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Jun 15: Matthew 5:33-37
Key Verse: Matthew 5:36
And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
Devotion:
I wonder, how many times have you sworn an oath to do something only to find out you have to go back and apologise because you cannot complete the task for some reason. Jesus did not go round telling people He would do things and swearing to do so by oaths, He simply said He would do things and He did them!
This is the example we should be living by, not saying we will do things which we find out we cannot, but saying we can try or we will do our best. This is all God asks of us, to do our best for Him. This same example should be done for everyone we meet too, not saying one thing and doing another, but saying what we can try to achieve and doing our best to do what we can.
A promise should be kept as a promise – this is what makes it a promise. People get to know us through what we say and what we do. If we do no complete the tasks we say we will, we get to be known as a person who does not complete the tasks. This is not the image we should have as Christians because we should be trying to be more like Christ and less like the world!
Jesus was known as a man who would do what He said & as many people got to know from experience with Him, He always did what He said He would do. This can be a tough act to follow because we are limited in what we can do as humans, but we can tell people the truth and allow them to make choices based on what we tell them – this would make for a much better world all round!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you have to go back on your word?
How often do you trust what Christ has said?
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Jun 14: 1 Kings 19:9-16
Key Verse: 1 Kings 19:16
Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
Devotion:
Sometimes God just needs you to take a step back and wait for a bit… We get caught up in doing what we think God wants and we get caught up in all the ‘good’ things we can do to try and convince people God cares for them… Sometimes God wants us to stop and wait for the right moment before He gives us instructions for what comes next.
Elijah got to thinking the world was working against him because he was alone in standing up for God. We may well be feeling like that nowadays with the world carrying on as if God does not exist, fighting and doing terrible things to each other just to try and make sure they get the best from life without a care for others.
Whilst we can show people a new side of life by living the life God wants us to live, we can get caught up in living through things without listening to what God needs us to be doing. When we do that, we may find we seem to be fighting a fight alone like Elijah was feeling during this time.
What we need to take from these verses is the knowledge God does not leave us alone, even during the most dire times in our lives. What we do need to do is to try and listen to Him more and try to give Him more control in the plans we have in life. He alone knows what is truly best for us and He will guide us when we are willing to stop and listen...
Points to Ponder:
Do you get too caught up in life to listen to God?
Will you stop for a bit and just listen?
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Jun 13: Matthew 5:20-26
Key Verse: Matthew 5:26
Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Devotion:
When you put your faith and trust in the judicial and tax systems, you have to put up with the consequences of doing anything wrong within those system. If you step out of line then you will have to pay the consequences according to the laws within those systems. The same can be said for the religious systems around the world…
I’m talking here of the religious rules and regulations and not the personal relationship we can have with Christ. The religions around the world have all manner of rules and regulations, and unless we are willing to stick by those rules and obey every single one of them, we will have to pay the consequences of going against those rules.
When we get to know Christ, however, we can see a whole new light on the way we live with God and with Christ. Jesus came to earth to live amongst us so He would be able to pay the price religion demands. He wanted to take on the punishment in our stead so we would be free to join Him in eternal life. He gave up His own life so we would not have to pay for all the things we have done wrong – this is His mercy and grace!
Religion shows no mercy, just rules and regulations – the same as the laws of the land we live in. People are the ones who show mercy and grace; but none so much as Christ showed to us those many years ago!
Points to Ponder:
Have you broken any rules and regulations lately?
Do you know Christ wants to forgive you for everything you have done against Him?
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Jun 12: Matthew 5:17-19
Key Verse: Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.
Devotion:
I despair at how many people in churches in the UK think more about the hierarchy of the church and the rules and regulations than the sharing of the gospel! I think Jesus made it very clear we are to share the gospel with everyone, not just by reading it, printing it or giving someone a bible, but by setting aside time to sit with someone and share what you know and what you feel about too.
Making the gospel an integral part of your life is what Jesus showed the disciples. He explained to them how we need to make sharing God a part of our existence so others will see how it needs to be an integral part of life. We should not be living two lives, one in church and one outside church. We should be living one life with Christ and for Christ!
We have been given all we need to make sure we can have an eternal life with Christ. Part of that must be to include others in this life. If we do not do this and care more about the rules and regulations, then we are nothing more that the scribe and Pharisees whom Jesus continued to point out their shortcomings.
I write all of this knowing full well there are times when I could do more and should do more; but being aware of our shortcomings is the first step of working toward overcoming those shortcomings. Burying our heads in the ways of the world instead does nothing for spreading an sharing the Gospel!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you identify places you could have done more?
Have you sat and thought about where you can do more lately?
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Jun 11: John 15:12-17
Key Verse: John 15:17
This is my command: Love each other.
Devotion:
I can remember the days when I was at boarding school and I would do anything to get out of ‘rest period’ where we had to stay on our beds in silence just after lunch. One of those things was to go to a post-lunch club such as chess club or the Christian union club. I failed miserably at the chess club because my brain is not wired for games like that… so I went along to the Christian union club…
Pretty quickly I found out these people were very different in their attitudes toward each other and to life and I liked that. Before long I started to listen and learned about the love Christ had for me. Whenever I read verses about the love Christ has for us I hark back to those days in school so many years ago when I learned about this new way of loving.
When Jesus was trying to teach others about this way God loves us, He must have come up with a lot of opposition from the ruling parties and the teachers of the law who were teaching people about a vengeful and strict God who insisted on rules and regulations. We look back at those times and we may wonder how people were so caught up in this web of deceit; but we still have that in our modern world!
The more power hungry people get when they are in charge of things, the more we are covered in lies and deceit, and the harder is becomes for us to know the truth in the end. God wants us to know the truth and to share the truth with everyone!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you convince people to do things your way?
