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November 23: Luke 21:12-19
Key Verse: Luke 21:13
And so you will bear testimony to me.
Devotion:
When Jesus was telling the disciples about the end times when He would return, He also warned them of the times before then, those leading up to that time. One of the biggest things we (Christians) will have to face is the persecution we are going to face just because we are Christians. The world will learn to hate us because we stand up for all which is right and just. With the continued corruption we see growing in the world nowadays, we will come to odds with people simply because we don’t want to give in to the temptation of doing wrong against others!
Christ wants us to continue to stand up for righteousness and continue to try and follow His ways… why? Because that will give Him the glory as people see we are different from the world and will want to find out why. This is just one way in which we can bear testimony about God!
One of the questions I get asked a lot is how are we going to defend ourselves against the world. The answer is to fully rely on Christ for guidance and support and not to try and do things by ourselves. This is probably the biggest lesson I learned over the past few years of being in and out of hospital. I could not make myself better and the doctors were guessing at some stages because they admitted they did not know the answers – but as long as I continued to rely on God and trust Him to get the right doctors and nurses around me at the right times – then things continued to go smoothly!
We may well have to face family and friends who either work against us or stop wanting to be with us just because we are Christians. If that is the case then they are the ones choosing to go the way of the world instead of God’s way. It is not for us to judge them though. We need to continue to show them Christian love and support and allow God to work in their hearts...
Points to Ponder:
Do you worry about what people think of you?
Do you follow God’s guidance?
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November 22: Luke 21:5-11
Key Verse: Luke 21:8
He replied: ‘Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am he,” and, “The time is near.” Do not follow them.
Devotion:
One of the biggest temptations we face every day is the worldly treasures which surround us all the time. We tend to compare things by worldly standards and worldly riches – that way we can have what we think is a firm foundation from which to compare things from! Unfortunately that foundation is not all it seems to be. We think of things in this world as being firm and immovable, like buildings and mountains; to God these are just things which can be changed at any time...
I do like to see some of the wonders we have in our church buildings around the world, but the things which impress me most is the connection to God rather than the jewels or building parts. I would much rather see a small church whose walls are covered with scripture and pictures of how Jesus loves the world than a huge temple which stands firm because of it’s stone foundations.
Jesus wants to see the growth of the church through relationships with people instead of bigger and better buildings. Are those big buildings really a sign of the people’s love for God, or are they just bragging rights about how much people have done to impress others.
We are easily led by riches and worldly treasures because we live in this world which compares everything to everything else in physical ways. God does not want to compare us with each other – simply to compare what we are with what we could be – that is the way He wants to encourage us forward: to be bigger and better versions of ourselves working with and for God!
Points to Ponder:
How do you measure your success?
Will you simply try to be a better you?
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November 21: Luke 21:1-4
Key Verse: Luke 21:3
‘Truly I tell you,’ he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others.
Devotion:
One of the things I used to get frustrated about was the lack of people who would come forward to help with youth work in church. Most of the time I would hear the excuse of “I’m too old, I can’t relate to teenagers…” My response would always be along the lines of “you’ll be amazed at what you can share with them…” which would mostly fall on deaf ears. Those same people would be more than willing to put a pound or two into the purse to help with the work, but not so eager to step up and do something.
Jesus watches each of us and sees what is in our hearts when we do anything for Him. He sees what we feel on the inside and knows why we are making the excuses we are. If we would listen to Him we would be able to do a whole lot more in the church!
Just like this poor widow who put in such a small amount of money, we don’t often think about the value of what we can do for God. If we were to step up and help out with an event, even if it was simply to hand someone a cup of tea or coffee, that could be the difference between someone opening up and them walking out the door without finding out the truth.
The skills we have may not seem like much to us, but to someone on the receiving end, it may well be all they need to reach out and find out more about Jesus. We do hit so many brick walls in our lives it seems like the little things won’t make any difference. But when we are on the receiving end, those small things may be the last straw we are able to grasp and the life-line we end up using to reach God!
Points to Ponder:
Are you shy about doing something in your church?
Will you try to do something small in church this week?
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November 20: Luke 23:33-43
Key Verse: Luke 23:40
But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence?
Devotion:
It is amazing to see the power of a crowd. The more people hear them the more others want to join in and things get out of hand very quickly. Many a riot is started by one person who sews an idea into others heads and that idea grows like a cancer until it has consumed the crowd and people are all doing what they ought not to do; and they are doing it willingly in their own minds...
