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Jun 10: Matthew 5:1-12
Key Verse: Matthew 5:12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Devotion:
I do like being reminded about how God looks after us in the storms in our lives. I may not have been through many of the storms others have been through, but ever time I have had to face hardships, illness and death, I know God has been with me and has been holding my hand. The comfort this gives me goes beyond our normal understanding of friendship and love as humans!
Jesus came to live amongst mankind so He could show them a new love which would go beyond their dreams. Mankind has a short memory in comparison to the world God created and we tend to measure things up against each other all the time. God measures things up against the truth and against His love for us with His grace covering all our issues we go through in life.
When Jesus was telling the disciples these words which we now know as the Beatitudes, He was giving them and us a glimpse into the love of God. No matter what state we are in, how far we are from Him and how desperate our situations are in life, we should always know God is with us every step of the way. We may not see it at the time because we may be too focused on life and hardships, but He is there and with us, blessing us when we are willing to stop and listen...
Points to Ponder:
Are you too busy in life to stop and listen?
Will you spend a few minutes today just listening out for God?
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Jun 9: 1 Samuel 8:4-9
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 8:7
And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
Devotion:
I think this is one of the saddest portions of scripture we can read… the point where God tells the one who is listening to Him how the people are rejecting God… Often when we try to reach out to people about God we get rejected simply because people are too caught up in the world and what it has to offer to see their real needs in life. It is not that they are rejecting us, but that they are rejecting Christ as their King!
We can see how people get caught up in sports and go out of their way to reach a spots match just to see their team, but they will not go out of their way to find a church where they can meet with God. People all around the world get caught up in upholding their country, their leaders and their ways of life instead of upholding a decent way of living. Too few countries promote living together in peace and love!
Jesus tried hard to get people to see they were intentionally breaking down the right way of living by promoting their own self-imposed ways or promoting themselves instead of the love and grace of God. We see this all around us in our modern world too.
We should not take it personally in thinking people are rejecting us, but we should take it personally for Christ because they are rejecting Him. Some may say they are not, but they are choosing a way of life which excludes Christ as Lord and King of us all...
Points to Ponder:
Do you promote Christ as your leader?
How often do you promote sports or other leaders?
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Jun 8: Mark 12:38-40
Key Verse: Mark 12:39
and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets.
Devotion:
One of the things I dislike about ‘church institutions’ is all of the red tape which is imposed on the people who want to meet with Christ. I know there has to be safeguards in place to ensure the power given and enjoyed by church leaders does not corrupt them or give them to doing bad things, but for those who want to promote Christ and share the gospel, there should be open forums by which they can do this…
You may say the public spaces are free forums where people can share the gospel, and they are, but are not our churches public places where we should be able to share the truth about Christ? Many churches impose very strict rules and regulation about who can share the gospel in their temples and places of worship which is not what I see when I read about the places where Jesus would meet to share about His Father!
There are countries where the only people allowed to preach are those who have been authorised by the country! To them I say, my authority comes from Christ and I share what I know from what has been shared with me during my life.
God wants us to be able to reach out to those who are in need to not only lessen their burdens but also to guide them in the truth Jesus shared with everyone He met. Jesus warn about those who pray on the needy to gain access to their inheritance or last worldly possession. Jesus does not want us to go after possession, but after souls instead.
Points to Ponder:
When you look for someone to join you at church, what do you look for?
Have you tried to look into people’s heart lately?
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Jun 7: Mark 12:35-37
Key Verse: Mark 12:37
David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
Devotion:
Have you noticed Jesus did not always say things which were expected of Him? He would challenge people in what they thought and how they interpreted the Torah. Do you just read the bible and accept it for what it is? Do you read it and think of it as a guide book? Do you read it and think of it as a list of suggestions which may or may not work?
We each have our different ways of looking at the bible and God knows what we think in our hearts. We will come up against people who think differently people who will try to trip us up through the way the words appear in our languages… What we should be doing is thinking about what the words are as they are written down and wondering why they were written the way they were.
The bible is a God-inspired writing from many people all trying to explain what they gained from God. We will often find it difficult to explain exactly what we feel about God’s Word because our lives are different from other’s lives, so we take the words differently as we read them. We relate to things differently based on our experiences.
When I describe a problem I face in my computer job I don’t always look at it the same way as a person who uses the software I write because they are expecting something different… Take time to talk with God and try to understand things from His point of view and not just your way!
Points to Ponder:
How often have you explained something wrong?
How often have you heard something different about your favourite bible verse?
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Jun 6: Mark 12:28-34
Key Verse: Mark 12:28
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
Devotion:
Are you one to listen to what your boss has to say and blindly go off and do what they want, or do you question what they ask to make sure you do what is best for the company? Yes it is a loaded question because if we do one thing we can get into trouble and if we do the other we can still get into trouble… Life is full of instances like this and we have to accept people are people who change their minds!
God, on the other hand, does not change and continues to want what is best for everyone. We don’t have to blindly accept whatever He says and go off to do things. If we do that we may never understand what He is asking of us. He wants us to understand why we do the things we do.
Here the Gospel writer saw a teach of the law questioning Jesus because he saw Jesus had given an answer which was good and may not have agreed with what he had been taught all his life! We need to question things in our lives so we can align our ways with Christ’s ways to live a better life with Him.
God will always make time to show you why things happen the way they do. We need to make time to stop and talk with Him, not just talk but listen too. God wants to explain things if we are willing to listen and learn!
