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February 25: James 5:9-12
Key Verse: James 5:9
Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
Devotion:
I wonder if you have ever said something to a friend about another person only to find they are standing right behind you! I know I have put my foot in it many times, so nowadays I try to not say things about others – but still we get caught up in gossip...
Jesus did not go round talking about people behind their backs – if there was something to be said, He would say it to their faces because they needed to hear it. Unfortunately for us, our minds play havoc with us and we start imagining stuff which is not true, ending up believing the untruths and falling into the trap of gossiping about others because of what we have heard and not because it is true!
One of the earliest passages in our bibles is believed to be the book of Job. In that book we hear of the jealous workings of the evil one who wants to trip someone up. The evil one says God is looking after Job too much and protecting him from everything; he surmises that if he were able to hurt Job, he would turn against God. This did not happen. Job was willing to put up with terrible things which happened to him and continued trusting in God even though he lost so much.
God rewarded him later with blessing which far outweighed the blessings he had before and took away the angst he had because of the things which happened. God wants to be able to protect us all the time and comfort us in every part of our lives. Unfortunately, we live in a world filled with evil and we are influenced by the world. We cannot help but be caught up in some of the terrors of this world, like dictators and tyrants who rule with fear and deceit instead of with honesty and truth.
Points to Ponder:
Do you allow the world to unduly influence you?
Will you ask God to influence you more than the world can?
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February 24: Mark 9:42-48
Key Verse: Mark 9:43
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.
Devotion:
For the longest time I used to think these verses were horrible and unloving in some way; but they show us true love in a way instead! When we are tempted, we give in and go off to do something else wrong in our lives. The more we do things wrong, the more easily we seem to be turned away from righteousness and the more we give in to the things we should not.
When Jesus was teaching the disciples, His words may have seemed harsh at the time, but they were there to lead the disciples into the best path forward; sometimes that path is not the nice easy path we think of in our lives, but the hardest way we think forward. Jesus wanted the disciples to know we have a choice and the choice is what will set us free. We can choose to continue following the things which get us into trouble, or we can choose to turn away from them.
If it is something dear in our lives (illustrated here by body parts) which is causing us to stumble and turn away from God, then should we continue to depend on that or should we turn away from it? Sometimes, cutting it out of our lives all together is the only way forward because we are so dependant on our old ways. God wants to set us free, but we do have to make the choice to want freedom from our sins.
Some religions have taken these words too literally and they will cut off your hand when you use it to commit a sin. God does not want us to chop all our body parts off which are getting us into trouble – He wants us to see the issue we have and turn away from those sins to live a better life with Him. It is our choice!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get into trouble a lot?
Are you willing to turn away from that part of your life?
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February 23: Mark 9:38-40
Key Verse: Mark 9:40
‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’
Devotion:
I wonder, have you ever been told to stop doing something just because you were not the right person to do it, or the wrong sex or even race? Too many times in our lives we see all manner of discrimination and we put up with much of it because it has always been so! Well, things have not changed much for thousands of years, and I doubt they will change much until people start accepting each other for what we are: God’s Family!
The disciples tried to stop someone from driving out demons just because the person doing so was not one of them! We may think of this as arrogant or belittling in some way, but the truth is much simpler than that – the disciples thought they had some sort of monopoly because they were the one Jesus was teaching directly!
We cannot be like this as Christians! Just because we are not the ones who were initially chosen by Jesus to be His disciples, does not mean we cannot do what they were told to do. If we stand up and try to do things like that just because we want to be recognised as a healer or speaker or whatever, does not give us the right to do things… what does give us the right is if we are willing to ask God to do these things because we are asking in the name of Jesus!
If we are sincere and we are asking in Jesus’ name… and we are willing to give all the glory to God, then we can expect to be able to do things like the disciples were able to. Don’t forget that God can see right through any pretence we may put up; He sees inside our hearts to see if we are genuinely trying to heal someone and give the glory to God! The same can be said for the person sitting next to you!
Points to Ponder:
Do you acknowledge God for whom He is?
Will you give God a chance to do something with you?
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February 22: James 4:1-3
Key Verse: James 4:3
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Devotion:
How many times have you asked God for something and never seemed to have your prayers answered? Who are you deceiving? Because of our different lives, friends, enemies and the way we live, each of us has desires within us which continue to grow until they are satisfied in some manner. When they do not get satisfied, we long more and more until we take steps we would not normally take just to satisfy ourselves.
