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July 19: Exodus 3:9-12
Key Verse: Exodus 3:11
But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’
Devotion:
One of the things which I found unbelievable in the beginning was how God can use anyone to do His will. I was divorced and trying to raise a teenager, keep a demanding job, attend church and keep out of trouble… then He called me to step forward and to take on Christian youth work – so that’s not just looking after a bunch of rowdy teenagers, but giving them the spiritual guidance and food they needed!
I admit, I was petrified the first time I had to stand up and try to guide that lively group of young people. Who was I to do this when I had seemingly failed at my own relationship and was having trouble with my teenager! But I found out, if I was willing to listen to God and to wait on His for guidance, then I could do many things!
Moses was probably still thinking about what he had done to the Egyptian who was abusing his fellow countryman – how could he now stand up and go to Pharaoh and say they wanted to leave! The Egyptians had enslaved the Hebrew people and were even trying to control the population through what was essentially selective breeding!
But God knew Moses was the right person to step forward at that time and knew what would happen. God knew Pharaoh would say one thing and do another thing over and over again. God knew the Hebrew people would have to leave under drastic circumstances in order to survive. God knew He could not use the ‘best political leader’ to negotiate the terms of release. God chose Moses.
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are not good enough to be used by God?
If God can use a murderer, why can’t He use you?
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July 18: Exodus 2:1-10
Key Verse: Exodus 2:6
She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. ‘This is one of the Hebrew babies,’ she said.
Devotion:
What do you do when you are faced with an impossible situation? Do you give up and accept what is going to happen or do you call out to God who can do anything? This is a side of Christians which people try to attack us with saying we do not face up to dangers and so call on an invisible God so we don’t have to face the consequences...
Let’s get something straight from the start – God does not say we will not have to endure consequences just because we are Christians or because we call out to Him. He does not say we are going to be protected from everything just because we call out to Him; but He does say He will hear every prayer and answer them.
In this story we see the plight of the Levite family who gave birth to a boy at a time when all baby boys were being killed by the Egyptians, a seemingly impossible situation. The family called out for God and placed their son’s life in His hands. The Pharaoh’s daughter saw the baby and had compassion on him had him weaned and brought to her to raise as her own son. This is how God made sure a man would be able to bring the Hebrews out of the grasp of the Egyptians. God was answering many prayers in the best way forward.
We do not have to give in to the world and accept whatever it throws at us, we are allowed to call out to God and ask for help in whatever situation we find ourselves in. But if we ask God to do things in spite or pride, we maybe should not expect Him to answer as we think He should. God is always going to be just and answer in a way which glorifies Him and is best for our lives with Him; keep that in mind and keep on asking!
Points to Ponder:
Do you give up on prayer because it seems too hard?
Will you trust God to answer in the best way?
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July 17: Exodus 1:8-14
Key Verse: Exodus 1:14
They made their lives bitter with harsh labour in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labour, the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
Devotion:
What do you do when you life gets heavy with oppression or you know you are being judged unfairly? Do you accept it and continue to hope someone will change things, or do you call out to the One who can make a difference? Too many times we sit back and accept our ‘fate’ by accepting the things which are being done to us; either thinking we deserve what is happening or hoping for someone else to fix things for us.
How long did the Israelites continue to accept their ‘fate’ and how soon did they call out to God. As we go through some parts of this story again we will get to hear what happened and how God came to their rescue – though we may think God waited too long or the people waited too long or even the tyrannical rule of the Egyptians was too much…
No matter what predicament you may find yourself in, you should be calling out to God for help. When things seem to go awry, then is the time to make a call to God. Don’t leave it until you cannot cope any more because your mind and body may not last as long as you think they can – call out to God when you need Him!
Not all people will follow God or listen to Him. Not all people stick by Christians rules or morals. Not all people care about others or love their neighbours. We need to stand up and show we are different and that we do rely on God for our lives. Only when people see there is a different and more wholesome way of living will they think about change – be the change!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you take before you call out for help?
Are you complaining or call for help?
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July 16: Isaiah 55:10-13
Key Verse: Isaiah 55:12
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Devotion:
The more I read the Bible the more I am amazed at how God has made sure His Word has continued to be an open book for all to read despite what the rulers of the world would want to happen. Yes there are places all round the world where the Bible is no longer an acceptable book to read and most of those places are ruled by people who are scared at what the Word of God can do – because they lose control if God gains it!
