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February 28: Matthew 25:1-13
Key Verse: Matthew 25:5
The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
Devotion:
I don’t know about you, but I sometimes have a problem with being likened to a virgin, because I know I am anything but a virgin! Not in the physical sense but because my life has had it’s ups and downs and I have strayed away from God, sometimes without thinking, but also willingly as well! But this is the way Jesus wanted us to think about how He looks upon us – as potentially pure and very special!
This parable talks about ten girls who were to meet the bridegroom – not absolutely sure of the whys and wherefores because society has changed so much since then. Their task was to keep themselves ready and waiting until the bridegroom came to them; doesn’t sound such an onerous task for anyone… But some of them became very impatient when the bridegroom did not arrive when they thought he should! They did things their own way and were not fully prepared when the bridegroom did finally appear.
If you think of us as being the virgins, then we should be ever prepared for when the bridegroom does come – when Christ returns. We do not know when He is going to return! Some thought it was going to be soon after His death and resurrection, whilst others put a longer timespan on it. We still don’t know the date or time despite what people will try to tell us; all we get is clues about what the world will be like before He returns.
Many of those clues are coming true in this generation, but still we cannot be sure of the day! Instead, we should be prepared for that day and continue to be ready without nodding off to sleep, walking away or not having enough oil when the time comes! So what does the oil equate to? Everything in your life which will make you ready for Christ’s return, from reading His word, being prepared, keeping ourselves for Christ – the list goes on and on… which makes us weary as we wait!
Points to Ponder:
What would you do if you were told Christ was returning tomorrow?
What are you doing in your life to be ready?
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February 27: 1 Corinthians 11:27-32
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 11:28
Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.
Devotion:
Now and again we need to be reminded about why we have bread and wine as a commemoration of Christ on the cross. When we continue to celebrate mass or the Lord’s Supper week in week out, we tend to take things for granted and do not think as deeply about why we do this because it becomes a habit rather than our Holy Communion with God.
I’m not saying we should not celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week, but I am suggesting we take our time to think about why we are doing this each time. I am used to being told by the priest we should each think about whether we are worthy to come before God and partake of this recollection of what Jesus did for us; but I know I am guilty of not always stopping and thinking about my lifestyle and my ways before accepting the bread and wine…
Jesus sat with His disciples in the upper room and He broke the bread showing the disciples this was going to be a way of remembering what happened to Him, and similarly with the wine being a way of remembering how He allowed His own blood to be shed for us. He wanted them to remember what He was going to do and to think about their own lives and judge for themselves whether they had lived up to the promise they were making to follow Jesus and His ways.
Do we take life for granted and live it to the best, or do we take every day as a gift and live it for the best for God? We may think these are one and the same, and we may well mean it when we say it – but if the people around us take it as living the best for the worldly ways around them rather than the best for God, then we have reminded people of themselves instead of Christ. Our lives should be lived as a constant communion with God and our outward ways as a reflection of what Christ wants in our lives – that way people will be shown God’s ways and not our own ways...
Points to Ponder:
Do you live life to the full?
Does your life actually reflect Christ?
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February 26: Galatians 6:1-6
Key Verse: Galatians 6:4
Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else
Devotion:
When you go into an unknown situation, it is always good to know someone is looking out for you and even better if they have been in the situation you are heading for so they can guide you through it. As Christians we need to be looking out for each other as well as looking out for people who are not Christians; the problem comes when we have to face the things others face because we might be tempted to give in to the temptations facing them, just as they may want to give in.
Jesus led the disciples through their lives when He was with them, guiding them and showing them what was best. He also guided them away from any sins in their lives where He could. He did not ban them from sin but rather gently showed them a right way of approaching things so they could make an informed choice in their own lives. This is what He would like us to do – the problem being we do not always know what is best for others…
The best we can do is to listen to the Holy Spirit and do what He says is right for each of us. In doing so we become better examples for others to follow and examples through which they can gain strength. Part of that is in carrying each others burdens. Not only is this what Christ wanted of us but also the example He showed us so we could follow. Christ continues to say we should share our burdens with Him so we may find strength and guidance through His example.
When we begin to raise our thought about ourselves and our abilities above what we are capable of, we only fool ourselves because others will see through our deception! So each of us needs to watch what we do and what we are capable of doing, without comparing ourselves to others. When we do start comparing ourselves to others we become disillusioned with our own lives and things break down. Christ wants us to live our own lives, but when we learn more about Him, we should be willing to share that information with others freely.
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep to yourself?
Or do you share your life with your friends?
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February 25: John 3:19-21
Key Verse: John 3:21
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Devotion:
No matter how much we try to tell people about the gospel truths, we will not be able to reach all people; people have grown to love the darkness and the wrongs ways of living. We do have an uphill task of trying to tell people about this amazing light which Christ has brought into the world, not to blame people or show them up, but to give them the option of finding out the truth and following that truth as a choice!
