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September 16: Isaiah 40:6-8
Key Verse: Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures for ever.’
Devotion:
How many times have you been discouraged by someone who steadfastly refused to listen to you talking about Jesus? I know I have been discouraged on occasions when people seem to turn off their minds when you start to talk about Jesus, God, Christianity or anything close to it! After listening to the introduction of the Alpha course I am encouraged to continue talking about Jesus no matter what!
Hearing some of the honest answers from people as they admit to either not knowing Jesus or even thinking He did not exist makes me want to talk about Him more. When we get to know Jesus in person, we have our eyes and hearts opened up to many things – things which continue to be hidden from this world because people don't want to talk about Jesus!
The more we are able to say things, the more people are going to hear things. The more we are able to tell people about Jesus – the more their hearts and eyes will be opened to what He has done and continues to do in our lives. We just have to open the door so people can see Jesus for themselves...
If the doors remain firmly shut, how will they ever get a glimpse of Him or what He can do? But if we are able to open the door a little so they can see in, or even just a crack so their interest will be kindled and they will start to want to open the door to see what is behind it for themselves. God wants us to open the doors, even if it is just a little crack.
Points to Ponder:
How many people around you close off the door to Jesus?
Will you try open it just a crack so God can have a turn?
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September 15: John 12:30-36
Key Verse: John 12:32
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
Devotion:
If you are worried about how you explain Christ to others, think about how Jesus had to explain Himself to the people! Jesus knew what was going to happen, but did not want to totally discourage people by saying He was going to die outright, after all the scriptures talk about a Messiah who is going to come and be with the people of Israel forever...
The easiest way I find of talking about Jesus is to remind people He became a real human being in order to accomplish what had to be done. If He remained as God, He would not have been able to die. But, by lowering His status temporarily to human form, He was able to lay down His life so the scriptures could be fulfilled!
Thus, by physically laying down His life, He was able to be raise up Physically to show us He has authority over death so we do not have to worry about physical death. He also showed the physical death did not take away what "He is" because that lived on in His soul or spirit; so coming back to life He had total recall of everything which had happened beforehand.
So when you have to try and explain things again – think of yourself in parts just like God – after all, He made us in His image. We have a physical body which will die in the end, but we also have a soul and a spirit through which we continue to live on even after physical death. The most joyous thing is God will raise our physical bodies in the end just we Jesus was raised up. We don't have to understand the minutia of everything, just believe in what Christ has already achieved by example.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get worried what will happen?
Take comfort in how Jesus lived, dies and was raised up again!
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September 14: Galatians 6:12-16
Key Verse: Galatians 6:13
Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.
Devotion:
Do you struggle with people who try to convert you from doing things your way to doing things their way? Many people have this idea about churches because there are churches who try to make you change your way to fit into their way – just so they can boast about how they converted you!
This is not what Christ asks of you and not what He has taught us either. Christ wants us to be open and honest about what He has done for us in our lives so we can be a witness to the way Christ has changed us. He continues to give each one of us a free choice as to what we do – there are commandments and there are laws written down in our bibles... but we have the choice as to whether we apply them in our lives or not. We do not have the right to apply them in other people's lives!
Try telling people how Christ has changed your life and allow them to see you are a better person because of what Christ encouraged you to do. Remind them it is your life and you chose it. God may have created us and He may have given us the bible to allow us to see how we should be living our lives – but it is our choice!
Whether we actually break the laws or not is not going to include us or exclude us from a life with Christ. He asks us to change our lives so we are a positive witness or example of how Christians should live; He asks us this so we are an example for others to make their own minds up with. If we break all the rules, they will see us as just another earthly person and not as a child of God trying to live for Him!
Points to Ponder:
What example are you to others?
Will you try to be a positive role model for others?
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September 13: Psalm 19:7-9
Key Verse: Psalm 19:7
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
Devotion:
How do you look at God's Word? Do you see it as the law you need to follow, or the statutes laid down for you to follow, or the stories of the Lord, or His commandments? Or maybe you have a special reverence for all God has said and done and see them as all the righteousness we need in our lives? Whatever or however you see the word as, we must know it as very special in our hearts.
