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June 4: Matthew 28:16-20
Key Verse: Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Devotion:
I love the way the gospel of Matthew is ended with this the Great Commission. This is given to all people who confess to be Christians but here accounted to the disciples as they were witness to Jesus resurrection and meeting Him at the appointed place. This was a public place and the disciples took on a role which meant they would have to be public about their profession to believe in Jesus as being their Messiah and the Son of God!
Our relationship with God should not be a private thing which we hide from the outside world; I know there are places in this world where people do have to hide their belief in Christ because of the threat of death for doing so – but even they can share their belief in ways. Jesus wants us to be proud of being Christians and proud of being called sons of God!
When we stand up in a public way to be called a disciple of Christ, we take on a responsibility to share the gospel with people and to make disciples who will in turn be able to do the same. We should not hide our baptism, our prayers, our meeting together, our teaching of the gospel but be bold and allow people to see we have a real relationship with Christ, one which they too can have if they take up the mantel.
We should be bold to follow what Christ has taught us through the disciples and through everything God has done for His people all around the world. We should be bold to share those truths to anyone who is willing to listen and embolden them to share what they learn in turn. This is all about sharing our hope in a world which has lost hope in so many things.
Points to Ponder:
Do you share your belief with others?
Will you allow others to see the real Christian inside you?
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June 3: James 5:12-20
Key Verse: James 5:17
Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Devotion:
Prayer is the most powerful thing we have against all woes and circumstance! How we listen after we pray will shape our relationship with God. It is no good asking for something if you are not going to wait for an answer to see how it will be answered! We have so many examples of prayer in our bibles you would think it would be on every person’s mind to pray first; sadly it is not so in our world.
Prayer comes in many forms and is not just the image some see of a person on their knees begging for mercy. Prayer is your way of talking to and listening to God – it’s definitely a two way protocol just as is any discussion or request in life. When you ask a friend for something you don’t walk away immediately and assume they are going to do whatever you asked of them; you will wait for some sort of response so you can know what they are going to do from your request!
The same goes for your prayers with God. It is no good shouting out a request and running off in the other direction. I would be offended if someone did that to me! Another thing we do in our lives is stand and wait until we think people are going to listen before we ask. God is always listening and will always take on board what you ask for. He will then answer your prayers in the way He knows is best for you – which may not be what you are expecting… Hence the need to wait for a response.
Does this mean God is going to talk back to me? Well, He may not talk to you verbally but He is trying to get through to you all the time. When we do not sit patiently and wait for an answer He will try to get through to us through other people who are listening or through things He can do with and around us.
Points to Ponder:
How do you ask God for things?
Are you prepared to accept what He answers?
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June 2: James 5:9-12
Key Verse: James 5:11
As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Devotion:
One of the things I could not get used to as an ‘new Christian’ back when I first got to know Christ was this thing of trusting in our unseen God. I had many people let me down in my school years and I had grown to not trust many people; so when they were telling me to trust in God I had reservations. Those reservation stuck with me for a long time and it was really only when I was living in the UK when I got to see how much I could fully trust in Christ.
When we think of trusting people we expect to see immediate results otherwise that trust grows weak, but the trust we should have in Christ should know no limits and not be bound by time in our sense. When I got to see first hand how much I could trust in God, the feeling of utter trust continued and still grows. I know this does disturb some because I have a trust which goes beyond normal human understanding. My family cannot grasp how I can have this trust in Christ and I cannot really explain it to them either. But I do.
We can look back at stories in our bibles to see how we can rely on God. One of the stories which resonates with me is the story of Job. He continued to have faith and trust God even when things were going wrong. He knew things would not get better over night but he continued to have that faith and trust in God. Eventually it paid off, but he had to endure a lot of pain and suffering before things came right.
God will do what He thinks is best for you – you may not see it in the beginning and you may have reservations, but keeping your faith and trust in God is important. It will show mighty dividends in the end even though you may not see it immediately and may face trials before hand.
Points to Ponder:
Who are the people you trust without question in your life?
Will you have that sort of faith in Christ?
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June 1: James 5:1-6
Key Verse: James 5:6
You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
Devotion:
After reading the verses above you may think this is going to be another devotion talking about people lusting after money instead of God and that being a bad idea… But it’s not! I put off writing this schism for a while because I felt guilty about bashing rich people because I know quite a few good people who are rich and have worked hard to get that wealth… but they are different from other rich people!
