for most people who don’t live on or near farms. So what would a modern day parable be like for the same message Jesus is trying to get over here?
How about if you were looking after dogs or cats in a kennel of some sort and maybe one of the animals which was put in your charge managed to dig their way out of their kennel and ran off to play instead! Imagine how worried you would be for that animal. Would you not make sure all the others were safe and run off to try and find the escaped animal; and then the feeling of relief and happiness when you found the escapee!
Now think of this in a way God may be thinking of us all… He is trying to look after us. If one of us were to run off and get mixed up with evil people He would be worried for us. He may even send someone out to look for us or even come Himself to look for us!
This is why Jesus describes the happiness God has when just one person repents and asks for help! Unlike in a kennel, God has given us free choice as to what we do with our lives. If we go off and get mixed up with evil, He is going to be very worried for us! This is why He allowed Jesus to come and minister directly to mankind!
Points to Ponder:
Do you always do what is right?
What do you do when you realise you have done something wrong?
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November 8: Luke 14:25-27
Key Verse: Luke 14:26
‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, even their own life – such a person cannot be my disciple.
Devotion:
This is one verse which will always be taken out of context and talked about in so many ways; but by taking it out of the context of the things which were happening around Jesus on this particular day, we get a different story to what Jesus wanted people to hear!
Many people were now following Jesus around; the picture we often think of is Jesus being followed by 12 eager students willing to learn, but in reality Jesus was always thinking of the many people who were following Him. Many of these people would have followed Him because of the healing and miracles. Some would be following Him to learn more. A few may have been following Him to try and trap Him into saying something wrong…
But on this day Jesus reached out to the crowds to try and get them to think about why they were following Him. We get people who go to a particular church to see the things which are happening. We get people who go to a church to sing with a big band. We get people who go to a church because they can learn much as a student from the priest.
Jesus wanted to stop people and make them think about the real reasons they were meeting or following Him. He wanted people to search their hearts and think about what God meant to them. God wants us to be real, to know in our hearts why we follow Him and to be able to express why too! This is the start of a real relationship with Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know why you go to the church you go to?
How is your relationship with Christ?