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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?
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March 30: Proverbs 3:5-7
Key Verse: Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
Devotion:
How many times have you tried to fix something your own way and had it go terribly wrong – making the situation worse than before? Sometimes I think I must attract bad situations in life because they just seem to happen. Then I remember how much God is watching over me and the comfort comes back. So what is this all about?
Living in this world means we have to sometimes put up with what happens in this world. It can be a tyrant invading another country or it can simply be a rain shower as you are walking home. Bad things do happen in life and the more we dwell on those things and those times, the more we will focus on them and the more down we get because we think it is all going terribly wrong!
It is normally just life happening around us – both the good and the bad. We have to go through the same things as the people around us. But God may well be walking with us through these tough times and may be the one giving us the strength to walk forward and not get bogged down in it all.
Whatever happens in life, we can always turn to God and get comfort from Him. No matter how rough and tough things get, we can always find rest with God. It may only be spiritual rest and not physical rest, but you will find that spiritual rest is worth more than the physical rest at the end of the day. Don’t try to analyse everything and set it all right according to your own rules – allow God time to work the spiritual things out in your life too.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get confused with life?
Have you let God take control recently?
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March 29: Psalm 94:1-3
Key Verse: Psalm 94:3
How long, Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?
Devotion:
How often have you wondered why the wicked people seem to gain so much in this world? Have you asked the question “how long will they get away with it?” At the moment I am asking this question of the Russian president just as I have asked the question of other tyrants in our world.
When I was reading these verses the one thing which struck me was the fact we always ask these questions as if they belonged only in our time-line. We have a finite life-span and we expect answers to our question while we are still around to think of them; we don’t look at the bigger picture which God is doing! When we look back on the Hebrew people spending so much time in the desert, we try to measure the time based on our ideas.
God was concerned about the people, the generation of people who had continued to doubt Him time and time again. He was not looking at how many days, weeks, month or years it would take, but the generation of people. When we start asking questions of God, we should be willing to allow God to answer in the time-scales He is used to working in. When we ask God to let the wicked come to justice, our prayers have already been answered!
The evil will not inherit the kingdom of God. What is ahead for these people is a time and place we cannot imagine in our worst nightmares. They will be facing the most evil they have brought into the world and they will be facing it for eternity! We may face the evil for a while on earth, but God is looking after us and will take us to be with Him in heaven just as He has promised; not so for those who deal in evil...
Points to Ponder:
How long before you give up praying against evil?
Will you continue to pray against evil and allow God to deal with it?
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March 28: Exodus 2:11-14
Key Verse: Exodus 2:12
Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
Devotion:
How many times have you wondered why God has chosen you to do the things you do? How many times have you thought you were not worthy enough to do anything for God? How many times have you surmised you are not good enough to be chosen by God? Well, let us look at this moment in time when Moses was not all he seemed to be...
Moses had been saved from certain death by women who felt sorry for a young child. He grew up in a privileged position when he was supposed to be put to death. He learned all manner of things when he should have been just another poor person from a slave family. But God chose him before he did anything wrong.
Moses went out to see the plight of his own people and came across an Egyptian beating up a Hebrew, one of his own people. Instead of doing what other Egyptians would do and look away, he got involved. He checked to see if anyone was watching, thinking nobody was, he killed the Egyptian to save his fellow Hebrew. This went terribly wrong because this act encouraged another Hebrew to beat up his fellow men.
God chose Moses. He then watched on as Moses committed a grave sin. He then watched on as the earthly the consequences of what Moses had done caught up with Moses. But God did not banish Moses; He had already chosen Moses and knew it would be Moses who would be able to save the Hebrew people. God would continue to protect Moses before encouraging him to do something outrageous – to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt under God’s protection.
Points to Ponder:
Do you wonder if you are good enough?
Do you not see God can choose anyone?