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February 13: Mark 8:11-13
Key Verse: Mark 8:13
Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
Devotion:
One of the things we don’t get to hear much about is Jesus’s anger. Each time we are told about a situation where we would have probably “flow off the handle,” Jesus would calm the situation down after telling people the truth. Here the Pharisees came to question Jesus because it seemed like He was not following the laws they were giving out. They had a very strict sense of the law and they would make sure people knew all about the law. This would give them a position of importance and would make sure everyone else would be in a position of being guilty!
What better way to placate people than to blame them for things so they are forced to back down because of some feeling of guilt! They came to Jesus and demanded He show them some sort of sign to prove He was the Messiah – what better way to corner an imposter than to force them to back down… at least that is what they were probably thinking!
Instead, Jesus kept the peace by simply saying He would not give them a sign and walking away from them. Sometimes the best way to win an argument is to walk away from it… Jesus was not about to give in to the Pharisees and He certainly did not want them to be in any position of power over His actions – how could they be!
When we are faced with any situation we think puts us in a difficult position, we should be trying to move forward with the truth and without aggravating other people. Much easier said than done because we will always take offence when faced with a truth we do not like… So next time you are cornered, think about the truth and not just your feelings...
Points to Ponder:
Do you retaliate when faced with the truth?
Will you allow God to show you the whole truth?
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February 12: Matthew 6:25-34
Key Verse: Matthew 6:32
For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
Devotion:
One of the hardest things to do in life is to rely on someone else for life’s essentials! But, during these times of great turmoil in our lives and in our countries we need to be able to stick together and help each other out whenever we can. This will often mean we have to put our pride aside and allow someone else to do something for us even when we think we should be able to do it!
God wanted the disciples to know this so they would go out into the world, not as great leaders, but as servants depending on the people around them for everything. Jesus was a man who went forward doing things for God and not commanding a great army or a great country – His army was the host of angel who would willingly follow Him as He listen to and obeyed His Fathers instructions!
This is what God would have us to do – to stop worrying about what the world is going to do to us or for us and to trust God for our lives. I used to think it was fine for the church leaders to say this sort of thing when they had a steady job with the church… until I found myself in a place where I could not work for myself and needed to totally rely on God! And guess what… He came through more than I could ever believe possible!
God wants to be able to look out for us and to hold us close at ever opportunity. We have to be willing to let go of the world and allow God to guide us on the path we should be going on and not the path we think the world should give us! There is not much we can do to make our lives worth living other than trying as hard as we can; but what happens when we try hard and seem to fail? Try asking God what you should really be doing!
Points to Ponder:
Do you trust God for everything in your life?
Will you start by trusting Him with one thing at a time?
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February 11: Genesis 3:9-11
Key Verse: Genesis 3:10
He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’
Devotion:
When was the last time you hid from someone in charge because you had done something wrong? I can remember trying to run away to my friends house to hide because I had done something terrible at home… Of course it didn’t work because my friends parents came round to see what had gone wrong… lets just say emergency services were there to make things safe again!
I’m pretty sure my parents knew exactly where I would head off to when something big like this happened and having people all around who look after you and care for you makes it almost impossible to disappear at times like that. God knows us better than we think He does. He knows where we will try to hide and knows what we get up to…
My parents would have shouted at me long before things got out of hand if they had been on the scene at the time! But they weren’t, and things got out of hand and my brother and I ended up getting into a lot of trouble for the trouble we caused. When we go against God’s wishes in our lives we do face having to admit to our faults at some stage because God already knows! My parents had to ask someone else what happened because they were both working at the time; luckily there was someone looking after us but they were on the other side of the house at the time…
When God came back to see what had happened, the man had run away to hide. I’m pretty sure God knew exactly where he was but God wanted the man to admit to the fault before He passed judgement! The man was not let off just because he admitted the fault; he still had to face the consequences, but because he willingly admitted it, God would make a way whereby the man could be forgiven. That is how awesome God is!
Points to Ponder:
Do you try to hide from problems?
Are you willing to face the consequences?
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February 10: Genesis 3:1-7
Key Verse: Genesis 3:1
Now the snake was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’
Devotion:
Just when you think things can not get any worse, something worse comes along! We live in a world where so many things can and do go wrong. At the moment we are praying for people in the Middle East after a devastating earthquake has shaken cities leaving many many people dead and many thousands homeless and without a safe place to live. How can this be? Is God not supposed to be looking out for us?
