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June 13: Psalm 20:1-5
Key Verse: Psalm 20:4
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
Devotion:
When was the last time you prayed for someone else? I know we all get a bit carried away with prayers for ourselves, especially when we are feeling down or have problems in our lives, but when did you pray for someone else? I belong to a prayer group on a messenger app where we get regular issues arising and prayer requests are asked for... So this is a two way thing...
We need to be earnest and regular with our prayers for other people, always asking God to lift up those around us, heal the sick, give comfort to those mourning and to be there for those we cannot reach. David was not one to shy away from praying for others – and I wonder what he asked for in his personal prayers with God – what we see are the very public prayers which were written down because they were important and needed to be shared...
Then there is the other side of the coin... If you need support, don’t just lift up your prayers to God, but invite other people to pray with you. You will find there are a lot of people who are willing to stop what they are doing and lift up prayers on your behalf – but only if they know prayers are needed! Don’t forget how easy it is to leave someone off your prayers when things are not looking too good on your side of the fence!
God wants us to work together in praying and sharing the gospel. The more we get together and share things, the stronger our bond become and the more fervent our prayers are. God loves to listen to our prayers, especially for each other, because that shows how important we are to each other and how we are including God in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
When did you last pray for your neighbour?
Will you get together with someone today and pray?
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June 12: Psalm 112:1-5
Key Verse: Psalm 112:5
Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.
Devotion:
Sometimes it is just good to know someone has got your back, there is someone looking over you and helping out whenever they can. Sometimes those people are your friends and sometimes they are strangers... but, always, God is there in times when we feel least believed or supported!
I love reading through the Psalms and being reminded just How much God loves us and how much He cares for us. Many of the psalms were penned by David and his love for God shines through in all those he wrote. When he felt down and dejected, he wrote things down and almost always ended up praying to God to help him get back on track!
How many times do we turn back to God after going off and doing something on our own? Many of those times we would have ended up in a mess or we gave up because things just got out of hand. Every time, when we turned back to God, He was waiting with open arms and welcomed us back into His protection. He continues to guide us and try to keep us on track – but we mess up and fall into things we have no right to do... but God still waits for us and welcomes us back!
When we stick close to God and depend on Him for more in our lives, we seem to get things right and end up having a much more blessed life. This is no coincidence! God will help us and He will reward us when we do things His way. If we stick to His rules and do things as best we can because those are the rules, we may well feel like He is not with us; because we are doing things for the wrong reasons. When we do things His way because of the love and respect we have for Him, He returns the love and respect more than we give Him!
Points to Ponder:
How are you treating God?
Will you try to love and respect God more today?
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June 11: Isaiah 42:5-12
Key Verse: Isaiah 42:6
I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
Devotion:
This chapter in Isaiah and the following one mean so much to me because of the work I have done in the past which has largely been done because of the wording in these two chapters – so here we go with a snippet from this chapter.
When God spoke to Isaiah, it was always with great intention and He depended on Isaiah taking those words and giving them to the people. How much the people listened is debatable! The fact these words have been scribed and continue to mean so much to people even now, thousands of years after they were given to man means they were very important to God and it took a prophet like Isaiah to make sure they would remain in peoples hearts and minds over time.
God calls us into righteousness – just as He called Isaiah to make sure these words were remembered and told to the people, He calls us to take these words and spread them amongst all people. Not just the Jews but to all people who are willing to listen to God’s instructions. God created us and continues to support us in so many ways – it is right for us to continue to support Him by spreading His words.
This was the promise God made to all people; something we often forget as we focus on the Jews and not the rest of the world. It was meant to be an inspiration to all mankind; meant to open the eyes and hearts of all people and to allow the broken, poor and segregated to be a part of our lives. Gone are the days when He would focus only on His chosen race, here we focus on God getting His word to all mankind!
Points to Ponder:
Do you often feel left out of society?
If society walks away from God, who will you follow – them or God?
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June 10: Psalm 55:16-23
Key Verse: Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
Devotion:
We all face horrible things in our lives, whether it is health related, personal reasons, socio-political circumstances or whatever – bad things happen! We are not alone. Bad things tend to happen to us all, especially in times when we face natural disasters. But, no matter how mad things get, the Lord is going to be with you ever step of the way!
