- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 859
July 23: Psalm 27:1-3
Key Verse: Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?
Devotion:
How much do you actually trust God? I know when things go wrong we all turn to God and beg Him for mercy or peace, but how much of that is out of desperation and how much is that out of faith and trust in Him? I admit I have faltered when things have not gone my way. I admit I have got things wrong and thought more of myself at times when I should have been thinking more of God... But I’m human...
We can see many places in our bibles where King David has trusted God when all else was failing. We can also see times when he trusted his own decisions instead of God’s will. I guess that makes him human too!
Here we have a reminder of how much David trusted God. You can deduct from this he was probably thinking back on what God had done for him when he called out for help. This is what we should be doing as well – looking back over our lives and seeing the times when God had a hand in things and they went according to a greater plan than our own plan!
I can look back at times in my life, many of those in the past three years, where God had made it possible for things to happen when everyone around was saying it was impossible. I can also remember pleading with God on those occasions to do things because nobody else could. I know from my own experience God answers prayers and His love for us all is shown time and time again.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you ask God for help?
How many of those times did you trust God to help?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 899
July 22: Psalm 43:1-4
Key Verse: Psalm 43:4
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
Devotion:
If you are still worried about how much doubt you have in your life, then go through this group of Psalms and find out how much doubt David had in his life! We think of King David as a stalwart of trust and faith who we can look up to and be encouraged by. Various places in our bible tell us of his faithfulness and his dedication... but we can still read about the doubts and worries he had all the time.
What we need to do when we do have doubts or worries is to lift our spirits up so we can re-focus on the good God does in our lives. This could mean stopping what you are doing and listening to a worship song, or maybe tuning out of the worldly worries and thinking on what God has done in your past. There are so many ways we can encourage ourselves, but far too often we brush them under a carpet instead of doing them!
My dad would quite often remind me to ‘help myself’ rather than waiting on God for everything because I would spend a lot of time waiting on God. This is not to say he was encouraging me to do it all myself, but rather to take the step forward and do something. God opens doors and shows us the ways forward, but if we do not step through those doors or follow the paths He shows us, we are going to stagnate and even begin to doubt...
When we open our eyes to everything God does, we will see the good and the bad! There is a whole lot of bad and evil things in this world we have to live in. God wants to direct us through the minefields laid out in front of us by the world. God wants us to be safe. He tells us how to be safe. He guides us daily... but if we don’t do anything about it, we will start to needlessly blame Him instead of ourselves for what we don’t do!
Points to Ponder:
How often are you guided by God?
How often do you act on that guidance?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 801
July 21: Psalm 42:9-10
Key Verse: Psalm 42:9
I say to God my Rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?’
Devotion:
Ok, admit it, how many times have you doubted whether God is with you? I know it’s something we don’t like to admit, but when we get into a bit of a rut or a tight corner, we tend to start thinking thoughts like this... it’s normal! Don’t fret about it! I used to get really upset with myself for having doubts which would cause all sorts of issues with health and my life in general!
God knows we are going to have doubts, He knows we will fail at things, He knows we are not up to certain things... This is why Jesus came to do all He did – so we would all have access to the promises of God no matter how far we have gone off track and no matter how many doubts we have in our lives!
I have written many times about how I pray all the time – well, that’s not 100% true because I do have times when I am lacking in my prayer life and when I feel like God has forgotten me. But I also can spend much more time talking about the great things God has done for me and all the love and support He gives me daily – even when I have been doubting!
You see, God is always with us. If we are looking the wrong direction up the road, we will not see the bus coming from the other direction! The same can be said in our spiritual lives. If we are looking in the wrong places we will probably not see what God is doing for us until after it has passed! We may feel like it is the end of what we can endure, but God knows exactly how far we can go and He will open the best path for us to get there... if we listen and obey.
Points to Ponder:
Are you worried about your doubts?
Have you noticed God answers prayers no matter what?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 775
July 20: Mark 6:53-56
Key Verse: Mark 6:55
They ran throughout that whole region and carried those who were ill on mats to wherever they heard he was.
Devotion:
Who do you run to when you need help? We finished off yesterday with this question to ponder; do you seek out a brother or sister, a parent or guardian, or even your best friend? Sometimes the people around us are not the people who we can fully trust in because they do not have all the answers we seek!