The Word of God opens up a new world to all who are able to read it; it opens up hope, freedom and peace where rulers and leaders try to subdue, restrict and bring fear. When a leader loses the grip of fear they have over the people, the people feel free to oppose them and bring about real freedom.
Sadly there are church institutions which restrict the Word of God to what they wish people to hear so they can lead through subduing, restricting and bringing fear to the people. This is not God’s way and it will not lead to people knowing the Joy and freedom Christ brings to all. The early church in the UK restricted the Word of God by having a bible authorised by the King chained to places of worship and only the licensed priest could use those books.
God continues to make sure the bible is brought to as many people as possible in an increasingly free world. We are able to take God’s Word with us in devices which fit in the palm of our hands; no longer do the rulers have authoritarian control over The Word. The purpose of the Gospel is to reach all people with the truth and allow them to have free choice to follow God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you help to share God’s Word?
Or are you restricting what people get to hear?
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July 15: Matthew 10:24-33
Key Verse: Matthew 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.
Devotion:
No matter how much you tell people God is going to watch over them, they will have doubts and fears until the day when Christ steps forward and helps them out of a difficult situation… We can show people how God has looked after people throughout the bible and they may get scared of what God can do. We can tell people all God has done for us and they will have doubts. Even when Jesus told the disciples they would be looked after they had doubts – hence these words being spoken to them.
It is our nature not to trust what people say because of the amount of lies we face in this world we live in; the lies come from people we are told to trust and believe and even a few church leaders! But, no matter what goes on in the world around us, God never changes and will always be there for us. I love the words Jesus used here in describing the birds as being looked after by God.
We see birds as a symbol of freedom because they can fly high above the dangers we face on the ground. They can fly away when danger approaches. These birds are worth so little in our eyes and yet God looks after them all the time. A tiny young bird flew into my house the other week and I helped it to gain some energy and fly off back to the parents who could feed it properly.
God wants us to be like that fledgling, trusting in Him to protect us and to give us the right people and the right time to sustain us in our everyday lives. God can and does use many people to fulfil His will; and if we are willing He is able to use us for so much more too!
Points to Ponder:
Do you doubt your worth sometimes?
Do you know God is by your side right now?
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July 14: Matthew 10:16-23
Key Verse: Matthew 10:16
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Devotion:
When I read this passage this morning, I sat and reflected on it for a while. Yes my head was going all over the place thinking of many things but I kept coming back to the first verse here talking about going out into a dangerous world and being different! That is what it comes down to!
It is very easy to go into the world and to behave like those around you because that seems OK and get into stuff everyone seems to be doing, after all they are all doing it… But that may not be what God is asking you to do. Jesus warned the disciples it is like you are a sheep and you are going into a den of wolves! But if you are as shrewd as a snake and innocent as a dove, you may just make it without being eaten! So how does that work?
Snakes are very adept at hiding in the most amazing places where people will not see them and where they can wait until the time is right. Doves are innocent – or at least that is how we see them. So for us to live in this world we should try to be as adept as snakes at finding the right place to be at the right time. It does not mean we should act like the stereotypical snake and bite people for the fun of it!
God wants us to be different from the world. He wants us to stand out, not because we are mean or calculating but because others will see us as adept and innocent. We will have to face all the same things everyone else has to face, and then some, but we should try to maintain our righteous stance in amongst the sins of the world. God wants us to share why we are different and encourage others to be different too – always listening to and obeying God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you join in with the crowd?
Will you stand up for righteousness?
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July 13: Matthew 10:7-14
Key Verse: Matthew 10:8
Heal those who are ill, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
Devotion:
When Jesus sent out the disciples to spread the Gospel, it was not as a modern-day sales team or organisation which would be self sustaining group to conquer the world… He sent them out saying they should not have to take anything with them or have to provide for themselves because the people who were willing to hear the gospel would be the people who would sustain them because they would recognise the benefit of what they were learning!
Sadly many people take this as being a ‘free lunch’ ticket where they will be able to earn money just by doing things for the church! Jesus would warn the disciples they would not be well off in earthly terms and many people would hate and persecute them because they were different. Being an active Christian is not the easiest task but I do find it the most rewarding thing in the world!
