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December 1: James 1:16-18
Key Verse: James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Devotion:
Sometimes we are tempted to go off the rails and do things which we know are not right – the more we do this, the more we think it is OK, if we don’t get caught doing it! But what we forget it God is always watching us and sees everything we do both physically and in our minds and hearts! We often make up excuses saying it is probably OK with God because He has not stopped us from doing it!
That is not how God works. God is not going to support us doing things wrong and sinning. God is not going to have any part of the evil we get up to. God wants the very best for us and He will try to support us in doing what is righteous. All the good and great things we gain in our lives can be said to come from God – He is the creator and author of everything... yet still gives us free choice to do what we please.
He is not going to stand by quietly when we do what we please instead of what He is asking – but too often we ignore all the warning signs because we don’t like them. We ignore all the instructions we find difficult to take because we don’t like them. This does not mean God is giving up on us; rather we are continuing to walk away from Him!
God will never change. He is our Lord. He is everything. He is love. He created everything for us. We now have the choice at to what we do with His creation. We have the choice to follow Him and His Word, or to follow our own wants and desires. Why not change your direction a little to be more in line with God’s direction and see what He gives you as you do!
Points to Ponder:
Do you continue to ignore instruction just because you don’t like it?
Will you turn and face Jesus and ask for His instruction?
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November 30: Matthew 4:18-22
Key Verse: Matthew 4:19
‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’
Devotion:
What is your first reaction when a friend asks you to do something which will take you away from what you want to do? We all react differently to requests from friends and differently again to requests from family. When a friend asks you to do something with or for them, they do not know what is going on in your heart and mind at that moment – if they are very good friends, they could probably guess...
God knows what is going on in our minds and hearts and He is also aware of what we need to ensure our hearts and minds remain in a fit state; something we often struggle with when things go wrong. God is not going to step forward and ask you to walk off a cliff or to ask you to tell a loved one you do not want to see them again – that would not be right.
But sometimes God is going to ask you to do something you may not have thought of before, or something which will stretch your abilities or comfort zones. We, after all, feel most comfortable doing things which we are accustomed to doing – things which make us feel good or things we are used to doing. God may well ask you to step out of that comfort zone!
How we react is going to define our relationship with God. When He does ask something big of us, He will do so because He knows we can do it and we need to do it. When Jesus asked the disciples to follow Him and be fishers of men, He was asking them to leave the comfort of their everyday jobs and livelihoods to do something with sounded irrational to many people; but not to them because they knew God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you really listen to God?
Are you doing what God is asking or doing what is comfortable for you?
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November 29: Mark 13:24-31
Key Verse: Mark 13:28
Now learn this lesson from the fig-tree: as soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
Devotion:
Our bibles tell us of a time when Jesus will return and take all remaining believers home to be with God in Heaven. The return is described in various ways according to who is describing the return; each of us see what we think are the important facts and we will tell of those facts, the same is true with the return of our Lord. Each disciple clung onto what they heard and retold what meant most to them – therefore we see variances in our bible between the gospel accounts.
The bible also tells us we need to be ready for the return of Jesus, because we do not know when it will be. But the bible does tell us of things we will notice before Christ’s return... just as we see the buds appearing in the trees before summer and the leaves changing colour before winter, we will see things happening before Jesus returns. And many of those things are happening now.
What God is showing us is we need to be ready all the time, not just getting ready for summer in spring, or getting ready for winter in autumn, but ready for Christ’s return always. This does mean we should be doing what God asks of us when He asks and not waiting until the last moment.
We are now in Autumn and going into winter in the UK. The leaves are turning colour and falling; we have work to do to clean up the leaves. Soon we will be in winter and we will look up at many bare trees which have lost their leaves. This season always reminds me of the poor and lonely because they often see the world as if it is permanently winter – where everything is bare all the time. Now, more than ever, we need to tell people of the hope which we have in Christ Jesus.
Points to Ponder:
Do you like Autumn (or Fall)?
Who are you looking out for this winter?
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November 28: John 14:6-14
Key Verse: John 14:8
Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’
Devotion:
How many times do we ask for proof God exists? How many times do we ask for some sort of miracle just so we can believe a little bit more? We are always seeking proof and doubting when we do not get the proof – because it is by faith we live and not by physical proof! Well, we have had the physical proof, we have the eyewitnesses written testimony, we have the records of all the miracles... and still we doubt.
