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May 24: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Key Verse: Ezekiel 37:14
I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.
Devotion:
Sometimes we get to see just how merciful and powerful God is – when He answers the prayers we never thought possible! But, just like Ezekiel, we have to have that tiny spec of belief within us, the belief Christ can do anything! We need to know in our heart the Holy Spirit is with us and encouraging us to depend on this belief!
God wants us to be secure in the knowledge He is with us and has saved us, not because of anything we have done, but because He has loved us from the very beginning. We need to know Christ put His own life on the cross to cover the debt for any sin we owe. We need to know God the Father sent His Son to come for us and then sent the Holy Spirit to be with us after Jesus went home to be with God.
This is the belief we hold dear in our hearts as Christians. This is the belief which can change the world when we ask for things in Christ’s name. Yesterday was the Day of Pentecost when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the promises made by Christ, completing the actions God started because of His love for us!
When Ezekiel was asked to prophesy to the dry bones in the middle of the valley, it was not a test for him, it was a way he could see the promises of God being fulfilled. These are the things God has done throughout time so we can know His promises stand sure and give us something to believe in. This is the circle of belief God gave us because He knows we will doubt and He knows we will look for rational answers instead of the miracles He does in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
How many promises can you name God has carried out?
Will you ask Him to fulfil just one more promise?
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May 23: Acts 2:1-4
Key Verse: Acts 2:3
They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
Devotion:
I wonder what it was like to be there on this first day of Pentecost? I know we celebrate this day every year, thinking back to what happened nearly 2000 years ago, but what was it like for the people there on this first day? We can look back and put two and two together because we know Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come to the disciples; but it was all a bit alien to them then!
I have been in places where we hear the wind blowing whilst we prayed, and it always made me think of these verses. Yet in the Old Testament we read how the Spirit may not appear when the wind blows hard, during earthquakes or other visible prompts – sometimes God is whispering to us in the quietest of voices which are hard to hear. It is up to us to listen for the right thing!
No matter how the Spirit makes themselves known to us, we will know, and we will see the results! It may not be the earth-rumbling shakes of an earthquake, but the results will be as visible to us as the results of an earthquake; we may not realise it until after the event, but we will know.
I pray this day we each get to know and feel the presence of God in a very special way just as the disciples had a very special demonstration of the Spirit indwelling them on this day so long ago. God wants us to know Him from the inside out, not just as someone we have to think about and wonder whether He is there. God wants us to know His presence and know He is with us every step of every day. But it has to start by us waiting on Him...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you wait on God?
Will you wait expecting Him to show you something special today?
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May 22: John 18:1-11
Key Verse: John 18:11
Jesus commanded Peter, ‘Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?’
Devotion:
When was the last time you compared two Gospels for a certain point in time? John wrote in his own style and recorded the events which made a bigger impact on him than others – there was only a certain amount of detail each disciple could record! John’s focus here was not on the garden where Jesus took the disciples, nor on how Judas was going to betray Jesus to the officials.
Instead, John focuses on the interaction between the soldiers and Jesus. This was a small crowd of people sent to bring Jesus back to the authorities so He would stand trial for things which were not true, a small crowd which was determined to carry out what they were being paid for. They were after the one who was called Jesus of Nazareth; so they asked His name. Jesus replies saying He is this Jesus they are looking for, not once but twice – to be sure!
When Simon Peter drew his sword and tried to fight back, Jesus stopped him after he had managed to cut off Malchus’ right ear! Jesus berated him saying this was the will of God. All what was about to happen, all that was happening was the will of God. Not a very pleasant thing to go through, but the only way which would make it possible for God to demonstrate His total love for us!
Jesus was going to obey God, no matter what! This is what we need to take away from this story – not the name of the garden, where it is, who was there, what Judas did, what Peter did... just the simple fact Jesus was going to obey God no matter the cost! This is not a cost Jesus is saying we all have to bear – He bore it for our sakes and did it once and for all!
Points to Ponder:
What is God asking you to do?
Will you obey Him?
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May 21: John 17:20-26
Key Verse: John 17:24
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Devotion:
Read through these verses before you read my words. Read them carefully and mindfully.
This is a prayer Jesus prayed to God the Father for us! This prayer is for all of us who are believers in Christ to be one body, one church, now and forever! This is not just a prayer for us to be friends or to love our neighbours, but to be as one body, one being... just the same as Christ and the Holy Spirit and God the Father are one God! This is the type of closeness Christ wants with us – not just friends!