Our problem is God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows the desires we have and the situations we are going to put ourselves in when we don’t get what we want. He also knows what is best for us and will not give in to our petty wants when there is something more pressing or greater for us ahead.
We do things we ought not to because we don’t have what we want. We covet things more when we cannot have them. The wants and desires grow inside of us and spill over as such things as greed and pride – none of which is good for us in any manner. When we don’t have it we grow quarrelsome and stubborn, our feelings spilling over in ways we don’t want them to – because we are giving in to the world instead of including God in our lives.
Most of the time we lose out on things because we don’t ask God. We don’t listen and we don’t obey. When we do get things we waste them on frivolous spending or use; we don’t know any better because we are not listening out for God in all parts of our lives. We need to trust in our Lord more and listen to Him more...
Points to Ponder:
What desires get you in trouble?
Will you ask God to guide you in the right direction instead?
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February 21: Psalm 119:65-72
Key Verse: Psalm 119:67
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.
Devotion:
What does it take before you start believing someone? Do things have to go wrong before you heed their warnings? Do you have to fall flat on your face before you realise you need help? Unfortunately the answer is “probably” for many of us because we cannot seem to have faith in what we say we believe in!
We have so many places in our bibles where we learn how people have had to have something wrong, typically drastic circumstances, before they start believing in what someone told them or what God has asked of them! I know I fall into that category… I used to think my faith was strong and many people would comment on me being faithful and trusting God – but when I was close to dying in hospital a few years ago, my faith was tested and found wanting!
But God put the right people in the right places at the right time for me to find strength in what faith I had and to allow it to grow further than it had been before! God knows the right time and place and He certainly will not allow us to fall flat on our faces if He knows we will not endure. Yes, it was hard, yes it was fearful, yes I did doubt, but God made sure I would come out the other side and know Him as a very close and personal God!
When we get used to things going the right way, we may well become complacent and expect God to continue supporting us all the time; He may be waiting for the right moment for us to see how much strength He has given us to weather the storm! When things are rough, we can become calloused and think we have to do it alone; but God may be waiting for us to pass the ball into His court for the final volley!
Points to Ponder:
Do you always trust God?
Will you trust Him to do what is right?
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February 20: Luke 8:22-25
Key Verse: Luke 8:24
The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’ He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.
Devotion:
What does it take before you ask God for help? Do you carry on with life until something goes wrong? We can learn so much from the mistakes the disciples made, but we ignore many of the warning signs and the commandments God gave us, carrying on with our lives until we hit a dead-end or until something goes wrong!
Jesus tried to get the disciples to live with Him, trusting Him and having the faith to entrust God with their lives. It is hard to do when all we have known is looking after ourselves, or trusting in no-one because we have been hurt! Jesus wants us to put aside those earthly feelings and ways, entrusting our lives to God and being willing to listen to and obey Him for everything.
It seems easy to carry on with life when everything is going smoothly, when we seem to be in control of our lives; but these are the times when God wants us to realise we have this all because of Him! If we are willing to trust Him more, He is willing to entrust more in our hands – not because we are the capable ones, but because we are willing to work with Him in our lives.
When, or if, you go to church today, listen to the words from the scripture, listen to the words the leader is telling you. Meditate on those words and ask yourself why did God want you to hear them today. It’s because He wants you to know He is with you and listening to everything you do and say in your life. He wants to be a part of your everyday life and not just the cornerstone when we are falling apart!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you take everything to God?
Will you ask Him to be a part of your every-day life?
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February 19: James 3:1-10
Key Verse: James 3:5
Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
Devotion:
Have you ever said the wrong thing and wondered why someone got so upset when you thought it was a simple mistake? We all make silly mistakes at times and sometimes we do not think of the effect that can have on them. There are times when we cannot help what we do because we have no choice; these may be seen just as bad as the things we have a choice in and we will feel bad about them too...
The apostle gives us a few things to think about in what he says – the point being a little thing in your life may be something big in someone else’s life so we should be thinking about what we say and do and how it may affect others. Words may seem small and insignificant to you, but the mindset of another person may take that as being life-changing in some way… so how do we avoid upsetting people?
God wants us to think about others before we do or say things to them. If we know them and we intentionally say something out of order, we are not just upsetting them but also God as He watches over us. We can control our pets or other animals through training and taming them, but when it comes to a friends tongue, nothing we do can tame what they may say; but God can change their hearts to tame their thoughts and hence their tongues.