I have been pleasantly surprised by hearing of the good and charitable things many rich people have done; to be able to give of your time or money so others can have a better life is something we should all aim for whether we are rich or poor! We can look at many people who say they do not believe in God but see a goodness within them which shows by the good things they do in communities and societies.
We are all in the same world and so in the same predicament when it comes to living and dying. Where we come from and how we get there is going to be very different for rich people as opposed to poor people; but we all face the same condemnation when it comes to the final judgment from Christ.
I am not one who fits into the world of separating rich and poor people just because of their wealth. I try hard to make sure all people are welcome to my home and into my life – and that gets me into trouble sometimes because there are many who live by some sort of class system in society. Jesus made sure all people from all walks in life were able to approach Him at any time – that is what we should aim for as well!
Points to Ponder:
Do you count yourself as rich or poor?
Will you set that aside and give help to someone today?
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May 31: Romans 12:9-16
Key Verse: Romans 12:9
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Devotion:
If you are going to go round carrying a chip on your shoulder, life is going to seem harder than it should be especially when you get close to the reason for that chip being there in the first place. When Jesus told us to love our neighbours and to love our enemies it was not just to stop wars but to stop the root cause of things like wars. We seem to spend far too much time worrying over what other people say about us and what we think of other people!
God is the one who knows us from the inside out and there is no way we can really know others like He does – ever though we try to fool ourselves that we do! The more we dwell on those thoughts about what we think is going on in other people’s minds, the more distorted our world becomes and the more we are distracted from doing God’s will in our lives.
The apostle hints here about ways in which we can get round those types of thoughts we harbour about others. If we are willing to try and over-ride our thoughts with actions which agree with God’s will, then we will see just how beneficial it can be to act more like Jesus than our old wordly ways! The hope which it brings into our lives will soon change our ways of thinking of others and allow us to love our neighbours and our enemies.
We have to try and let go of the thoughts and actions we have and do which prevent us from following Jesus’ commands to love others. When we change our mindset to see the hope which can be found if we do follow His commands, our actions and thoughts will follow and living more in harmony will be the normal way of living!
Points to Ponder:
What chips do you have on your shoulder(s)?
Are you willing to try and search for the hope?
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May 30: James 4:1-10
Key Verse: James 4:6
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.’
Devotion:
We do like to blame fights and quarrels on just about anything we can but truth be told it is because of our own wants and desires being in conflict with someone else's wants and desires – it really is as simple as that! How far we are willing to go will dictate how other people see us. How God sees it is entirely on the truth which is within your heart, that is the big difference between man and God!
Where we go to fulfil our wants and desires is what will either separate us from God or draw us closer to Him! God wants us to talk to Him and ask Him for things in our lives. How He answers and how we listen will show us whether we are willing to obey our God or to continue to work against Him and His will. Sometimes we ask one thing and expect another because of our wants and desires – we are looking for the earthly answers to our desires instead of looking to God for guidance in our lives.
If we are willing to humble ourselves before God and to listen to His advice, then we move closer to living the best life we can; God is the one who wants us to have the best life we can have and He will continue to try to guide us forward in that life. If we are too proud to admit He knows best, then the most we can expect in life is to have earthly rewards and not Heavenly rewards.
Which brings us back to the opening statement… If we do ignore God’s advice and listen to the world’s advice, we get to enjoy worldly rewards which often work against God’s ways – because people have their own wants and desires and will go in whatever direction they can to fulfil those wants and desires. This is why the apostle says we work against God if we do not do things His way.
Points to Ponder:
What are you desires in life?
Do these fall in line with God’s will?
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May 29: Mark 10:17-27
Key Verse: Mark 10:21
Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’
Devotion:
No matter how good we think we are, we don’t get to Heaven unless we believe in Christ; not just that Jesus was real but He came to die for our sins, was buried and resurrected to defeat our debt we owe for the sins we have done. Sometimes, however, we hold on to the sins without realising just how much we hold on to them.
This rich man begged Jesus to tell him the way he could get to heaven and the response was not what the man was expecting. He obviously thought he was a good person but somehow he knew he would not make it to heaven especially after Jesus told him to sell everything and give to the poor.