When we sing that chorus “what a friend we have in Jesus” it is not worthy of the prayer Jesus prays here. Jesus wants to be much closer than friends with us. Jesus wants us to be much closer to God than just believers who will get to be in heaven one day. Jesus wants us to be one with Him just as He is one with God the Father. This means Jesus wants us to be one with the Father!
Jesus made sure we got to feel the real love by giving us the Holy Spirit, that He could dwell in us and love us in a way we could not explain in words. Jesus wants us to experience the love He shares with the Father. Jesus wants us to know this love He has for us! Just as Jesus has loved us from the beginning of time, so too is this love He wants us to experience with Him and God the Father.
We may find it difficult to figure out the Trinity – how God can be three parts but one – but this is the same one-ness God wants for us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like having the Holy Spirit with you?
Will you make room for God in three persons in your heart?
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May 20: Psalm 117:1-2
Key Verse: Psalm 117:1
Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.
Devotion:
If there was one thing I could wish for and see it come true, it would be for all nations around the world to come together and praise the Lord! If we were able to allow people in every country to freely come to God and worship, the world would be a much better place! Instead, we continue to have to endure countries who say they accept the freedom to worship but impose such restrictions to make life impossible for those who want to worship.
God sent Christ to this world to make the choice to believe a reality and open to all people, starting with His chosen people. If we look at modern society around the world, we may be pushed to believe the countries who claim to be followers of God do allow people the choice of following God! We see politics taking over religious places and organisations making them an extension to the political world instead of places where people can freely come to worship God!
God showed us His amazing love by creating a world for us to live on. He continued to show His love by maintaining this place in a hostile universe. He continued to show His love when people rejected Him and chose worldly temptations instead! He continues to show us His love despite the world doing some horrible things! Why? Because He loves us!
Because of His love, He continue to be faithful and just no matter what goes on in the world around us. We have the choice to believe or not to believe. In the Western world this choice is open and on the table. My fear is for the people who want to find God in their countries where they would be persecuted for doing anything the governments cannot control – they cannot and never will control God! Choose God, choose freedom and pray for those who are stuck behind enemy lines!
Points to Ponder:
What one thing would you prayer for right now?
Undecided? Will you join me in prayer for the world-wide freedom to worship?
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May 19: 1 John 5:9-13
Key Verse: 1 John 5:13
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Devotion:
What does it take for you to believe something? What if a stranger told you something – would you believe it? What about a friend? What if you read a story in a trashy tabloid newspaper? What if you read it in a scientific journal? We each have our definition of what or who we can trust and we tend to stick with our pre-defined ideas of what we can trust. Sometimes those things we trust in are what we learn from friends – so how far back do you have to go before you actually trust?
When you read the bible, do you trust the words written down, or do you think they are just a guide book for what you can think yourselves? We have to have a definition of what we believe is the truth or we have nothing to compare the stories to! The disciples spent a long time walking round with Jesus, watching the miracles and listening to every word He taught. They had learned to believe in what Jesus was saying!
We may not have the luxury of walking around with Jesus, but we do have our bibles which are a written account of Jesus’ life as well as a history book of what had happened before Jesus came to earth in human form. When the writer penned these words, it was as a definition of what the truth he had learned. The truth he had witnessed.
Jesus came and did this all so we would be able to have faith in what God was and is trying to teach us. He came to display the truth in front of others so they could write it down for us to learn from. He did this all without hesitation because of His love for us and for the world He created. When we place our faith and trust in this truth we have in our hands, we can be encouraged by everything Christ has done for us and everything He has promised us. This is faith – believing in the unseen, knowing it to be true and righteous!
Points to Ponder:
How far do you trust the truth?
Are you trusting the truth given to you by Christ?
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May 18: John 17:6-19
Key Verse: John 17:11
I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
Devotion:
These are the words Jesus prayed to His Father when He was faced with the finality of His work and the frailty of His human disciples. How often do we think so deeply for the people who we have come face to face with in this world? Do we aim all our prayers at ourselves, or do we lift up the people around us like Jesus asked us to do?
Much of the time we do focus too much on ourselves because we see just how difficult things are about to become – we can’t take the pressure and we lift up our prayers to God, asking for His protection over us as we face our hardships... Not the same with Jesus. When He prayed these prayers, it was not to try and get out of the hardships and pain which He was about to face, it was to make sure God was going to look after His children!
Jesus wanted to make sure we were all safe and secure! He wanted to make sure, no matter what happened to Him, we were going to be ok! This was Jesus, the Son of God, lifting up His prayers to God the Father, asking for protection for the disciples and then all believers!
