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Feb 20: Matthew 6:7-15
Key Verse: Matthew 6:7
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Devotion:
Have you ever asked yourself why you do the things you do? I’m not talking about the little things which you do differently to other people like how you hold you cup when drinking a beverage; I’m talking about things like your work and how you do that. Most of us have hobbies which we can say we do because we like doing them, but not all of us can say we work because that is what we enjoy the most in life!
For things like work we often end up doing work which pays the most or which gives us a guaranteed income with good benefits – we don’t always do it because we like it. So what about our spiritual lives? Do we do things just because we think we are going to please God by doing certain things during certain times of the year?
God is not so fickle as we are. He is not looking for the person who can recite the scripture the best or the person who can shout loudest on the street corners. God is looking for people who give from their hearts to Him and His people. This starts by us getting ourselves right with Him and building a proper relationship with Him.
When Jesus taught the disciples what we now know as the Lord’s Prayer, it was to refocus their prayers and their thoughts on what is important in a relationship with Christ instead of the most eloquent or longest words people can use. Be real and be honest with God as He is with you!
Points to Ponder:
How honest are you with God?
How real is your life with Him?
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Feb 18: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Key Verse: 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
Devotion:
One of the things we may get perplexed by as Christians is the bad things which seem to happen to Christians in our modern world. We look at how Christians are suffering or how evil people seem to succeed whereas Christians do not. Often we are looking at things from the world’s perspective instead of looking at things from God’s point of view.
Yes, when we look at life from a worldly point of view, we do not fit in very well as Christians. The reason why we don’t fit in very well is because we do things differently from the world – or at least we should be! God does not want us to conform to the worldly ways but to aim for righteousness and living a life in hope for Christ’s ways to fill our lives.
We can look back and wonder why God sent the flood during Noah’s time, or we can look back and ask why people faced hard times when they seemed to do what God asked of at the time. What we don’t always look at is the bigger picture and what is actually causing the issues to start with!
People do! Many people are not Christians and they do not live their lives in a Christ-like manner! We could say some people who call themselves Christians do not live in a Christ-like manner either, but we won’t go there now! Those who live evil or unrighteous lives may well bring that evil into our lives because we are simply near them! This is not God bringing this stuff into our lives, but other people! What we do about it will shape our lives with Christ...
Points to Ponder:
Do you live amongst people who are not Christians?
Have you noticed how their lives sometimes rub off on you?
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Feb 17: Luke 5:27-32
Key Verse: Luke 5:32
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Devotion:
One of the things Jesus made sure He always did was to include everyone in what He was doing. He actively went out of His way to make sure sinners were welcome and got to hear about the good news! In this section of scripture Jesus approaches a tax collector, a person who was regarded by everyone as a sinner because of he methods they used to get money out of people – and not always the right way!
For Levi to get up and follow Jesus at the drop of a hat means Jesus had approached Him with authority! Tax collectors were people who followed authority and did what the people in charge said should be done. Levi had probably heard about the things this man Jesus was doing, must have heard about the scriptures as the people around him talked, and instinctively knew Jesus was the man to be able to clear this all up in his head.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law did not see the humane side of things but, instead, saw a dreadful sinner who should not have been approached to start with. Then when Jesus went off to have a meal with these sinners, that was the last straw for them.
This demonstrates the polar opposites between the Pharisees and Jesus. The Pharisees shunned anyone who did not listen to them and obey their rules. Jesus invited everyone to come to the table! We need to be more like Jesus in the way we approach others when it comes to telling them about the good news – everyone is invited!
Points to Ponder:
Do you shy away from talking to some people about God?
What if you were never told about God?
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Feb 16: Matthew 9:14-15
Key Verse: Matthew 9:15
Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
Devotion:
How many times have you read a part of scripture and a thought came to you about the meaning of that passage, or you saw a different light on the passage from what you have been taught all along. God talks to us in many ways and just one of those ways is when He opens our eyes and hearts to new meaning in the scriptures.
