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February 12: Mark 6:7-13
Key Verse: Mark 6:8
These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.
Devotion:
When Jesus sent disciples out to spread the gospel, it was not in any form a big public affair which was going to make anybody rich, well known or an upstanding public figure. Christ was sending them out to reach the real people in the communities they were walking into.
Sometimes we get afraid of doing something for God because we fear it will not succeed or the public will stand up against you and you will look like a fool... This does not come from God but from the evil one who is trying to trip us up before we can share God’s Word with others. The instructions for the disciples here were to become totally exposed to the public with nothing to fall back on!
Why should God wants us to be totally exposed and without a fallback if He loves us so much? The answer is to help us to understand just how much He is with us. If we never step forward because we are too scared, then all we will live with is the fear. But if we step out and place ourselves wholly in God’s hands, then we will see how much he does look out for us!
God does not want us to fall flat, He wants us to succeed in sharing His Word. But He does not want us to think we are fully capable of doing it all without Him! Far from it. We are nothing without God! With Him we are more than capable to doing amazing things – these disciples found out just how much they could do because they were willing to listen to God and obey Jesus first of all.
Points to Ponder:
Do you make long and complicated plans to make sure things always work?
Will you be willing to simply listen to God and obey?
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February 11: Psalm 36:5-6
Key Verse: Psalm 36:5
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
Devotion:
I do like watching films about the things mankind is doing in space – about the lengths they are going to find what is going on with the planets around us... even though they are millions of miles away from us! The way we are getting pictures sent back from another planet is just remarkable... And when someone does finally step on Mars or some other planet, we will be reminded of the words Neil Armstrong used when they set foot on the moon.
God is there! No matter how far we think we have gone in space, God is still there with us! No matter how little air there is, or lack of gravity and light, God is there! He continues to be faithful and just no matter what we get up to. No mountain is too high, no sea too deep, no planet too far, God is there!
And on of the most pleasing things to me is how God is there for all animals and mammals and insects and all manner of life! God cares for all of His creation and will continue caring for it all for as long as He deems necessary. We don’t know the limits of it, the time, the depth, the height – they are all just measurements we put on things to try and allow us to figure things out!
Nothing will ever cost too much for God and nothing will ever be too cheap for God! Just as we are as important as the sparrows in the marketplace, so too are the things going on other planets we can hardly see with our own eyes! Don’t try and limit the everlasting all-encompassing love of God. As I watched the snow flurries drifting past my window today, I was in awe of God’s creation once again!
Points to Ponder:
What makes you think of God?
Will you give more credit to God’s creation today?
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February 10: Psalm 33:1-4
Key Verse: Psalm 33:3
Sing to him a new song; play skilfully, and shout for joy.
Devotion:
I marvel at people who are skilled musically and who can lead worship! I am normally the other end of the scale trying to make what they produce sound good in churches or other buildings – I'm the sound engineer! Whatever we are skilled at we should be willing to use our skill to bring praise and worship to Christ our King!
We may be skilled at typesetting and can produce the sheets of words we use to sing to God. You may be skilled at making people feel welcome and meet and greet people as they come in. You could be fit and help put out chairs and stack them away afterward. You could be skilled at talking and studying and am able to teach others. You could be skilled at thinking about all the things needed to pray for. You could be skilled at making flower arrangements...
You could simply be good at timekeeping and arrive at church on time giving the meet and greet people a lift as they welcome you, making the people who set out the chairs feel like they have done something worthwhile, making the florists happy people enjoying the flowers, making the speakers more confident to teach, giving the sound technicians a task to bring the best sound forward from the worship band who see the people and thrive in worship...
Bringing joy to Christ our King who sees every little step every person does and accepts with open arms and heart the worship and love we all pour out to Him.
No matter what part of the chain we are – God sees us all and is overjoyed when we praise Him!
Points to Ponder:
What do you do to worship God?
Will you think of something else you may be able to do?
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February 9: 1 Corinthians 9:16-18
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 9:18
What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel.
Devotion:
I have often been asked why I don’t advertise my devotionals or charge for them or make them into a book; I guess this passage says it all for me. I do this because I want to keep myself in the Gospel as well as knowing that I am giving the gospel to others for free – as it was intended to be. I despair at the history books when the church tried to restrict who could have access to the gospel by chaining bibles down in churches!