But the tongue can be used for so many good things as well. We can use it to praise and worship our God. We can uplift and cheer our friends. We can recount God’s scripture to others. We can do so much more good; but one word can break it all down and ruin someone's life in a few seconds. Think before you gossip. Pray and worship more often!
Points to Ponder:
How do you thin you go with what you say to others?
How does God see what you say?
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February 18: James 2:14-17
Key Verse: James 2:16
If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
Devotion:
What sort of person are you? Are you the type who will step forward and help out without thinking about yourself? Are you the type who will trust others and believe what they say? Do you keep to yourself so as not to get hurt by people who don’t stick to their word? We are all very different people and yet we all are required in order for society to exist in a balanced manner.
Just as we all need each other to live with others, we also have to have lots of different parts to ourselves in order to live with ourselves. If we focus everything on studies, we lose track of real life and we end up going into a world unprepared for reality. If we focus everything on the world, we may well miss out on finding out enough to succeed in life.
Just as we are physically, so are we spiritually. We each have our different needs and desires in our spiritual lives. If we focus everything on the laws given to the people of Israel through Moses, we may end up living a life full of laws and devoid of the real love God wants us to know and share. If we focus everything on Christ we will miss out on the relevance of the law written in the ancient scriptures and wonder why Jesus did what he did.
God wants us to live a balanced life with Him, not just believing what Christ did, what God did in our past or what the Holy Spirit does now. We need to exercise our faith and live out the law given to us. This means reaching out to others and allowing the love Christ shared with us to overflow in our lives for others to see. This means not just believing but obeying and stepping forward as disciples, willing to do what Christ commands and not just hear it and tell it...
Points to Ponder:
Do you read and believe your bible?
Do you do what the bible says?
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February 17: James 2:1-4
Key Verse: James 2:1
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism.
Devotion:
If you are like me, then you struggle with these verses on a regular occasion! We all are swayed at some stage by riches of this world and we tend to judge people according to those riches whether we like it or not. We know it is not right, yet we do still treat people differently just by the way they look or by their family backgrounds! The sooner we recognise the faults we have, the sooner we can work with them instead of allowing them to dictate your life without you thinking about it.
Jesus came into this world as King of Kings, Lord of Lords; yet He chose to be born into a family where controversy was there to start with and where He would have to start His life as a carpenter to make ends meet for the family. He chose this because this is how God planned things and needed things to happen.
We do not know God’s plans, but we do know what He has asked of us and we should be taking special note of those commands. We have many examples of the way people have acted in our bibles and the things which have gone wrong because of the way they acted. We have been told about the amazing things Jesus was able to do because of His open love to all of us, a love which did not show favouritism!
This does not mean it is easy to follow that example set by Him. It is hard and we are warned by the apostles we need to take care not to be swayed by our favouritism toward people who do not match up with our ideals in life. Jesus was able to show His love toward us even though we have done so many things wrong and worked against Him. He has shown us the way to love openly!
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to be friends with people you don’t like?
Is Jesus asking you to be friends, or just to love them?
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February 16: James 1:19-27
Key Verse: James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Devotion:
One of the biggest problems many of us seem to have is to speak before thinking about what we are going to say! Whether it is out of anger, distress, or some other feeling, we tend to say things we know we ought not to because we are not thinking about it first! Jesus warned the disciples many times to not gossip and say things which will upset others just because we want to say something or in retaliation to something said by someone else.
We should try to follow the example set by Jesus who did not make a habit of getting angry about what others did or said. Yes, it can be very hard when we are upset by what others do or say, but if we take the time to form a proper response we are going to get a lot further with our response than shouting out of turn! This does not mean Jesus never got angry! He did. But He got angry for the right reasons and the response was always righteous.
All these things are written down and given to us in our bibles. These are the words and sayings of God and of Jesus and of the righteous people God chose to write them down. They are there so we can take notice of them – not just to listen to them and go off to do what we like, but to listen and obey them… to do what the bible says!
Sometimes it is easy to forget words, but much harder to forget things we see. God wants us to take notice of the words He has given us. God wants us to learn them and not to forget them. He wants us to live by them and to follow what He has commanded and said. These are the words we should think about before we go off to gossip or retaliate. Allow God to guide your responses.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you keep God in your response?
Will you try to include Him more in your life?