One thing I learned whilst in hospital clinging on to life, was the comfort God can give you in your worst times! I know a lot of people around me went through horrible times as the doctors told them I may not make it through the night – but God was giving me a comfort in those times which I can clearly remember now and tell people about now I am well and able to do it!
When we spend time lifting up our prayers to God, He spends time sitting with us, listening and answering those prayers. He needs us to listen to any and all instructions He is giving us – which means we have to spend time listening and waiting on Him. If we shout out our prayers and then run off before He can answer or explain things to us, we miss out! When I was in hospital, I had more than enough time to sit and wait on Him, listening to what He was telling me through the people around me.
When Jesus told us to cast our burdens on Him, it was not a new thing! God has been trying to tell us to do this for many years through His word and through examples in our history. It’s time to stop, look and listen to what God is trying to tell us in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you worry about circumstances in your life?
How often do you lift up those circumstances and wait on God?
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June 9: Mark 4:1-9
Key Verse: Mark 4:9
Then Jesus said, ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’
Devotion:
Have you ever doubted whether you could tell people about Jesus, or how you would get muddled up when you tried, or how you would get asked a question you couldn’t answer... These are the doubts the evil one is putting in your head! He does not want you to go round telling people the truth about Christ otherwise they will know he has already lost the battle!
We are like the farmer in this parable, sowing seeds - I.e. talking about Christ. When the farmer sows the seeds, he does not spend hours trying to ensure ever seeds gets placed in the correct position so it has the very best chance of germinating – he throws them all over the place and depends on God to get the seeds to germinate correctly. This is how we need to tell people about God. We need to tell anyone who is willing to listen and allow God to get those words to germinate in their hearts.
This does mean we are going to talk to more people than those who will accept Christ into their lives; we are going to spread our seeds all over the place and not try to place the words exactly where they should be heard and in the perfect order in the most eloquent sentences! We talk what we know and we talk from our hearts; we talk to everyone and allow others to overhear what we say – because we don’t know who will be the ones who listen and take those words into their hearts!
I know I have tried to do things right and fallen flat on my face in the past. But when I have opened up the floor and allowed God to not just guide me, but to talk to others as I spout words I think make sense... It is God who will allow the right people to make sense out of the ramblings which come out of my mouth!
Points to Ponder:
Are you trying too hard to say teach the gospel perfectly?
Will you allow God to take your words and touch people’s hearts?
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June 8: Matthew 5:21-24
Key Verse: Matthew 5:24
leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
Devotion:
Talking about facing the music... what do you feel like when you get angry with something or someone? How does it make you feel about yourself? Too often we get caught up in the heated discussions or arguments and we lose sight of what we should be doing or what we are doing to God and to our neighbours!
The more we get caught up in the heat of the moment, the more we lose sight on what is important, focusing on the little things which grow into big things which stop us from achieving our goals. God does not want us to lose sight of how we affect the people around us; Jesus taught the disciples to be mindful of the people around at all times and to love them as much as you love yourself... which means you have to start loving yourself before you can get very far!
To love yourself you have to let go of the things which are holding you back – typically the things which we have lost control to and which have started to take over our lives instead of releasing us from the burdens. Jesus also taught the disciples to bring all their burdens to Him so He could help to lighten the load; the same is true for us!
If we have something which is disturbing our hearts and minds, then we need to bring it to God and release it before we can move forward in the way God wants us to. What are the things which hold us back – well, mostly the strife from the arguments we have had and not let go of. God wants us to set them aside and allow Him to guide us forward in our lives and in our love.
Points to Ponder:
What is holding you back today?
Will you bring it to God and allow Him to lighten your load?
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June 7: Genesis 3:8-15
Key Verse: Genesis 3:8
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Devotion:
What do you do when you know you have done something wrong and have just been found out? Do you run from the situation and try and hide, or do you stop and face up to what is going to happen? Yes, it’s probably going to depend on what you have done wrong and what sort of trouble you will get into... So you don’t have to answer!
When we do something wrong in our lives, God is not going to turn away from us and ignore us because we have sinned – He is more likely to come looking for us and find out why we did what we did! The same can be said for many of our friends – they will want to find out why we did what we did and help us to get things straight again.
When we hear that small voice in our heads saying “don’t do it!” it may well be God trying to get through to us so we don’t run off and commit the sin in the first place. God does not want to continually run after us and get us back on track – He would much rather we stayed on track and listened when He tells us we are about to fall flat on our faces! God is not the God of punishment. God is just, but because of His mercy He is more likely to warn you before you fall!
