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August 7: Hebrews 11:8-12
Key Verse: Hebrews 11:11
And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.
Devotion:
This chapter from the letter to the Hebrew people reminds us of the faith of many people in our history. We can look back and read about how these people showed great faith and we can also read about how they made mistakes and had to correct things. We are human and we will probably make mistakes too, but it is our faith in the unseen which will make all the difference in our lives with Christ.
Abraham is seen as an example of a man with great faith, but he questioned God in the beginning. He also listened to Sarah who said to go and try something by themselves because God was taking too long! But God was still faithful and delivered on the original promise just as He was going to in the beginning.
God has made these promises to us and He is going to keep them. He does not back down from promises just because we have doubts or because we are too weak to keep to our promises. God wants us to look back on these stories and see how His faithfulness is not in question. He wants us to keep our faith even when we have doubts. If we are able to stand up and make our faith true, He will deliver on His promises.
When our faith is weak and we think we cannot go on, God’s promises are still going to come true. They do not require us to keep our faithfulness or to keep our own word. His word is sure! But when we do keep our faith and show mercy and love as He has asked us to, God will be more pleased with us and we will be able to see how much He is willing to do. When we don’t trust our faith, our doubts overcome our feelings and we cannot see what God is doing – even when He is doing things for us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think God’s promises depend on what you can do?
God’s promises do not need anything from us to come true!
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August 6: 2 Peter 1:16-19
Key Verse: 2 Peter 1:19
We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Devotion:
After Jesus had opened up about His death to the disciples, I think the air would have changed as the disciples started worrying about what was going to happen; but, throughout this time Jesus continued to pour out His love to everyone and even made a point to taking Peter and James up onto a mountain to pray. This was not new for Jesus because He would take whatever time He could to separate himself from the crowds and pray to God in private.
But this time something very different happened as God the Father poured out His glory upon Jesus the man. The disciples heard God’s voice declaring “this is my Son, whom I love…” This was at the same time as the disciples saw two other men appear and talk with Jesus. The disciples wanted to stop and build 3 shelters as a reminder of what happened and how God gave glory to Jesus.
The disciples had to remember this and repeat what had happened to others so they would know just How important Jesus was to God. They remained the only eye witnesses of this event and so had to remember it and retell it to others as carefully as they could. Why? Because this was a very important thing happening here – this was the scriptures coming to life. These stories had been foretold in earlier times and now it was coming true.
We have the words of these disciples as eye witnesses. Eye witnesses are the most important witnesses because they are the ones who saw the truth happening right in front of them. This is what our laws on earth are based upon – eye witness testimonies. This is just another reason why we can and should believe our bibles, not a novels but as eye witness accounts!
Points to Ponder:
How many witnesses do you need before you believe something?
We have many witnesses in our bibles!
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August 5: Matthew 16:24-28
Key Verse: Matthew 16:25
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
Devotion:
When Jesus was saying these words to the disciples, I bet they could not get their heads round it at the time, not just because He had just talked about His death, but because what He was saying here was probably not how they were brought up. So many people say things like “you only live once” or “live life to the full” because they can’t get their heads round the price of life!
Jesus was saying in order to live a fuller life, the disciples would have to put their own lives aside and focus on the lives of others, including God! What He was saying was people who set aside their own lives and do everything to please Christ will find they lives a fuller life than if they tried to live the best life they could for themselves.
When we focus on ourselves we tend to get tied up in the world and lose focus on what is important. We focus more and more on the trappings and temptations in life and less and less n getting the most out of what we do. Getting the most out of life is not all about taking everything you can from the world, but more like how much you can put back into the lives of those around you, including the world.
God gave us this world for us to manage and maintain. He did not give us a sweet shop and tell us to eat as much as we could until we were sick. He gave us a plot of land and everything we need to tend to the land to give us the best crops we can get. He wants us to work together and with others rather than focusing on what we can get out of life!
Points to Ponder:
Do you live life to the most?
How much of your life contains Christ?
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August 4: Matthew 16:21-23
Key Verse: Matthew 16:21
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Devotion:
One of the hardest things for the disciples to grasp must have been the words Jesus started teaching them from this point onward; about how He would have to face much suffering and eventually be killed. The disciples would not accept this at first because He was their Messiah, and as far as that goes their Messiah should not be able to die!
