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April 9: John 11:45-48
Key Verse: John 11:48
If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.
Devotion:
Many of the Jews who had listened to Jesus believed Him and they continued to want to hear more; but some when to the Pharisees and told them everything Jesus was doing. What did the Pharisees hear? They heard what they wanted to hear and immediately started blaming Jesus for what they thought would happen.
These verses tell of the power the Romans had over the country – they were not just ruling but were dictating what should be happening. Nowadays we would call this tyranny and call for justice to be had; but for the people caught up in the system, they could not see this. Those who were well off because of the Romans continued to want to be well off and obeyed what the Romans asked of them. This led to them doing what the Romans wanted instead of what God wanted!
When the Pharisees saw Jesus was doing some extraordinary things, they knew the Romans would be upset with them if they continued to allow Jesus to do “many signs!” Caiaphas had prophesied this Jesus would come and do many things but also that He would die for the people so the whole nation would not have to perish – Caiaphas knew the people were working against God and he knew something had to be done before it was too late!
Once again the same story was happening – the people were working against God and God was most likely to be upset by this which would lead to bad things happening which would lead to lots of sad people… then they would try calling on God for help and the cycle would continue. God knew something had to be done to break the cycle – this is what Jesus would do to break the cycle!
Points to Ponder:
Do you do what people desire?
Or do you try to do what God desires?
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April 8: John 10:31-42
Key Verse: John 10:38
But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.’
Devotion:
What does it take for you to believe what someone else is saying? Do they have to be your friend before you believe them or do they have to prove themselves before you believe? It is sad we live in a world where we feel like we do have to prove we are reliable before people will believe us. Long gone are the days when most people told the truth and most people believed them!
We see far too many lies and gossip being told in the news media and other publications around us to continue believing first of all. Now we are at the stage where we do not believe until we have proof! This goes against all Christ is trying to teach us – He knew He would not be with us all the time in human form, so He asks us to believe in Him even though we do not see Him any more. Some people will find this very difficult to do!
Once you start believing and you see the world changing all around you, it is very easy to continue believing as we can see the proof. But there are some who will stop believing because they do not get their prayers answered on time, or because they do not think God is listening to them – hence they don’t believe He is there.
Even the Pharisees and the Sadducees were doubting Jesus because He was saying things they did not want to hear. They had grown too used to the power they had over people and they did not want to give that us to server the people as servants – rather they wanted to be in control of the people and not the other way round! Jesus came as our servant King; He is King, but He came as a servant to us!
Points to Ponder:
What does it take for you to believe?
Will you take God’s written word as the truth?
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April 7: Psalm 105:5-11
Key Verse: Psalm 105:10
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
Devotion:
There are so many places in the bible where we can ready about the promises made to the people of Israel including the one made to Abraham confirming he would be the father of a great nation. These stories had been told from generation to generation before we had books and computers and everything else we have nowadays; they were faithfully retold.
Some of this seem to have been lost by our modern society where we have computers and smart phones which remember everything for us; but what they don’t remember for us is the stories. Yes we can read the stories in our books and on our computers or phones, but that is not quite the same as telling those stories to someone else. When I started Christian youth work I began to see how amazing it is to be able to tell these stories to the next generation. Something I have missed over the last few years from being in hospital and recovery and then Covid lockdowns…
But God always seems to find a way we can tell His stories to others. I have grown to love writing these schisms knowing that there are people our there who do not agree with what I write, nevertheless I continue to write what I believe. The joy I get when someone responds to the words I have written or the passages I have referred to is something special.
We do need to remember the stories we read in the bible because God wants us to be able to pass these stories on to others – not just telling them they can read about it in the bible or passing on the words, but giving them to others with love and an open heart. I pass on these words because I know people read them and I pray they will get the same joy out of them as I get from writing them!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like telling stories?
When was the last time you told a bible story?
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April 6: Daniel 3:24-28
Key Verse: Daniel 3:28
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Devotion:
Have you ever sat around a camp fire and had to move away because the flames were getting too hot to sit next to? I can remember on particular fire where a lot of rubbish was being burned, including one office chair which had a aluminium stand. The chair material and cushions burned quickly, but the stand stood for a while until the flames got too hot, then it started to melt and dripped down deeper into the fire.
