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July 26: Matthew 13:36-43
Key Verse: Matthew 13:41
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
Devotion:
When the disciples eventually asked Jesus what the parable of the sower actually meant, the answer is different from what I talked about a few days earlier when I was reminded of how we do need to rely on God more in our lives so we don’t get the wrong ideas and go off doing things He does not want us to do.
What Jesus was talking about through the parable was the end times when He was going to return once again to the world. Jesus was talking of how He was trying to tell people the gospel and remind them of all the things God wanted them to remember – this was the sower sowing the seeds.
The field or parts there of was the world which we know is made up of all manner of people, communities and ways of living, each being very different in the ways they would accept or reject the word of God. But the devil comes along and sows weeds in amongst the people who are listening to God’s Word. Because the devil is given space to do things, some people are persuaded to follow his ways instead of God’s ways! God does not wipe out the devils work because we all have free choice as to what we want to do with our lives…
When the time comes for Jesus to return (this is the harvest time in the parable) the angels will be the ones sorting out who has followed Jesus and who has rejected Him. All those who followed the evil one will be like the weeds being pulled out and sent for burning – not a nice thought! Those who chose to listen to the gospel and obey Christ will be harvested and taken to be with Christ in Heaven.
Points to Ponder:
Have you listened to the gospel Christ has being trying to teach you?
Which harvest would you rather be, weeds or Christians?
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July 25: Acts 11:27-30
Key Verse: Acts 11:29
The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea.
Devotion:
These were unsettling times for much of the world where empires had grown but were not sustainable, droughts would come and cause turmoil in much of the world. Today we see severe weather patterns, wars and general uncertainty leading us directly to times of hardship and famine too. Famine through mismanagement of funds, lack of infrastructure, floods, droughts and other causes. What was the church doing?
It is written the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch, and this is the label we continue to carry today: Christians, servants of God. Let us step forward and be like those first Christians many years ago; let us be the ones to give hope, love, support and respite to the people who are experiencing the hardships. Let us be the lights shining in the darkness which shows God’s light to the rest of the world.
We cannot hope to change the hearts of all the people in trouble, but we can shine a light on God’s light so He can change the hearts of all the people in trouble! We can do this in our own communities as well as abroad. We can do this with simple gestures of support and aid going into the places where people think there is no hope.
When I was in London serving the local communities, we always did what we could to give people hope where they could see none. That hope would blossom as they found God and started to share that hope with the people around them. Giving people hope so they can see how much hope there is in Christ is a very special gift which keeps on giving.
Points to Ponder:
Are you trying too hard to help people?
Will you give them hope to start with?
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July 24: Luke 11:9-13
Key Verse: Luke 11:11
Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
Devotion:
One of the big doubts to get over is asking things of God in your prayers! Too many of us think we are either not worthy enough for God to answer our prayers, or doubt God will answer them because… well, why should he!
This is NOT the right attitude! Jesus reminded the disciples and others how we need to ask God for support all the time; Jesus was always calling us children of God and always spoke to God the Father. We should be taking a leaf from His book and reminding ourselves daily we are children of God and He is our Father in Heaven!
This section of text reminds us God looks at us as His children and wants us to ask things of Him all the time. My Dad would always remind me to ask him anything even though he spent many a time coming to me and asking me computer related questions! Your get to know how much your family loves you when you ask things of them; they tend to answer because they are family and it reminds us all how we should love each other!
The things which is highlighted here is Jesus is reminding people they can ask anything from Him but also how He will be willing to give us the Holy Spirit! Jesus promised us this before He left to go back to Heaven and be with God the Father. The Holy Spirit is available, willing and faithful to come to us and help us in whatever issues we find ourselves in. Stop what you are doing and ask the Holy Spirit to be closer to you today and see the difference He makes!
Points to Ponder:
What do you ask of God?
Will you ask Him to be an active part of your life?
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July 23: Matthew 13:24-30
Key Verse: Matthew 13:30
Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.
Devotion:
When things go wrong in our lives we often jump in “with all guns blazing” and do something rash and probably foolish just because we are upset with what has happened. We don’t like to admit we have allowed anything to go wrong especially if we happen to be in charge at the time; but we do have to recognise when things have gone wrong and step back to make changes when the time is right. Making those changes when we find out what has gone wrong may well be too early and may well end up harming things more than if we wait.