Points to Ponder:
Do you stop and listen to God?
Do you know what God wants of your life?
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Jun 5: 2 Timothy 1:6-12
Key Verse: 2 Timothy 1:11
And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.
Devotion:
What do you do when things go wrong in your life? Do you complain constantly o shut down and crawl into a proverbial cave? I know what sort of person I am but I also know God continues to be with me every step of the way – especially when things are going wrong or when people seem to be bent on doing things against me!
God has always got you back and will continue to love and support you no matter what goes on in life. If we can remember that and continue to thank Him even when things are going wrong, then we will come out with a few things: A stronger relationship with Christ. A better understanding of what God wants in our lives. A new way of looking at problems which we face daily!
As we read through some of the things which happened to the apostles and disciples, we find out they were working against a sect of people who had all but obtained power through dishonest means. They continued to spread the truth and tried to show people they were willing to continue with that truth no matter what would happen to them. They were doing this because they knew God was on their side and knew it was what God wanted.
Working for God often makes it seem like we are working against the whole world – it is just because the world does not yet understand what God wants. We need to tell them!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you react to bad things in life?
How often do you walk with God when those things happen?
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Jun 4: Psalm 90:1-9
Key Verse: Psalm 90:6
In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.
Devotion:
Life is too short to have to worry about everything which is happening in our lives. Our life span is but a grain of dust in the grand scheme of things, especially when you listen to the scientists as they try to figure out more and more about how the earth came into being!
Ours is to trust Christ and to wait for what He gives us after we have spent a while on earth trying to figure things out. If we make it to the end with a firm belief He has been the one in control all along, we will surely find out how special things can be when we do trust Him!
God wants us to be able to enjoy life as best we can, but He also does not want us to lead any other people astray by walking away from Him. He will come along and ‘water the grass’ to try and keep it green. He will tend to our needs and watch over us, feeding us when we need to be fed and trimming us when we need it too.
By trusting Him we are saying “Here I am, use me!” so He can then allow someone else to come along and see just how green life can be on the other side of the fence. We may not realise how much of a difference we can make in other’s lives until we get to meet them in Heaven and see how we changed something small which led to their life-changing event! Be the change...
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like you want to make a difference?
Have you tried changing something small in your life first?
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Jun 3: Mark 12:1-12
Key Verse: Mark 12:5
He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
Devotion:
I woke up a little early this morning and wondered what had changed in my life to make me stop writing these devotionals each morning… So I got up and started again! Only to find the verses this morning simply saying to me “My Grace is sufficient!”
God will always be by your side and His Grace really is all we need. He will allow us to have a rest and allow us to take time out, but when He thinks the time is right to get you back on your feet – He is there and gives you a little nudge. Sometimes the nudge He gives you will make you feel uncomfortable so you take a moment to think things through and other times the nudge is just what you need to gently get back in the saddle to continue the journey with Him in your life.
This morning my nudge was to get me back in the saddle and share my love for Him with you all once again. It is not going to be a ‘Big Bang’ event which will shake the earth and change everyone’s lives, but a little ripple in the pond which will change someone’s life some way down the track – even if it is only my life it changed!
This parable about the vineyard owner who got the ‘tenants from hell’ who went against everything the land owner had entrusted them with. We must expect to meet people like that in our lives every now and again, but we should keep God with us and move on to the next chapter knowing His Grace is sufficient and His ways is always the best way...
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like you have reached the end?
Will you take a step of faith with Christ today?
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March 18: Psalm 23:1-6
Key Verse: Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
Devotion:
One of the hardest things to do is to find the good in something when you are surrounded by bad things! Most of the time we will not see the good until we look back on the times we had and see where the Lord has worked wonders in our lives; even then it can be hard to see what God has been doing because we focus on the things which we can see or those which gain our attention.
I love the words of this Psalm because it show what we should always be thinking – God has got our backs and He continues to watch over us in every walk in life. My last words with my Dad before he passed were us knowing he was in the very best hands possible and how he could finally stop chasing his tail.
No matter how dark and oppressive things get in our minds, we should be able to lift our heads and know Christ is walking with us. No matter how much we think we are failing, God is helping us up and giving us a hand to complete the task in front of us.
As long as we are willing to work for God and to serve Him in whatever way we can, He will keep His promise to us to never leave us or forsake us. He will be our strength when we need it, our guide when we are lost and our comforter through the roughest seas in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you give things to God?
How often do you try to take things back?
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March 17: Romans 5:12-21
Key Verse: Romans 5:13
To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.
Devotion:
Have you ever wondered why the world seems to be getting worse? Have you ever looked back and thought “it wasn’t as bad back when I was younger?” We can blame things on the world, people, television, the Internet and anything else we can think of, but the fact is this is all down to us – human beings! We were given the free choice to choose the path we walk, and we have done something wrong somewhere along the way.
The more we try to cover things up, the worse things become because of the lies we have to tell to try and cover things up. The more we dig, the deeper the hole becomes. And all of this is because we keep choosing the wrong path.
God has shown us where we have gone wrong by giving us some rules to follow. Once we see the rules have been broken, we can then choose to change… if we want… The problem seems to be we keep choosing the wrong path.
God has also told us the penalty for choosing the wrong path. He has told us what the punishment for breaking the rules and He continues to warn us… Now is the time we have to make an active choice to either turn our backs on sin or continue down this path of self destruction!
Points to Ponder:
What path have you chosen in your life?
Will you listen to God and try turn your life around?