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January 10: Philippians 2:5-11
Key Verse: Philippians 2:7
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Devotion:
How many times have you figured out the best way you can help someone out? Do you ever think how you could best be of use to someone else? One of the best ways, but one you may not like doing, is to be their servant. By doing that, you will do whatever they wish you to do; in doing so, you would not expect anything in return; you would not do other things first because it is what you want; you would be looking after them before looking out for yourself.
Can you imagine what people would think of you if you turned round and said you would be their servant? Here in England you may well get a few mad looks, but in some parts of the world, this would be a perfectly acceptable thing to do.
What would you do if a man dressed up in a very expensive suit, with a posh sounding voice, and a very expensive car, came up to you and offered to be your servant for a year. What would you do if the Prime Minister or the President came up to you and offered to be your servant for a year? What would you do if a King or Queen came up to you and said they were willing to be your servant for as long as they were alive!
Well, our King of Kings, our Lord of Lords, has already done that for us. He came down to earth, made himself to be of no reputation by being born in a stable, dressed in rags, and then began to act like He was our servant (Vs. 7) just so we would be best served by Him. He did not just say He would be our servant, but actually did it! He came down to earth so we would be forever able to ask Him to do anything, forever able to ask Him for anything, and forever able to know He was going to answer each one of our requests.
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever had a servant?
Would you be willing to do anything for God that He asked of you?
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January 9: Philippians 2:5-11
Key Verse: Philippians 2:11
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Devotion:
We were all taught Jesus Christ was crucified. Most of us were also taught about how He suffered. Most of us were taught how He gave up His own life on that cross... But what did He go through up to that point in time?
Imagine standing on a corner in the city, watching people go by... If you saw a person in a very expensive suit, well-groomed and walking with purpose, you would probably come to the conclusion they were a respected businessperson. If you saw a person dressed in fashionable clothes with loads of shopping bags, calling for a taxi, then you would probably think they were out for a good days shopping. On the other hand, if you saw a person dressed in old, dirty clothes, sitting in an alley way, you would probably come to the conclusion they were homeless and living off the street.
Your immediate reaction to each of these is probably to decide the first two people had some sort of reputation, but the third had no reputation.
Jesus Christ is our King of Kings, He is our Saviour, He is our Lord... and yet He was willing to put all of those titles aside and to make sure He arrived on earth in a position of no reputation. He made sure He was born in a stable and He was wrapped in swaddling clothes; because that is what was promised by the prophets.
He could quite easily have been born into a royal family where He would have had all the comforts of life, but He made sure that He was born into a world where He had “no reputation” (Vs. 7) so we could ultimately see just how much He loved us.
Points to Ponder:
Do you wear designer clothes to fit in?
Jesus put aside societies ways to make sure He fitted in with the least of us!
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January 8: Philippians 1:27-30
Key Verse: Philippians 1:29
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him
Devotion:
There will always be a time in your life when being a Christian is going to work against you. It is these times in your life where you need to stand firm and be counted. Peter lived what he thought was the right way and would not believe Jesus when He said that he would deny Him three times that night. It was only upon the last time when he suddenly realised he had indeed denied Jesus three times; it was then he realised his weakness.
We all have weaknesses within us, we all have our weak points, and we all have our downfalls. But how many of us are willing to take the blame, willing to confess, willing to stand up for Christ, willing to step forward and put our lives totally in God's hands?
Faith is putting your trust into the unseen, putting your trust into God's hands, putting your trust into something you cannot see. Faith is knowing your trust is true and will withstand anything.
When the disciples were witness to the resurrection of our Lord, they then had more than enough faith to stand up and be counted for God. They were willing to pay for their faith and belief with their lives. God allowed them to do that so we would have the ultimate examples of what people did for their love for Christ. If we did not know how far others have gone for their faith, how could we expect to know what is expected of us.
That expectation is the hard part, to put your life 100% back into the arms of God, to be totally dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ for your safety. He has already paid the price for your sins; He has already shown us His love by doing that for us... All we have to do is to show Him we are willing to show others we love Him. Is that so hard?
Points to Ponder:
When was the last time you showed your love by giving special gifts?
When was the last time you showed your love for Christ?
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January 7: Philippians 1:19-21
Key Verse: Philippians 1:20
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
Devotion:
When was the last time you were 'ready for anything'? When was the last time you were 'willing to go for it'? As Christians, we should be in a constant state of readiness, we should be on 'red alert' all the time.
You may turn round and say nobody would be in such a state of readiness all the time, that they would look like fools... You may say only fools stack up so much water in their houses just waiting for civil war to break out... You may say only fools live in constant fear of an aeroplane dropping out of the sky onto their house... It could happen... it probably will not... but it could...
