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March 16: Luke 11:14-23
Key Verse: Luke 11:18
If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.
Devotion:
I love the way Jesus was free to talk about many things and not just what sounded nice in a Christian environment… When you go off to do some sort of manual labour, do you expect to stay clean and not get tired, or do you expect to get dirty and be tired after the work? The same is going to happen with any work we do for Christ.
We could stay in a nice comfortable, clean and friendly environment where only Christians are and only good things happen, but how are we ever going to be able to reach out to people who are not yet Christians! If we stayed at home and ‘worked from home’ when we should be doing manual labour, we wouldn’t be much good! We have to go out into the world and get involved with things and people – some of that is going to be dirty work too!
This does not mean we should go and ‘play in the mud’ and bring all the mud home into our lives. We should be able to come home and freshen up in a clean place so we are ready for work on another day. This does not mean we are sinners just because we get dirty; if getting dirty is part of the job, would Christ have asked you to do it in the first place if He knew you would stay dirty?
Jesus made sure people knew He was not acting on behalf of anyone else other than God. Nothing He could do against all the evil could be anything other than God’s work. When we go with God to do our work in the world we will face people who accuse us because we dare to do things differently… remind them you are working for and with God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you shy away from work because it is not Christian?
Will you take Christ with you to work today?
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March 15: Deuteronomy 4:5-9
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 4:6
Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
Devotion:
When God told the people of Israel to go and possess the land, it was not just an off-hand remark to go and take over whatever they wanted. God wanted them to listen very carefully to the instructions He would give them so the local people would understand a bigger and greater power than mere humans was controlling this!
When we go ahead and do things for ourselves, we can make great strides in moving forward and doing amazing things when we put our minds to it – but if we are doing things for our own validation or our own profit, then all we will get out of it is some local acknowledgement and that is all. People will begin to see the real reason we did things and we will be known as the people who were greedy and wanted earthly things more than the needs of the people.
But when we go ahead and do things according to how God wants us to, then we will see much greater things happen than when we do things in our own strength. It is God who does the miracles and not us. It is God who performs the impossible and not us. It is God who has the wisdom to know the best way forward and not us! I know I have upset people in my past simply because I did things I knew I could do – but if I had listened to God I may well have come out with a very different outcome!
God wants us to listen – and to do that we need to stop what we are rushing forward for and to listen for His instructions. Yes that can be very difficult, especially when we see a way forward and when we think we know what is best. But God alone knows the very best way forward, and He does want what is best for everyone, not just you!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you listen to instructions?
How often do you wait on God?
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March 14: Daniel 2:19-23
Key Verse: Daniel 2:23
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: you have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.
Devotion:
One of the biggest hurdles we have to get over in life is how we are not in charge! If you listen to influencers and business people all around the world who have made their fortunes they will tell you about how you have to be in charge and take control; but that must all happen within the confines of the world and laws of the countries we live in. Every country around the world is only here because of our Creator God who made it possible in the beginning!
As much as we try to make sure countries stick to various humanitarian rules and as a world community we try to encourage each other to follow similar rules, we are all different and have been for a very long time. God did not make us all the same where by we had no choice as to what sort of world we live in – He gave us freedom of choice and allowed us to make or break things!
We have some very intelligent people who take care of financial matters. We have very caring people who take care of health matters. We have have forward thinking people who try and plan for the future. But unless we all try to work together, we are only going to get as far as ourselves…
God wants us to understand it is He who has the wisdom and He who gives this wisdom to people to use in communities. If we all listened to the great and fair wisdom He gives out, we would all be able to work together and have a better life for all – instead of the select few who try to control everything. As disciples we should be working together to glorify God for sharing this wisdom for us who are willing to listen and learn. The greed for money and power will corrupt everyone; but God’s love will release everyone!
Points to Ponder:
Do you strive to be the best?
Will you allow God to guide you in the best way forward?
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March 13: 2 Kings 5:3-7
Key Verse: 2 Kings 5:5
‘By all means, go,’ the king of Aram replied. ‘I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’ So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing.
Devotion:
In amongst all of this conflict, God chose to use a young girl to reach an influential person in the king of Aram’s army: the commander! This young girl was taken captive and she was set to work serving the kings wife. When she heard Naaman had leprosy her faith sprang into action and she told the commanders wife he should get to see the prophet who was in Samaria and he alone would be able to cure Naaman. You can imagine the conflict here, she was serving the wife of the commander against which her people were fighting! And yet she chose to listen to her heart, a heart God had filled with love for all His people, including her enemies!