The crowd was certainly won over by the chief priests who shouted out that Jesus should be crucified! They all joined in until it was too late and the Romans were worried too many people may start a riot which could not be contained. They gave in and crucified Jesus along with two other criminals who had done very bad deeds.
Jesus refused to give in to the crowd as they jeered and mocked Him. He refused to allow them to break His heart because His heart was set on accomplishing what His Father had set out to do – to save us all from our sinful ways! The two criminals who were also being hanged had very different hearts. The one refused to admit he was in the wrong and jeered with the crowd to try and get Jesus to use His powers to set them free.
The other criminal admitted his sins before Jesus and knew in his own heart he deserved to be punished; he was sorry for what he had done. Jesus saw inside the hearts of the two men and spoke out to the one who admitted his own guilt telling him he would join Jesus in Heaven presently!
Points to Ponder:
Do you give in and follow the crowd?
Or will you admit your shortcomings and follow Jesus?
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November 19: Luke 20:27-40
Key Verse: Luke 20:38
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.
Devotion:
As humans we all get caught up in death, what happens when we die, how we react to people dying and many other aspects of death. When the Sadducees came to Jesus, they were caught up in what happens when people die because this is what they thought was the end of life. They wanted to know what other people should do when friends or family die.
A couple of days ago was the anniversary of my father passing away and we are all very thankful he knew Jesus as his Saviour and that he is now with Jesus in Heaven! My last words with my dad the day before he died were a reminder of how easy his life would be from then on – he knew he was going to be with Jesus. I did not have to worry about what would happen to him nor would I have to worry about what happens about his marriage and his second marriage after my birth mother died earlier… because I knew these words which Jesus reminds us of here.
When we get to be with Jesus in Heaven we will not have to worry about who we will have to love because God’s love will cover us all. The love we will have in Heaven will be toward all people in Heaven as well as God and we will share in that love. I wonder whether the Sadducees understood how wonderful and fulfilling the love is Heaven would be. The love Jesus was showing to all people whilst here on earth was just the side of it we see – because our human minds need to see love in action…
This is why we fall in love, marry and have families. We need a physical aspect or manifestation of love so we can understand it. The love we share with people does not go away, but we learn to love other people as we move on in our lives. In Heaven that love will always be present – eternal love!
Points to Ponder:
What do you do with your love when something goes wrong in life?
Will you allow God to share a stronger and eternal love with you?
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November 18: Luke 19:45-48
Key Verse: Luke 19:46
‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘“My house will be a house of prayer”; but you have made it “a den of robbers”.’
Devotion:
What sort of things do you get up with your community and your church? Do you focus only on the people who have committed themselves to follow Christ or do you reach out and get everyone involved? Do you get involved with things in the community? How far do you go? These are all difficult choices we continue to make in our lives; sometimes we can’t stand to be around worldly people and we withdraw to what we think is a safe place.
Sometimes we get too involved with worldly ways and we get a bit off track in our own lives. What God focuses on is what is in our hearts and the work we do because of what is in our hearts. It is no good just thinking of ourselves and knowing we are safe in God’s hands. It is no good running around in worldly ways because we think people in the church are too insular… there is a middle ground which is hard to define unless we follow what God has already written down for us.
Our bibles are a constant source of righteousness and ways in which we should be living. Following God’s ways by following what He has written down for us is always a better way forward. What we must not do, though, is bend the words of the bible to suit our own ways or worldly ways just so we can have a good time.
It may sound like it is ok and may ‘taste’ good at the time, but if we are sinning against God, the sin will find us out and we will have to face up to the consequences of our actions. We will also have to face the consequences of our lack of actions!
Points to Ponder:
What rules do you follow in life?
Does God approve of your actions?
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November 17: Isaiah 11:1-5
Key Verse: Isaiah 11:4
but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Devotion:
Many people do not look into the scriptures because they see a church where people don’t seem to be following the ideals they think people should follow; people have this idea church people will never do anything wrong and when they see someone do something wrong, they turn away thinking the whole church is like that! This is something we face as church people all around the world!
If we look back into the scriptures which were written many years ago we see stories which may shock us and stories we find distasteful because they differ so much from our modern lives. Well, if we lives during those times we may find they are just normal stories and nothing out of the ordinary. You see, even people inside church congregations get things wrong and mess up!