Watching metal melt like that makes you realise just how hot flames can be. A furnace normally burns at a very high temperature – let alone one which the king had commanded to be burned hotter than it had ever been before. And yet, when the three men were tied up and thrown into the fire, there were not consumed by the flame as everything else was being consumed!
Indeed there was a forth person standing in the fire with them, one whom apparently looked like a son of the gods. Quite how the could identify him as being a son of the gods is not described; but what we can know is the only one who could save them from a fire that hot would have to be someone whom God was looking after, just as He was looking out for the three men!
When we are willing to place our faith and trust in God, He will always surprise us by how much He is willing to do for us. No matter what we have done in our past or how much we think we don’t deserve anything, God is going to go above and beyond our imaginations to make sure our faith and trust in Him are rewarded, be it now or later, we will know He is watching over us!
Points to Ponder:
How many time have you been let down by people?
Will you put your trust in God who does not lie?
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April 5: Numbers 21:1-3
Key Verse: Numbers 21:3
The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.
Devotion:
When you read verses like these in your bible, what goes through your head? Do you think “how barbaric!” Do you think “how can they ask God to wipe out other people?” By modern standards we may well think of things like this, but we only have to look on our doorsteps to see how the world is continuing to act in these ways; take the war between Russia and Ukraine… In the West we may be thinking we are safe being away from everything, but we can see the repercussions hitting our economy and our lifestyles all around the world!
It is humankind who gets it all wrong and starts the wars. It is humankind who takes out their frustrations and hatred on other humans! It is not God who is doing this! We lift up our prayers to Him and He answers in the best way possible. We plead for safety; and the only safety may be retaliation. We plead for peace and the only peace may come after a full-blown war which shows the people the horrific side of hatred!
When we say we want to make a deal with God, He is going to keep us at our word. We have to be willing to carry out our promises or deals with Him. He is answering our prayers because we are the ones asking for these things. I have learned not to be over-zealous with my requests from God because I know He listen to me and I know He answers me. If I go ahead and ask for something terrible, I will have to live with the consequences of everything I have asked for.
God wants us to be aware of what we ask for and to always keep our hearts open to the people around us and not just ourselves. When Jesus reminded us to love one another, it did not mean love some people because they are nice to us – that does not spread peace, that causes wars!
Points to Ponder:
What do you ask from God?
Are you really willing to put up with the consequences?
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April 4: John 11:38-44
Key Verse: John 11:40
Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’
Devotion:
Can you imagine what was going through the people’s minds when Jesus told them to remove the stone which was laid across the tomb entrance? For them to act like they did, they must have known the smell of rotting flesh – something which does not leave you; much worse still when it is human flesh!
But it’s not about the morbid side of things I want us to think about now; the faith and belief in Christ is what I want us to remember. Before this moment, people were believing Jesus could heal them and do other miracles, but to bring a body back from the early stage of decomposition was something else – something they could not get their heads around.
When we see an obstacle in front of us which we can’t get our heads round, all belief crumbles and we start looking back to the physical word and science in general. What Jesus wanted everyone to see was the real power of God – power which could do the impossible, power which could go against what they though was scientifically impossible.
It does take a big step of faith on our behalf to believe in something like this. It takes a lot of faith because it is something we have never seen before. Jesus knew the limits of the hearts and minds of the people around Him, so He wanted them to see what true faith and belief could do. His faith in God the Father was absolute and He wants our faith to start to aim at heights like that too!
Points to Ponder:
What are the limits of your faith?
Are you willing to take an extra step of faith today?
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April 3: Isaiah 43:16-21
Key Verse: Isaiah 43:18
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
Devotion:
Here is one of those things which is said, you know it is true, but you have difficulty doing what it says! When we started up our youth ministry, we chose this section of passage because of the hope it gives us that we have something new to look forward to. It may not seem like it when you are in the think of trouble, but we can always look forward to something new. At the very least it is the new beginning we are going to receive in Heaven; but more often it is something just round the corner...
I have always had difficulty letting go of things in the past because, more often than not, I put everything into the present and hope for the future. Yes, very optimistic some will say, but after seeing how God answers prayers over and over again, I know I have always got something to look forward to – be it tomorrow or a decade from now!
When we are in troubled times, all we see is the trouble which surrounds us – like being at sea in a storm. All we can see is the next wave coming to crash into the boat. But when the waters are calm, we can see for miles in all directions! Our lives are going to be like this, sometimes it will be clear sailing and we will see everything in a beautiful light. Sometimes it will be as if we are in the middle of a storm and we see wave after wave and nothing more.