And God has not caused this because people have turned their backs on Him, nor is it a punishment for something someone has done wrong to God or His people! This is the world in which we live. Earthquakes happen. Volcanoes happen. Floods happen. People get caught up in things like this all the time; and sometimes a whole lot of people get caught up in things like this.
Our lot should be to share the burden with our fellow humans and to try and lessen the load they have to bare. It is not God who makes things like this happen. It is because there is evil in this world. The evil is the cause of all things bad. The longer it goes without being confronted, the more power it has and the worse things will get.
God faced the same thing in the Garden of Eden. Evil forced something bad to happen to Adam and Eve and they had to bare the brunt of the consequences for allowing evil to gain ground. We need to keep bringing God into our lives so He can face up to the evil and not allow it to take hold; but when it does, we need to share the burden with our fellow human beings no matter where in the world they are or what they are facing. Bring God into the equation so you can have a winning hand!
Points to Ponder:
Do you allow evil to take ground?
Or will you allow God to take ground?
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February 9: Genesis 2:18-25
Key Verse: Genesis 2:20
So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
Devotion:
In amongst all of this creation and the amazing things which happened, the man realised he needed someone to be with. This is the very essence of being a human – we all need someone! As a single person I know what it feels like to have nobody around most of the time. Yes God is always with me and a very real presence in my life, but its the human contact which we need in our lives.
I have always been a bit of a loner compared to others and I do find myself very good company sometimes, just being able to shut off from the world around me and to be at peace with my surroundings is a bit part of my life. But, no matter how much I enjoy being by myself most of the time, there is always a time when I do strive for company of friends and family… but even that has its limits too…
When God said we need someone as a helper, it was not to have a servant who would do everything for us, not to have a playmate whom we could call upon at any time when we get board. God was talking about having a soul-mate in our lives; someone who you can never be without in your life. Not everyone gets to find their soul-mate in their lifespan, but it is something we all would love to attain!
God knew exactly what the man needed and created a woman, a partner, different but the same, again in His image. God knows who you need in your life and is willing to help you find that person, but listening to Him and waiting on Him is sometimes a bit too much for some people and they go off hunting for something they think they need instead. This is where mankind gets lost and flounders!
Points to Ponder:
Would you trust someone to pick your lifetime partner?
Will you trust God to do exactly that?
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February 8: Genesis 2:8-16
Key Verse: Genesis 2:15
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
Devotion:
One of the stumbling blocks I am always confronted with is “why did God create the tree of the knowledge of good and evil if He did not want man to eat the fruit from it?” Which, on the surface, seems like a valid point. But then the argument falls apart when you look at just about any situation in life. Why did man invent guns if they are used to kill people?
The answer is man invented the gun as a tool. Someone came along and used that tool to commit a bad sin. It is not the fault of the designer but the fault of the person committing the sin. The same can be said about the garden. God created a complete garden with everything in it. Man was the one who came along and decided to do something wrong; it is man's fault!
This is why we have laws in our societies. There are things which can be used for good and for evil. If we take something which could be used to good and use it for evil, then we are the ones committing the evil and not the tool which we use. God had no intention of making man do bad things – that was our choice and remains our choice.
Each of us has the ability to choose whether we do right or wrong. That is what defines us and sets the path of life before us. If we continue to choose the bad things in life then we are going to have to face those bad things time and time again. If we choose to do the good things, then we will face the good outcomes time and time again. Choose righteousness...
Points to Ponder:
Have you made bad choices in your life?
Will you ask Christ to forgive those bad choices?
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February 7: Genesis 1:27-28
Key Verse: Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’
Devotion:
One of the most remarkable things God did was to create us in His image… So what does that mean? Do we look exactly like God? No! We are all physically different, we have different finger prints and different iris patterns, different personalities and we just are different! So how did we get created in God’s image? Well, God is made up of three parts, and, not surprisingly, so are we.
We have our physical bodies; the ones which are different to look at and to do things with. Jesus was different too. He was nothing like the pictures we see where He is depicted as being a tall white male with long blonde hair and a shining white garment! He was a carpenter who was ‘one of us.’ Which means He looked like the people He was around. They knew Him to look like a Jew so we must assume He looked like many Jews we have go to see… So, not white and not blonde…
Then we have our spirits. These are the parts of us which are able to commune with God. These are the parts which we cannot see but we know are there. If we listen well enough we will be able to know that part of us better. This is the part of us which will be able to listen to what God has to say to us – the part of us we don’t often listen to in case we have to do something! You know, the part of us we know is there but like to ignore because it means being good!
