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January 13: Proverbs 17:17
Key Verse: Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
Devotion:
When you meet someone as a friend and you bond together as friends, not a lot is going to be able to get in the way of your friendly love for one another – there is something very special about the love you build up as friends. If something does get in the way, then you start to ask questions about what is special and what is vanity.
As Christians we need to have this sort of love for one another, making sure nothing gets in the way of your love for others and making sure the love remains even when things go wrong. God wants us to think about others all the time and not just think of ourselves – this is especially so when we are in sad and lonely time as we are now in the UK.
It is hard not being able to go round to friends' houses and greet each other with big hugs, but we need to remain careful and diligent to ensure we don’t all succumb to the virus! We need to make sure we spread the love, but not the germs. God made special concessions for people who had infectious deceases in the bible and we should not take this virus lightly.
But, equally, we need to remember our love for each other, remember the friendships we have and make sure they stand firm and strong. Also making sure the people around us know they can count on us to help out where we can and to share things when we can. I love being part of a community where things are not just discarded but advertised in case someone is in need.
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard in these stressful times?
Will you try and share something with a neighbour to lift the stress a bit?
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January 12: Matthew 12:30-32
Key Verse: Matthew 12:32
Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Devotion:
This is one of those verses in the bible which worries a lot of people because it seems to say that we could be in mortal danger if we say anything against the Holy Spirit... but we do have to take it in context and study the whole bible and not take a single verse as meaning everything! There are so many places in our bibles which tell us how forgiving and merciful God is and many more places where God has forgiven people for sins which would have demanded death of old!
God is willing and able to forgive anyone who has done anything wrong, even those who have spoken against the Holy Spirit! If we take this to its furthest extent, then many of us have cursed in the name of the Holy Spirit or Jesus... do we deserve eternal death? Well, everyone deserves eternal death according to the rules... but God forgives us and allows us to come to Him through Christ.
It is the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus which has allowed us to come to God no matter what we have done in our lives. We have to be careful in this though because the rules were laid down by God for a reason! If we say one thing (say we love God) but do something else (continue sinning as if it was normal) then are we showing God our true colours?
God wants us to be truthful and honest with Him and then He will uphold His promises to us. If we continue to berate the Holy Spirit and continue to work against the Spirit in our lives, then we are living a lie; something God will see right through! God will judge us according to the truth in our lives and not just what we say!
Points to Ponder:
What do you say about God in your life?
What do you do with God in your life?
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January 11: Mark 1:9-13
Key Verse: Mark 1:12
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,
Devotion:
What is the first thing which comes into your mind when you think about the baptism of Jesus? Is it the fact He came to John in human form and asked to be baptised just as everyone else was being baptised? Was it the fact the Spirit descended on Him like a dove from Heaven?
These are points which we need to remember and be thankful for, points which are very important and upon which many sermons have been preached – but I want to focus on what happens next... Have you been baptised? Can you remember it? I love the way baptisms are done in a small community church called church at five, based in East Finchley in London; or at least how they were done before COVID-19 set in!
The person being baptised is fully immersed in the pool and then the whole congregation gathers around the pool and prophesies over them. Yes, the whole congregation! Each one of us can listen to the spirit and tell others what the spirit it telling them! In Jesus’ case the spirit of God spoke out from Heaven... but it was not Jesus’ task to sit and soak up the spirit...
Instead, the spirit led Him out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan! What would you have thought if your first task as a new Christian was to go out into the hardest, toughest and wildest place you can imagine and to be provoked as far as you could by a horrible person! Jesus needed to demonstrate to us we have the power to ignore evil when we have God on our side. God gives us the strength required through the Holy Spirit!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you rely on the Holy Spirit?
Will you step forward and expect the Holy Spirit to hold on tight today?
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January 10: Genesis 1:1-5
Key Verse: Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Devotion:
I can remember some of those amazing days back in the late 60’s when the astronauts went to the moon; not much detail, but I can remember standing outside in the dark waiting for the sputnik to fly over and all the hype about people getting to the moon! It is only now I appreciate how extraordinary the task was for the technology we had back then.