Conversely, if we leave things too long, we will end up in a bigger mess and have a harder time sorting out the issues! What we need is a mentor who is willing to offer us the right advice at the right time – when we recognise there is a problem. God is always there for us and will always offer the best advice we can hope for – but we do have to listen to Him!
Jesus told this parable to show the disciples what God is going to do when Christ is going to return; we know this now because we have seen and heard about enough of what Jesus did and will do to recognise what it means. To the people at the time it must have seemed a bit odd talking about leaving weeds in the crops until the end! Those whom were farmers may have had different opinions, but Jesus was telling them there is a right time to do everything.
When you think you have gone too far and cannot find a way out, this is the last moment you should choose to ask God for help! You should have asked for that help way before this, but God is never going to turn you away when you turn to Him to ask for help! Ask and listen, wait for the answer and continue listening. Make sure you are hearing from God and not just your over-reacting mind or heart...
Points to Ponder:
Who do you turn to when you need advice?
Will you include God in that advice tree?
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July 22: 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:16
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
Devotion:
Once we take on the belief Jesus died for us we should be able to reconcile we have all effectively paid for our sins through death. He gave His life once for all of us so we would not have to pay with our own lives. Yes, we still face a physical death at the end of our earthly lives, but after that we join Jesus in Heaven for our eternal lives!
So once we get our heads round this and accept we no longer have to fear our physical deaths we are no longer bound by that death. We no longer have to judge ourselves or anyone else by what they have done in the past – only Christ can be the judge because He has given His life in our stead – He paid for our lives with His own death.
If we can accept Christ has paid for our lives, then we should be able to accept He has paid for our fellow Christians lives; and if He has paid for our lives, then we no longer are bound by the sins we have done in the past because they have been paid for once and for all by our perfect Sacrifice!
Put aside your old lives and live a new life with Christ. No longer do you have to be bound by anything the world has against us or anything we owe the world; once we die physically, we will be with Christ in Heaven eternally. So why not change your own life so it can be closer to the life Jesus led here on earth; why not put aside the sins of the old life and take on the mantle of this new life with Christ...
Points to Ponder:
Have you accepted Christ gave His life for you?
Will you stop holding other people’s lives against them?
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July 21: Matthew 13:10-17
Key Verse: Matthew 13:17
For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Devotion:
The majority of us will not see physical miracles happen before our very eyes, and that seems to be a problem for many of us – how are we going to believe something unless we see it with our own eyes! For Christian, we see and feel what God is doing in many people’s lives and our faith is built up in stages… it is because of our belief in Christ we get to know these things.
But for many who do not make that first step of joining that longing in their lives to belief in Christ, the words in our bibles and the words from Christian friends do not make sense to them. This is what we are fighting against as disciples of Christ; we fight an unseen barrier which is bolstered by unbelief and worldly sayings and deeds.
Jesus knew who was going to come to Him and He knew who would continue to live their lives in unbelief – we don’t have the luxury of anything like that! So we should try to open the gospel to all who are willing to listen. But we should do it in a manner like Christ did. If we go out all guns blazing, we may be giving the unbelievers ammunition for their unbelief by them thinking we are some sort of cult or worse!
Jesus talked openly to people in parables. This would mean the people who did not want to believe would not have direct ammunition to shout out against the Christians, but those who did want to find out more would come to realise what the parables meant and that would give them hope.
Points to Ponder:
Have you thought about how you talk to others about Christ?
Will you try something different to give people hope?
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July 20: Matthew 13:1-9
Key Verse: Matthew 13:8
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Devotion:
What sort of sower are you? Do you pick out your seeds very carefully and plant them one at a time where you know they are going to grow so you are guaranteed of a crop even if it is small? Do you pick up whatever seeds are available and scatter them liberally all over the place and sit back to see what happens? I hope you are neither of these but something very different!
In order to share the gospel with people we need to do some sort of preparation to the land. It is no good sowing seeds if you don’t know what the land is like and have not turned over the soil and are not prepared to follow the sowing up with a lot of tending and watering where necessary! God does not just want us to be sowers but to be workers of the land.
You will know about some of this work if you have ever tried to grow your own produce or be self sufficient in any way. If you know any farmers how about spending a short while with one and finding out how much work goes in behind the scenes, work which we don’t always get to hear about or see… No matter what line of work we are in, there is normally a lot of preparation before the work and more support after the work so the work can succeed; the same goes for our work with God to share His Word.