I am not talking about such physical things, but rather the things of the spirit. We know what is going to happen. We know The Lord will return. We know Christ has already been once. We know God created the heavens and the earth. We know these things, so we should be ready for them.
What we do not know is the time and place. We do not know when the Lord is going to take us home. We do not know what is going to happen before that – we only know things are getting worse and we can see that happening. We need to be ready for the Lord's return. We need to be ready to take His word out to others today, not tomorrow, not when it suits us, but here and now. We need to be ready for that happening, here and now.
There is nothing to be ashamed of, because we know it is going to happen. It is not a case of IF, but rather WHEN. The hermit who refuses to leave his house in case a car runs over him is worried about the IF part of his life. The Christian who walks out the door knowing they will soon be with God is working on the WHEN.
Points to Ponder:
What would you do if a car crashed into your house right now?
Are you ready for His return?
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January 6: Ephesians 6:1-4
Key Verse: Ephesians 6:2
“Honour your father and mother” - which is the first commandment with a promise -
Devotion:
How much have you done for your parents over the holiday period? How much have you done which they objected to? How much have you done to make their life more comfortable? How much have you done to annoy them in one way or another?
It is so easy to fall in line with what your friends are doing and to allow their influence to rule your life. It is so easy to try to fit in with the crowd to make your life easier... But how much thought do you give to the people in your family? How much thought do you give to the people who are closest to you? How much though do you give to God?
The Bible teaches us many things, and one of the most important things is love. This love stretches from God down to the smallest and tiniest things in our lives. There is no one person who should be left out of that love just because our friends say so.
It is a two way thing – your parents have shown you their love from the early years of your life, they have brought you up in the way that they believed was correct and right – and now you have the chance to show them your love by sharing with them, by loving them, by listening to them, by following their lead. But what happens if they are not saved? Well, then your love should extend to allow them to see in you what the Lord is doing in your life, allow them to experience the love of God, allow them to experience a tiny bit of what they can have if they would turn to God. Let them know why you have changed, let them know of God's love, let them know there is a reason.
Stick to the discipline of the drug dealers, and you will die as one of them... stick to the discipline of a Christian, and you will live as one of us!
Points to Ponder:
Have you done anything positive for your parents today?
Are you doing anything positive for the Holy Spirit today?
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January 5: Ephesians 5:19-20
Key Verse: Ephesians 5:19
speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,
Devotion:
“If only I had...”, “If only I did...”, “If only I...”, “If only I...” and before too long you are in the depths of despair. “Why did they do that”, “Why couldn't they just...”, “Why do they...”, “Why can't they...”... and before too long you are feeling hatred towards them.
It is amazing how quickly you can talk yourself into a hole, or talk yourself into more trouble than it was worth! It is amazing how quickly you can change your mood just by thinking about something which goes against your feelings. It is amazing to look at actors crying their eyes out on demand... It's all in the mind...
The more we think about bad things, the more those things are going to start to surface in our lives. The more we think in bad ways, the more those ways are going to creep into our lives. The more we imagine doing things wrong, the more likely we are to do wrong.
Our minds are extremely powerful in directing our lives. By making sure we are thinking in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” we are making sure we keep our minds clean. We are making sure we do not allow evil thoughts and things into our lives. What would bring more joy to the Holy Spirit than to be in a body which is always thinking about spiritual matters, always singing praises to God, always letting God's Light shine through?
It is a wonderful thing to listen to a full orchestra in perfect harmony. How wonderful it must be for the Holy Spirit to listen to a body resonating in praises to God constantly. How wonderful it must be for God to listen to a church in perfect harmony, singing praises to God through mind and deed, always!
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever sung totally out of tune with everyone else?
Are you doing your best within yourself for The Holy Spirit?
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January 4: Ephesians 5:1-17
Key Verse: Ephesians 5:15
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,
Devotion:
Have you taken a step back from life recently to have a look and see what is going on? I wonder if you have seen the same thing as me – a world which is becoming more and more filled with hatred. Not a hatred that boils up on the outside so much as a hatred which seems to be buried within, seething, bubbling and every now and again showing its head.
If we follow God's will in our lives, He will lead us to the places where He needs us to be; He will lead us to the places where we can do our best for Him. Like Jonah, we may not like what we have in store, but when we take a step back and look see, we will see the perfect will of our Lord, we will see the sense in everything He is trying to get us to do in our lives.
It is so easy to let go and fall in line with the rest of the world, but we have to remain strong, remain with our heads above the water, remain with the knowledge it is God's strength which will allow us to keep ahead of things in life.
In order to show we are wise, we have to listen to the truth and know it is the truth. We have to listen to the lies and know they are false. We have to be able to discern good from evil. Our only hope of doing that is with the Wisdom which lies within us – not our own wisdom but that of the Holy Spirit.