The more we live in the world and live by the rules of the world, the more we move away from God and get stuck in the worldly ways. These ways are often the wrong ways and it seems a lot easier to go with these ways just as the rest of the people around us are doing. Why rock the boat when you can move ahead just like everyone else? Well, if the road everyone is on leads to the wrong destination, we need to come to our senses and get off the common road and head back to the right destination!
Christ warned us the road to the wrong destination would be free and easy to go forward on, but would ultimately lead to spending our lives away from God and certainly not going to live in Heaven with Him for eternity! The road to heaven may not be an open highway, it may not be easy and it may go through many torturous ways, but we can be certain it will lead to us being able to spend our eternity with Christ in heaven.
If we continue to go along this wrong highway for too long, we will lose sight of the road to heaven and get so caught up in the wrong ways we may even convince ourselves these wrong ways are the right ways. They are not! We need to open our eyes and see the world and its ways for what it is, adjust our ways and try to stay walking with Christ along the rough and ready road which will give us eternal life.
Points to Ponder:
Do you like sticking with the crowd?
Are you ready to step out and know you are on the right path?
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February 24: John 7:6-9
Key Verse: John 7:7
The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.
Devotion:
Have you noticed how you support the ‘bad’ person in some movies, or how you go against the good person because they are spoiling all the fun? There are so many times in our lives where we go against what we think we should because it makes sense for us to do so or it seems to please more people to do so…
This does not make these things right and should not mean we support those things – but what do the people around us see when we go against what is right or support the bad people? They see us rebelling against what is right and they may well turn away from righteousness in order to support you or to go the same way they see you going. This is nothing new, we are followers of people and we like to fit in with the crowd so we can be part of the crowd – a certain amount of anonymity in our lives gives us peace.
Jesus was nothing like that – but He knew when to stay away from the crowd because of what they would have planned against Him. He knew it would eventually come to this, but He also knew the time was not right. We don’t tend to get such insights in our lives and we blunder forward bouncing between things, hoping to make it through to the other end. The world will probably not hate us for doing this or for being whom we are; unless we stand up for Christ in everything we do.
When we stand up for God and follow His will in our lives, we may well find there are a lot of people who do not like what we are doing because it either throws light onto the dark things they are involved in, or it allows others to see you as righteous and not them. The world wants to envelop people and gather everyone together so we can all hide behind each other! God wants us to stand out from the crowd and make a difference – just wait for God’s timing and don’t turn away!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like hiding behind others?
Will you stand up front and be the example?
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February 23: Luke 6:23-26
Key Verse: Luke 6:25
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Devotion:
There is always another side to the coin… we were reminded yesterday how God is willing to bless all those who are in need, those who are poor, those who are weak and those who are struggling. The other side of the coin points to those who have all they need, more money than they need, more food than they need and who are not willing to step forward and offer help to those who have not…
To these, God issues a warning. The poor and needy will rejoice and leap for joy because they will have everything they need in heaven, but those who have been spoiled here on earth will not be spoiled in heaven. The rich are warned they have already received their comfort because they have spent it all on themselves. Those who have had more food than they needed have eaten all they could. Those who have laughed at the expense of others have had their laughs.
The kingdom of God is based on holiness and justice! That means there is no place for sin no matter how small or insignificant we think it may be. That sin may be the ignorance we feigned about other who were in need, the things we held back from others when we saw them in need, the things we overlooked because it did not please us to look at them. We may think of ourselves as being upright people – and that we may well be. But what are we ignoring around us.
Look to the people around you. Don’t just glance but look long and hard. Do you realise what is going on in your communities? Are you turning a blind eye to the needs of the few in your community? God wants us to have open eyes, open hearts and be willing to see and hear exactly what is going on around us. He wants us to step forward and make a difference to those people we have ignored in the past. He wants us to show people how great the Kingdom of Heaven is going to be by being His examples right here and right now!
Points to Ponder:
How do you look at the poor people?
Are you willing to make a difference?
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February 22: Luke 6:20-22
Key Verse: Luke 6:21
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Devotion:
The more people gathered around Jesus, the more He wanted to tell them about the kingdom of God. The more people who gathered to be healed and blessed, the more He wanted to bless them in the positions they were in. He did not wait until the right amount of rich people gathered together before He addressed the crowds. He did not wait until the right amount of sick people gathered before He healed people. He worked with the people who gathered there and then!
Too many times in our lives we wait until the right opportunity arises or we wait until the right people hear our message before we deliver what we have promised; we give in to the ways of the world instead of making the ways of the world. Look around you at the people who are close by – what do you see and what do you hear? Do you hear gossip and bragging, do you see flamboyance and degradation?