Initially Jesus sent the disciples to go to the people of Israel because they were in immediate need, they had wandered away from God and needed to come back to the real meaning of being in a relationship with God instead of the rules and regulation which were being imposed upon them by the Pharisees and the Scribes. Jesus wanted His people to know the truth so they would be able to share it with the world.
Our task really is to reach those people around us with the gospel, not making money out of teaching them things, but simply giving them the good news so they can know the true benefit of knowing Christ. The news is so good in fact anyone would be willing to share what they have so they can hear and experience that good news. This is the Gospel of Christ!
Points to Ponder:
Are you waiting for a business model before you start work?
Will you simply share the gospel and allow God to work out the details?
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July 12: Genesis 41:55-57
Key Verse: Genesis 41:56
When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt.
Devotion:
The story about Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dream about the seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine is another one which I found hard to accept as a young person – why would God allow a great famine to come to the whole area? But when we look at what the people were getting up to and how far they had drifted away from God you begin to see a picture of disobedience which was all over the place.
God had raised people to continue reminding people of Him and to warn them things would happen if they wandered away from God; but when things seem to be going smoothly, people forget about the hardships. When the time comes for the warning to come to pass, people get upset with God as if He has done something wrong!
This sort of world we see in this story is what I see happening in the world around us. God has been trying to get through to people for a long time but people have been more interested in personal gain than loving their neighbours. I think it is little wonder then we see many countries with leaders who are all but destroying the economy and societies.
If more people were like Joseph and cared about their relationship with God, then more people around them would see the difference it makes and how we can all grow into better communities through working with God. None of this is an overnight fix; after all we see seven years of abundance before the seven years of famine – that is a long time in anyone’s life!
Points to Ponder:
What do you do to make your life better?
What are you doing to make your relationship with God better?
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July 11: Matthew 9:32-38
Key Verse: Matthew 9:33
And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’
Devotion:
Most people will remember the last couple of verses where Jesus talks about the harvest being plentiful but the workers few, but I would like to focus on something different today, something I am reading between the lines… Often we read our bibles and we take the words for what they say but Christ told us to meditate on them which means we have to think about what is written and read between the lines being guided by the Holy Spirit.
The thing which struck me this morning was not the words written down but the words which are missing. Very little is said about Jesus driving out the demons from the possessed person other than they were driven out, the person spoke freely after being mute and the crowd were amazed! What about the people who brought the man to Jesus? What made them bring him in?
I would like to think Jesus knew what was in the man’s heart despite him not being able to speak from the demons possessing him. Jesus had no problem driving out the demons which were controlling this person despite them not being able to talk about it and not being able to verbally ask Jesus for help. This is the thought which flooded my mind – Jesus knew the plight of this person even though they could not call out for help.
God is not limited by the physical world even though we are limited and we cannot look outside of the limits we see. God knew what was in the heart of this person and knew they wanted to be free from everything they were experiencing… So if you are being limited by some things in your life, don’t stop calling out to Christ for help because He does know what is in your heart!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel trapped in a situation?
Will you call out to God, even in secret?
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July 10: Genesis 28:10-15
Key Verse: Genesis 28:13
There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
Devotion:
How closely do you listen to God? I know I have problems listening to God at times with all the distractions of the world around me, but I try to set time aside where I can focus on things and allow God to guide me. So what happens if you don’t get it right and you don’t do what God is trying to tell you? Well, I guess that is part of being human and living where we live.
I think it would only be by living in a monastery or other place where you can separate yourself from the world where you would get to focus properly on what God is saying. Even then if you mind is full on things it will be hard to focus; and my mind is always full of stuff because my mind is always active.
Here Jacob, being a direct descendant of Abraham who was to be the father of a great nation too numerous to number, is being re-told the same prophecy. Does this mean God reneged on His word? Far from it. Abraham was not promised to have thousands of children, but to be the start of something great. Jacob is given the same promise for him and his descendants. The key being descendants.
We do need to listen to what God is trying to tell us and not make up our own minds about what we think we should do. There are times where you do have to take the initiative and there are times you need to stop and listen. It’s taken me a long time to tell the difference between the two, and I still get it wrong at times. The key being I am trying to listen to God and obey Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like it is difficult to listen to God?
Have you tried doing something to see if He will support you?