One thing we must be doing in our lives is taking the time to look at what is happening around us so we can listen to the Holy Spirit to find out the wise things to do in our lives. The last thing we need to be is fools, because 'fools rush in'!
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever jumped at something only to realise it is not quite what you expected?
Will you take a second to listen to the Holy Spirit this year?
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January 3: Ephesians 4:25-32
Key Verse: Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Devotion:
Now we have had a gentle reminder about just how much the Lord is doing in our lives, let’s start to think about the ramifications of what we do. It is so easy to listen to a conversation between our friends and join in using the same foul language as they do... It is so easy to watch our friends and join in with the things they do... It is so easy to turn you back on God!
We are reminded in these few verses about what we should be turning away from. Once we have been reborn, once we have accepted God into our lives, we then have a responsibility to carry out His will in our lives. We have the responsibility to turn away from our former lives, from our former ways of talking, from our former ways of doing things, and to turn to Gods way of doing things.
There is no way we could ever hope to be like Christ was when He was with us on earth, but we can certainly do a lot in our lives to turn our lives round towards God. What use is it of having God's light in our lives if we are not going to let His light shine through us? What use is it to have that light if we are going to hide it under a bushel?
When we are saved, we have the Holy Spirit living within us. This does not prevent us from doing evil or from sinning. What it does mean is every time we do sin, we are letting God down; every time we do sin, we are grieving the Holy Spirit who is within us; every time we do sin, we are driving the Holy Spirit into a corner. How would you like to be held captive in a small cell which has nothing in it that you like, but instead has everything you do not like?
Points to Ponder:
Are you trying your best to do things God's way?
Is your body a living nightmare for the Holy Spirit?
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January 2: Ephesians 4:17-24
Key Verse: Ephesians 4:24
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Devotion:
As we get further into the new year (yes, I know it's only the second day) we all start to think of new things and new ideas in one way or another. Maybe some of you have made new year’s resolutions or have decided to turn over a new leaf. Whatever you have or have not done, we need to give thought to our new life in Christ; our new life as a Christian. Are we living it according to His will? Are we living it according to His wishes? Or are we simply going to stumble on in the dark like we have been doing for the last year?
It is such a wonderful thing to know Christ is your Saviour, and to know Christ is with you all the time. But those are just a few things some of us forget in our daily lives. Maybe you have had a narrow escape recently which has made you think again. Or maybe you have not thought about the ramifications of what happened. I know I have a lot of thinking and meditating to do over what has happened to me last year!
Maybe you have been in a near accident recently, but when you came out of it without damage or incident, you thought nothing more of it? Have you stopped to think about what could have happened if the accident had turned out differently? Think about the worst case scenario... think about what could have happened... then think about how God was actually looking after you at the time and let everything happen in a controlled manner.
I am not saying bad things happen to people who deserve it in any way, because I am a firm believer of giving everyone a second chance. I also believe we need to be introduced to Christ to understand how Christ gives us all a second chance. Nobody should have to endure anything to make them think about God... but because of our closed off minds, because of the way we don't think when things are all OK, because of our self-centredness, we do sometimes need a gentle reminder...
Points to Ponder:
Have you had a gentle reminder recently?
Have you thought about how The Lord is constantly looking after you?
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January 1: Jeremiah 23:23-24
Key Verse: Jeremiah 23:23
“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?”
Devotion:
Are there times when you think you are totally alone, that there is nobody around and you cannot call out for help? Are there times where you just want to be alone, to not have anyone near you? Are there times when you have needed a friend but have not been near one?
One of the most comforting thoughts is God is everywhere! It is hard to imagine such a thing, but many times in the Bible we are reminded about how God is everywhere, and how there is no place in heaven or hell we can escape from Him. This may sound daunting, but when you need someone, He’s always here!
I know there have been times in my life when I have been exceedingly glad God has been by my side; much of last year when I was in hospital was a case in point. There have been times where I have been terrified and turned to God for protection and had an awesome feeling of being protected instantly. The way we see it is if God had not been by our sides, listening, then He would not have heard us!
I know there have been times in my life when I have needed assistance, have turned to God and asked, and have received it immediately. If God had not been by my side, He would not have been able to help me instantly!
I know I have a friend walking by my side constantly. I know I have a protector walking by my side constantly. I know I have a guide walking beside me constantly. I know I have a Saviour who is by my side at all times!
You don't have to shout to make sure God will hear you. You don't have to send out radio signals to make sure you reach God. You don't have to rush down to the local church to make sure you are close to God. He is here…
Points to Ponder:
When was the last time you felt all alone?
God wants to be by your side all the time, don't run away!