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January 8: Mark 1:14-20
Key Verse: Mark 1:20
Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Devotion:
I think this section of scripture has so much going on in it. First how Jesus went off to Galilee after John had been put in prison. Jesus knew now was not the time to be captured and so went off to galilee, knowing John was in trouble. He did not forget John but proclaimed the good news John was telling people: The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
If you knew there was no escape for someone because of the corruption in the leaders, what better way than to remind people of all the things they stood for so they would never be forgotten! And now was the time to get more backing so even more people would hear the good news and try to get more people to repent!
So Jesus approaches the people He knows from within their hearts who would make the best disciples. The first four were fisherman each of whom had a heart for God because as soon as they were called by Jesus, knew this was what God was calling them to do!
When you know God is calling you, you will not waste time by going to find out what it all entails, you will not waste time asking around to see if this is what should be done – you will simply believe and trust in Christ to go and do whatever He is calling you to do. I know my family has asked what I was doing a few times...
Points to Ponder:
Are you ready to answer God’s calling?
Will you drop what you are doing and say Yes?
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January 7: Acts 19:1-7
Key Verse: Acts 19:4
Paul said, ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.’
Devotion:
You may read these verses and think Paul is picking on John for only teaching people about repentance, but without repentance you will not get to know the Holy Spirit! When we try to teach people about God and Jesus we should not get caught up in trying to answer all their questions on the first day. Instead we should be willing to teaching then about repentance and forgiveness.
Once we have laid the ground work – just as John was doing – then we can start to get people to think more about Jesus and what He has done, pointing them in the way of what Jesus taught the disciples. None of that would make much sense to someone if they did not first get to know why this is all necessary to start with!
When Paul met these disciples they had learned the basics from John and were probably teaching others what they had learned. This is our first step as people who believe in God. Share what you know with others so they can get on the first rung of the ladder. As you grow you can share what you know with them and they can grow too.
Once you know Jesus and the Holy Spirit too, then you can share that with people who have at least been in touch with the first step of repentance. Don’t try to get people to run before they have walked! Allow Christ and the Holy Spirit to lead you forward and share what you find out...
Points to Ponder:
How did you first hear about God?
What did you repent in your heart on that first day?
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January 6: 1 John 5:5-13
Key Verse: 1 John 5:9
We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.
Devotion:
How many times have you accepted what your friend has said as being the truth without checking up on it? How many times have you found it hard to accept what someone is saying because it is a new thing you are hearing? We all have those whom we believe and those whom we find to be dubious, and we stick to those because we can see them and hear them…
Some people find it difficult to believe what God says because they cannot see Him and the things He says are hard for them to grasp. This is where we come in, the ones who believe God and trust what we read in the bible. If we can be witnesses to those people who find it hard, then we could be able to lighten their burden of doubt.
We read about how Jesus came to us, how he was a great testimony, how he submitted to baptism, had great compassion on many people, submitted to human sinners so he could take on the sin debt we owe, died, came back to life to defeat death and showed us the Holy Spirit for our support. We should be standing up and reminding people this is what we believe!
God made this all possible, giving us a life in human form, giving us time to accept Him as our God and to accept the eternal life He gives us – just because we believe these truths! Share it a little!
Points to Ponder:
How many times do you believe your friends?
How many times do you believe God?
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January 5: 1 John 3:11-15
Key Verse: 1 John 3:12
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.
Devotion:
How many times have you been told or heard someone say “Don’t be like them”? We all do tend to judge people by the actions they do and the lives they live which raises a question; is it right to judge people? If you are comparing them to others you are probably not judging them per-say but comparing them to the life God would prefer us to live.
The message behind these verses is to love one another and the story of Cain is being used as an example of how we should not live! Cain became jealous of his brother through what his mother was feeding him and his own feelings. He was being influenced by the people around him and the environment; again the message here is to identify these sort of things in our lives so we can avoid ending up like Cain!
If we focus on our own lives and the things we do, we are going to be able to accept guidance from the Holy Spirit much easier than if we are being influenced by our surroundings and peers. If we feel like we cannot escape from these trappings then we should probably live in an environment that is encouraging rather than discouraging and righteous rather than evil.
In short, it takes some actions from you to move in the right direction in your life. Don’t expect others to do everything for you or to guide you in everything – because they may be influenced themselves. Rather try to listen to righteous guidance from someone righteous: the Holy Spirit!
Points to Ponder:
Who influences you the most in life?
How much do you invite the Holy Spirit to join you in life?
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January 4: 1 John 3:7-10
Key Verse: 1 John 3:8
The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
Devotion:
If we look at the world around us we can see how easy it is to give in to temptation and do all the wrong things in life. As Christians we know we are doing wrong so should want to avoid all the things we know are wrong; but the evil one continues to throw doubts in our minds so we give in to the temptations instead of working against them – this is the way of the evil one!
Jesus came to destroy the devil’s work and give us a better chance at avoiding the evil things promoted by the evil one. When we accept Jesus into our lives we also invite the holy spirit to live with us. By doing this we have an automatic guide against all evil things because the Holy Spirit does not want to have any evil in us when we are living with Him!
When we do good and abhor evil we allow the people around us to see we are different from the world because of our communion with Christ. We live for Him and work against the evil in the world. But if we continue to invite evil into our lives then we are working with the evil one and against God! We know this and become aware of this because the Holy Spirit prompts us against all evil.
So, don’t allow the evil one to continue introducing evil into your life. Simply say no and keep Christ closer!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel guilty when you do something wrong?
Do you know the Holy Spirit is prompting you?
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January 3: John 1:29-34
Key Verse: John 1:31
I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptising with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.
