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May 11: Philippians 2:25-30
Key Verse: Philippians 2:27
Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.
Devotion:
I think I can relate to this story about Epaphroditus! When my partner and I went to London, it was to get involved with mission work Locally on disadvantaged estates. We were very sure this is what God wanted us to do through hearing from God and through prophecy too. When we arrived in London, we were not able to live on the estate we were serving and continued to pray God would open up a place for us on the estate. Pretty soon a house became available, and we moved onto the estate.
But, after a few years work, I fell gravely ill with necrotising pancreatitis followed by many complications! Being away from family was one of the hardest things I had to endure, and no sooner had I started to get better and my Dad’s health degraded to the state where the doctors could do no more for him. Then Covid arrived and we were not allowed to see him. Being away from friends and family at times like this is extremely difficult and something I would not wish on anyone!
But throughout my time in hospital and recovering at home, I knew God was with me and wanted me to recover! The best doctors were where they needed to be to make sure I survived a few close calls where my partner was called in in case I did not make it. God was with us and looking after us in ways we only begin to understand now. What happened when my Dad went to be with Jesus also cemented our belief God was watching every step!
I am now back, close to family and friends – though we made many new and exceptional friends in London as we worked for God. Friends stay with you no matter where you are in the world, but sometimes, you have to be close to family because distance and health difficulties do make you very weary. Always look to God for your guidance and obey when He calls you to do His work – He will look after you even in the more dire times!
Points to Ponder:
Do you fear having to leave friends and family?
Will you obey Christ and allow Him to look after you?
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May 10: Philippians 2:12-13
Key Verse: Philippians 2:13
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.
Devotion:
Sometimes when you are going through the bible a verse will stand out and shout at you! I have been watching all manner of things on YouTube and stumbled upon a family who have been creating music videos whilst they have been in lockdown and just listening to them prompted me to find something which was suitable from the bible!
This family put so much love and joy into their time together as they sing and play music together and it got me thinking... What if your life was all recorder on something like YouTube? How would you feel if anyone around the world was allowed to watch whatever was going on in your life at any time!
When I read these verses, they shouted out loud! Far too often in our lives we put on a stage show for others to see so they will think good of us! But behind the scenes we may well be doing all sorts of strange things. What we need to remember is that when God said He would be with us at all times, it was a promise! He has a permanent YouTube channel directly to our inner lives!
Just as the Apostle writes to his friends in the church saying they have always been amazing while he was with them, he reminds them they should be continuing to behave like that at all times because God is with them! God wants to be in our lives celebrating love and joy at all times – so inviting Him into our lives is an open invitation to bring His love and Joy into our lives permanently!
Points to Ponder:
How do you behave in church?
How do you behave at home?
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May 9: Philippians 1:15-18
Key Verse: Philippians 1:18
But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Devotion:
What kind of preaching gets to you most? Is it the person who quietly sits down with you and explains the gospel, or someone who stands up on a stage and shouts out to everyone? We all have our differences and we all like different things too – but the gospel is the gospel no matter how it is preached...
I have been to very big festivals where preachers have got up on stage and talked up a storm and I have been to very small churches where the preachers have dug deep into God’s word in great details. I love both! I even like the cases where the person tells their own form of parables, using new world examples and life choices to get over the gospel as we live in it nowadays.
It is not our task to judge which preachers are the best because of how they deliver the word. It is our task to listen to and meditate on that word. God supports all styles of preacher who are willing to step forward and explain the gospel to anyone who is willing to listen. God does not choose one over the other because there is room for all kinds of preachers, teachers, pastors, vicars and the like!
The heart of the person delivering the message may well be different to our heart; they may well live a very different life to us, but as long as God is using them to reach out to someone, then they have a place in delivering the gospel just as any other preachers or teacher. Take the truth from anyone who is willing to give you the truth and try to understand how they are living their own lives...
Points to Ponder:
Do you seek the most evangelical of preacher?
How about listening to the most sincere of teacher - God?
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May 8: Acts 10:44-48
Key Verse: Acts 10:45
The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.
Devotion:
You can tell by the tone of these words Peter was not expecting the Holy Spirit to come on the Gentiles; after all it was the Jews who were the chosen people and the 12 Disciples who were Jews who first received the Holy Spirit in such an open way. But this is God showing His love for all people – all who are willing to believe what Jesus has accomplished and what He has promised for us all.
