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January 29: Mark 4:35-41
Key Verse: Mark 4:38
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’
Devotion:
When was the last time you questioned whether God was looking out for you because things just didn’t seem like He was! I know I have been there and have questioned whether God is watching over me, but spending a time in hospital a couple of years ago made me realise just how much He does care for me – despite all I do wrong!
When the disciples were trying to get across the water in the boat, they did not count on a bit of a storm popping up when they were half way across! You must remember some of them were fishermen who would have been used to bad weather, but they would also have kept an eye out for the weather and turned back to shore if they saw any approaching. So why did they get upset?
Not all of them were fishermen to start with. They were all concerned for the weather and yet Jesus was sleeping it off! It was not so much them being afraid of the weather, but the fact Jesus did not seem concerned at all. One flippant comment from one of them would have caused them all to start over thinking the situation. Just we we overthink things when one part goes wrong, they too were troubled by their own minds!
Jesus immediately calmed the storm and them as soon as He was woken. He was asleep because He totally trusted God would look after Him, no matter what! Sometimes we do lose focus on just who is in charge and who has the upper hand in our lives. If we are willing to give it to Christ and allow Him to look out for us, He will! That is what I found out in hospital. I could not do anything and the doctors had their doubts; but God didn’t!
Points to Ponder:
Do you doubt God’s watchful eye?
Will you stop to give God a chance?
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January 28: 2 Samuel 11:1-17
Key Verse: 2 Samuel 11:2
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman washing. The woman was very beautiful
Devotion:
This is written down in history so we can see we all have our issues and we all give in to temptation at some stage in our lives. King David is looked at as being the king who always sought God and set a good example for the people of Israel to follow… but he also had his own issues! David was tempted from seeing a beautiful woman washing and called for her to come to him. What the king says goes!
David sent someone to find out about the woman and then, despite knowing she was a married woman, still sent for her to come to him. He then proceeded to sleep with her and made her pregnant at that time. When he learned she was pregnant, he sent word for her husband, Uriah, to come back home to her in the hopes he would sleep with her. This would give him an excuse to say it was not him who made her pregnant.
However, Uriah did not want to take advantage of being in his home town to sleep in comfort at home whilst all his fellow soldiers were still camping out on their military campaign. That put David’s plans to no avail and he would not be able to cover up his deeds!
At this stage David was not willing to admit to anything and so went a stage further. He sent Uriah back to the front to serve in the most dangerous place he could be in the hopes he would be killed and not be able to complain about anything which happened back at home! We can look back and see how many opportunities David had to say no, admit to sinning and ask for forgiveness. Instead he went deeper and deeper until it ended with Uriah being killed!
Points to Ponder:
How far do you go when you know you are wrong?
Will you admit to being wrong before it becomes too late?
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January 27: Mark 4:21-25
Key Verse: Mark 4:25
Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.’
Devotion:
When we read some verses, we may get a bit scared by the words we read; but every part of the bible needs to be read in context and not as single verses by themselves. That would be like finding someone guilty of murder because they said “I’ll kill you” even when it was said as part of a story being told about someone else...
When we read how things can be taken away from us, we should get worried! Not for ourselves when we continue to follow Christ, but for people who have not yet heard about God! We have our bibles which contain so many facts about God, about Jesus and about the Holy Spirit. We can go over the words and meditate on them and be strong in our belief just because we have had the opportunity to hear these words…
But what about someone who has not yet heard about Christ? What about the person who has not yet had the chance of getting to know Him and what He can do for them. These verses are warning they may well lose more than they bargained for when the time comes for Christ to return. We can expect our faith to be bolstered by us reading the bible. We can find strength and direction when we know what God’s word says.
But for the people who don’t get to accept God’s word, there is not a lot to look forward to. When they reach their end of days, that is the last good thing they can have to look out for. We need to be aware of this so our time can be spent sharing God’s word and giving people hope in this otherwise hopeless world. They can look forward to receiving a whole lot more than just the words they hear or read...
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep God’s Word from others?
Will you encourage someone today to read God’s Word?
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January 26: Mark 4:13-20
Key Verse: Mark 4:19
but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Devotion:
I do like the fact Jesus had to carefully explain the parable of the sower to the disciples; I do find God’s Word hard to understand sometimes! The more we get to know our bibles by reading them and meditating on what we read, the more understanding grows in us. We may be totally confused the first time we read or hear it because it does not agree with what we learn from the world.