We should not pre-judge our land either. Our task is not to judge who we think is worthy of the gospel but to share the gospel wherever God has led us to share it. This could be in a place which makes you uncomfortable or in a place where you think nothing is possible. Jonah was sent to take the scriptures to Nineveh, a sprawling metropolis where everyone had lost their way, a place where it was unlikely anyone would listen to him; but God knew the time was right.
Points to Ponder:
Do you pre-judge your sowing grounds?
Will you go where God asks you?
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July 19: Matthew 12:46-50
Key Verse: Matthew 12:50
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
Devotion:
How many times have you given in to temptations around you rather than doing something you said you would do for someone else? I know I have given in to worldly temptations in many cases and in many ways, not always instead of fulfilling something I promised, but seemingly having the same consequences!
When the crowd told Jesus His mother and brothers were waiting to speak to Him, He took the opportunity to impress on them a new point. When Jesus had said we should love our neighbours after loving God it was to reinforce the fact we have to look out for the people around us just as much as we look out for ourselves – after focusing on God first of all!
Jesus knew it was His earthly mother and brothers waiting but God had given Him a commission to teach the disciples how to follow God and change other people’s lives. If they focused on earthly ways of doing that, they would be limited by earthly results; but by focusing on spiritual rewards and ways, the disciples would be able to do so much more. In effect the disciples were now the family Jesus had to work with, they were more than just neighbours.
God wants us to reach out to others in similar ways, not by limiting ourselves to earthly ways and rewards, but by opening ourselves to the spiritual ways the Holy Spirit can guide us through. By allowing more in (from God) we can give more out because of what God gives us. Some of our neighbours will be the new family we have to help us spread the Gospel through spiritual means...
Points to Ponder:
Who would you say are the closest people to you?
Who is closest spiritually speaking?
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July 18: Matthew 12:38-42
Key Verse: Matthew 12:41
The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
Devotion:
Sometimes when I read verses like these, I wonder whether the Pharisees and Teachers of the law realised the gravity of what was being said directly to them, or whether they just dismissed it all because it did not agree with what they wanted to hear! I also wonder what they thought after Jesus died, was buried and raised again as He had told them or whether they dismissed it all again because it still did not agree with what they wanted to hear!
We can look back and think how silly they were for not accepting Jesus as their Messiah; we can ask questions about why this and why that – but we were not there at the time and we were not under their rule as were the Israelites at the time!
The more we study what happened, the more we can piece things together and realise what went wrong and when – but if we are going to be honest we will also see how we have strayed away from Jesus’ teaching just because we got carried away with something worldly ourselves!
Jesus wants us to remember the things of old, study the scriptures He has given us and apply them into our lives. It is no use looking back and blaming others or judging other if we are not going to turn away from similar things in our lives. We still do have the people who try to turn us away from Christ just because it does not agree with what they say. We still have the doubters who turn us away because they can convince us of their stories more than we listen to Christ’s teachings...
Points to Ponder:
Are you quick to judge others where they go wrong?
What do you do about things you do wrong?
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July 17: Luke 10:38-42
Key Verse: Luke 10:40
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’
Devotion:
This is one of those passages where we see the difference between people and how God reacts to those differences. Martha was a woman who wanted to make sure everything was right physically for Jesus in that she was making sure all the preparations were done to please Jesus as a guest of the house. This is often what we get caught up in doing in our own lives – we focus on the things we can change or do and we try to make sure they are done to the best of our abilities.
We even go as far as saying this is what God wants us to do and we justify what we do by saying this. But are we actually getting it right? That is the difficult question to answer and one who we have to take everything into consideration before we even attempt to answer that!
As I have said a few times over the last few weeks, Christ wants us to focus on Him and not too much on the world. He wants us to be able to live our lives by including Him in everything and trying to listen to what is actually needed and not the physical responses we are so used to following or fulfilling; we do this by listening more to the Holy Spirit and less to the world. We cannot say this is what was happening here because we don’t have insight into Mary and Martha’s personal lives and relationships with Jesus.
Jesus has warned us about judging others and this also highlights how we do this all the time. Martha was a bit upset by the lack of preparations Mary seemed to be doing, but totally missed Mary’s intentions – Jesus on the other hand did not miss Mary’s intentions. Mary was trying to focus on getting the most out of Jesus while He was with them. Martha was trying to put the most into the time Jesus was with them...
Points to Ponder:
Do you focus on what you do for God or what you get from God?
Will you try to balance your life with God?