If you are feeling a bit down and in need of some refreshing news – then read or listen to God's good news! If you need to know something you can rely on like the truth, then you do need to know more about God and His promises – through His word. The more we get to read about what He has done, is doing and continues to do, the more we get to know the joy we gain from Him.
If we can recognise the gravity of God's word, we can know these are commandments He has given us, not a a tick list of things we can pick and choose from to live our lives, but a list of the rules which will allow us to get the most out of our lives. The more we learn about what God wants us to live like, the closer we become to Him as we begin to live with Him in our lives.
This can all be summed up in saying we have the fear of the Lord... which is not a trembling fear we get from something too strong we cannot get round it, but an uttermost respect for something which is so special we should never ignore it. This is an enduring fear which we take with us to help us remember the respect we must have for God at all times... because He is righteous!
Points to Ponder:
How do you look at God's Word?
Will you take time to think about what God's Word means to you?
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September 12: Joshua 4:19-24
Key Verse: Joshua 4:21
He said to the Israelites, ‘In the future when your descendants ask their parents, “What do these stones mean?”
Devotion:
When you have something different, or live differently to others, people will ask you why or how... This is the way we are as humans, we are inquisitive, and we like to know why, where, how and even who! I like wearing my Christian T-shirts because it gets people to ask why or to comment on them – that gives me a chance to share a bit about who I am and why I do it!
After the Israelites had crossed over the Jordan and things were getting back to normal (as normal as they could be,) Joshua got the twelve stones the twelve tribes had picked up from the riverbed and he set them up as a monument for everyone to see. Why a monument? Is this not making an idol? No, it's not making an idol, it is setting up a reminder for the people and future generations to ask why, who, when and other interesting questions – it gives us the chance to tell people about God and what He can do and has done!
If you, like me, sometimes find it hard to start conversations, then maybe you need something which can be a conversation starter – something which will get people to as the interesting questions so you can give them the amazing answers we know about God!
Someone is bound to cross the line and call you names or mock you for doing things to remember Christ – but if there is just one person who will get to hear about the gospel because of what we have done, then that is a good thing!
Points to Ponder:
Do you act like a normal person does?
Will you do something different to get people to ask why?
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September 11: Joshua 4:1-7
Key Verse: Joshua 4:6
to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, “What do these stones mean?”
Devotion:
What things do you have which remind you of what God has done in your life? When the people of Israel finally got the go-ahead to cross over the Jordan, it was Joshua leading them over and not Moses. Even though so much had gone wrong over the time they spent in the desert, God was still willing to stop the flow of the Jordan river so they could all cross over in safety; and God wanted them all to remember this had happened.
So, He told Joshua to appoint one person from each of the twelve tribes and to get them to pick up a large chosen stone and take it with them as a reminder of what God had done. These were no ordinary stones, but stones from the riverbed when the flow of the river was stopped for them; rather unique!
I think we should all take something from our journey with God and use it as a reminder for what God has done. When we have these items, people may stop us and ask what the significance of these items are. We then have the chance to tell them of the great things God has done in our lives!
Take a bit of time out from your busy day today and pick something in your life which reminds you of what God has done – something unique which can be a starting point for a conversation. Take this item with you, physically or in spirit, so you can tell others of what God has done for you. Keep it close and be willing to share how great God is!
Points to Ponder:
How much has God done in your life?
What makes you think of something God has done for you?
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September 10: Galatians 3:15-18
Key Verse: Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds’, meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed’, meaning one person, who is Christ.
Devotion:
If we read our first book in the Old Testament, we will read about Abraham being told by God his offspring would inherit the land. We can also read about how Abraham went about trying to have a child which God had promised him. But if Abraham had waited on God to fulfil His promise, Abraham would not have gone through so much heartache!
Far too often we try to hurry God along, or we try to help God to do the things He promises to us. I have learned to be patient, not just for a minute or two, or even hours, but to be willing to wait for days, months and years. When God promises us something, we should be willing and faithful to wait for that promise to be fulfilled by Him!