What is God laying on your heart? Is He giving you a heart to step out of your daily routine and help people who have no routine? Is He asking you to leave your lifestyle behind and go and be with people who are poor and in need? Is He asking you to step forward and be with people of great stature? We cannot impose our ways or our wants on God; we have to listen for His ways and His desires. He is the one who does know what is best for the people you see around you, be it with your eyes, hearing with your ears or watching over news channels…
God blesses the poor because they do not see the riches of heaven in their world. God blesses the hungry because they do not have the opulent lifestyle of some others. God blesses those who weep because they are in need of comfort when the world has taken them away from that comfort. God blesses the people who hate you and your Christian ways because He wants them to see what they can have if they would turn to Him. Wherever God is calling you, step forward, one step at a time and move on with Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have a heart to serve other people?
What is God asking you to do – and will you listen?
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February 21: Luke 1:46-55
Key Verse: Luke 1:53
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
Devotion:
How would you describe the Lord when you are asked to describe your God? Mary chose several ways to describe God and her position with Him. She was now not under any illusion that God was not fully in control of what had happened and what was about to happen to her, and indeed Elizabeth. She had accepted fully the path God had laid down before her… so today I want to look at a few things we must remember about God as reminded her by Mary.
Christ is our Saviour and we need to let that sink deep into our minds and our spirits; nothing should make us doubt this or persuade us otherwise! This is true no matter what our position is in society, remembering we should be behaving like a servant to God alone. No matter how low or how high we think we are in our community, we are still God’s children because He has shown us this already! The more we remember this and act accordingly, the more we give Him all the glory He deserves.
God has shown us mighty and terrible things against all who dared to come up against Him or dared to come up against His children. God continues to love and protect all His children just as a shepherd cares for the sheep in their protection. He continues to protect the people who need it most and lift up the poorest who need Him most. He does not care for rules or politicians who do nothing for His children; they are nothing despite their belief they are invincible!
God has shown us throughout history how He cares for His children and we are called to be His children too. God’s promise to Abraham was upheld despite his and Sarah’s ages and despite the fact everyone though it not possible. We need to wait on God and allow Him to work according to His will and not our own will. God alone is God and His promises stand forever!
Points to Ponder:
Do you grow weary when things do not go your way?
Are you still willing to wait on God?
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February 20: Psalms 34:7-11
Key Verse: Psalms 34:10
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Devotion:
One thing I loved about being brought up in Africa was the opportunities we had to be able to see nature in action on a scale available in only a few countries in the world. The lion is considered to be the king of the jungle (though lives in the bush and not the jungle) because of their position in the food chain. They are considered to be strong and able to take on any other animal to get food – but that is not always true.
Despite there being some animals they will shy away from, they are dependant on the animals they like to eat being available. If the country is in the grips of a drought, their preferred prey may not be available, so they go after something else. But if the drought is severe, they may not have anything they can eat available; they will grow weak and hungry because they have not got food…
For those lions which are kept in game parks or zoos, a ready supply of food is made available to ensure they can continue to thrive. They have a safe haven in which they are not just welcome, but where they do not have to stray from in order to find food enough to eat. Any good zoo or park will make sure the lions still have to work for their food and also have the right food available to them – lions do not choose to be vegetarians and require the right meat to grow strong and keep healthy.
We need the right food in order to keep healthy too; but I am not talking about our diets be they carnivorous, omnivorous, vegetarian or vegan… I am talking about the spiritual food we need in our lives to keep our souls healthy. If we are spoon fed things all our lives, we may well grow weak and lazy; we need to go hunting for our spiritual food so we can keep on form and be able to tell the difference between good input and unrighteous things. Seeking the Lord at all times will keep us in good spirits just as good exercise keeps us physically healthy.
Points to Ponder:
What things do you seek in your life?
Are you focusing on Godly things?
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February 19: Isaiah 66:12-13
Key Verse: Isaiah 66:12
For this is what the Lord says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.
Devotion:
One thing which is always impressed me, and sometimes made me a bit jealous, is how a mother can always seem to calm her children down no matter what is going on around them! When Isaiah got word from God He was going to look after Jerusalem just as a mother looks after her children, I’m sure he was more than willing to pass this gem on to the people.
As we see the flooding in England once again after some pretty horrific rain over the past few weeks, we begin to see the unstoppable power of a river which is bursting its banks. No matter how much we try to build man-made defences against such occasions, they don’t seem to measure up to the power of nature. This is how we should be looking at the power of God as well. Not because of the destructive power but because of the unstoppable power…
When we are flooded out of our house or community, we feel separated from the rest of the town or city, but close to the people also affected by the flood. The same can be said about our Christian communities – we feel separated from the rest of the town or cities we live in, but close to other Christians we know. So how do we reach out to those we feel separated from?
The clue is in these verses which show us the unstoppable power and overwhelming love of God. This is the example we must live by and hopefully try to replicate toward others around us. Don’t cut yourself off any further than the overwhelming flood has done so already – rater use the power of the flood to reach out to others and invite them in to stand by your side. This is the way Christ wants us to be...
Points to Ponder:
What do you do when things go wrong for you?
Are you ready to reach out and invite someone in despite your circumstance?