Devotion:
We all get to do something for God because of what Christ has done for us all. None of us are excluded from being able to do something for God! We may get to talk to thousands of people about Jesus, or we may only get to plant a seed in someone’s heart which Christ will germinate and cultivate; but we all get to do something somewhere.
For John it was the thing He was raised to be – the person who would make sure people got to hear more about the Messiah and even to introduce Him to the people who were there on that day. John did not take the credit for anything he had done, nor did he brag about things he was doing – he simply told the people the truth and allowed Jesus to do the rest.
I hope we all have a wonderful relationship with Christ whereby we can feel comfortable about talking to others and telling them how wonderful our relationship is. You see, when you tell someone you have a good life with Christ, they want to know more about this ‘good life’ because they may be lacking something in their lives.
For all the things he had done before Jesus came to be baptised, God blessed John with a vision which he fully understood and allowed him to grow even closer to God. When we do things for God, no matter how small, God will always reward us in some way so we can become stronger and do more each day. I love being a Christian!
Points to Ponder:
Are you ready to start the ball rolling with God?
Do you know nothing is impossible with Christ?
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January 2: John 1:19-28
Key Verse: John 1:23
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way for the Lord.”’
Devotion:
One of the things we should never be afraid of is telling people who we are – we are believers in Christ who want to be able to share the gospel of Christ wherever we go! When my dad was alive and we were out visiting, if he ever heard someone had any sort of issue in their lives he would always volunteer to pray for them should they wish. Many people said yes, and there began his witness!
We don’t have to be like John the baptist staying out in the desert near the river Jordan, teaching people about baptism. He gave up all of his time to do this because that is what God had asked of him. He did not shy away from it and when faced with Pharisees or other teachers of the law, he freely answered whatever questions they had.
They wanted to try and get him to stop baptising because people were beginning to see a truth the Pharisees could not see. They then wanted to know if he was connected to the Messiah, Elijah or any other prophet. Anything like that and they would try everything to disprove him and what he was saying. Instead he told them the truth, he had come to prepare the way for one who was much more important than him!
When God asks something of us, we should not build it up into anything more than it is. We should open up about the truth and tell it to people as plainly as we can. Jesus just wants us to spread the truth...
Points to Ponder:
Do you get defensive when people ask you about your life?
Have you tried simplifying things and telling the truth?
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January 1: Isaiah 43:16-21
Key Verse: Isaiah 43:19
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Devotion:
What other verse could I use for the start of a New Year! Happy New Year! The last few years after my Dad died I have just been getting on with life and seeing what happens, but after going over these verses which actually mean a lot to me, I am aiming at getting to grips with a lot more this year!
These are the Words given to Isaiah from The Lord. They are special and we need to take note of things God says to us like this! He is our Creator God who has made everything and the one who opened the doors for Israel to do so much… so long as they continue to follow Him and to obey His commands.
I fear we have seen a side of the country of Israel which does not look like the people of Israel from the bible; but I’m not here to be political and to set blame anywhere but at my own feet. These words should be guided toward what He is asking of your own life and not used to judge others with!
God is the one who started doing something new in the hopes we will pick up the banner and continue this new thing He has started. We should not be looking for anything other than what God placed in our hearts about the work He wants us to do. He has already opened the doors and continues to hold them open for us to see and use!
Points to Ponder:
What doors has God opened lately?
Are you willing to go through them and complete His work?
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December 25: Luke 2:1-14
Key Verse: Luke 2:14
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’
Devotion:
Did you wonder why we looked at corruption and evil on Christmas Eve? Well, the corruption and evil in our world was personified by a certain Caesar Augustus when he called for a complete census of the entire Romans world! This census was not really to see how many people should pay him tax, but to try and find out who this person was would people said would be born as king!
Joseph and Mary (who was heavily pregnant at this time) went up to Bethlehem because that is where his family had to go to register. We all have heard of the trouble they had trying to find a place to stay, ending up in a stable, and how Mary gave birth to a boy. We have heard of the story of the shepherds coming to find the baby because they were told to by angels.
We hear stories about wise men coming from the East who wanted to find out what the stars were telling them; and their wonderful gifts for the baby Jesus. When the shepherds got there they found a baby, born in a stable and now lying in a manger. The most humble sight to see for someone the angels had said is the Messiah, the Lord!
Let us join these angels and praise God for allowing His Son to be born to a virgin just as He promised, and to know God ordained this a long time ago because of His great love for us all!
Points to Ponder:
Are you celebrating the right reason for the season today?
Happy Christmas and God bless you all!
Signing off for a few days of needed rest x
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December 24: Psalm 89:46-51
Key Verse: Psalm 89:46
How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself for ever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?
Devotion:
One thing we see time and time again is people, churches and societies complaining about God punishing them in one way or another. Many people complain when God does not do anything, or they complain God stopped doing things, or they complain God is punishing them… But what is actually happening?
I know whatever I say, people will object to the message and people will disagree one way or another. I can’t see how God can say on one hand He will look out for us and keep us safe and on the other hand will choose to punish us in any way! So that theory is out the window before we even start the discussion!
Who are the people who make it difficult for us to live? Who are the people who make living a hardship? Who are the people to kill others? When we are honest we will begin to see the truth and our complaints may then take on a new light. Is it not other people who cause so many of the things in our lives, maybe even governments and leaders… but not God. God promised He would allow us to choose our own paths; so how can He stop us from choosing?
If we choose to have people who are corrupt and lie as our leaders, should we not expect to have them corrupt our lives and lie to us too! None of us can live without death because we all face death in the end. None of us can expect everyone else to be good is we are not good. This is a problem of corrupt and evil people making our lives harder to live, not God making it hard!
Points to Ponder:
Do you live a blame free life?
Do you expect everyone to be truthful if you are not?