But, every storm will pass and once again the sea will be calm. It is during the calm times we need to continue focusing on God so we can steer towards the land in the distance. He wants to show us which direction to turn to, but we have to be willing to stop and listen. God is Good!
Points to Ponder:
Do you focus on the stormy season?
Will you look forward to the spring and summer instead?
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April 2: John 7:45-52
Key Verse: John 7:48
Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?
Devotion:
Just because someone does not do what you want and the way you want it done, doesn't make them wrong! All of us like to be in control of our own destiny, so we like to think we are in control of the things happening around us; which often means we want everything to go exactly as we want. When things don’t go according to our plan, we think of them as being wrong!
We don’t have to look very far to see this happening all around us nowadays. We can read about this in our bibles as people set about fighting each other just because they believed differently from each other. We can ready all throughout history how this has shaped and destroyed nations! We can watch it unfolding on our doorsteps in Europe today!
Jesus knew people would fight each other. He knew religious factions would fight each other. He knew the Pharisees would cause a lot of bother just because they wanted the people to follow the laws as described by them – how else would they stay in power and in control? This is the thing; when people sense power or control over others, they start overstepping the mark until they are no longer fully in control because the greed has taken over instead.
God wants us to hear the truth and to uphold the truth. He wants us to set aside the personal feelings and desires we have and try to ensure the truth is told first and foremost. When Nicodemus dared to support Jesus, the rest of the Pharisees shouted him down and supposed he was colluding with Jesus just because he said one thing in support of Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you uphold you own words, or support God’s words?
Will you set aside your desires and pick up the mantle to follow Christ?
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April 1: John 7:25-31
Key Verse: John 7:27
But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.
Devotion:
How many times have you been sure you knew the truth about something, only to find out a short while later what you knew was not quite right? The more we think we are sure the more we overlook the clues and the more we get entangled in the untruth! Jesus could see how confused the people were because they had become sure they would not know the Messiah – what they did not understand was they would not know where He really came from...
The people had got to know who Mary was and who Jesus was. He was the carpenters son, a human boy born to a mother outside of wedlock… or at least that is what they saw and focused on, leaving the truth out of the equation all together. They did not know the true Father of Jesus because they saw Joseph as the man.
Jesus started to allow people to see the truth; firstly by telling them here He was the Son of God in a round about way. If He had come out with the words, everyone would have tried to punish Him because it would have been seen as blasphemous! Jesus knew the time was not yet right for Him to open the people’s eyes to the absolute truth, so He slipped away while they were in disarray over the statement.
But the people who were willing to listen to the truth and accept it for what it was, saw something very special – they saw the man who was the Messiah, the Saviour who had come to save them once and for all. The people who believed in Jesus because to realise the extent of the miracles He was doing and the truth He was allowing them to hear.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get too tied up in life to stop and see the truth?
Will you take a moment to reflect of what Jesus is doing in your life?
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March 31: Psalm 106:19-23
Key Verse: Psalm 106:23
So he said he would destroy them - had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them.
Devotion:
Would you stand up and take the punishment for someone you love who had got themselves into trouble? I know most of us would try to do what we can to keep our friends from getting into trouble, but standing up and saying you are guilty instead of them takes a whole lot more courage and love.
When the Hebrew people started to make idols for themselves and worship them instead of God, it was Moses who stood up and was willing to bed God to forgive the people. God had every right to be upset with the people and even to take away everything He had given them – including their lives; but Moses was willing to stand up and ask God to give everyone another chance. Moses stood in the path of destruction so God would not take it out on the people!
When Jesus came to earth in human form, He was willing to stand up in front of the accusers and take on the punishment instead of us. We are the ones who have sinned and have done things wrong before God. Jesus did no wrong before God; yet He was still willing to stand up instead of us and take the full punishment which was death!
The Apostles learned through Jesus example this is what love is all about. They learned through the harshness of the death of Christ on the cross that love must not have any limits. They began to understand the full extent of the love God has for us all because Jesus showed them through example. Jesus wants us to be able to stand up and be counted for the love He has shared with us!
Points to Ponder:
How do you show people love?
Are you willing to stand up and declare your love for others?