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July 21: Matthew 13:10-17
Key Verse: Matthew 13:17
For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Devotion:
The majority of us will not see physical miracles happen before our very eyes, and that seems to be a problem for many of us – how are we going to believe something unless we see it with our own eyes! For Christian, we see and feel what God is doing in many people’s lives and our faith is built up in stages… it is because of our belief in Christ we get to know these things.
But for many who do not make that first step of joining that longing in their lives to belief in Christ, the words in our bibles and the words from Christian friends do not make sense to them. This is what we are fighting against as disciples of Christ; we fight an unseen barrier which is bolstered by unbelief and worldly sayings and deeds.
Jesus knew who was going to come to Him and He knew who would continue to live their lives in unbelief – we don’t have the luxury of anything like that! So we should try to open the gospel to all who are willing to listen. But we should do it in a manner like Christ did. If we go out all guns blazing, we may be giving the unbelievers ammunition for their unbelief by them thinking we are some sort of cult or worse!
Jesus talked openly to people in parables. This would mean the people who did not want to believe would not have direct ammunition to shout out against the Christians, but those who did want to find out more would come to realise what the parables meant and that would give them hope.
Points to Ponder:
Have you thought about how you talk to others about Christ?
Will you try something different to give people hope?
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July 20: Matthew 13:1-9
Key Verse: Matthew 13:8
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Devotion:
What sort of sower are you? Do you pick out your seeds very carefully and plant them one at a time where you know they are going to grow so you are guaranteed of a crop even if it is small? Do you pick up whatever seeds are available and scatter them liberally all over the place and sit back to see what happens? I hope you are neither of these but something very different!
In order to share the gospel with people we need to do some sort of preparation to the land. It is no good sowing seeds if you don’t know what the land is like and have not turned over the soil and are not prepared to follow the sowing up with a lot of tending and watering where necessary! God does not just want us to be sowers but to be workers of the land.
You will know about some of this work if you have ever tried to grow your own produce or be self sufficient in any way. If you know any farmers how about spending a short while with one and finding out how much work goes in behind the scenes, work which we don’t always get to hear about or see… No matter what line of work we are in, there is normally a lot of preparation before the work and more support after the work so the work can succeed; the same goes for our work with God to share His Word.
We should not pre-judge our land either. Our task is not to judge who we think is worthy of the gospel but to share the gospel wherever God has led us to share it. This could be in a place which makes you uncomfortable or in a place where you think nothing is possible. Jonah was sent to take the scriptures to Nineveh, a sprawling metropolis where everyone had lost their way, a place where it was unlikely anyone would listen to him; but God knew the time was right.
Points to Ponder:
Do you pre-judge your sowing grounds?
Will you go where God asks you?
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July 19: Matthew 12:46-50
Key Verse: Matthew 12:50
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
Devotion:
How many times have you given in to temptations around you rather than doing something you said you would do for someone else? I know I have given in to worldly temptations in many cases and in many ways, not always instead of fulfilling something I promised, but seemingly having the same consequences!
When the crowd told Jesus His mother and brothers were waiting to speak to Him, He took the opportunity to impress on them a new point. When Jesus had said we should love our neighbours after loving God it was to reinforce the fact we have to look out for the people around us just as much as we look out for ourselves – after focusing on God first of all!
Jesus knew it was His earthly mother and brothers waiting but God had given Him a commission to teach the disciples how to follow God and change other people’s lives. If they focused on earthly ways of doing that, they would be limited by earthly results; but by focusing on spiritual rewards and ways, the disciples would be able to do so much more. In effect the disciples were now the family Jesus had to work with, they were more than just neighbours.
God wants us to reach out to others in similar ways, not by limiting ourselves to earthly ways and rewards, but by opening ourselves to the spiritual ways the Holy Spirit can guide us through. By allowing more in (from God) we can give more out because of what God gives us. Some of our neighbours will be the new family we have to help us spread the Gospel through spiritual means...
Points to Ponder:
Who would you say are the closest people to you?
Who is closest spiritually speaking?
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July 18: Matthew 12:38-42
Key Verse: Matthew 12:41
The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
Devotion:
Sometimes when I read verses like these, I wonder whether the Pharisees and Teachers of the law realised the gravity of what was being said directly to them, or whether they just dismissed it all because it did not agree with what they wanted to hear! I also wonder what they thought after Jesus died, was buried and raised again as He had told them or whether they dismissed it all again because it still did not agree with what they wanted to hear!
