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Feb 25: Genesis 17:15-22
Key Verse: Genesis 17:16
I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’
Devotion:
This is one of those stories which shows the failings of humans and the greatness of God all in one! Abraham was a faithful man, faithful to God, but he was getting old and he thought the time was probably long passed when he and Sarah would be able to have a child. Even when God spoke to him and told him Sarah would have a son, there was doubt because he and Sarah thought they were much too old.
I look back in my life and see how I had children when I was younger and think about what it could be like if I were to have another child at this late stage in my life. Just the logistics of having a child and looking after them at this age takes on a new meaning!
But we always forget nothing is impossible with God and as long as we are willing to place our faith and trust in Him, He is able to make things happen which we thought impossible… not that I am wishing for another child! God is the one who knows what we need and knows what we can handle.
Giving God space in our lives to do what He does best – miracles – can be difficult when we are limiting the space for Him to work by having those doubts. But if we can imagine a wide open space for God to work in instead of the tiny box we are giving to Him, then we will see just how much He can do!
Points to Ponder:
What are you limiting God to?
Will you open up the whole playing field to Him instead?
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Feb 24: Matthew 5:43-48
Key Verse: Matthew 5:44
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Devotion:
As we grow up in this world we learn worldly responses to worldly events – some of them are not always the right response we should have to those events. Jesus tried to show people a new way of living whilst He lived amongst us. He went out of His way to show love to people who others had already discarded or deemed not to be worthy of any love!
We need to try to be more like Jesus in that way and to not judge people just because they have done something wrong or because they are different to us. We need to be open to the idea others need a chance to live their lives and that they could change their ways if they were give the chance to do so. Jesus was always willing to give people chances to change their ways.
He also warned us to allow people to make their own choices and if they chose to continually work against us, then we should be ready to walk away instead of picking a fight with them. But our first response should be to show them love because that may well be the one thing in life they have not had!
When Jesus showed love to people who were known to be sinners, those people often turned their lives around and began to walk with Him. This does nto mean we should eb the ultimate push-overs and accept everything and anything which comes our way… but we should be willing to show people they have a chance of getting things right!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you judge someone based on what others say?
How often do you show love to those who work against you?
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Feb 23: Matthew 5:17-20
Key Verse: Matthew 5:20
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Devotion:
When Jesus was amongst His disciples and the people He would make sure they knew He had not come to overturn everything the prophets had brought to the people; in other words He had not come to overturn the word of God but to support it and fulfil it!
Sometimes it is difficult to spot a fraudster from a crowd because the fraudsters try to blend in and work quietly from the inside. This is what we are up against as Christians, we are up against an adversary who will go out of his way to try and trip us up by offering us more than we have.
Jesus went through this when He was facing temptations from the devil but He was able to rely on God and not be tempted even though He was promised all manner of things. When we look back on instances where we have faced fraudulent people we can wonder why we did not spot them to start with – but that is why they do this, because they can hide the truth until it is too late!
Jesus also warned the people they would have to be better behaved than all of the rules from the past before they could come close to joining God in Heaven: something we will find impossible to do because we are tempted by things all the time. Jesus was stepping forward here to make a new way open to us because He knew we would not be able to avoid temptation all of our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Would you avoid a tempting dinner if offered it?
Do you know the evil one will tempt you with your inner desires?
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Feb 22: Isaiah 55:6-9
Key Verse: Isaiah 55:6
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
Devotion:
One of the things I got to learn from an American Pastor friend of mine was we should be seeking the Lord at all times; not because He told us to or that we will get punished for not doing so, but because we only have a short time to do so! We have a finite life span and during that life we have to make a choice as to whether we follow Christ or follow mankind… and by not making a choice we have already made the choice!
The more we try to follow the world and its ways the more we will lose track of what we should be doing. The world changes its mind all the time. People change their minds all the time. God is the same today as He ever was and will always be the same!
God has warned people from the beginning of time how we will make bad choices and choose temptation instead of righteousness. He knows this because He knows what we are like. If we choose to seek Him we will be aiming at a better way of life and are more likely to get there than if we follow the ever changing will of people!
God allowed Jesus to come to us to show us the way we can live our lives with Him. He has given us the best choice to make – but we do have to make the choice. Choose to follow Christ!
Points to Ponder:
Do you actively seek Christ in your life?
Have you noticed He is actively seeking you?
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Feb 21: Luke 11:29-32
Key Verse: Luke 11:30
For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.
Devotion:
How many times have you been asked “why doesn't God look after Christians” or something similar to that? When I am asked this I try to find out where the person asking is coming from or why they don’t think God is looking after people – the answer is normally in the way the person asks the question!
When Jesus was talking to this crowd of people He knew the intentions o the people around Him; He knew some were seeking questions like this and His answer was probably directed to those people. God knows there are many people who have ulterior motives in life and who are not seeking the things they say they are!
We should never forget God sees right through us and knows what we are aiming for. Yesterday we talked about being honest and open with God – this is why! We can never hope to hide anything from God and being honest and open means we are honest and open with ourselves as well. The longer we try to hide things from God, the longer we will be faced with harsh judgements!
God is holy. God is righteous. This means God does what is right! If we do wrong we should expect to live with the consequences of our actions. God has every right to judge people and if we are harbouring people in our lives who are dishonest or evil, we should expect the consequences to affect our lives as well!
Points to Ponder:
Do you try to live righteously?
Do you admit your faults to God?
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Feb 20: Matthew 6:7-15
Key Verse: Matthew 6:7
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Devotion:
Have you ever asked yourself why you do the things you do? I’m not talking about the little things which you do differently to other people like how you hold you cup when drinking a beverage; I’m talking about things like your work and how you do that. Most of us have hobbies which we can say we do because we like doing them, but not all of us can say we work because that is what we enjoy the most in life!