How often is that God’s way, and how often just your way?
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Jun 10: Matthew 5:1-12
Key Verse: Matthew 5:12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Devotion:
I do like being reminded about how God looks after us in the storms in our lives. I may not have been through many of the storms others have been through, but ever time I have had to face hardships, illness and death, I know God has been with me and has been holding my hand. The comfort this gives me goes beyond our normal understanding of friendship and love as humans!
Jesus came to live amongst mankind so He could show them a new love which would go beyond their dreams. Mankind has a short memory in comparison to the world God created and we tend to measure things up against each other all the time. God measures things up against the truth and against His love for us with His grace covering all our issues we go through in life.
When Jesus was telling the disciples these words which we now know as the Beatitudes, He was giving them and us a glimpse into the love of God. No matter what state we are in, how far we are from Him and how desperate our situations are in life, we should always know God is with us every step of the way. We may not see it at the time because we may be too focused on life and hardships, but He is there and with us, blessing us when we are willing to stop and listen...
Points to Ponder:
Are you too busy in life to stop and listen?
Will you spend a few minutes today just listening out for God?
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Jun 9: 1 Samuel 8:4-9
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 8:7
And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
Devotion:
I think this is one of the saddest portions of scripture we can read… the point where God tells the one who is listening to Him how the people are rejecting God… Often when we try to reach out to people about God we get rejected simply because people are too caught up in the world and what it has to offer to see their real needs in life. It is not that they are rejecting us, but that they are rejecting Christ as their King!
We can see how people get caught up in sports and go out of their way to reach a spots match just to see their team, but they will not go out of their way to find a church where they can meet with God. People all around the world get caught up in upholding their country, their leaders and their ways of life instead of upholding a decent way of living. Too few countries promote living together in peace and love!
Jesus tried hard to get people to see they were intentionally breaking down the right way of living by promoting their own self-imposed ways or promoting themselves instead of the love and grace of God. We see this all around us in our modern world too.
We should not take it personally in thinking people are rejecting us, but we should take it personally for Christ because they are rejecting Him. Some may say they are not, but they are choosing a way of life which excludes Christ as Lord and King of us all...
Points to Ponder:
Do you promote Christ as your leader?
How often do you promote sports or other leaders?
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Jun 8: Mark 12:38-40
Key Verse: Mark 12:39
and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets.
Devotion:
One of the things I dislike about ‘church institutions’ is all of the red tape which is imposed on the people who want to meet with Christ. I know there has to be safeguards in place to ensure the power given and enjoyed by church leaders does not corrupt them or give them to doing bad things, but for those who want to promote Christ and share the gospel, there should be open forums by which they can do this…
You may say the public spaces are free forums where people can share the gospel, and they are, but are not our churches public places where we should be able to share the truth about Christ? Many churches impose very strict rules and regulation about who can share the gospel in their temples and places of worship which is not what I see when I read about the places where Jesus would meet to share about His Father!
There are countries where the only people allowed to preach are those who have been authorised by the country! To them I say, my authority comes from Christ and I share what I know from what has been shared with me during my life.
God wants us to be able to reach out to those who are in need to not only lessen their burdens but also to guide them in the truth Jesus shared with everyone He met. Jesus warn about those who pray on the needy to gain access to their inheritance or last worldly possession. Jesus does not want us to go after possession, but after souls instead.
Points to Ponder:
When you look for someone to join you at church, what do you look for?
Have you tried to look into people’s heart lately?
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Jun 7: Mark 12:35-37
Key Verse: Mark 12:37
David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
Devotion:
Have you noticed Jesus did not always say things which were expected of Him? He would challenge people in what they thought and how they interpreted the Torah. Do you just read the bible and accept it for what it is? Do you read it and think of it as a guide book? Do you read it and think of it as a list of suggestions which may or may not work?
We each have our different ways of looking at the bible and God knows what we think in our hearts. We will come up against people who think differently people who will try to trip us up through the way the words appear in our languages… What we should be doing is thinking about what the words are as they are written down and wondering why they were written the way they were.
The bible is a God-inspired writing from many people all trying to explain what they gained from God. We will often find it difficult to explain exactly what we feel about God’s Word because our lives are different from other’s lives, so we take the words differently as we read them. We relate to things differently based on our experiences.
When I describe a problem I face in my computer job I don’t always look at it the same way as a person who uses the software I write because they are expecting something different… Take time to talk with God and try to understand things from His point of view and not just your way!
Points to Ponder:
How often have you explained something wrong?
How often have you heard something different about your favourite bible verse?
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Jun 6: Mark 12:28-34
Key Verse: Mark 12:28
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
Devotion:
Are you one to listen to what your boss has to say and blindly go off and do what they want, or do you question what they ask to make sure you do what is best for the company? Yes it is a loaded question because if we do one thing we can get into trouble and if we do the other we can still get into trouble… Life is full of instances like this and we have to accept people are people who change their minds!
God, on the other hand, does not change and continues to want what is best for everyone. We don’t have to blindly accept whatever He says and go off to do things. If we do that we may never understand what He is asking of us. He wants us to understand why we do the things we do.
Here the Gospel writer saw a teach of the law questioning Jesus because he saw Jesus had given an answer which was good and may not have agreed with what he had been taught all his life! We need to question things in our lives so we can align our ways with Christ’s ways to live a better life with Him.
God will always make time to show you why things happen the way they do. We need to make time to stop and talk with Him, not just talk but listen too. God wants to explain things if we are willing to listen and learn!
Points to Ponder:
Do you stop and listen to God?
Do you know what God wants of your life?