We can look back and think how silly they were for not accepting Jesus as their Messiah; we can ask questions about why this and why that – but we were not there at the time and we were not under their rule as were the Israelites at the time!
The more we study what happened, the more we can piece things together and realise what went wrong and when – but if we are going to be honest we will also see how we have strayed away from Jesus’ teaching just because we got carried away with something worldly ourselves!
Jesus wants us to remember the things of old, study the scriptures He has given us and apply them into our lives. It is no use looking back and blaming others or judging other if we are not going to turn away from similar things in our lives. We still do have the people who try to turn us away from Christ just because it does not agree with what they say. We still have the doubters who turn us away because they can convince us of their stories more than we listen to Christ’s teachings...
Points to Ponder:
Are you quick to judge others where they go wrong?
What do you do about things you do wrong?
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July 17: Luke 10:38-42
Key Verse: Luke 10:40
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’
Devotion:
This is one of those passages where we see the difference between people and how God reacts to those differences. Martha was a woman who wanted to make sure everything was right physically for Jesus in that she was making sure all the preparations were done to please Jesus as a guest of the house. This is often what we get caught up in doing in our own lives – we focus on the things we can change or do and we try to make sure they are done to the best of our abilities.
We even go as far as saying this is what God wants us to do and we justify what we do by saying this. But are we actually getting it right? That is the difficult question to answer and one who we have to take everything into consideration before we even attempt to answer that!
As I have said a few times over the last few weeks, Christ wants us to focus on Him and not too much on the world. He wants us to be able to live our lives by including Him in everything and trying to listen to what is actually needed and not the physical responses we are so used to following or fulfilling; we do this by listening more to the Holy Spirit and less to the world. We cannot say this is what was happening here because we don’t have insight into Mary and Martha’s personal lives and relationships with Jesus.
Jesus has warned us about judging others and this also highlights how we do this all the time. Martha was a bit upset by the lack of preparations Mary seemed to be doing, but totally missed Mary’s intentions – Jesus on the other hand did not miss Mary’s intentions. Mary was trying to focus on getting the most out of Jesus while He was with them. Martha was trying to put the most into the time Jesus was with them...
Points to Ponder:
Do you focus on what you do for God or what you get from God?
Will you try to balance your life with God?
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July 16: Matthew 12:14-21
Key Verse: Matthew 12:15
Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.
Devotion:
No matter what the people were up to Jesus knew He had to continue to make sure God’s promises stood firm and came to pass! The Pharisees continued to try and entrap Jesus, plotting against Him wherever they could but Jesus remained one step ahead all the time. Even when the end seemed like it had come Jesus remained firm and stood up to make sure God’s Word was kept!
When Jesus knew bad things were going to happen, He side stepped them until He knew the time was right. During this time when these words were coming true, Jesus side-stepped the Pharisees plans and continued to heal and care for the ill. He continued to show mercy even in the sight of danger… but He did ask the people not to spread the good news of them being healed so there would be a delay between what happened and when the Pharisees found out!
These words were foretold by the prophet Isaiah many years before when he told Israel they would see a servant king come to bring justice to the poor and needy and He would not use wars and injustice to bring about the justice – that would be man’s way!
As human beings we do get things terribly wrong at times – we bring injustice to the table so we can see when justice is done, we use evil to prove good exists. Jesus was very different and used love and hope to show how good exists. Jesus continued to bring hope and show mercy all the time He was amongst us on earth. He then showed absolute humility and gave His own life for us so we could know the goodness and righteousness of God.
Points to Ponder:
What do you do to show people goodness and mercy?
Will you share Christ’s love through goodness and mercy?
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July 15: Matthew 12:1-8
Key Verse: Matthew 12:5
Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?
Devotion:
It is very easy to get carried away with the pomp and ceremony in any church service; normally people point fingers at the high church services, but there is ceremony in all services and people tend to do what has always been done or do what is supposed to be done instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to move freely amongst the people.
When Jesus was pulled up about the disciples picking and eating corn from the field, He reminded the people about what David had done and many more since – they broke the strict letter of the law but it was done out or urgency and not out of spite. Jesus wanted them to see the difference and to know that God will allow you to do things out of urgency or need rather than having to stick to the strict laws of the church.