Why then were these words chosen for Anders, Lovell and Borman to read to the world as they went round the moon? Apparently it was suggested by the wife of a certain official at the time because the USA was still involved with the Vietnam war and quoting peace on earth or a Christmas message was not deemed appropriate...
But I still love the fact they chose words from the bible to speak to the world as they came out of the shadow of the moon and were able to speak to earth once again. The sight of the earth rising over the horizon of the moon is remarkable (I say that because I can review photographs of the sight and not because I was there!)
God has given us so much and we continue to try and better ourselves; but on many occasions we step on other people’s toes or we upset others through what we do. We cannot please everyone all of the time because we all have our own views and we change... but we can aim to try and please God all of the time because we know He does not change!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you try to please in your life?
Will you aim to please God today?
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January 9: Ephesians 6:1-9
Key Verse: Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Devotion:
Sometimes I read through a section of scripture and wonder what has impressed the writer to write such things – like these words trying to encourage peaceful living with all manner of people. And then you read the latest news and wonder what people are even thinking about to make them so violent against fellow countrymen!
Let’s face it, we, humans, are a right bunch who can be incited to do some pretty horrible things against other human beings – and it goes through all communities and societies. None of us are immune to these things, but we do have ready help to guide us in our lives. Words like these written down by the apostles to encourage us to do what is righteous for all people and not just those we choose!
God wants us to live with everyone as one people – all with access to God’s Word and to His way of life for us all. That means encouraging each other to have free access to His Word and to share it and it’s ideals with the people around us all the time and not just when we choose!
It is easy to think about doing the right thing but stopping and analysing what you do and adjusting your ways to be more in line with Christ’s ways does take courage and strength! God wants to give us the strength and will-power to do what is right; we need to listen to Him in order to do that! Stop and think about why you do the things you do – then try and think about what Jesus would try to do if He were in your shoes...
Points to Ponder:
Do you call yourself a Christian?
Do you do what Jesus would do?
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January 8: Luke 2:41-50
Key Verse: Luke 2:44
Thinking he was in their company, they travelled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.
Devotion:
You may read these verses and wonder how Jesus’ parents could be so lax about looking after their child, but you need to take into account the way these people lived back then and how communities were very safe places! It is little wonder there are multiple places in the bible which talk about the safety of being in a community, city or group of people which has God looking after them.
We are very different in our societies nowadays with child abuse and all manner of evil things being commonplace; it was not like this back then! God continued to encourage the Israelites to be one community, one people, who trusted each other and continually looked out for each other. I can remember being back in Zimbabwe when I was a youngster and it was common for us children to be around other people’s houses without being worried about anything – we knew our community was safe!
When Joseph and Mary finally realised their son was not with them in the caravan (not a house on wheels, but a group of travelling people) they turned round and went back to find him. I can imagine the panic because it is not nice to not know where your children are!
But Jesus knew He was safe because He was going about His Father’s will. But, as a young child, He did not realise the worry and stress He was putting on His earthly parents – had He known, I’m sure He would have acted differently. Jesus compassion for everyone, and not just physical family, is shown in bucket loads here – something we need to try and emulate in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you care for others?
Who do you choose when God asks you to do something for Him?
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January 7: Matthew 2:1-4
Key Verse: Matthew 2:2
and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’
Devotion:
I wonder if you have ever been in a position where you thought you were in charge or at least the contact through which others should interact – only to be set aside when other people were queried or contacted instead of you! I think I would be pretty put out by that sort of action, but I would not go as far as King Herod went...
These Magi were well thought of and must have caused a bit of a scene by coming to find where this ‘new king’ was who had been signalled by the changing of the stars in the sky. We have recently seen the confluence of two planets in our system which gave us a brilliant ‘star’ in the night sky, especially when viewed from Southern Africa; but that was just an alignment of a couple of planets...
These Magi were students of the skies – they watched the skies for all manner of changes and concluded something special was happening and the bright light in the sky was going to show them where! We are still not sure where these Magi came from – other than the East – but they would have stood out from the crowd.