As I was reading these verses a thought came to me which I had not expected. John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked Him a serious question, one which was grounded in their culture and in scripture – and one which people still do wonder about and even ask. What about fasting? Why do some choose to fast and others not to?
Jesus’ answer is one which should be thought about and not just taken as something we do because Jesus did… The disciples had learned about fasting and Jesus was not going to tell them not to, but He was going to put a light on it for us to think about. The time Jesus had on earth was limited and He had to teach the disciples as much as He could whilst He was here…
Fasting should not just be something we do once a week because it’s time to! Fasting should be done because we want to focus our minds on God and the things of God. To do that we need to take time out of our busy schedules and set it aside to commune with God. That means stopping what we are doing! Jesus still had much to teach and did not want them to take time out because He was here with them!
Points to Ponder:
Do you set time aside for God?
How do you use that time with God?
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Feb 15: Luke 9:22-25
Key Verse: Luke 9:25
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
Devotion:
One of the things most of us meet in life is the perpetual drive to earn more money in this world; we face people who do everything they can to make as much money as possible assuming it is going to make them happier in some way. I’m not someone who has had millions to spare, or even hundreds of thousands, or tens of thousands… but I have been chasing after money in my life before!
The more we chase after money, the more we lose focus on the more important things in life and the less we are satisfied with our lives. It’s like a no-win situation as we chase after more only to be more dissatisfied with what we gain. This is the whole thing the author is eluding to here – we cannot gain satisfaction from earthly goods because the more we gain the more we want…
Jesus was trying to get the disciples to learn this from living a more wholesome life instead of earning lots and finding dissatisfaction all the way. King Solomon found this after gaining so much during his lifespan. The wisdom God gave him should have prepared him for this but he chose to chase after worldly things in the end.
If we really want to find what life is all about we should be willing to give up on everything we have to seek it out. True happiness is only going to come from knowing Christ and having Him in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
How satisfied are you when you win a prize?
How many more prizes will it take before you realise?
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Feb 14: Matthew 6:16-18
Key Verse: Matthew 6:17
But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
Devotion:
How many times have you competed against someone in an argument and got carried away with the truth, or lack of truth? How many times have you bragged about something and got caught up in describing things as being a bit bigger, better or worse than they really were? We all get carried away some time or another and say things which are not exactly true, where the truth has been stretched a bit…
Jesus was very different in that He always told the truth and said things as they really were without embellishing on any truths – He certainly did not lie! During this section of scripture He is reminding others of their duty to uphold the truth and not get carried away with things just to make yourself look better. This is especially true when conversing wit God because He already knows the truth!
God does not want us to compete against each other for His attention or for His love. He wants us to work together in spreading the truth and love He first showed us. He does not want us to brad to others about how much God means to us or how much we think we mean to God. He loves us all like His children.
When we come to Him in repentance, we should be telling the truth as it is and not trying to hide things in stories or behind the sins of others. God wants us to be honest to Him and to others! His loves for us goes beyond our understanding and He has already allowed His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sin debt already!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you brag about your own things?
How often do you admit the truth?
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Feb 13: Mark 8:14-21
Key Verse: Mark 8:21
He said to them, ‘Do you still not understand?’
Devotion:
There are times when I just don’t get what God is trying to tell me – more times than I care to admit to! What I have come to understand, though, is this is OK! We don’t have to understand everything all at the same time because we are just humans trying to do what we can and God knows that!
But He would like us to try and listen to Him a bit more in our lives so we can get closer to the truth and to His will in our lives. Jesus had to tell the disciples things over and over before they got to understand things. Don’t forget the gospels were written after everything had happened – they were not written as things unfolded.
We are still in the process of growing in Christ and learning from Him every day. We do not hold all the answers yet and we will probably not understand until we get to be with
God in heaven. When Jesus was talking to the disciples here He reminded them of the two occasions where God provided more than enough food for the thousands of people who had gathered. There was seven baskets of food left over on each occasion!