Then we have our souls. This is the real you and the real me. What we are and what we have always been and what we will always be – the us inside of everything we are! Once again we cannot see the real us, but we know the real us because that is what comes out when we meet others and when we get on with life… The part of us which will always be around and will never go away!
Points to Ponder:
What part of you do you think of when you say “I”?
Are you willing to allow God to guide the real you through your spirit?
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February 6: Genesis 1:1-19
Key Verse: Genesis 1:11
Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so.
Devotion:
The first chapter of the bible is one which people have debated upon for so long, and one which makes sense to some and not to others; but what we can all agree on is that it was something entirely new! How does one go about describing something which has never existed before?
I’m not going to argue about whether I think these words describe exactly what happened because I don’t quite get the words they use in the first few verses. It’s only when we get down to verse 11 where things begin to make some sort of sense because from then on it describes things which we can relate to.
This is one of the big problems we face as Christian. How do we go about describing something which is new to us… when we first became a Christian we could not describe what it was like and we would have problems trying to convince anyone about our new life. But the more we get to grow with God, the more He opens our hearts and minds to what he can do and the more familiar we become with His ways. I don’t think I will ever be able to understand the words of the first few verses of the bible until I get to meet Jesus face to face…
What we can do, though, is describe what we feel in our hearts to other people. When we describe what we actually feel, people will be more willing to listen and to try and find out for themselves. When we describe things like the first few verses of the bible, it bring confusion because we may be confused. So when you want to tell anyone about God, stick to what you know about Him – not all the big words and books say, but what you feel in your heart. That is what counts to Christ as well!
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to explain God?
Have you tried simply saying what you feel about God?
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February 5: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 2:2
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Devotion:
One of the greatest things I was ever taught as a Christian was to admit to what you know… We don’t have to be scholars to be able to tell people about Christ; all we have to do is to know Him on some level. We may not be the greatest witness in our own minds, but to God we are the best witnesses if we are willing to share what we know, the way we know it.
When I started sharing what I know about God with teenagers in youth groups I did not know everything because I was still learning. I still am learning and will continue to try and learn more about God until the day I go to be with Him in heaven. But before I do I have plenty of time here on earth to try and share a bit of what I have grown to know about God.
A lot of what I know I have learned from reading His word, which is difficult for me because I am not a good reader, having failed English languages a few times even though my home language is supposed to be English! But that has not stopped me because He is always willing to help bring someone in to help me understand if I need it. Much of the time I now stop and try to listen to Him – He is always willing to teach anyone who is willing to listen.
Just like the apostle, I spend time sharing what I know. I have continued to write these devotionals for more than 2 decades, with a break here and there for hospital or other emergencies. God continues to help me understand His Word because I am willing to stop and listen. I read the words slowly because I can’t read fast, I try to understand, and then I trust Him to give me more words to write down and share my feelings… We can all do a little at a time and make a big difference in the world!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are good at something?
Have you tried including God in what you do?
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February 4: Psalm 23:1-6
Key Verse: Psalm 23:2
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
Devotion:
Well it’s been a while since I shared Psalm 23, so it’s about time again. So many people do find comfort in the words of this Psalm as the writer recounts how amazing it is to have a God who really does care for us. No matter how hard life gets, God is always going to be with us and helping us through those times. I never really understood how much comfort Gods can give me until I was in desperate need, not once or twice but several times – so I know God is looking out for me all the time.
The obvious time was when I was in hospital and people close to me were being told I may not make it through the night; but I was not at all worried because I knew God was with me. I continue to marvel at the comfort He gave me when so many around me were finding things difficult. I owe a lot to a few good nurses who reminded me about my God!
Then there were the times when I knew I had done wrong and still God let me know He was with me, waiting patiently for me to come back to Him. When I see soldiers with this Psalm written out on their helmets or in a book with them I can totally relate to them because they, like me, have found out how good our God is!
God does this so we can be a light which shines brightly in the darkest of times. With that light shining we can help others to see the light and to draw near to God. We don’t have to convince them with amazing philosophical arguments saving how real He is; we just have to show people we are happy with what we have been given by God. They will then seek Him in some way where He will be able to open their hearts to the truth you and I know.
Points to Ponder:
Do you find life difficult at times?
Have you tried asking God to allow you to meet with Him during those times?