I wonder if you are someone who stands out from the crowd or someone who blends in to hide amongst numbers. I prefer to think I try to stand out from the crowd because I want people to hear what I have to say about Jesus! I am known as the guy who wears Jesus T-Shirts at all times – something I strive to do now because it gives me a chance to allow others to see where my heart belongs.
Points to Ponder:
Do you try to be noticed as a Christian?
Will you stand up and be noticed this month – even in lock-down?
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January 6: Mark 6:35-44
Key Verse: Mark 6:37
But he answered, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?’
Devotion:
The choices God gives us can sometimes confound us just as the choice Jesus gives the disciples here. The disciples could see the thousands of people all around and they knew they had very little and now Jesus was telling them to feed all of the people with virtually nothing! But, when God asks you to do something, He already has a plan in hand and we just have to follow His instructions.
God wants us to be brave and be willing to give everything for those in need; whether it is to feed a hungry person on the side of the road or to just give a stranger a word of encouragement, God is asking us to listen to His instructions and to trust Him with those instructions.
I bet the disciples were a bit perplexed when they found out the sum total of food the crowd had brought with them was five loaves and two fishes! But this was no obstacle for God – the only people with the obstacles in front of them were the disciples and probably anyone who overheard them talking! People just don’t believe miracles are going to happen to them!
Jesus continues to show us miracles every day, but most of them go unnoticed as we put things down to random chance and other people’s decisions. But God can and does use all manner of people to make miracles happen. Here He used the people or person who brought along the loaves and fishes to be able to feed thousands of people!
Points to Ponder:
Do you limit God with what you think is possible?
Will you allow God to show you miraculous ways?
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January 5: Judges 6:13-19
Key Verse: Judges 6:15
‘Pardon me, my lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’
Devotion:
Sometimes we will want to question what God says to us, be it directly or through other people; we will have doubts and we may even believe we have heard things wrong or others are not telling us what God actually wants... Our lives are filled with moments, feelings and thoughts which are not too dissimilar to this!
Gideon did not want to believe the words he was hearing from the angel; how could he, being the least from his family, a family least amongst others who were greater in standing and probably prowess, how could he be the one being called to defeat the Midianites!
God knows what we are capable of, but He also know how much more can be accomplished by us when we trust in Him. Gideon was not strong enough to take on the Midianites, and nor would the army be which was gathered together. So God strips the army of Gideon down to a bare minimum, a minimum so small there would be no hope of getting close to the Midianites, never mind overthrowing them!
Sometimes God is going to lead us into places where nothing makes sense according to our rules or the rules of the world, but He does know what He is doing and knows how best to use us so He succeeds where nobody else can! It all comes down to the trust we have in Him and His words...
Points to Ponder:
How much do you think you trust God?
Are you willing to lay aside your life to work with Him?
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January 4: Matthew 2:13-15
Key Verse: Matthew 2:14
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt
Devotion:
Right from the beginning, God has tried to show us every day how He wants to be able to look out for us and to protect us. Joseph and Mary listened to what God was telling them and obeyed! Two very important things, to listen and to obey.
Once we get that into our heads and start to follow these simple rules, we will begin to see just how much God does care for us. If we don’t listen and obey, God must work even harder to try and help and protect us! The best way forward is to remain close to God and listen to the instructions as they come in and to obey as soon as we can.
Joseph and Mary left in the middle of the night to make sure they could get a good start and escape what was coming. When we used to go on holiday back when I was young, we would often leave very early in the morning so we could get to our destination on time and enjoy the vacation as planned. If we spend all of our time fighting against the crowds and trying to escape, we will not enjoy things as much as we could.
If we look back on all the stories we have in the bible, we will see how being on time, listen and obeying has proved to be the best way forward. God has taught us this through example and expects us to make the right decision and follow those examples. If we do, we get the best deal possible. If we don’t, we have to put up with what happens!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like to be ahead of the crowd?
Will you try to listen and obey a bit quicker today?