God wants us to remember nothing is impossible with Him. The more we hold on to the earthly ways and definitions, the more we will not be able to grasp just how much He can do in our lives; and that is OK. But He still wants us to take time and try and learn – which means looking back over the things we learn from Him and putting things together so we do gain an understanding – this is how we can help to spread the good news!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you doubt what God can do?
How often do you look back and see how much He has done?
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Feb 12: James 1:9-11
Key Verse: James 1:9
Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position.
Devotion:
This letter was written by James as a letter of encouragement to all of us who are or have gone through tough times as a Christian; but I have selected a few verses which give a little insight into the way we approach our lives with Christ. James fully understood what it was like to have to face trial and tribulations whilst trying to encourage others to follow Christ.
As Christians many people think we should always be happy, encouraging and smiling all year round. This is often far from the truth because we do face opposition for the positions we hold and we face people who simply don’t like the fact we should have anything to smile about when they don’t!
James levels the playing field by reminding us we are all equal in Christ’s eyes and should not elevate ourselves when Christ does not! If we come from the most humble positions or lifestyles we should be proud to be able to be called a Christian since it makes us equal with some great names in our history! Equally, if we come from the highest social or political standings, we should take pride in the humility we bring by living as Christians!
Being a Christian is one of the great levellers on this earth! We are equal in Christ’s eyes and we are all treated as children of God. No matter what happens in the world and no matter what happens because of the social positions we hold, we are and will always be important to God as His children!
Points to Ponder:
How do you see yourself as a person?
How do you think Christ sees you as a person?
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Feb 11: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:5
For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
Devotion:
When you read somewhere how you should be preaching the gospel or at least telling people about Christ, what do you think? Do you get worried about how you should go about it, or do you think that it should be left up to those who have studied the scriptures? I’m not here to tell you how you go against God’s wishes if you don’t spread the gospel. I’m not here to say you are doing anything wrong by not preaching on street corners…
Being an outgoing person who stands up in crowds and shouts about Christ is not something we can all do. I do like telling people about Jesus, but not shouting about it on street corners. Instead I look at it from a slightly different light than the evangelical people who can do those things.
Here we have a very good clue about how God would have us tell others about Jesus and the scriptures. We should try to be examples because being a good example is going to make a big impact on someone’s life who is too timid to stop and listen to another shouting out the gospel.
We should be trying to make sure people see Jesus through what we say and do. Jesus did preach to many, but it was normally when they wanted to hear something. Jesus did act differently from others – all the time. Jesus did talk differently to others – all the time! So if we want to be more like Jesus we should do what He did – always...
Points to Ponder:
Do you get scared about preaching?
Will you simply try to act more like Jesus did?
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Feb 10: Mark 8:1-10
Key Verse: Mark 8:4
His disciples answered, ‘But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?’
Devotion:
One of the things Jesus was always doing was showing the disciples, and others, just what can happen when you fully trust in God! I wonder how many times people would go away thinking Jesus was doing this by Himself… Just like all other times Jesus stops and gives thanks to God for what is about to happen – none of this is a solo effort but done in conjunction with God the Father!
The disciples grew to know this from the start because Jesus always made sure they knew He was not acting alone. Even then, when Jesus stopped and showed compassion for the people, the disciples would often allow their worldly limitations and expectations to get in the way of things – they would doubt because their earthly expectations were limited!
Jesus wanted them to learn just how much is possible with God and to fully rely on God at all times and not just when up against the wall! This demonstration of feeding the four thousand was just another thing to remind them of God’s ultimate power over everything!
When we get to trust fully in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we will get to see just how much He can do for us when we ask things of Him. God wants to please us and wants us to know there are no limits when it comes to living with Him. The limits are imposed by our minds and our hearts, nothing more...
Points to Ponder:
Do you limit what God can do?
Will you trust a bit more and see what He can do?