Jesus did not want God to simply take us out of the world so we would not face any dangers – but to continue living in this world, but with a protector who would be able to keep us safe no matter what was going on in the world! Jesus knew the horrors which he was about to face, but His prayers were so we would not have to face those horrors for our own!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you think of others?
Would you beg for your life first, or the lives of others?
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May 17: Psalm 1:1-6
Key Verse: Psalm 1:6
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Devotion:
When I first read this Psalm as a young Christian, I thought it was talking about my life and the way I was, blaming me for keeping bad company... I immediately thought someone was telling me it’s all karma; I was facing a bad life ahead of me! But then I got to know Christ properly and someone was kind enough to explain what the love of Jesus was all about... then this Psalm took on a whole new meaning.
Today I listened to someone who simply stepped through this Psalm one verse at a time and reminded me to think about the words. Not to sit there like a frightened student listening to a strict teacher, but as an eager pupil wanting to know more from an ancient writing. These are the worlds God gave to the writer many hundreds of years ago – words to give encouragement to people and not to lay blame!
If we listen to the world, we start to try and find blame; isn’t it easier to blame someone else instead of admitting to things we have done wrong! Isn’t it easier to find blame somewhere else so we don’t have to worry about who is guilty! This is not what God wants us to know. God wants us to remember what Jesus has done – what He did hundreds of years after this Psalm was penned!
So, do what my friend asked me to do and think about the words in this Psalm, one phrase at a time. Think about where we choose to be in our lives. Think about who we choose to be with. Think of what we choose to do. Think of the ways Jesus chose to live, who He chose to be with and where He chose to be. This is more the line of life God wants for us too. We have a choice to make about where, how and who we live our lives with!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you mix with in your life?
Are you mixing with Christ enough?
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May 16: Acts 1:15-17
Key Verse: Acts 1:17
He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.
Devotion:
How do you react when you find out someone who you have trusted for a long time can no longer be trusted? What if that person was part of your church family? Would that make a difference? The apostle had a very clear view of things here – he had read up in the scriptures and realised the stories he had learned about David recounting how someone would turn against the Messiah. The apostle put everything together with the help of the Holy Spirit about how Judas would betray Jesus – and this was foretold many years before Jesus came amongst them!
Sometimes we are going to struggle to see how things can possibly be from God when they seem to go so wrong. But God knows what is going to happen before we do. He has already planned the best possible way forward and how to get the right people involved at the right time to make sure His promises are kept for our sakes! He continues to uphold things because He loves us!
Just because we do not see the way forward, does not mean God cannot make a way forward. We have to put our faith and trust in Him and keep that faith and trust no matter what starts to happen around us. Sometimes we will be confused by what happens and cannot see how everything will work out for God’s glory – but it will when we listen to Him!
God is a just God. When we continue to do something wrong, we can expect to come up against Him in the end. Just as Judas had chosen the wrong side and had continued to choose the wrong side, did not mean God was going to let Him get away with things all the time. God is going to make sure the truth and justice will prevail in the end. He chose to allow Jesus to be hung on the cross so we would not have to – as long as we choose to turn away from our sins and ask for forgiveness...
Points to Ponder:
Do you get worried about the number of bad things happening in the world?
Have you noticed how there are always bad people near bad things?
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May 15: Psalm 46:1-3
Key Verse: Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Devotion:
Just how much are you willing to place in Jesus’ hands? I know we sing about how He has the whole world in His hands – but how much do we believe that in our hearts? We continue to be troubled by what is going on in the world around us and we are side-tracked from the truth by the troubles around us... Our faith dwindles at times because it is exactly that – faith. It is our belief and trust in that belief we depend on for strength and comfort.
So, when we are feeling troubled, downtrodden or even side-tracked, it is normally the troubles of the world around us which are encroaching in our life rather than the troubles themselves. God really does have the whole world in His hands and has promised us to be here for us at all times. If we don’t believe that, then we are going to be pulled away from God by the peer pressure around us and the woes of the world...
God keeps His promises! This is why we can depend on the promises and keep our faith He will deliver us from the woes around us. The more we trust in Him, the more we will see how much he does for us. But the more we focus on the woes and troubles, the more we think they rule the world!
I love the words used by the Psalmist here saying that no matter what calamity befalls the world around us, we can be assured God is with us and keeping His promises. No matter how loud the world shouts, God’s voice will always be heard by those who choose to listen to Him. No matter how fractured our lives are, we always have a Saviour who has beaten the odds just because He loves us and kept His promise!
Points to Ponder:
How many times do you have to hear God’s promises?
Will you trust a little more today?