Wherever and whenever people saw Jesus, there was recognition and the word spread very quickly. People were desperate to bring the sick and inform to Him so they could get blessed and even healed. They knew they could just touch something from Christ and they would be healed – they had learned this through things Jesus did.
Whenever people brought forward their sick friends and relatives, Christ had mercy on them and would normally heal the people who needed it. Because of this people would always seek out Jesus and reach out to touch Him with absolute faith their infirmities would be removed just by His touch! They had faith in what God could do through Him – this is the faith we need to share with others by showing them they have a friend in Jesus who is willing and able to do so much with and for us!
Imagine the crowds if they had social media back in those days – I think the internet would be buzzing whenever people saw Christ. Can you imagine the crowds and the chaos as people flood in to hear Christ? Why should this not be happening just because Jesus is not physically here in human form? Christ can do many things and is not bound by the physical limitations we build up around ourselves. Look forward to what it will be like to be with Jesus!
Points to Ponder:
How do you show people Christ is with you?
Will you send out a few invitations to people to show them Christ is real?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 873
July 19: Mark 6:30-34
Key Verse: Mark 6:34
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
Devotion:
I wonder how many times you have got so carried away with work or a hobby, you have forgotten to eat and drink properly! I know I have done this on many occasions with computer work and also in doing God’s work. When we get going, it is hard to stop and doing something which seems menial such as eating or drinking when you have so much more work to do!
God wants us to take time out at regular intervals so we do not wear ourselves out. He showed us to take one day of the week as a day of rest and recuperation – something many of us forget to do in our busy lifestyles. Jesus upheld this by reminding the disciples to take time out and to try and spend it with God.
But when Jesus tried to take the disciples away to a quiet place so they could rest, many people saw where they were going and followed them expecting to be blessed in some manner by Christ. Jesus found a way to getting peace by taking them out onto the water so others would not try to follow them – but they had to come back to dry land in the end. This is when the people crowded round them.
When Jesus saw them all, He had compassion on them. Not because they had wondered out into this place, or even because they came out without food and drink... He had compassion on them because He could see they had no real spiritual leader to turn to. They did not have a good shepherd at that time. He knew He would be able to step forward and take on this mantle, but He also knew what else He had to do before then...
Points to Ponder:
Do you always go out fully prepared to do God’s Work?
Who do you put your trust in when you need backup?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 903
July 18: Psalm 23:1-6
Key Verse: Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
Devotion:
King David knew God. This does not mean he was perfect. This does not mean he did not sin against God. It meant he knew God personally because he was in a personal relationship with God. Because of this, he was able to write these words which we use to encourage ourselves in times of great adversity!
Jesus continued to tell the truth about what happened, what was happening and what was going to come in the future. He told it at the right time to others by listening to God and obeying Him. David, at the time of writing this, was close to God and knew he had to listen closely to God. When he listened and obeyed, good things happened and he felt the power of God in things he did.
If we are willing to listen closely to God and to obey His requests, then we too will feel the power of God through the things we do. This is what Jesus promoted and what has been written many times before in our bibles. This is the power of God working through people around the world and throughout time. I love David’s description of this power he experienced.
His words ring true: even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil! Why, because God was with him and walking by his side. The more David relied on the power and wisdom of God, the more he was able to do and the more people got to hear about the power of God through him. God wants us to be these beacons, ready to shine and willing to obey God’s will in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
Are you willing to obey?
Will you tell someone how good it is to be with God?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 912
July 17: Mark 10:32-34
Key Verse: Mark 10:33
‘We are going up to Jerusalem,’ he said, ‘and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles
Devotion:
Have you ever had to tell someone close to you some very bad news? It is not easy to tell someone something you know they are not going to want to hear! And even harder when it is to tell someone something unstoppable is going to happen which will end up in a life being lost. Jesus was trying to break this news to the disciples without them losing faith in everything because He knew it would not be the end – despite it being the end of His physical life.
Jesus wasn’t going to broadcast this to everyone because God wanted them to see a human being raised up from the dead in no uncertain terms! If they knew of it before hand, they would have come up with some excuse for it to be trickery instead of reality. God does not deal in tricks but in the truth!
