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August 6: Exodus 34:29-35
Key Verse: Exodus 34:29
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.
Devotion:
Do you worry about how others will see you as a Christian? Do you worry people are going to see you as something to fear instead of as a friend? As Christians we need to be reaching into our communities and promoting God no matter what people are going to think of us personally. We need to put aside our pride or whatever else is holding us back and step forward to allow people to see God’s light shining through us!
Now Moses did have a problem in that he was physically glowing instead of inwardly glowing; the people were scared to approach him because he obviously looked a bit ‘alien!’ But that did not stop Moses from bringing what God had said to him to the people. First step was to reassure Aaron and the other leaders and then invite everyone to come close.
As children of God we need to step forward and show people we are not ‘aliens’ whom they have to fear but friends who want to help and give them hope. As Christians we need to step forward, no matter what our circumstances are, and allow people to see we are promoting a God who loves them even more than we can love them. And there is the issue we need to overcome first of all – we need to show them we do love them no matter what their circumstances are!
I love to wear Christian T-shirts all the time. When I first came to the area people would question why I wore them. My task then was to show them we live as Christians and want to share our lives and love with them. Now people expect me to wear Christian T-shirts and even watch out to see when I get a new one. Each one is a talking point which allows me to mix with people and promote God and His ways through me. Sometimes just being here is what people need...
Points to Ponder:
What do you think people think of you?
Are you glowing with God’s presence?
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August 5: John 5:31-35
Key Verse: John 5:31
If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.
Devotion:
As much as Jesus went around proclaiming He is the Son of God and teaching people the truth, He also made sure there were others who would also do the same; not because He needs the backup, but because we do. We find it hard to believe in something one person tells us unless we have some sort of confirmation from other people. That’s just human nature.
What God did was to make sure there is always someone willing and able to back up the truth so we can be convinced. Admit it. We are all sceptical. We don’t just accept things. God knew this and He made a way we can accept the truth. We have the truth Jesus came to deliver, we have the Holy Spirit who is able to convince us from the inside… but we can always get a bit of help from those around us.
If we need a bit of help now and again from the people around us, then how much help can we be to those people who don’t know God yet? How much can we say and do which will help them to understand just who God is and how much he can do in their lives? It is not really our task to convince anyone that Jesus is the way the truth and the life… but it is our task to open their eyes and hearts to the fact this may be the case.
Once we are able to open their eyes and hearts, Christ can come in and do the convincing. Yes, God could make some catastrophic event which will make us all believe, but He continues to allow us to make our own minds up. He asks His children to go out and invite people in. He then works directly in their hearts to allow them to see the truth and start a new life with Him in the middle!
Points to Ponder:
Do you tell others God is real?
Do you know He wants you to do that?
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August 4: John 5:1-10
Key Verse: John 5:7
‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.’
Devotion:
How frustrated do you get with things in life which you can’t quite master? How many times have you tried to do something before you give up and try to move on… but you can’t give up and go try again, only to fail once again? I know there are things like this in my life and I sometimes get to the stage where any attempt to accomplish the task is not done with any confidence at all – we give it a go but expect to fail once again.
Sometimes it is the big things in our lives which we seem to fail at and ones we always get wrong – maybe something as big as relationships and we just can’t seem to succeed! This man had been an invalid for thirty eight years and I’m sure was at the end of his tether with trying. But he was still there with hope in his heart. That was the key, having hope and wanting to succeed. Even though he had not been able to get to the pool to be healed, he still had hope.
That is the key. Hope! We need to remember there is still hope, not in what we can achieve, but in accomplishing what cannot be done. How so? Because we still have Christ on our side. Jesus saw this man and walked up to him knowing his situation but also knowing he still clung on to the hope God would be able to heal him one day. Jesus was about to make it happen there and then without being asked directly!
God wants us to be in the best places at the best times, but far too often we get caught up in the world and find ourselves in the worst places at seemingly the worst times! We need to cling to the hope Christ has promised us and to trust God will do something about our situations. I have learned this and now try to lean more on this hope each day, trusting and knowing God still performs miracles!
Points to Ponder:
Are you frustrated with your life?
Will you cling to that last ounce of hope?
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August 3: John 4:46-54
Key Verse: John 4:48
‘Unless you people see signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’
Devotion:
What does it take before you really believe something? Will it take an earth-shattering event or will you believe something God tells you through another person? I have learned God speaks to us through other people and not just through the big events of this world. Yes it may well have been a big event which cemented my belief God is my protector, but each day I continue to realise just how much He does on a day-by-day basis!