I can remember learning one version of history in my first year of high school, and then, two years later, I was told a different version because someone had uncovered the real truth and it had to be told. We may not like what we read in the bible sometimes, because we have learned something different in our lives. We may disagree with it at first, but because it is the truth, we need to stop and hear it!
Each of us are going to face the same truth in different ways. Some of us will turn away from that truth immediately because we think we know the real truth from what we have learned in our past. Some of us hear the truth and agree with it, but are persuaded very quickly to go back on what we said or heard. Others will hear it but the people around us will persuade us to follow what they say instead.
If we are the lucky few, we will hear the truth and we will believe it and keep that truth in our hearts. We will then be able to depend on that truth in the future and even tell the truth to others – the truth will grow.
We do need to listen out for the truth and we need to stop and understand when we hear the truth, take it in and keep it in our hearts and minds.
Points to Ponder:
Do you struggle with hearing the truth?
Will you allow Christ to give you an insight into His Truth?
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January 25: Matthew 19:27-30
Key Verse: Matthew 19:30
But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
Devotion:
Christ may ask us to go further than we have imagined, but He does not do it without knowing He can reward us when the time comes. This is not to say we need to know the rewards before we step forward and do something for God – that is simply us working for rewards, the same as any earthly job or position.
God separates our work from the world because He does not want us to work for rewards; it is a fine between what we do for God’s rewards and what we do because we love God – at least that is how we see things because we live in this world where we have to work for a living. God does not want us to do the work because we will get rewards at some stage. He wants us to do the work because we love Him. He is rewarding us because He loves us!
Jesus was giving the disciples some reassurance they were not going to have everything taken away from them; they had left everything of their world behind. It wasn’t the best of worlds they left behind, but it was a world they had lived in all their lives. To give that up and follow a human who was claiming to be the Messiah was a pretty bold step for them. Jesus was giving them the reassurance they needed to continue stepping out in faith.
If we are willing to take the first step out in faith, Christ is willing to give us the reassurance we need to continue stepping forward in faith. It may not be obvious, like the disciples new life did not have an obvious goal, but Christ will give us what we need to keep on moving forward with Him in faith. He does not expect us to “walk off a cliff” and expect to live. He will show us how we can live before we step off the cliff.
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to uphold your faith in Christ?
Will you listen to Him to find out what he has for you?
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January 24: Psalm 89:19-27
Key Verse: Psalm 89:21
My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.
Devotion:
These words at the beginning of this section of scripture may make you ask questions when you read it at first: David is described as being mighty when when he was chosen from the sons of Jesse. But we also read about him being the ruddy one who was looking after the sheep and not one who had gone to serve king Saul in the army!
Depending on which translation you read, different words are used to try and translate these words into our modern English; but all of them refer to David as being mighty or strong at the time. What God was referring to may not have been the present day when David was anointed, but what God would make of him during his time as leader of Israel. It goes on to say this was pointing to the future as David would grow into his position, how he would lead and how he would overcome so many obstacles too.
God is not limited by time or any other worldly limitation we care to impose on Him; no matter how impossible we may think the situation is, nothing is impossible for God! He is not limited to time like we are and certainly does not have to limit His words or thoughts to the timespans we think of when we talk about things.
When God asks something of you, don’t think about the obstacles or the lack of time, rather think about the possibilities which are opened up when God is in control! We really do need to submit to Him in everything – something I have learned the hard way over the years I have spent serving Him, some of which were spent in a pretty rough state in hospital. Ask Him to open you eyes and your heart to the things which are possible, and probably not probable!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you doubt because of lack of time or money?
Will you allow God to open up the improbable possibilities in your life?
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January 23: 1 Corinthians 12:12-20
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 12:15
Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
Devotion:
This section of scripture goes down as far as verse 31, but I think you get the picture after the first few verses… We are all very different. It is not just our finger-prints or our DNA which makes us stand apart from anyone else; God created us to be different in so many ways. The people of Israel had a very different picture to how we look at people nowadays, they were taught they were selected by God to be separate from others.
The more time went on, the more they separated themselves from others; each time they mixed with other people, things started to go wrong… not because they were mixing with others per say, but because they started to live like the other people instead of continuing to live as God wanted them to live. We face this all the time in our modern world, but the more we get involved with the Internet and world-wide travel, the more we realise we are all the same underneath.
But still we are different. God wants us to live differently from the world. He wants us to live with Him at the centre of our lives and not the riches of the world being what keeps us going! Just because we are different from someone else who goes to church, does not mean we will not fit in at that church or with other Christians!