Jesus would not have had to go to the cross if we did not need it. Jesus would not have come to live amongst us if we did not need it. But He did. He did this all because of His continuing and unwavering love for us all. We do need to remember why rather than just the facts and figures. Facts and figures seem to lose their weight after a while as we grow dull to the news.
We do need to remember these words Jesus spoke to the disciples and the reason why Philip would ask for Jesus to show them God the Father. Jesus spoke these words because they, like is, struggled with how they could draw closer to God. We should be approaching God through Jesus because it is He who has given His life to be the advocate acting on our behalf. God knew He could not accept anyone who was a sinner into Heaven, so by allowing Jesus to come and be the perfect sacrifice, the one who took away all of our sins, God can accept us as people made perfect by His Son.
We need to thank God daily for allowing Jesus to come to us and be our Saviour. We need to ask for forgiveness for each of the things we do wrong and try to change our ways so we don’t carry on doing things wrong. Jesus has paid the price, but it does not give us free access to do anything we like from now on!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know Jesus is your Saviour?
Will you have faith to trust Jesus?
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November 27: James 1:12-15
Key Verse: James 1:12
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Devotion:
We are all going to face trials in our lives, whether it is public, personal, physical, mental or spiritual; trials are a part of life and how we deal with them defines who we become. If we continue to crumble under pressure or trial, then we may become used to those trials and we may just accept them as part of our lives when they are not. But if we continue to try and fight them, we may gain the strength needed to endure them or the wisdom to overcome them.
But one thing remains certain, when we do face trials, we need to enlist the help of our Lord to guide us through the trial so we can best get through the trials. God wants us to be able to get through our trials with the best outcome. This is not to say God is tempting us, but God wants to be with us when we do face trials. God cannot be tempted by anything behind our trials and will, should we listen, guide us through them.
Many times we wander off to have a look at things we ought not to or turn away from God’s strength to try and do it by ourselves. It is at these times when we walk alone where we may trip over our own feet and fall into the temptations. It is not because God is not watching us close enough, but us who are wandering away from God’s protection.
The more we take on the tasks of life by ourselves, the weaker we often become because we cannot face the trials continually. We do need help, be it from a friend who is going to stand with us or from God holding us up, there is always someone who is willing to help. Often, we do not ask for help and end up wondering why we do not get any help... most people are willing to help if they are asked first – the same with God!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you face trials?
How often do you ask for help?
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November 26: Hebrews 12:1-3
Key Verse: Hebrews 12:3
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Devotion:
I must say, the last week has been hard after losing Dad, but also very enlightening as we remember all he was able to do as part of a greater church family. Yesterday I found a cross with the word persevere on it and Dad’s name scribed on the back; so a couple of words about perseverance follow!
There are many little things which hold us back in our lives, things which prevent us from doing the right thing or from obeying God’s will in our lives. Now, we all remember there is a time for everything, but we must also remember there is always time for us to turn away from the small distractions in our lives – you know, the ones which stop us going to a church service or from helping our neighbour when they need it...
We do need to display a certain amount of perseverance – to carry on going when the going gets tough. Jesus did not stop before going to the cross because it got a bit tough – he continued to follow God’s instructions no matter what the cost was going to be for His human body. God is not asking us to give our own lives on a cross for the rest of the world – He has already done that. But He may well be asking you to do something which seems like it will be uncomfortable.
We do need to stop and pray. To think about what we are doing and what God has asked us to do. We need to remember God has the plan and He will not ask us to do things which go against His plan. But when He asks us to do something which goes against our own plans and work toward His greater good – we need to stop and listen. Persevere through the hard times.
Points to Ponder:
Do you know what God’s plan is in your life?
Are you going to put aside your plans and allow God to work?
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November 25: Hebrews 12:14-17
Key Verse: Hebrews 12:17
Afterwards, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
Devotion:
How hard do you try to live in peace with the people around you? What do you do when someone annoys you a bit too much? What do you do when you are tempted by something you gave into in the past? All these questions are hypothetical because we change according to our current circumstances...
God would love to see us being able to avoid temptations and to live a holy life with Him at the centre; but we are what we are and do give in to temptations more than we like to admit. What we do after we realise what we have done is what will shape our futures and count for or against us. God wants us to be open with Him and admit to our weaknesses before we get into trouble – He wants to be able to help us avoid the consequences of temptations by strengthening us to move away from those temptations in the first place!