Don’t wait until you have an earth-shattering event happen because you may find it is the most difficult thing you have ever been through, or the worst imaginable thing! God wants us to believe Him because we want to and because we trust Him, not because it is the last thing on earth left before we collapse into a big heap.
This royal official must have been at the end of his tether with the looming death of his son – not something I ever want to have to live through. And what was the response from Jesus? A seemingly uncaring “go away your son will live” How was he supposed to believe this when his whole being was telling him his son was near to death? Why else would he have come to Jesus as a last resort?
Don’t wait for a last resort but place your faith and trust in the one true God is is willing and able to do so much more than we can imagine. Remember the little things which He is telling you through other people. Remember the chances He gives you. Add up all of those little things and see just how big the picture really is. He has got your back whether you realise it or not!
Points to Ponder:
What makes you stop and listen?
Will you listen to the small voice of someone else God is speaking through?
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August 2: John 4:7-9
Key Verse: John 4:9
The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Devotion:
Who did Jesus include in His group of people He wanted to live with… everyone! So many times in our culture we don’t include some people just because they live on the wrong side of the street or they don’t belong to a particular group we associate with… We exclude people just because they are different...
When Jesus came to Sychar He knew it was time to meet with the Samaritan woman who was being shunned by the community she lived in. He knew it was time to include the person others were rejecting just because she was different. To Him, it did not matter whether she was a Jew, believer, Samaritan, non-believer, whatever! He wants every one of us to be included in His family and in His church. He wants every one of us, no matter what race, colour, position, society, past, present or future; He wants very one of us to be included!
This is the task set before us when He said He wants us to love our neighbour. Jesus wants us to include the excluded. He wants us to meet with the people who are shunned. He wants us to greet the people ignored by society. He wants us to help those who are stepped on by others. Jesus wants us to act like the Christians we say we are!
I know I have been guilty of this in the past, and for those times I am truly sorry, but joining Eden (#joineden) and becoming part of a community which had been sidelined by society, I have been able to do so much more of the things Jesus asked of me in the beginning. The place I live and love may well change over time, but the people always remain the same – those chosen by God! (that means everyone by the way!)
Points to Ponder:
What do you do in your community?
What would Jesus do in your position?
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August 1: Luke 5:27-31
Key Verse: Luke 5:31
Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill.’
Devotion:
I could just imagine the faces of the Pharisees and teachers as they watched Jesus go to the tax collector’s house and have a banquet with them instead of a humble occasion with a few of the people they thought should deserve it… What would you think if your vicar went to have a meal with a local drug dealer instead of coming round to your house and having a light salad!
OK, that may not be a good comparison, but it has got you thinking… Just what do we expect in our lives and how much do we judge others according to our own rules and our own wants? If we are honest we will admit to having some jealous thoughts in our lives which are not really justifiable!
Jesus quite clearly stated He was not here to appease the people who thought they made up the best synagogues or supported the best temples… He came to reach out to the people who needed God most in their lives. He came to allow the people who were shunned from the temples to meet with God and see a new hope in their own lives. God calls us to do similar things – and it can be very scary!
I cannot compare my life to that of Christ, but I can see so many places where God has placed me in a difficult situation to allow me o be used in a way which reaches out to people who can’t face coming to church for one reason or another. God uses us in ways which we cannot or do not perceive. He uses us where we just don’t know how to reach people – because He is God and He can do these things! Trust and obey is ringing in my head as I write this down...
Points to Ponder:
Where do you aim your “God Work?”
Will you stop and allow Him to do work through you?
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July 31: Luke 5:22-26
Key Verse: Luke 5:23
Which is easier: to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk”?
Devotion:
Firstly yesterday things went a bit awry! I have been receiving continued check-ups as I have recovered from my bout of necrotising pancreatitis, cystitis and a whole lot of other complications and big medical words! I had a scan a few weeks back and a call from the surgeon to say the cystitis had finally cleared and I should get booked in to have the stents removed at some stage. The next day I got a call asking if I could come in the following day (yesterday) to have “endoscopic stent removal!” So I was under the influence of the sedation drugs yesterday and did not get round to this devotion – so today you get two for one!
In our verses today, the Pharisees and teachers were not impressed anyone could come into their “territory” and do things which they could not do. It made them look like they were not as good as they had made things out to be… the truth was being told!
Sometimes in our lives we get used to doing the same old thing over and over again and we get used to taking short-cuts and even telling people how we are doing more than we actually do! We are all guilty of this at some stage in our lives and we should all take note of how Jesus handled this. The first thing He did was to pick out the people who were living in their own pride. He stopped and made them think about what they were doing. God is going to do the same to us if we continue to walk off in opposition to His will in our lives.