Jesus especially did not tell any of this to anyone who would report it back to the chief priests – they were the ones who would be largely responsible for all this happening! Jesus was not going to give them any reason to stop what they were going to do; how else would He be able to be the ultimate sacrifice for everyone.
When we have to tell someone any news, it should always be the truth and we should trust God to show us how best to tell of this news. From the very best news about Jesus, to the very worst news about family members passing away, we always need to be truthful and open. God showed us this through Jesus being truthful with everything in His life and about God as well.
Points to Ponder:
Do you try spare people the truth sometimes?
How could we believe Christ if His Word was not the truth?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 920
July 16: Matthew 10:5-8
Key Verse: Matthew 10:6
Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
Devotion:
When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, He gave them authority of many things, to do miracles just as He had been doing, and to teach the people about God. But He did not send them out to all the gentiles; rather He sent them out to the Jews, the lost sheep of Israel. Why would He exclude most of the population of the area?
Jesus was sending these twelve disciples to get the Jews into action. Up until now they had been slowly wandering away from God and taking things into their own hands, making the own rules and not following the prophets as they should be. Jesus knew how urgent it was to get the chosen people of God back on track.
Often, we look out and we try to find the people we think who need the gospel more than others – we tend to look away from our homes and out toward people who we think have not yet heard about God. Quite often God wants us to focus on the people around us rather than those on the other side of the country or world!
When Jesus said the gospel was going to be told to all the people, He did mean everyone; but at this time He knew the importance of focusing on the people who had forgotten themselves. Sometimes it is the Christians who need a bit of encouragement or guidance. Sometimes it is the people in church who need that word from God. We don’t always have to take it to someone new all the time!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like telling others about God?
Have you told the people in your household?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 926
July 15: Philippians 4:15-20
Key Verse: Philippians 4:17
Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account.
Devotion:
Depending on what mood you are in and how your journey is with God, you will come out with a differing view of the words in this passage! So, what is my take in my journey today?
The Apostle reaches out to the people in the church of Philippi with words of encouragement and thanksgiving. He started off his journey on his mission around the area to try to open up God’s Scripture and Christ’s love to the people who were in need - everyone who would listen! He was very grateful to the church of Philippi for the support he had received ever since he had been there. He had faithfully stepped forward as Christ had requested and had not saved up enough to make sure he could go places before going – he went and trusted God for support.
Sometimes in our lives we tend to hold back and try to get into a safe place before we start. We don’t like to take risks and we hold back because of that. We don’t get very far with our mission because we have held back all along. But when we step forward and trust God with our lives, He is more than willing and very able to provide for our every need.
This is faith. Faith is stepping forward and trusting God. Faith is not leaping into a fire or jumping off a cliff (physically or metaphorically) to see if God will live up to His promise. Faith is listening to what God would like you to do and stepping forward to do it, trusting God will provide the necessary things along the way. Living by faith is hard, but so very rewarding!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have the strength to live by faith?
Will you trust God with more of your life?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 923
July 14: Ephesians 4:1-6
Key Verse: Ephesians 4:3
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Devotion:
Do you find it hard to live a life as a Christians when you are surrounded by so many people who are doing their own thing and not caring too much about anything else other than themselves? We are encouraged to look out for ourselves and to make sure we live a life we enjoy... but this is not what God teaches us and not what the Bible teaches us!
God continues to try and encourage us to live a life filled with love for one another where we can keep the peace because we know God’s word and we are encouraged by it. It if God through Christ and the Holy Spirit who continues to encourage us to live a life for Him. When we do listen and obey, we find it a lot easier to live with love for each other – this is the way Christ taught us and the way the Holy Spirit encourages us.
We need to focus on God, which means focusing on Christ and the Holy Spirit, keeping abreast of things through reading His Word and listening to Him at all times. When we do focus on God, our lives become more attuned to living His way and keeping Him as the focus in everything we do.
The more we live our lives with God in them, the more we begin to realise He is in everything and we see just how much He has done for us from the very beginning! Don’t wander off down the path which leads to worldly ways and possessions – instead keep God close and allow Him to show us how love and sharing go so much further!
Points to Ponder:
Do you live for personal goals?
Will you try to live for God’s goals today?