But, when we do fall and break the rules, we will have to face the music at some stage. We cannot keep running from the truth and running from God and His rules! It’s not us who are inherently evil, but the world we live in and the evil one who tricks us into doing those evil things just because he can! God may have won the war over sin, but we face continual skirmishes all the time as he picks and prods at us to stop us from drawing closer to God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel the weight of sin?
Will you ask Christ to help with your burden?
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June 6: Psalm 130:1-5
Key Verse: Psalm 130:5
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Devotion:
No matter where we are in our lives or how we feel about things, God is always going to be there, listening and answering prayers! Were you told stories as a child about how Father Christmas would keep a record of who has been good and who has been bad – and he would only deliver gifts at Christmas to the people who were on the good list! The best thing about God is He does not keep count of all the things you have done wrong! Can you imagine how long the list would be if He did keep record of everything we have done wrong!
One thing we can be sure of is Him listening to our cries – not because we have been good, but because He promised to do so in the beginning! Nobody's prayers would get listened to if God kept records of our sins! Instead, Christ has given us a sure way God will not just listen to our prayers but will answer them!
So what do we have to do? Simply wait on God! There is no point shouting about how God is not doing anything for you if you are not willing to wait for Him. He is the one who knows when and where the best time and place is to answer your prayers – we cannot know that sort of information because we do not know anything outside of our world we live in.
God is not limited by time and space like we are and certainly is not limited by our physical world. Christ showed us how He was willing and able to do so many miracles for people who were willing to wait on God. We have this hope in Christ which goes far beyond what we can think of – simply wait on God...
Points to Ponder:
How long do you wait after praying for something?
Are you willing to say yes to God even if He does not answer your prayers yet?
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June 5: 1 Samuel 8:4-20
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 8:19
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. ‘No!’ they said. ‘We want a king over us.
Devotion:
One of the things we do as humans is look for other humans we can hold up as our leaders – we elevate them into positions where they hold far too much power over us and yet we don’t see it as such! When Samuel was getting old and the people saw none of his family were ready to take on the mantle of being the prophet to lead them, they turned to human ways and wanted someone they could think of as powerful to look after them and lead them.
What they were not thinking of was how God had been the one who was always there for them and always looked after them – albeit through the prophets because they would not listen directly to God!
The more we are surrounded by worldly issues, the more we look for someone who is willing to tell us what to do to get us out of the problems! If we were to set aside our physicals wants and look to God for our answers, we would be in a much better ways than we are now. The power and position of authorities gets to people’s heads and pride and greed take over their ways!
God wants us to not get too hung up with earthly way6s and power, but to look to Him in all ways for guidance and strength. He continues to offer us the guidance, but we keep on turning to mans ways to get us out of the problems when we should be looking for Gods ways! As the Israelites looked deeper at the issues which lay ahead, all they could do was to think of an earthly way forward... just like us!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you turn to for guidance when things go wrong?
Will you try to listen to God this time?
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June 4: Luke 9:12-17
Key Verse: Luke 9:17
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Devotion:
Sometimes in life we tend to rely a bit too much on what we think is probable rather than what God has promised. We water down God’s Word because we think it is a bit too difficult or hard to believe in the miracles. God is not limited by what we think is possible, probably or even by what we think is improbable!
Just like the disciples, when we see a problem approaching, we think of all the things which can go wrong and we expect them to start happening. Because we are looking for the problems and issues, we overlook what could be solutions to the problems and we get caught up in a mess – just as we expected!
When the disciples could see nothing but a big problem approaching, God told them to face the problem with a miracle. God is not going to leave us in the lurch if we are willing to listen to Him and obey Him. When the disciples started to listen and obey, they saw a solution to the problem which required God to do something extraordinary. They had to step up and allow God to do something extraordinary! They had to put all their faith and trust in God and allow Him to work out the problem.
If we are willing to do this for God, He is willing to do extraordinary things for us to allow us to face problems which seem insurmountable when we see them through our earthly eyes. Only seeing things through God eyes can help us to solve things His way. God wants to help us. God wants to show us He is capable of anything when we trust Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to work past big issues in your life?
Have you tried giving them to God?