Even back during these times a promise was made that a Saviour would come to save us from all the things we do wrong. That Saviour was Jesus Christ, born to a virgin who's name was Mary. This man was actually the Son of God and He came to give us hope and eternal life. He did not come to judge us like a stern teacher or church leader. Instead He came to judge people through their hearts instead!
He lifts us the poor and needy, breaks down the proud and fickle, helps the helpless and warns the people who refuse to help those He asks to help… He is our judge, but He judges with a righteousness not found in ordinary humans, but one found in Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like your are too guilty to go to church?
Do you realise all the people in church are actually sinners?
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November 16: Luke 19:11-28
Key Verse: Luke 19:14
‘But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, “We don’t want this man to be our king.”
Devotion:
This is one of those parables which Jesus told people, whether this was said twice in slightly different format or whether the disciples remember it differently, we can work out a lot from looking into it. So there was this important guy who was going away for something important and he gave charge of parts of his land or investments to three other people… That's about the gist of it!
In this account the people who were put in charge did not want this person to return with even more power; maybe they were secretly hoping he would never return! But he did! They did not know when he was going to return, just that they were told he would return. Sound familiar? It should do because Jesus has promised to return at a time unknown and he has left us, the people, in charge of things!
So what are we doing with the responsibility Jesus has given us. Have we buried the gospel and are hoping to bring it out just as He returns so we have something to show? Have we worked a bit and played a bit and generally done a half baked job? Or have we committed our ways to spreading the gospel through our actions and our words?
Jesus has given us charge of a very important task. The ball is in our court and He is watching to see what we are going to do with it. The time is now. The opportunities are endless. The chance is ours to take or to discard!
Points to Ponder:
Have you taken God at His word?
Or are you waiting for something to happen first?
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November 15: Psalm 15:1-5
Key Verse: Psalm 15:2
The one whose way of life is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart;
Devotion:
This is one of those Psalms which makes us realise just how far short of the mark we all fall when it comes to being like Jesus. We can safely say Jesus is holy because He was able to continue doing the right thing at all times, keeping the Fathers word, making sure people heard the gospel and helping people no matter what their background!
Do we deserve to live in heaven with Him? No! But we are going to because He stepped in and took the punishment for all the little things we do wrong (and the big things!) Jesus knew we were going to fall short of the mark so stepped in to make sure we would pass! Maybe like letting someone else take your exam for you so your certificate gives a 100% mark! (But obviously not cheating like that!)
Think about each of the points raised here and think about how you approach them in your life. Do you pass with flying colours, or do you still have a bit of work to do. I know I have work to do on so many of these items. I try to keep these points, but I know I fall short when push comes to shove.
Some of the hardest points to keep are the ones where we have to be polite to people who are rude to us or be nice to people who mistreat us… It does not mean we have to be a push-over, but there is a difference between standing firm in what is right and doing something just to spite someone else. Jesus did not show spite, and nor should we...
Points to Ponder:
How tough do you find life?
Will you try to allow Jesus more room to teach you?
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November 14: Luke 18:35-43
Key Verse: Luke 18:42
Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.’
Devotion:
How many times have you read passages in your bible where something has happened to a person because they have believed in God? I know it is a difficult thing to hear, especially when you have things going wrong in your life or when people have let you down – but God does look after us and does change the things around us to help and protect us!
I had a hard time believing God would do anything for me as a stroppy teenager, and I still have my doubts at times; but enough things have happened in my life to ensure I do trust and obey God. I have had things work themselves out as soon as I asked God for help. I have had things which took ‘forever’ to work out when I asked… But God always comes through and helps out when I ask.
That is the key thing here. We have to ask! This blind man who was sitting by the roadside outside of Jericho would not have known it was Jesus coming along. We can only assume there was a bit of a hustle and bustle happening which made him ask what was happening. When he heard it was Jesus, he had no delay in shouting out for help from Jesus! He was bold and he was a believer – he also had nothing to lose!
Jesus saw what was in his heart and immediately healed the man making sure he understood it was because of his faith and belief in God. If we are willing to have faith and believe in Jesus too, then He is willing to help us out; but we have to wait for His answer knowing He is going to answer!
Points to Ponder:
How patient are you with your prayers?
Do you give God time to answer?