For things like work we often end up doing work which pays the most or which gives us a guaranteed income with good benefits – we don’t always do it because we like it. So what about our spiritual lives? Do we do things just because we think we are going to please God by doing certain things during certain times of the year?
God is not so fickle as we are. He is not looking for the person who can recite the scripture the best or the person who can shout loudest on the street corners. God is looking for people who give from their hearts to Him and His people. This starts by us getting ourselves right with Him and building a proper relationship with Him.
When Jesus taught the disciples what we now know as the Lord’s Prayer, it was to refocus their prayers and their thoughts on what is important in a relationship with Christ instead of the most eloquent or longest words people can use. Be real and be honest with God as He is with you!
Points to Ponder:
How honest are you with God?
How real is your life with Him?
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Feb 18: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Key Verse: 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
Devotion:
One of the things we may get perplexed by as Christians is the bad things which seem to happen to Christians in our modern world. We look at how Christians are suffering or how evil people seem to succeed whereas Christians do not. Often we are looking at things from the world’s perspective instead of looking at things from God’s point of view.
Yes, when we look at life from a worldly point of view, we do not fit in very well as Christians. The reason why we don’t fit in very well is because we do things differently from the world – or at least we should be! God does not want us to conform to the worldly ways but to aim for righteousness and living a life in hope for Christ’s ways to fill our lives.
We can look back and wonder why God sent the flood during Noah’s time, or we can look back and ask why people faced hard times when they seemed to do what God asked of at the time. What we don’t always look at is the bigger picture and what is actually causing the issues to start with!
People do! Many people are not Christians and they do not live their lives in a Christ-like manner! We could say some people who call themselves Christians do not live in a Christ-like manner either, but we won’t go there now! Those who live evil or unrighteous lives may well bring that evil into our lives because we are simply near them! This is not God bringing this stuff into our lives, but other people! What we do about it will shape our lives with Christ...
Points to Ponder:
Do you live amongst people who are not Christians?
Have you noticed how their lives sometimes rub off on you?
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Feb 17: Luke 5:27-32
Key Verse: Luke 5:32
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Devotion:
One of the things Jesus made sure He always did was to include everyone in what He was doing. He actively went out of His way to make sure sinners were welcome and got to hear about the good news! In this section of scripture Jesus approaches a tax collector, a person who was regarded by everyone as a sinner because of he methods they used to get money out of people – and not always the right way!
For Levi to get up and follow Jesus at the drop of a hat means Jesus had approached Him with authority! Tax collectors were people who followed authority and did what the people in charge said should be done. Levi had probably heard about the things this man Jesus was doing, must have heard about the scriptures as the people around him talked, and instinctively knew Jesus was the man to be able to clear this all up in his head.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law did not see the humane side of things but, instead, saw a dreadful sinner who should not have been approached to start with. Then when Jesus went off to have a meal with these sinners, that was the last straw for them.
This demonstrates the polar opposites between the Pharisees and Jesus. The Pharisees shunned anyone who did not listen to them and obey their rules. Jesus invited everyone to come to the table! We need to be more like Jesus in the way we approach others when it comes to telling them about the good news – everyone is invited!
Points to Ponder:
Do you shy away from talking to some people about God?
What if you were never told about God?
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Feb 16: Matthew 9:14-15
Key Verse: Matthew 9:15
Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
Devotion:
How many times have you read a part of scripture and a thought came to you about the meaning of that passage, or you saw a different light on the passage from what you have been taught all along. God talks to us in many ways and just one of those ways is when He opens our eyes and hearts to new meaning in the scriptures.
As I was reading these verses a thought came to me which I had not expected. John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked Him a serious question, one which was grounded in their culture and in scripture – and one which people still do wonder about and even ask. What about fasting? Why do some choose to fast and others not to?
Jesus’ answer is one which should be thought about and not just taken as something we do because Jesus did… The disciples had learned about fasting and Jesus was not going to tell them not to, but He was going to put a light on it for us to think about. The time Jesus had on earth was limited and He had to teach the disciples as much as He could whilst He was here…
Fasting should not just be something we do once a week because it’s time to! Fasting should be done because we want to focus our minds on God and the things of God. To do that we need to take time out of our busy schedules and set it aside to commune with God. That means stopping what we are doing! Jesus still had much to teach and did not want them to take time out because He was here with them!
Points to Ponder:
Do you set time aside for God?
How do you use that time with God?
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Feb 15: Luke 9:22-25
Key Verse: Luke 9:25
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
Devotion:
One of the things most of us meet in life is the perpetual drive to earn more money in this world; we face people who do everything they can to make as much money as possible assuming it is going to make them happier in some way. I’m not someone who has had millions to spare, or even hundreds of thousands, or tens of thousands… but I have been chasing after money in my life before!
The more we chase after money, the more we lose focus on the more important things in life and the less we are satisfied with our lives. It’s like a no-win situation as we chase after more only to be more dissatisfied with what we gain. This is the whole thing the author is eluding to here – we cannot gain satisfaction from earthly goods because the more we gain the more we want…
Jesus was trying to get the disciples to learn this from living a more wholesome life instead of earning lots and finding dissatisfaction all the way. King Solomon found this after gaining so much during his lifespan. The wisdom God gave him should have prepared him for this but he chose to chase after worldly things in the end.
If we really want to find what life is all about we should be willing to give up on everything we have to seek it out. True happiness is only going to come from knowing Christ and having Him in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
How satisfied are you when you win a prize?
How many more prizes will it take before you realise?