And, once again, it was not a private indwelling of the Spirit on a single person, but a very public outpouring of the Spirit on all the people in a crowd. This is where God shows the difference between the love a person has for another and the love which God has for us all! This is a very public and physical love as well as spiritual and all encompassing!
God continues to try and open people’s hearts to the truth, but because the world shouts very loudly at times, it is hard for people to focus on Him instead of the world. But when we join together in a crowd, we can tune out the world and focus more on God. This is why He encourages us to gather together, just as these people had gathered together to listen to Peter.
Peter encouraged those who accepted the Holy Spirit to take a very public step forward and get baptised. Which bring forward the best example of what baptism is – a public declaration of what you have already accepted in your life! Baptism is not a conversion but a show of your conversion which has already happened... and if you think otherwise then you should question why. Accept Jesus as your Saviour and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into any public declaration, don’t let the public declaration be “the thing.”
Points to Ponder:
Have you accepted Christ as your Lord and Saviour?
Have you stopped to listen to the Holy Spirit?
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May 7: Psalm 121:1-8
Key Verse: Psalm 121:2
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Devotion:
Being on top of things all the time takes a lot of work and energy. Some people will try to convince us to continue to be on top of things so we can go far in life or gain great wealth or health... but where does this wealth come from? It comes from other people... The more we try to gain out of the world, the more we are taking out of it. If we are not careful we will take a whole lot more than we put into it.
We are currently moving toward a state where we take too much out of the world and the earth will not be able to carry on giving without something going wrong – some will call it global warming, others ecological crisis, others the divide between the rich and the poor; but really we are doing all of this to the earth at the same time.
God wants us to think more about the world and about other people and less about ourselves all the time. The more we concentrate on selfish things, the more selfish we will grow. But, if we are willing to look to the one who can give us the love and support we need to survive this world, we will be able to do a whole lot more.
God does not have to sleep or take a power nap so He can continue loving and supporting us. He continues to watch over us all the time and is always ready and willing to help us to do what is best for us. This Psalm recommends we continue to look up to God and look for the help He is willing to give us. God has created this world for us and continues to make sure the sun provides warmth and growth for plants, which gives food for us and animals. This is all in place for us to live in and with – don't spoil things by focusing on yourself only!
Points to Ponder:
What do you consider to be the most important thing?
Will you allow God to occupy that slot in your life?
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May 6: Psalm 139:1-6
Key Verse: Psalm 139:5
You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
Devotion:
I know when I was a very young lad, I used to feel happiest when someone was looking out for me, but as I grew into a young boy, I wanted to have some sort of freedom and didn’t want to be looked after all the time. But as you grow older and, hopefully wiser, you realise you are ultimately safer when you have someone who is watching over you – not because they will be able to prevent you falling off anything, but because they will be there if you do fall off!
The safety is not in knowing you are protected from breakage, comes in knowing there is someone close by who will be able to pick up the pieces and help with putting things back together! When we, as Christians, talk about feeling safe with God, it is not so much safe from being stupid, but safe in the knowledge that is we do mess up, God is going to be close at hand to help us put things back together again!
God knows everything about us – and because He is not limited by time as we are – He knows what is going to happen to us. Should we get a bit close to falling off the rails, He is going to try and encourage us to a position of safety before we fall off the rails. This is not going to stop us from being stupid and stepping off the rails!
Allow God to constantly guide and protect you. He does know what is in your heart. He does know what will happen before it happens. He does try to direct you to safer places... but if we are not going to listen, then we will not stay in those safer places by ourselves! God will try everything to make sure we are safe, including using the space around us as well as the people around us to keep us safe. This mind-blowing, knowing God can be totally in control if we let Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are a strong character?
Will you try to listen to God more?
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May 5: John 14:25-27
Key Verse: John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Devotion:
Jesus wanted the disciples to know even though He was not going to be physically with them for much longer, He was going to be spiritually with them through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would not just be with them, but would continue the work He was doing – teaching, encouraging and also loving and supporting!
Jesus’ love and support was a focal point in His ministry. Everywhere He went and everyone He spoke with was made aware of His love and mercy at all times. His purpose was to continue the love the Father has for us in personal encounters with people as He physically met with them. When He was preparing to go back to Heaven, He made sure there was going to be someone in place, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who would continue that personal encounter with people.
When we are open with the Holy Spirit, we continue this loving, merciful relationship with God – hence Jesus called Him the Advocate. But this is not just some person we or God has hired to be in place because it’s his job! This is God in the Holy Spirit who wants to continue loving and supporting us in the same way as God wants to and the same way as Jesus wants to.
