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Jun 25: Matthew 7:9-12
Key Verse: Matthew 7:12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Devotion:
Can you ever remember a time when you have asked for food or water and being given something totally inappropriate instead? At boarding school our friends would often play pranks on each other by giving them inappropriate things, but I’m talking about the times when we actually needed help. Unless you are facing a person who has no empathy, we would get something in return for asking.
When we ask our guardians for something, they may often give us more than what we ask for because of their love for us. God wants us to know He is more than a guardian and will supply to us more than we expect; simply because of His great love for us!
What God also wants us to note is that we do need to ask because He is always listening and always there for us. If we do not ask then we may well take Him for granted and forget He is always there, but by asking and being given we are constantly reminded of the great love our Father in Heaven has for us!
Don’t hold back because you think you do not deserve things. God knows we do not deserve anything because of our sinful natures and sinful ways. But He allowed Jesus to cover all of those sins with His righteousness and be presented as sinless and worthy before Him – so we should ask!
Points to Ponder:
Do you hold back because you think you have done something wrong?
Has Christ’s sacrifice not been enough to cover your errors?
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Jun 24: Luke 1:57-66
Key Verse: Luke 1:64
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.
Devotion:
When we do things God’s way, other things fall into place. When we go against God’s ways, the only things which will go the way we want are those of which we have control. Not everything in life is within our control and certainly nobody else is under our control! We live in a world where we each may want to do things different ways and this brings up conflict right from the start.
If we are all willing to listen to God’s ways, then surely we will all be working toward the same goal and should get there a lot quicker. So what if we listen to some other leader? Will we not reach the goal quickly as well? There in lies a problem because once we listen to someone else we may be loosing sight of God in our lives. Too many people have greed and pride in their way to be able to allow God’s ways to be followed.
We can see this throughout history as leaders have done things their own way and come up against other or their pride and greed has led to their downfall before too long.
God is not driven by the earthly wants and desires we have; instead He is trying to do what is best for everyone because He actually knows what we do need. When God’s plan to have John and Jesus born into this world a few months apart, it was the plan mankind needed to ensure we have a way forward. Fortunately for us, some people did listen and we have the truth to guide us now!
Points to Ponder:
Do you strive to do your best?
Would you try to do what is best for God instead?
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Jun 23: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 6:1
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
Devotion:
One thing we find hard to accept in the beginning as Christians is the grace of God. We go through life without receiving grace and mercy from the people who matter most in our lives. Yes, we may get some love, mercy and grace, but when we do things wrong, that ends from our human peers because humans find it hard to extend mercy when they don’t get anything in return!
But God extends His grace and mercy to us no matter what is going on in our lives. What we have to learn is no matter what we are going through, we can look forward to grace and mercy all of our lives. What we will find difficult is looking for that grace and mercy when are surrounded by revenge and hatred!
God does not extend revenge and hatred to us even when we are going against His will in our lives. He wants us to see what we do wrong and come to Him to ask for forgiveness and mercy – that is when He can show us the mercy we do not deserve and extend the grace we don’t understand…
When we are facing human hatred, revenge, greed and all the other human traits which pour into our lives, we can’t see the wood from the trees and we don’t get how God can show us grace. But when we look to Him and extend our hearts to His love and ways, we find a whole new world waiting for us!
Points to Ponder:
Have you tried to accept God’s will and His ways into your life?
Will you open your heart to His heart and accept His love, grace and mercy?
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Jun 22: Matthew 6:24-34
Key Verse: Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Devotion:
When Jesus was getting the disciples ready to go out and share the gospel, He warned them against doing things in a worldly manner. The Scribes and Pharisees had taken the religion to extremes by making it worldly and focused around the things of man instead of the things of God; Jesus wanted the disciples to be different, just as He was showing people a new way.
What Jesus was teaching, though, was not really a new way but the way God had planned things in the beginning. God wanted us to be in communion with Him and with each other. God wanted us to be close and to love each other like He had planned, not to love the world and all things of this world.
Jesus’ instructions here are to not worry about taking anything with because, if we are working for God and doing things according to God’s plan, then the plan is already in effect and we should have our needs covered already. This can be very challenging for anyone who has doubts about their faith because those doubts are focused around worldly needs and goals.
Yes, we need worldly things to survive because we live in this world. But by following God’s plan, our needs have been covered. This faith in God will speak volumes to the people around us as they struggle with the world. Our struggle should be against sin and the evil one, not against God and His ways. The world is just where we live!
Points to Ponder:
Do you struggle with everyday things?
How often do you give God control?
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Jun 21: Matthew 6:19-23
Key Verse: Matthew 6:19
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
Devotion:
What are the things in life you strive after? Are there possessions you hold onto because of their worth, or maybe you are trying to build up lots of money in the bank so you don’t have to worry about it when you are older… We all have the things we try to build up, but Jesus was warning people they should not be trying to build up things on earth for the sake of those things…
The more we try to build things up, the more we look for things to add to our collection and the more we get fixated on those things in life. If we are not careful they take over from reality and from God’s purpose and we soon lose our way. When we do that we are no longer giving God the glory but piling it up on our possessions instead.
Our hearts then belong to those things and no longer to God…
We may think we are still following God and trying to do His will; but when our hearts are focused on something else, we don’t always do what is right by God, instead we end up doing what we want to make more of the things we want.
This is not to say we should throw it all away and not get involved with anything to do with money and possessions – God wants us to do what is right and if we don’t have money and possessions we may not be able to pay our taxes or to help people in the way we may be able to otherwise. It is difficult path to follow and a balancing act all the way along...