God has requested we each play our part in telling others the gospel truth. Jesus came to reinforce this by giving the disciples permission to go out and teach to the people and not just the Israelites, but all the Gentile world as well! Maybe Jesus opened up the doors because it was getting to be a bit of a select group of people. Maybe the early preachers in our history were placed there to open the doors to those who needed it because the church was becoming a select group.
Our church still has an air of selectiveness or even oppression – open the doors and shout out the gospel! God wants His word to be heard up and down the land without limits. God wants us to share the gospel with our neighbours and them with their neighbours – this is how the gospel is spread.
I know some people want to be able to make a living out of being a preacher who can go up and down the lands to spread the word, but maybe God is simply saying we need to focus on the people who are close to us and allow the natural spread of the word to gain ground like it was intended!
Points to Ponder:
How many people know you as a Christian?
How many of those people are outside of your normal church group?
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February 8: Mark 1:29-34
Key Verse: Mark 1:31
So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
Devotion:
Ok, let’s be honest... how many times have you said you were going to do something for God when you were not too well or in a bad place... but when you came out the other end of the bad session, you kinds forgot about the promise you made... I know I am guilty on a few occasions, but I also know God has continued to be by my side even when I have let Him down!
When Jesus came to the house of Simon and Andrew after ‘church’ at the synagogue, He heard how Simon's mother-in-law was ill in bed. He went through to her and healed her, not to have someone to wait on them but because He had compassion on them all, for the mother-in-law and for the rest of the family too – what better way to spend the day than with the full family and not just those who are not off ill!
The Holy Spirit continues to reach out to us and wants us to join in the work for God no matter where we are and no matter how we feel. If we are at the end of our tether, He is there to give us the support we need. If we are about to explode with happiness, He is there for the party with us! God wants to be in our life at all times.
God wants us to enjoy our lives with Him and He is willing to bring healing and restoration to any of us who do ask. We should be willing to get on with doing God’s work no matter where we are in our own lives and not to have to wait until the “time is right” or “we have enough funds” or whatever other excuse we use in our human nature. Set aside human nature and live in God’s nature!
Points to Ponder:
How are you coping during these rough times?
How much are you doing with what God has given you?
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February 7: Matthew 4:1-11
Key Verse: Matthew 4:4
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Devotion:
We often complain about how much we are tempted and we somehow use this as an excuse so we can give in to temptations now and again; we try not to, but we do and we say it is human nature to do so. Well, it may well be human nature to give in to temptations and sin, but we do have a choice and we can choose not to give in. Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert and He stood by the Word of God so He would not give in.
If we need to find something to help us avoid the temptations or sin, then we need not look any further than God’s Word. It has everything we need to avoid temptation and to give us strength to fight the temptation to give in to sin. We have God’s strength backing us up all the way, just as Jesus had in the desert, so we have in our lives.
God wants us to stand up and ask for help. He wants to be able to help us in all circumstances in life, but He is not willing to be taken for granted and used as a tool instead of as a partner. We can draw parallels with our human relationships here – nobody wants to be taken for granted and nobody wants to feel like they are being used... so why should we expect God to be any different...
The big difference in that God has continued to offer His help and support throughout time. He continues to tell us He is here for us and how much He wants to support us in dire times... all we need to do is to ask in the first place!
Points to Ponder:
How do you cope with relationships?
How do you treat Christ in your life?
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February 6: Ephesians 4:17-19
Key Verse: Ephesians 4:18
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
Devotion:
How many times have you been told to change the way you are? Maybe you were told at school you would never amount to anything unless you changed your ways... Maybe your parents told you things would get bad unless you changed your ways... What have you done about it? What is it going to take for you to change your ways?
None of us like to be told we have to change our ways because we feel safe with things we know. We want to continue to feel safe, so we stick with what we do know and not the unknown. But when someone else tells us something different is what is required, we get scared and back away from them...
Jesus wants us to pick up His ways so we have a better chance at living the life God wants us to live. This is going to mean turning away from our old ways and embracing new ways which can be scary and we tend to back away from that. But when God tries to encourage us to change to His ways, He is doing so to make our lives better – not to try and make us scared!