The church services we go to are typically in celebration of what Jesus has done for us and how He gave everything so we can live! The purpose of the service is to worship God in three persons and not to see how close you can to getting things done perfectly in line with the law! Our purpose is to worship God with everything we have, not to try and impress Him how well we can stick to the laws!
Jesus wants us to have a loving relationship with Him, not a master/servant relationship where we have to do everything exactly right in order to get by. Jesus spoke freely and told the people He desired mercy and not sacrifice; this means showing mercy to people who get things wrong because they cannot help it and not sticking to what is lawful and stopping people from getting what they need!
Points to Ponder:
Do you stick to the law or stick to what is right?
The law should be right, but following God is more important?
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July 14: Matthew 11:28-30
Key Verse: Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Devotion:
How many times have you heard Matthew 11:28 said? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” I have heard this verse said in many churches but not many continue on to the next couple of verses; today we do!
Jesus was indeed encouraging people to come to Him so He could give them some respite from the heavy burden life sometimes gives us, but He also wanted us to know this was a two way thing. We should swap our burdens with Christ. He has given us His life and continues to want us to know more about Him and His love for us. For us to learn that we need to know the truth about what He has done for us, accept that truth and to follow the instructions given us.
Christ’s burden at this time to to teach people about God, His love and to make sure they knew they could be saved from their sins by simply believing the truth. That is the burden we should be taking from Him – not the terror He went through in order for our sins to be forgiven, but the burden of sharing the good news with anyone who is willing to listen. He wants us to be gentle and humble as He was, showing people a new side to the fearsome God they thought they knew!
If we are willing to follow Jesus’ example and His ways, then we are going to find a new life waiting for us. A life where we will find rest for our souls in amongst the terrors of this world. The world will give us headaches and nightmares (so to speak) but God wants us not to worry about those things but give them to Him so He can show us the rest He wants us to have.
Points to Ponder:
Do you accept the burden of sharing the gospel?
Will you trust Christ’s words and live a better life?
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July 13: Romans 15:14-21
Key Verse: Romans 15:21
Rather, as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.’
Devotion:
One of the hardest things to accept is someone saying you have to do something you do not like! I’m sure Paul had mixed feelings about his going out to the Gentiles in the beginning since he started out as being the staunchest of Jews; so being told he should go to the gentiles and teach them about Christ may have come as a bit of a shock in the beginning.
But as the words in this section of passage tell us, Paul thought it the greatest honour to be able to go out and tell people about Christ – no matter who they were or where they came from! This is the attitude we need to see more of in our churches in the Western World. We do tend to stick to our own and not go out of our comfort zones or out of our circle of friends… How is the church supposed to expand if we do not break those moulds and go out to people we don’t normally see or talk to!
When Jesus told us we have to love God with everything and love our neighbours, it did not mean just the person next door, but everyone around us. The more the world takes on travel and the internet, the more our neighbours become further afield and more widespread.
God wants us to be able to reach out to people who haven’t heard the gospel yet… How are they going to get to know how special it is to be in a relationship with Christ unless someone shows them and tells them? Our goal as disciples is to reach out to people in whatever means we can, to tell them about Christ and to allow them to want to do the same – this is the love of Christ spreading...
Points to Ponder:
Who knows you are a Christian?
Who do you talk to about God?
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July 12: Matthew 11:20-24
Key Verse: Matthew 11:24
But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.
Devotion:
One of the things we often forget about is that Jesus is very serious about us being in a relationship with Him! We like to focus on the love He has for us and we lose track of just what that love means; we assume He is going to be able to forgive us no matter what we do! Whilst it is true He will forgive us for anything if we are willing to repent for what we have done wrong, we do have to repent!
Do you take people for granted when you are in a relationship with them? If you do, how does that go? Do they get weary and stop being so kind and loving? We all have our limits in any relationship and we all get to a point where we cannot go on any further!
Christ has His limits too – His limits may be far and beyond anything we can imagine, but He does have limits! Jesus began to talk about those limits here in an attempt to make people stop and realise they were going too far and had to do something about their lives to make sure they would still be able to join Him in Heaven.
Christ did not promise us He would not turn anyone away – He promised us He would not turn anyone away who was willing to step back from their sins and ask Him for forgiveness. He wants us to stop and realise we have to make that important step before we get to gain that forgiveness!
Points to Ponder:
Do you ask Christ to forgive you?
Or are you expecting Him to forgive you?