This is the strength of her faith – that God would sort out the other details when she gave some information to the wife. She could not imagine the steps which happened next. First Naaman went to the king and asked if he could have time off to go and get healed by this prophet. The king was so indebted to Naaman for all he had accomplished for the army, he agreed to let him go and see the prophet in amongst his enemies!
Naaman didn’t quite get it! He took with him all manner of riches to try and pay for something God was going to do. He didn’t have a clue who was the power behind Israel! He got a letter from his king and he took that letter to the king of Israel! The girl had clearly told him to see the prophet, but he took his position and riches and went directly to the king instead.
If we don’t listen to God and take notice of what people are saying when they are telling us something from God, then we are going to miss the big picture and focus on the things we can think of. Not what God does! Nothing is impossible with God, but it takes a human to really mess things up before God!
Points to Ponder:
Are you listening to God?
Or are you listening to what you think God should tell you?
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March 12: John 4:27
Key Verse: John 4:27
Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Why are you talking with her?’
Devotion:
This verse comes from the passage where Jesus had just been speaking with the Samaritan woman; something to be frowned upon in those days, not just because He dared to speak openly to a strange woman, but on top of that it was a Samaritan woman and not an Israelite! Boy wouldn’t the feminists and anti-racists have a field day with this one!
Jesus was doing what any human should be doing, not excluding others just because they are different. He was doing what God wanted Him to do; to invite people to get to know Him more and to form a relationship between the person and God! I do love pointing this story out when people get upset about someone who is different coming into their group!
Jesus was very different, and yet He chose to come and live amongst sinful mankind! He dared to befriend anyone who was seeking the truth and anyone who wanted to get to know God in their hearts. This is what He meant when He said we should love our neighbours – not build big walls to exclude them or make laws to prevent them crossing an ocean!
Yes there has to be laws and people need to follow them, but many of our laws are making rifts between us instead of bringing us together. Many laws exclude people just because they are different. Why can’t we take a leaf out of Jesus’ book and show mercy and love to anyone who is seeking companionship and communion!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you inadvertently exclude?
Will you try to be more inclusive like Christ?
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March 11: Micah 7:18-20
Key Verse: Micah 7:18
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry for ever but delight to show mercy.
Devotion:
How many times have you had to ask someone to forgive you for doing something wrong? How many times have you been willing to forgive someone else for doing wrong against you? How many of those times did you get angry because you did not want to forgive them? How many times did you object just a little bit too much and continued to make them wait on you...
God is very different to us when it comes to showing mercy and love. His love for us goes far beyond anything we can think of and far beyond our own limitations. When we give in and get angry, God continues to forgive and wait. When we don’t want to forgive – God finds a way to make forgiveness possible!
The longer we hold on to grudges and the longer we hold out before we forgive, the darker and deeper our anger and ill feelings become. Unless we are willing and able to put aside the ill feeling we have toward others, we will continue to harbour bad feelings and continue to get caught up in sins we don’t realise.
We have grown to expect God to forgive and forget. It’s it time for us to move forward and be willing to forgive and forget those who sin against us. Jesus hinted at this in the prayer He taught the disciples – forgive us as we forgive others. God wants us to start the ball rolling by forgiving those around us; then we can see a way forward where He will be able to forgive us...
Points to Ponder:
Do you like seeing people being forgiven?
Are you willing to show love through forgiveness?
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March 10: Matthew 21:40-43
Key Verse: Matthew 21:43
Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Devotion:
One of the ideas which troubles me greatly is the idea put forward here by Jesus – the idea the kingdom of God will be taken away from the people who do nothing about being children of God! What exactly does a child of God mean in this context. We could glibly say a child of God is someone who believes and trusts in God, someone God has call His child...
But there are two sides to most coins and this is not going to be any different. In this context Jesus was telling the people a parable about a man who who rented his vineyard to other people. When the time of the harvest came, he sent his servants to collect his fruit, to collect his harvest. Now, we are not told the intricacies of the deal they struck up with the vineyard owner, so we can’t comment on that other than the owner obviously was expecting to get some of the harvest!
When the people who rented the vineyard turned their backs on the deal and did terrible things to the servants he sent, what do you think he thought of the tenants? Now Jesus turns this parable back into context by comparing this vineyard and owner to God and the kingdom of heaven. He sent His Son, Jesus, and we, the people, killed Him! Now you get the picture!