If we chose to accept and live in our misgivings instead of admitting them to God, then we are choosing to live against God. We are actively rejecting God’s ways!
What happens when you get caught out for doing something wrong; most likely you are punished in some way. These punishments, or the threat of these punishments are there to try and persuade us away from doing wrong in the first place. When we face the threat of the punishment and ignore it, we get to face the consequences of that punishment after the fact. God does not want to have to dish out punishments, but He is ultimately just and will regrettably deal out punishment for those who ignore the warnings.
Points to Ponder:
Do you read warning signs or ignore them?
Do you ignore God’s warnings?
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November 24: Hebrews 13:15-17
Key Verse: Hebrews 13:16
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Devotion:
Gone are the days where we must find unblemished lambs, goats, doves or heifers and sacrifice them to atone for our sins! Thank goodness! Jesus took on that mantle by giving Himself as the perfect sacrifice to cover all of our sins forever. He gave His own blood so we can live with no fear of the debt we owe for our sins.
So, what do we do now with all the “free time” we have not having to find the animals and sacrifice them and all that goes with that? We have been given clear instruction from Christ we ought to give the sacrifices of praise and spreading the gospel. This means taking time out of our busy lives and spending it giving glory to God for all He has done for us. Then telling other people why we do what we do and why it is necessary.
We have church leaders who have continued to tell us what God has done, what Christ has achieved and how the Holy Spirit continue to be with us. These are important parts of our lives with God and our leaders continue to obey God by spreading and teaching the gospel. We too have a task to spread the gospel to those around us who do not know about Christ yet.
God has also told us we will be held accountable for the times we do or do not tell people about Christ. It should not be seen as a burden we have to do so we don’t get punished but rather seen as a joyful thing we can do to help others. Telling people about the hope we have through Christ and the joy we experience is not a burden – it is a joy! Everyone does want to know about hope and joy...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you speak to others?
How often to you tell others about your relationship with God?
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November 23: Hebrews 13:1-8
Key Verse: Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Devotion:
The more we continue to love the people around us, the more we get to see how much more a true community can do instead of a bunch of individuals. But it is not about putting up with the others just to get the job done, it is about loving them as if they are friends and family so you build up a trust relationship with them.
The more we can fully trust the people around us, the safer we feel and the better we can work to achieve our goals together. Those people around us may be our neighbours or they may be people we work with or in proximity to. If you work in a prison, then those people around you are mostly prisoners. If they can feel totally confident you are doing the right thing and will always strive to keep them safe as well, they will respect you and trust you.
If we go about trying to do thing for ourselves without caring about the people around us, then we are failing at what God is asking us to do. We are going to face all manner of difficulties along the way, some through the type of people we have to interact with, some when God asks you to move to a new place to continue His work...
But each of those difficulties can be overcome by continuing to listen to God and continuing to obey what He asks of us. He will always look out for us and we need to remember to always trust Him wholly! We must remember God does not change and will always be there!
Points to Ponder:
What is God asking you to do?
Are you obeying Him?
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November 22: Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 10:17
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
Devotion:
We don’t have to look very far to see how much corruption there is in the people who are supposedly running many of the free world countries! We have stories of corruption, evidence to back up many of those stories, and the results on show of that corruption; and yet we continue to require people in charge of our countries, so we have something to aim for...
How much more hope can we gain with someone in charge who is not corruptible, someone who will never take a bribe, someone who has laid down promises which are true and just! Our hope we get from believing in Jesus and following His commands is so much more than anything mankind can give us – yet we still hope in our governments and the people in charge!
I thank God He is the one looking out for the people who need Him most of all – the children with no parents or guardians, the widows and those who cannot earn enough to live on. These are the people God reaches over and protects, not because they may be the ones who shout the loudest in their prayers, but because His love extends to every person in need!
And, yes, we fall into that bracket because we are all in need of Him to be our Saviour. We cannot obtain forgiveness for our sins other than through Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. We cannot stand on any promises without them being backed by Christ. We need Christ in our lives, every day, every step and every breath!
Points to Ponder:
What promises do you stand out for?
Will you share some of God’s promises with someone else today?