Jesus does not just want us to be good people within ourselves and to our families, He wants us to be good to everyone. When we are too focused on the things of this world we do often forget the needy people who are quite close to us but whom we ignore because “they are not our problem!”
When Jesus said we need to love our neighbours as we love ourselves, it was not just to say we need to love those people who live next door! Jesus meant we need to love all of His people. We need to show compassion and mercy to the people who are being ignored by governments and leaders. We need to show love to the people others hate. It does not mean we allow them to get away with things just because they are important people in society!
Points to Ponder:
What gets your focus daily?
Are you willing to give Christ more focus?
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May 28: 1 Corinthians 12:3-11
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 12:6
There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Devotion:
When Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the disciples, He came directly to them and they received The Spirit. When we receive the Spirit it is through Christ even though He is not physically with us – this was His promise to us, a promise He has kept! The most interesting part for me is how people change when they receive the spirit and these words here in the letter to the churches in Corinth give us a clue as to how people will change.
Each of us is a different person, created by God in His image and for His purpose. The Holy Spirit will work differently in each one of us because we are different and The Spirit will know what to do. As the words here show, all changes in us are for the common good and not to raise ourselves into any positions or elevate our status in any way – we become a vessel for the Holy Spirit to work through!
Some people will pick up wisdom in God’s Word, others great knowledge (yes there is a difference between wisdom and knowledge), some the gift of healing others, others seemingly miraculous powers. Some will be able to pick out evil spirit whilst others will be able to talk in languages others cannot figure out except for a select few whom the Spirit chooses.
Each one of these does not come from different spirits but the same Holy Spirit we all get to receive. Each of us will see different things happen in our lives and this is all done when the Spirit determines what is best for us. We could wait a long time before we get to know what the Spirit has chosen for us… But our task is not to question God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, but to accept what they give us and to use that to the best of our ability!
Points to Ponder:
How different did you feel after accepting Christ as Saviour?
Are you listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit?
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May 27: John 21:20-23
Key Verse: John 21:22
Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.’
Devotion:
When Jesus started talking about someone betraying Him, the disciples were on edge; which one of their group would be the one! This was a moment when many of them could have doubted things and brought on confusion amongst them. Jesus tried to stem that by reminding them they had a personal relationship with Him and it was not up to them to judge each other – simply to love Him.
When anything untoward happens in our church we start to chatter about things and people and we often go too far and place blame where there should be none. But it is a fine line between ignoring things which are clearly wrong and allowing people to have their sins forgiven by Christ: a line which we should always be aware of and one we need to protect each other with too.
Any language has it’s complications where people can say one thing and mean another without realising it. I’m not talking about the spelling mistakes we all make or the auto-correction mistakes due to ‘intelligent’ devices we use, but the verbal mistakes we make. Saying something out of turn or agreeing with something you think you heard can be awkward when another person is involved.
Christ wants each of us to try and do our best for and with Him, this means we should be focusing on the things we do and the things we say. If we focus on the things others do and say we will get annoyed at times because each of us is different and we cannot see inside people’s minds or hearts like God can. There is nothing wrong with pointing things out to the person involved, but there is pointing it out to everyone else when you are not sure!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you talk about others?
How often do you admit yourself to Christ?
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May 26: John 21:15-19
Key Verse: John 21:16
Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’
Devotion:
What do these verses say to you? Do they talk about a disobedient Peter, or a warning to Peter or a prophecy about Peter? We cannot put these words into a single pigeon hole because they have so much meaning – just like the rest of the bible!
Often we restrict the meaning of words from our bibles to suit ourselves or set boundaries which we can follow instead of taking the words for what they mean. Each of us reading these verses will probably focus on a different things – that is the way God speaks to us through His Word. We are not all the same and so we will be guided differently by His Word.
The repetition of the instructions to Peter may well have pointed to what Peter would do when Jesus was taken away and these words are often used in the liturgy of services around the world. Jesus was giving instruction to Peter and wanted Peter to think about what was happening, what would happen and to reflect on this after things had happened.
We describe God’s Word as being the Living Word because it raises different feelings and thoughts in each of us as God speaks to each of us. If we do love God, then should we not be willing to read His Word, meditate on what it says to us and to obey the instructions we gain from it? But we need to go further as we grow in Christ. Listening to the Holy Spirit, meditating on what He says and obeying Him is an integral part of our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Do you love God?
Do you obey God?