Jesus knew this was going to happen, because He was telling the parable, and He knew who would do the deed and who would continue to follow Him… He still came and stepped up to give His life for us – that is how much he loves the people who DO what He asks. If we don’t do what God asks, we are no better than the people who killed His Son. That’s the scary part – we should be doing God’s will in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Have you asked God what it is He wants you to do?
Are you ready to listen to Him?
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March 8: Jeremiah 18:18-20
Key Verse: Jeremiah 18:20
Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember that I stood before you and spoke on their behalf to turn your wrath away from them.
Devotion:
How many times have you thought that God was not on your side because bad things were happening to you, or not enough good things were happening? How many times have you asked God why He allows the evil people to have so much and yet you don’t have a lot? I’m sure we have all been there at some stage in our lives...
We need to ready through our bibles and not get caught up in a few verses which seem to support or or a few verses which go against us. The bible is a story from the beginning right through to the end and the story does not make as much sense if we read just one part and not the whole! God wants us to remember all which has happened in the past so we can have an idea why things do not always go our way.
It is not that God is against us because we have done something wrong. It is not that God cares for others more than He cares for us. It is not that we should require God to punish the evil people and allow us to go free. God has given us enough to show that he looks out for all people and He cares for us all. When good things happen and when bad things happen, God may be the one who has ultimate power over it all, but He is not going to turn His back on anyone just because someone else wants to get to know Him more!
Jesus warned the disciples they would have to endure all sorts of things because they were going to be in the proximity of bad people. When bad people misbehave, they seem to get themselves and all around them in even more bad things. God wants us to know we are just as likely to attract bad things if we are close to them – but we should know we have the choice as to where we go and what we do. If we remember Jesus’ words when He said we need to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and souls and minds, we can move forward with confidence He is with us!
Points to Ponder:
How many good or bad times do you remember?
Will you remember what God has done for you throughout history?
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March 7: Isaiah 1:10-20
Key Verse: Isaiah 1:18
‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Devotion:
I wonder if you have heard people talk about verses where God was not pleased to accept burnt offering any more. Or maybe you have heard the verses where God talks about looking after those who are less fortunate than you. Or where He says our sins can be washed away even if they are as red as scarlet… How many times have you been told these are all in the same place in your bible?
We often take verse out of context to support something we are saying or talking about. We often emphasise the verses to uphold out point we are trying to make. But God was saying all of these things to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah! The city that was levelled because they did not listen…
God gives us plenty of warning and He continue to make sure we hear the truth and have every opportunity to bring our sins before Him and ask for forgiveness. He promised the world would not end until the time is right and that time will only be when everyone has had the opportunity to hear the truth and to choose the path of truth or evil…
All people on earth are given the truth at some stage in their lives. God makes sure of that. He gives us the opportunity to walk away from evil and to choose to follow Him. He gives us plenty warning what could happen if we do not listen and if we ignore the warnings. We have no right to blame God for anything which does happen because we are the ones who walked away from Him to start with.
Points to Ponder:
Are you still walking away from God?
Will you choose the path He directs you toward?
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March 6: Luke 6:36-38
Key Verse: Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Devotion:
One of the hardest things to do can be to forgive people for doing things wrong against you or to not judge other people when you think they are doing things the wrong way! It’s very easy to say we will not do this, but when we get caught up in the moment we often judge and blame without thinking. Jesus was very careful to not judge people without knowing what they were doing wrong. He had every right to judge people because He was without fault – but He chose not to to show us it can be done!
We should only have to look at the things we do and say to realise we do often get things wrong; why then do we jump at the chance to blame or judge others when we think they should not blame or judge us for the things we do wrong all the time!
I find the best thing to do is to wait before answering or saying anything. Every week I hear people judging and blaming others and gossiping… and that is in church! I know I am guilty of it when I speak out of anger or impatience, but when I spend time to think about the things I am about to say or do I tend to follow Christ’s example instead. I know in my head I am wanting to say things because that is what it was like growing up in a boarding school…
The more we try to make the changes, the more we are going to be the change! That means the change is going to start from what we do and say differently as an example to others. I have seen what God can do to peoples hearts and how He can change the way they live and talk – let us be the example that will make them think...
Points to Ponder:
Do you get angry or gossip quickly?
Will you try to take a few seconds to think first?