But Jesus was trying to prepare them for what was going to happen to His physical body knowing full well He would not stay dead and would have to endure this all in order to save us from our sinful ways. How else would a perfect sacrifice be able to be made for our sins. For far too long the people had to sacrifice whatever animals they could get their hands on, trying to ensure they would be free from and damage when the time came to offer them as the sacrifice.
Jesus was without sin and the only perfect sacrifice which could ever be made to cover all of our sins once and for all. He was going to get this done so there would not have to be the continual sacrificing of animals. He was going to the cross so we would not have to!
When the disciples objected, Jesus rebuked them in a very strong manner! Peter wanted none of this to happen because He thought it would not be fair; but Jesus knew this was the only way things could be done. He was willing to step forward and accept this all because of His love for us. This was God’s call and not the call of any human being. This had to be done for us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you ever think about why Jesus did what He did?
Will you remember Jesus today and thank Him for what He did?
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August 3: Matthew 15:21-28
Key Verse: Matthew 15:27
“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Devotion:
This Canaanite woman showed her faith in Christ to everyone, but it was Jesus who picked up on it and brought it to the surface. How solid is your faith? Not an easy question to answer truthfully because our faith will not show itself fully until it is tested in some way. I learned this just over twenty years ago when my faith too over when I literally did not know what to do.
This woman came forward and pleaded with Christ to rid her daughter of a demon because she was suffering terribly. The mother trusted in the power of the Lord even though she was not a Jew. Jesus turned round to her and said He was sent to cater for the lost sheep of Israel and not for the other people who were not the ‘chosen race!’ It may sound like Jesus was being harsh at the time, but He knew what was on this woman’s heart and knew how things would turn out – He wanted the disciples to see the truth!
Jesus compared her to being a dog and the Jews as being the children of God; we would normally feed our own family before we feed stray dogs… But the woman replied saying that even the stray dogs would wait patiently for crumbs to be dropped from the table so they could eat.
This was like saying she would wait patiently for any good things to be dropped by the children of God so she could gain something, no mater how small or insignificant it seemed at the time. This was the faith Jesus was looking for and this is what made Jesus rid the daughter of the demon right there and then!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you depend on God for?
Will you trust Him a little more today?
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August 2: Matthew 15:1-11
Key Verse: Matthew 15:2
“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
Devotion:
The Pharisees and the other teachers of the law took every opportunity they could to try and trip Jesus up; trying to prove they were in some way better than Him so they could be seen to be the righteous people they so wanted to be! On this occasion they came to Jesus and tried to show Him up by saying how the disciples had not washed their hands before they ate their food… I’m sure we have all been there and not washed our hands before we ate something!
The Pharisees tried to take the law as written word for word and used that against Jesus to try and show Him up. But Jesus turned this round and pulled them up for what they were doing wrong. The Pharisees had made it an art form of taking the literal words they had come up with for the scriptural law and were using those words against the people. What they were not doing was trying to lift up the people – God’s children!
When Jesus reminded us to love one another it was with this sort of scenario in mind. If we do love our neighbours, then we are going to make sure they are included in things even when we think they are doing something wrong. We do not have the right to judge them for what they are doing; but what we can do is to tell them what we think the law actually means… this is being diligent and opening ourselves up to our neighbours.
What we can then do is discuss the law and invite God to explain it in our hearts so we can all know what should be done. What this shows us is not how we need to make sure our hands are washed before eating, but being diligent in what we do; it makes sense to wash your hands, but if you happen to not wash them, it should not be a capital crime for which we should be punished!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have habit you do just because you have always done it that way?
Will you try to focus on what Christ wants in your life?
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August 1: Psalm 119:89-92
Key Verse: Psalm 119:92
If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
Devotion:
One of the greatest things we can have in life is something we can depend on no matter what! When we are very young, we believe we can always depend on our parents because they seem to be there all the time and get us out of trouble! But as we grow older and wiser we start to find out humans all have their weaknesses or their shortcomings and, just maybe, we lose faith in believing our parents can do anything!
These few verses in this Psalm tell us of the authors absolute belief and trust in God. God is the one who is eternal and is in Heaven – the place we aspire to be when we finish living our lives on earth. The author reminds us of the faithfulness of God which has been demonstrated year after year, generation after generation to so many people throughout history.