The love and support we have through the Holy Spirit is greatest when we stay close to Him. If we ignore Him, we are not going to hear the things He wants to teach us. If we walk our own ways, we will not hear about the right ways of living with God. But if we are willing to stop and listen to God, we will experience the full love and support He continues to promise us every second of every day!
Points to Ponder:
Do you long to hug someone during this pandemic?
Are you fully embracing God through the Holy Spirit?
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May 4: 1 Corinthians 10:14-17
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:17
Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
Devotion:
The more Paul went about teaching people about what Jesus did for them and how it made the scriptures come to life, the more he must have got frustrated with the people who refused to believe this truth. We, as Christians, get it! We can see Jesus is the Son of God and He came to save us from our sins... but to outsiders or those who worship idols or sacrifice to other beings, it does all seem a bit easy!
As people, we like to think of difficult ways of doing things because, that, in some way makes us feel better about having to do difficult things to gain a reward! Jesus did not come to make things more difficult, but to simplify the whole matter so we can all gain access to God!
As we go about our daily lives, we should continue to include Christ in everything we do. One way is to always remember Him when we eat or drink – these two acts, when shared with others, can bring us together as we remember just how much Jesus did for us by laying down His life on the cross. And, because we do this together, we bring ourselves and others together as one family in Christ – Christians!
Let us not get bogged down by the difficulties of the earth or the difficult laws mankind makes up to make their goals seem more worth reaching... We have the ultimate goal of being together with God, safe from everything, for eternity. And there is no bar we have to be higher than, no pit we have to fill in and no sacrifice we can ever make which will replace what Christ has done for us. Let us rejoice in Christ, daily!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like sharing meals with others?
Will you remember Christ together during your next meal?
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May 3: 1 John 4:1-3
Key Verse: 1 John 4:2
This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
Devotion:
As we saw yesterday, Philip was listening to the Spirit and answered by stepping forward to see if he could help the eunuch understand the book of Isaiah as it related to Jesus. This warning in the letter written by John, reminds us there are more spirits in this world than we first give credit for; and not all are of good character!
John wants us to remember our lessons from the beginning of time when the evil one tried to lift himself up higher than God. His spirit tried to take over and was in no way acknowledging God as our creator and God. This is the same greed and lust for power we see in people all round the world, but of much more danger to us because of the power of these evil spirits.
God wants us to remain safe and secure and as such, asks us to walk a close walk with Him, staying close to us and always acknowledging Him as Creator God. When we do, we are robbing the evil ones of their power to control us and to deceive us from the truth Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came in human form to give His life for us – coming directly from God the Father!
So how do we tell? We make sure every spirit we listen to agrees that Jesus Christ came in the flesh to save us. If what we hear, be it in our heads or hearts or even physically, does not agree with what we know about Jesus and God, then we should be very wary of who we are hearing from. Trust God and make sure you keep walking close to Him every day.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you know about Jesus?
Do you know enough to trust your judgement?
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May 2: Acts 8:26-31
Key Verse: Acts 8:29
The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’
Devotion:
What would you do if a voice told you to do something outside of your comfort zone? Would you just go and do it, or would you look into things a bit more to find out what is being asked of you? If you rush in when you hear the first thing which comes into your mind – you may well get yourself into all manner of trouble... Philip was eager to listen to God and when an angel of the Lord told him to go, he went!
But have a look at how he responded. The angel told him to go south to the desert road which went from Jerusalem to Gaza... not going to be a comfortable journey walking through the desert! But as he went along, he spotted a man who was returning home from going to worship in Jerusalem. He was trying hard to read the book of Isaiah, but obviously struggling!
Philip obeyed the Spirit when it told him to go close to the chariot – this is where he heard the eunuch trying to get their head round the scriptures. This gave Philip the encouragement he needed to know this was the Holy Spirit talking to him and not just any voice in his head! So he stepped forward and asked if he could help!
When God asks us to do something, we can be sure we will get the encouragement and wherewithal to step forward and do whatever God is asking of us. In this case, Philip understood what was written in the book of Isaiah and so he proceeded to help the eunuch to understand God’s Word. We may know a little bit of the bible through studying or through teaching – we can use that little bit of knowledge to help someone else who doesn’t get it... Trust God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you don’t know enough about the bible?
What is your favourite story in the bible – how about telling someone about it?