Points to Ponder:
Do you focus too much on earthly things?
Do you use what you have to do God’s work?
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Jun 20: Isaiah 63:7-9
Key Verse: Isaiah 63:9
In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Devotion:
One of the ways we can tell if someone turns out to be a good friend is by how much they do for us without being asked. Having someone whom you can depend on no matter what is going on in your life is something we would all love to have… but something like that has to start somewhere – how about starting the circle of friendship!
We read of all the amazing things God did for the people of Israel back in our history books. We read of all the things which happened to people who went up against God and we don’t want to be like them! God called Israel His people because He saw what was in their hearts… Unfortunately, like so many in this world, many people work against God’s ways in their lives just because of pride and greed…
God wants us to look out for each other and to share this wonderful planet He has given us. If we are going to work against those wishes, we are going against God’s wishes and should not expect to see the love and mercy God has promised – because we are working against Him!
God first showed us love. If we are anything but stupid and selfish, we should see a life of love and sharing is a life we can spend with God. We have seen this time and time against in history – don’t just believe me, read all about it and make your own mind up!
Points to Ponder:
Do you live your life for Christ?
Or do you live it for yourself?
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Jun 19: Matthew 6:1-6
Key Verse: Matthew 6:5
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
Devotion:
Jesus continued to warn the disciples about not doing things just to be seen by others – He wanted them to do things because of their love for others and their love for God. God is not here to bolster our pride and to lift us up. We are here to lift God up because he is our God, not the other way round!
Nowadays we have people who strive to reach more and more people on the Internet, not to do good and to help people, but simply to have more money and more fame. Yes, there are still good people out there who do things for good, but too many people see the success and want more of it for themselves so they can become famous.
When I was younger I wanted recognition and strived to get recognition for the things I did. The more I did the more I realised the only reward I would get would be from there then and there and nothing would be waiting for me at the end of the day…
God wants us to promote Christianity and all He stands for, not to go round promoting ourselves. This was the downfall of Satan: when he wanted more for himself and less for God. If we go down the same route, we should expect a similar demise! Be faithful and true to God and just help people, not yourself!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you help yourself before others?
How often do you help God before yourself?
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Jun 18: Psalm 51:1-9
Key Verse: Psalm 51:9
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Devotion:
One of the things we learn from the people who lived before Christ is how they regarded sin in it’s various forms. This passage, for me, gives me direction and a way of looking forward no matter what has happened or is happening in my life. When we do something wrong, it normally affects the people around us as well as us and they get drawn into our issues – just as we get drawn into their issues in their lives.
God wanted mankind to see sin has far reaching implications in everybody’s lives and not just the life of the person doing wrong. God also wanted us to see the most important thing is the end goal of not sinning against Him. No matter how good we are to others and how well we get on with others, if we have anything against God in our lives, it is going to continue affecting us and the people around us.
Churches are not safe havens where everyone gets on and nobody argues; people are not like that and we always seem to mess up in front of others. God wants us to live in peace with others, but even when we are at peace with everyone around us, we also need to make sure we are at peace with God.
Christ came to level the playing field by making it possible to live in peace with God through His grace and mercy. It is because Christ paid for our sin debt that we are able to have our sins forgiven – something the people in the Old Testament had not yet been introduced to yet. They continued to try and appease God with sacrifices and offerings ever time they did something wrong… it was hard work!
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to live with others?
Do you know Christ makes it possible for God to live with us?
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Jun 17: 1 Kings 21:1-16
Key Verse: 1 Kings 21:7
Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
Devotion:
This is one of those stories in the bible which I don’t like to read because it talks about a woman who had no qualms of taking someone else’s life just for the property they owned. This is a person who calculated the act and carried it out without thinking about the family and people involved. It does not matter she was not the one to take the life herself, but because she calculated it out and got other innocent people to take the life of another unjustly, makes me shiver at the thought.
Fortunately I have not had to meet too many people like this in my life, but I have met some who had no thoughts about the safety of others, about the families or about how their actions affected so many people through what they were doing. The most upsetting part is how some people just do not see the bigger picture in life, but focus on their own greed instead.
The people around them get caught up in the actions and are affected without realising it themselves. They may never find out the unjust things which are happening behind the scenes as they are hoodwinked into believing they are in the right. We need to be aware of people like this in our lives and steer clear of them by allowing God to guide us instead of people...
Points to Ponder:
Do you get caught up in things which make you think?
Have you compared those things with what God wants in your life?
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Jun 16: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:9
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
Devotion:
One of the things I shall always remember are the last words I had with my dad the day before he went to be with Christ. He was finally looking forward to being with Jesus after going through many things in life. He knew with absolute assurance he would be with his Lord in a short while. That is the faith we should all have and should all aspire to show others too!
Our goal should be to be more like Jesus is knowing we will be with God soon, and knowing we are already safe in God’s arms, even before we have to face our earthly demise. When people see we have a hope like this in Christ, how could they not be changed and look for a way of being more like that too!
Jesus showed us how to act with absolute assurance God is always with us. He wanted all of the disciples to have a faith which stood head and shoulders above any earthy ways of the people who called themselves religious. God wants us to know we have a personal relationship with Him which nobody can take away from us – and eternal relationship and life with Him.
We will all stand before Christ one day; on that day we should stand firm knowing we knew Christ before that day and knowing He promised us everything we need to face that day with confidence and assurance. What a blessed assurance, Jesus is ours!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know Christ as Lord and Saviour?
Do others know you know?