We can now look back on the Old Testament writings and see Christ was the one to inherit the land. This is because Christ is a descendant of Abraham – however many generations there are between Abraham and Jesus – they are family. We can continue to compare the Old Testament promises with what was delivered in the New Testament and see just how many promises came true.
We should be more than willing to expect His promises to come true based on past history! We should be more than willing to wait patiently for God to fulfil those promises. Yes we get impatient. Yes we want things to be our way. God has made the promises – stand back and wait!
Points to Ponder:
Do you look back and check up on promises?
How many prayers do you look back on and see them answered?
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September 9: Galatians 3:1-6
Key Verse: Galatians 3:3
Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?
Devotion:
How many times have you started doing a job one way, only to finish it off another way because it was getting hard or you just wanted the easy way out? I can think of a few projects I have been involved with where corners were cut and the product came out not being what was ordered in the beginning!
Christ came to demonstrate once and for all He needs us to have faith in what He has done for us. This means not just believing it, but continuing to believe it and to depend on it! It's no use saying we believe only to change our minds when the rules look a bit easier to follow on the other side of the fence! What faith is that!
We believe so we can have Christ's gift. We trust so we can depend on His promises. We obey so we can be sure we are doing the right thing. If we give in and follow the 'good old ways' then we are saying to Christ we don't think what He did was enough! I really don't think any of us would dare say that to His face – so why say it behind His back... It's not really behind His back because He sees what we do anyway!
All the people from the Old Testament did believe! Their righteousness was because of their belief and not because they managed to sacrifice the right animal at the right time! Without their belief, they would not have deemed it necessary to follow the rules give to them by God through Moses. Our belief is what counts. Don't make it count for nothing!
Points to Ponder:
Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
Will you continue to trust and obey Him?
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September 8: John 5:36-40
Key Verse: John 5:39
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me
Devotion:
How many times have you got tied up with the wording in the Bible? We can look back in time and see how many people got confused by the Scriptures and how to interpret them. One case which spring to mind was the Ethiopian Eunuch; he could not get his head round the words of the scriptures after hearing about Jesus and had to have them explained.
We have many scholars available to us – far more nowadays because of such things like the Internet. It does not mean these so called scholars are the definitive guides we should believe without question... God wants us to understand things so has given us enquiring minds. The disciples had to be taught what the relationship was between Jesus and God. Christ had to explain it a few times too!
What I'm saying is we are not alone when we question things and get confused. Ours is not to know every minutia about Christ and God, but to know enough to believe. When we believe, then our dependence comes down to our faith in what we receive from God and no longer on having to know the details.
If we have enough knowledge to give us faith, then we have enough to accept Christ as our Saviour and to get our free pass to Heaven. The stumbling stone for many is the belief Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to give us a way of attaining eternal life through what He did for us thousands of years ago. Once we have enough faith to step on the stone and not fall over it, we have enough to accept what Christ has done for us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you still struggle with the details?
How willing are you to accept and believe the basics?
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September 7: Leviticus 3:1-5
Key Verse: Leviticus 3:1
If your offering is a fellowship offering, and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the Lord an animal without defect.
Devotion:
How can this apply to us nowadays when we are all starting to concentrate on animal welfare and other things like climate change? Valid question... But is your question holding you back from offering true worship to God? We tend to get hung up on all sorts of things now with all the latest fads and trends we see in our modern societies.
Let us turn back the clock a bit to the time when this was commanded by the Lord. Raising animals would have been these people's lives – they did not have to worry about whether their car would make it through another road test or whether their shed would stand up to the next big storm... these are modern problems and not something they would have thought of.
Instead they would focus on what matters to them at that time: their herds, their crops and their lives. This is why the focus was on animal sacrifices then. What would be the modern equivalent now? Would it be your bank account, your possessions, your vast wardrobe, your amazing shoe collection, or your bank of computers doing bitcoin mining?
God is calling us out, not to give up on the things we have built up, but to be willing to give up the best one if we are called to do so. I love building up PCs and giving them away to people who need them. I love doing the work I do for reduced rates because I know it is helping those who need to be helped. I love doing sound at church because I know it helps the hard of hearing to join in the service.
Points to Ponder:
What do you love doing?
Are you willing to do it within your church?