Just because we like to read a different translation of the bible does not set us apart from God any better or worse than other translations. As long as we seek the truth which is God given, we will continue to live for Him and give Him the glory. This is all He asks of us. We are all people in God’s church. One church with Christ at the centre.
Points to Ponder:
Do you see yourself as different from the next church down the road?
Will you turn and give God the glory just like the heavens do?
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January 22: Psalm 80:1-6
Key Verse: Psalm 80:6
You have made us an object of derision to our neighbours, and our enemies mock us.
Devotion:
As a Christian who loves to step forward and help out whenever I can, I can relate to these words from personal experience! Sometimes doing a little goes a long way and huge rewards come from that little amount of work, whilst other times you feel like you are going far and beyond what would normally be required just for a little reward – or even no reward!
This is where many Christians fall short because they expect the rewards from what little they are able to do and they want the rewards as soon as they have done anything! From experience, I know this is not the case; not because God does not want us to have the rewards but because we live in a wicked world where other things are in play as well as our work for God.
I have found there is not always the time or need for a reward for the work you do with or for God. Sometimes it is enough that we are able to do the work at all. When we are working in a world in which we are surrounded by evil, we have to put up with a whole lot of opposition from the people around us just because we dare to do something different to them!
God wants us to be the lights in dark places – which means we are going to come up against many things as we work for God. This will be opposition, hard times, not enough time, not enough money, all manner of things. But we must continue to do what God is asking of us and not to give in to what the world is telling us is not possible or not allowed. God wants us to be the difference. God wants us to be the change. God knows how much we can put up with and does ask a lot of us at times – but he is always there to help us in those times!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like giving up?
Can you remember how much Jesus had to do?
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January 21: Mark 3:13-19
Key Verse: Mark 3:13
Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.
Devotion:
Jesus personally chose the twelve disciples. I think many people would have been trying to follow Jesus at the time and, as the custom at that time, they would call Him teacher and do whatever He said so they could learn as much as possible. They, and many more, had seen Him drive out demons, heal people and would come to see people being brought back to life! This is the power He wanted the disciples to have – but He knew they would not achieved their full potential because of their doubts.
Jesus had no doubt about who He was and how much could be accomplished by God. He depended fully on His Father so others would see how they too could get this power from God – as long as they would acknowledge it coming from God and not anything they were doing.
This is the power He shared with them, and taught them to use. This is the type of power He wants us to be able to share in too – not because He has chosen us to be His personal disciples, but because He is giving us power through us being dependent on Him. If we continue to listen and obey, He will continue to listen to our prayers and answer them. This is where the power of healing and authority comes from – not because we are special in any way, but because we ask God to do this.
Even though Jesus chose these twelve people, one of them would turn their back on Jesus and betray Him. Jesus knows not all of us are going to do all we can, because we do have doubts and we do give in to temptations. But He still offers us the same position as those He knows will go all the way with Him. He gives us all equal chance to ask Him to answer our prayers!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you doubt your prayers will be answered?
Will you remember Jesus chose you?
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January 20: 1 Samuel 18:6-9
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 18:7
As they danced, they sang: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.’
Devotion:
After David had killed Goliath, there was no longer any doubt God could accomplish much more than man could alone. The people started to sing and dance celebrating the fact David was able to accomplish what none of the greatest soldiers could do – just because he trusted God! But Saul, on the other hand, took it very personally people were singing more about David than him!
Once people have tasted strength and power, no matter how they have gain said power and strength, have a greedy thirst for that power unless they fully acknowledge where they get the power from. This strength and power may not be to go forward and beat great armies, it could just be to be able to run an effective business. God is the one who has given us the intelligence and foresight to do many things and if we are willing to acknowledge it comes from Him, then we will see greater success than if we try to do things ourselves.
David lifted up God instead of himself. He refused the earthly armour and took God with him. He put aside the powers of man and took up what God had given him, a simple slingshot and a few stones. He depended on the things God had taught him, preparing him for the moment he would face the Philistine alone.
If we are willing to depend on the things God has given us and not focus on the worldly treasures we think we need, we may well find much more strength at the right moment, just when it is needed. I do try to rely more on God and I do try to listen to Him as much as I can. I still get distracted and I still make wrong choices from time to time, but when I have made the right choice to give the praise and honour to God, I find things do go a lot smoother.
Points to Ponder:
Do you trust yourself and your ways?
Will you try trust God’s ways?