God’s laws were passed on to mankind many years ago and passed down generation after generation by people who spent their time learning the law and retelling the law to the next generations. These laws have not changed from what was given to mankind through the prophets so many years ago.
When we take these laws and make them the centre of our lives, we get to see a whole new life which has remained constant for many years. As we get to read about these laws and how people have followed these laws for many generations, we get to know them as something good and righteous to follow. As we learn that we get to make them a part of our lives and get to know God better each day, month or year!
Points to Ponder:
What laws stick out to you as being God’s important laws?
Will you try to pass these laws on to the next generation?
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July 31: Luke 12:13-21
Key Verse: Luke 12:15
Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’
Devotion:
One of the biggest things whilst growing up was seeing how many people did everything they could to get bigger, better and more stylish things in their lives. I was very fortunate with having parents who did not teach me those ways but rather taught me to be happy with what I have and to share with people who do not have!
This parable was an object lesson to the person in the crowd who was demanding their share of the family inheritance, possibly even before it was due to them! They wanted the riches now and did not want to have to wait for the right time. This shares the same storyline as the young man who demanded his inheritance before his father died and went off spending it all only to be left with nothing in the end.
It is not about having the biggest and the best but having what you need. If you are fortunate enough to have what you need, then you are very blessed! So many people around the world do not get what they need and have to continually want for more, even begging when they run out. This should not be happening in a modern society where there is more than enough to go round for everyone – if only it was shared in the right manner.
Our church, along with so many around the country, runs a foodbank for the people who do not have all they need. We continually see many people come in to get the bare essentials so they can feed their families. If you have enough, then maybe you should be offering a bit of what you have to those who are less fortunate than you. This is what Christ meant by saying we should love our neighbours!
Points to Ponder:
How much could you help out those around you?
Will you step forward and offer help to someone today?
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July 30: Luke 22:14-23
Key Verse: Luke 22:21
But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.
Devotion:
When I was reading this before sitting down to write this devotional my mind was wandering a bit and imagines the disciples all sitting round the table at the passover supper when Jesus said these words – could you imagine what went through their minds on hearing these words… how many of them would have lifted their hands off the table to try and indicate it was not them!
When we get cornered by the truth we find it hard to admit to our faults and support the truth – instead we try to do what we can to hide our faults or short-comings just one more time; as if we do have a choice in the matter! We just don’t like admitting we are wrong!
When Jesus was saying these words, He was not saying them in a accusing manner to try and corner the betrayer and force them to stop, He was simply spelling out the truth and was going to accept that truth no matter what lay ahead! He did not turn His back on the betrayer(s) Yes I say betrayers because Peter would betray Jesus with his denials three times before the cock would crow!
We all have our faults and we all need time to sort things out – even though we may continue to follow those faults or wicked ways for a while yet. Jesus was not banishing them before their final acts of betrayal. Instead He was going to give them opportunity to repent right up until the last possible second. Peter would turn his ways around and be the disciple Jesus wanted, but Judas would take one too many steps forward into the evil ways and be trapper there!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you don’t have a choice?
Will you make a choice even though you think you don’t have a choice?
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July 29: Luke 22:1-13
Key Verse: Luke 22:8
Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.’
Devotion:
When we look into our Bibles and see the events which happened about 2000 years ago, we may get a bit confused why Jesus was so loving to the disciples… Judas had just gone to the chief priests and the officers of the temple to make plans to turn Jesus in, just for a bit of money! Ok, it may have been a fair amount of money for Judas, but that is all he was getting out of this!
Jesus knew what was going to happen and He continued to work with the disciples as if nothing was going to happen. The disciples had picked up on a change of mood and knew something was different, but they would not have had any idea things were going to be so very different from this time onward.
Jesus did not turn Judas away but continued to include him in everything, the passover feast, the gathering, the private time together and the washing of feet which came at the meal. Judas was included so he would have a final chance to stop what he was planning and admit his sins to Jesus; but the call of the money was too much and he gave in to the temptation!
Jesus knew this was going to happen but continued with everything. By now He would have been praying more to God the Father to make doubly sure this is what had to happen. He knew Judas would be tempted, knew he would betray Jesus and knew what Judas would do to himself after this had all come to pass. That is what Jesus would have had on His heart and what prompted Him to be straightforward and honest to Judas.
Points to Ponder:
Do you think Jesus does not know what you are up to?
Will you change your ways to be more like Jesus’ ways?