But it is going to be up to us as to whether we act like these Pharisees and make even more excuses playing the blame game, or whether we stop and make a U-turn to follow God’s will in our lives. I am always amazed at how He is able to do so much in our lives when we do follow His will and that includes placing some incredible surgeons and consultants in your path who are able to do some pretty amazing things to keep us alive! I know it was God who was behind this all because my life has not fallen apart as I thought it must do when it all went belly up in hospital back in February last year! God is good! Listen and obey!
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep on making excuses?
Will you put aside your pride and try to do what God wants you to do?
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July 30: Romans 8:31-33
Key Verse: Romans 8:32
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Devotion:
I have heard the first verse said many times before and quoted so much on social media: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” To me this can sound a bit hollow unless it is followed up with an explanation as to why this should be so. I know in my early journey with God I used to pick holes in so many things Christians said because I saw them living a different life to what they were saying; this is not God’s way and certainly not what God has done!
I God was willing to allow His only Son to come to us and die in our stead, just because He loves us, then we should grasp this saying with both hands and live with it, not just say it! What does this mean in real terms? Does it not mean we should be trusting God and going out to do things in His name and knowing He is going to support us? So what is stopping you from listening to what God is saying to you?
Sometimes we hear things and immediately ignore them just because they sound like it could be difficult. Sometimes we try to change what we hear to support our own wants instead of the true need God knows we should be filling. I am proud to be a part of the Eden group (@joineden on must social media) and a few years back we stepped forward to do what God was asking us to do. This meant being totally outside my comfort zone, which changed very quickly when I realised God was actually doing what He said!
Living on an estate where we can help and support local people, not through giving money and covering expenses, but by social and spiritual help gives a whole new meaning to life. This is what God has asked of us and we do so willingly, knowing it will be hard work, knowing we will get backlashes, knowing we will face opposition, but knowing God is with us every step of the way!
Points to Ponder:
How often you wonder if you are listening to God?
Will you place your faith and trust in Him wholly?
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July 29: Romans 8:26-27
Key Verse: Romans 8:26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
Devotion:
How do you know what to pray when things are going wrong, when all you can feel is the whole world collapsing on your shoulders or something like that? What words come to mind? Are they going to be good enough for God? These are the sorts of things we all worry about when things are going badly in our lives and it is a very real worry too.
What God wants during times like this is not an academic answer the church will be proud of, but an honest and heartfelt plea for help. You don’t have to try and explain the situation in delicate details because God knows what you need before you even open up your mouth. All you need to do is try to rest in His embrace and allow whatever you feel to come out of your mouth as honest pleas or emotions.
God wants you to be real with Him and not to try and make it like you are a scholar who has read all of the bible enough times to be able to quote from passages here and there. God just wants you to love Him and trust Him to provide what you need. He will do this through the Holy Spirit if you are willing to listen.
The holy spirit may well put words in your mouth which you never though you’d ever say. He may well just open up your heart and allow you to cry because that emotion will speak more than words. He may well make the prayers to God whilst you remain silent wishing you knew what to say. The Holy Spirit knows our hearts and minds and will make sure God hears the right prayers to answer your needs right now!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get tongue tied when you try to pray?
Will you rest in the Holy Spirit’s arms and allow Him to direct you?
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July 28: Psalm 119:145-148
Key Verse: Psalm 119:148
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.
Devotion:
When things get desperate, we start to get desperate – but how desperate do you have to be before you call out to God and ask Him to help, no matter what! Many times we lift up prayers with pre-conditions. We ask God to help us in a way we can deal with it, but not put ourselves out! What are we thinking!
When we ask God to help us, we should be willing to accept whatever God gives us with the full knowledge He knows what is best for us and will continue to help us in ways we cannot understand. When this Psalm was written down, the author calls out to God in desperation but tries to bolster his chances of the prayers being answered by promising things to God… if you help me I will obey your scriptures! If you help me I will keep to your rules and regulations!
Things start to change when he says he continues to think about what God is doing in his life and continues to wonder why… If we accept God is doing things in our lives and accept He does know what is best for us, then when we sit down and really understand what He does and try to figure out why He does, then we will begin to understand true grace and forgiveness.
God wants us to know Him and His ways, not just to follow them blindly, but to really think about why God is helping us out. The more we understand why God is helping us, the more we will realise how much more God wants to do. What we also need to accept is God is also going to help out those people around us, some of whom we may not feel like they deserve help – but God knows best!
Points to Ponder:
Do you put conditions on your prayers?
Will you do what God asks even if your prayers are not answered your way?