God knows what is best for each one of us and allowed Jesus to come to earth and share those ways directly with us. Jesus in turn shared those ways with the disciples and encouraged them to pass them on to all of us, Jews and Gentiles alike. The warning was most stark for the Gentiles because they had entrenched themselves in a way of living which was far from what God wanted. The Jews were a bit closer, but they still had a lot to learn too. Let us embrace what God is sharing with us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get scared of change?
Will you have a look at God’s ways through Jesus?
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February 5: Matthew 6:11-13
Key Verse: Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Devotion:
As each of us continues to read or hear God’s Word, we need to apply it into our lives, not just in deed, but from and through our hearts. This means doing things God wishes in your life because you want to do it, because you want to please God and bring glory to His Holy Name!
One of the greatest ways we can do this is to forgive people just as God forgives us. We know we are guilty and we know what we have done in our lives – each of us knows deep in our hearts we are guilty of many things. Yet God was willing to allow His Son to take on the punishment for our sins, for our wrong-doings, so He can forgive us through the blood of Christ – our sacrifice.
If God was willing to do that for us even before we knew Him, then we should be willing to forgive those we know and those we are yet to meet. Just think how much joy and peace could be in this world if we were all willing to forgive; not just for the little things we do wrong, but for the big things too! Nothing is too great for God to forgive apart from consistent and recurring disbelief – even after we have been given the truth.
Accept God’s Word as the truth it is. Accept God as the one true God. Accept Christ Jesus as your own personal sacrifice God has accepted so we can be forgiven for the things we are holding deep in our hearts. God has set us free, but we need to accept that freedom and release it into the world by sharing it with the people around us. Forgive someone...
Points to Ponder:
Who have you blamed in the past for things you have done?
Do you know Jesus willingly accepted the punishment for that already?
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February 4: Matthew 6:16-18
Key Verse: Matthew 6:18
so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Devotion:
How many churches or gatherings have you been to where the leader has gone overboard with the theatrics to try and emphasise a point? Very subjective and leading question... because we all have differing view of what is acceptable and what we need to encourage us. But God has warned us against using theatrics for our own gain as opposed to for God’s glory... which greys the line even more!
It is not so much the use of theatrics or overt ways, but the reason for using such ways. Are we using it to build up ourselves or to glorify God? I’m afraid the answer goes both ways because we do find people who are using theatrics and advertising, not to promote God, but to promote themselves!
God should get all the glory in what we do and what we say. Just because we are going to fast does not mean we have to tell everyone what we are going to do. If we are telling them to try and encourage them to join you, then that is different; but doing it to make yourself look better is not promoting God and His ways!
God will see you whatever you are doing and wherever you are doing it. You don’t have to put it all over social media to get lots of likes and shares – that is simply building yourself up. Doing it because you share those view is different. Allow God to reward you in ways He wants to reward you – don't try and force His hand because you get more shares and likes!
Points to Ponder:
Do you share your faith with others?
Why do you share your faith with others?
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February 3: Mark 5:35-43
Key Verse: Mark 5:36
Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Devotion:
We accept death as something final from which there is no return, so the people in these verses were not ready for what Jesus was about to do... Jesus wanted them to see the power of God in a way they had not seen before – His comment to them before the miracle was to simply believe!
We have God’s Word we only have to believe in order to be saved. We have His Word we are able to pray to Him and ask anything through Jesus’ name. We have God’s Word! Let that sink in a bit after reading these verses. God can do anything, and we have His Word saying he wants us to simply believe in what we are praying for.
The people here thought it was too late because the girl had already died. That was the end in their minds and all they could do now was to pray for comfort and mourn the death of this girl; or at least that is what they imagined! But Jesus knew what was possible through God and through believing what God can do.
After having gone through the death of both my parents now (but I still have an amazing mother-in-law) I know the finality of physical death, but I also know the peace and comfort which can follow because both my parents believed in Christ and knew they would be with Him in Heaven after their physical bodies gave up on them. The doctors and nurses around both of them had done amazing work to keep them alive after they should have died, but only Christ could give them eternal life because it was their time to join Him in heaven.
Points to Ponder:
How much faith do you place in Christ’s hands?
Will you stop being afraid and simply believe?