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December 17: Psalm 98:4-6
Key Verse: Psalm 98:4
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;
Devotion:
After asking the question “why do you go to church,” let’s look at what you do when you are at church. Now, depending on where you go to church and what denomination and various other human traits we care to list, your church service may be very different to mine. I know I have been in a variety of places of worship where people are required to do various things, whilst at others they are encouraged to do things, and even some where almost anything goes!
I put it to you the relationship you have with God will dictate what you do in church. You may be very scared of God because He is all powerful and you may not wish to do anything other than listen intently to the priest for everything; whatever you do, do it because of your relationship with God and not because of other people!
One of the way I like to express my love for God is by singing or making joyful sounds. Since I was in hospital with various things shoved down my throat in ICU, my voice has not been quite the same. I work from home most of the time so I don’t get to speak too often, which also means my voice doesn’t get used enough or exercised! So don’t ask me to sing out too loudly at the moment or I may scare people away! But I can still make sure others get to hear things by operating the PA system…
It is what we do for and with others which counts; not so much what we do for ourselves or how we can get to please ourselves. This should be about doing what you can for God in His place of worship. This is our time to shine and allow God to know how much we do love Him. Just like our parent think the most of us most of the time, so too God thinks a lot of us most of the time! So let’s put our wants and desires aside to worship God as openly as we can & pray fervently for those who cannot do the same because of wayward governments!
Points to Ponder:
What do you do when you go to church?
What do you think God thinks of what you do at church?
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December 16: Luke 7:24-30
Key Verse: Luke 7:26
But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
Devotion:
Why do you go to church? Is it to get away from ‘normal life?’ Is it to make sure people see you going to church? Is it to sing songs? Why do you really go to church? I think your answer may change from week to week as you go through your own feelings and life...
Jesus wanted the people to think about why they went to see John the Baptist in the desert – after all he was nothing much to look at, didn’t have a nice building, didn’t have a band backing him up… He simply wanted people to hear the truth about Jesus, about the Messiah he had been told to tell people about. He made sure people understood how the scriptures of old were tightly linked to the Messiah and his message he was told to bring to the people.
We should be going to church to be fed with God’s Word, not necessarily to be fed the bread and wine. We should be going to church to worship God and to listen to our church leaders telling us the truth held in the scriptures. We should have a thirst for more information so we can understand more about our Lord and live our lives closer to how He has asked us to.
When we don’t understand God’s Word, we find it difficult to have faith in it and even struggle with our beliefs. We need to understand a certain amount so we can apply that into our lives. The Ethiopian Eunuch did not understand the scriptures and was struggling until the apostle stopped and explained it to him. After that he had no worries about being baptised as a show of his belief and faith in Christ.
Points to Ponder:
Do you go to church regularly?
Why do you go to church?
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December 15: Isaiah 45:18-19
Key Verse: Isaiah 45:19
I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, “Seek me in vain.” I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.
Devotion:
How many times do we have to be reminded who created the heavens and the earth? How many times do we have to study the natural world around us before we see the evidence of a creator God who loves us? Our problem is we get too tied up in the minutia of details to just accept God can do anything.
God did not create an empty space but He created a habitable world around us before He created us. Everything we need was created before us. All our needs were covered before we were born! All we have to do is to accept this creation and live in it the way God wanted us to live. There is only one Creator which can also be seen by the way we are all fully connected with nature!
God did not create a conundrum which we have to solve before we can live here – He created everything as it was required and gave us instructions on how to live here. As archaeologists dig up things from further and further back in our past, we begin to see more evidence of intelligence before the historian thought we gained intelligence; I firmly believe God gave us this knowledge so we could become better at what we do.
Unfortunately we also became greedy and started thinking we could do it all without God because we have intelligence. What we forget is who gave us this intelligence in the first place. So, as we get closer to celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us also remember God gave us the intelligence so we could understand Him more – we just have to seek Him more in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think your life has been in vain?
Why did God create you the way you are?
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December 14: Matthew 12:28-32
Key Verse: Matthew 12:30
‘Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, “I will, sir,” but he did not go.
Devotion:
This always reminds me of Samuel jumping up and rushing through through to Eli thinking it was Eli calling out to him in the middle of the night. What he was hearing was God Himself calling out! When Samuel finally understood it could be God, he was told to stay in bed and simply say “speak Lord for your servant is listening.”
Why does it remind me of this? Because of the listening and obeying parts. Samuel was learning to be a good student by listening to Eli and obeying him. Now God was calling him and it was time to listen to his new master. This father was counting on his sons to help with the work in the vineyard so they could get a good harvest. The first son turned round and said no! He didn’t want to have to go out into the vineyard and work all day; but after thinking about it, he knew it was right to go and work otherwise they would all lose out.
The second son, however, said yeah, no problem… but never turned up for work. Instead he just ignored the request to help out. This same thing is happening with the kingdom of God and His Word. Many people say “yes we will pray for you” or “we will come to church” or “we will help with the food bank” and never turn up! What use are they in reality?
God is asking each one of us to step forward and take up our burden – He wants us to work with Him in the field. We may not like the sound of it, but we know it is right. We may not want to get involved, but we know we should! God just wants us to be people who do the work without grumbling...
Points to Ponder:
Do you get asked to help out?
Are you going to say yes and turn up to help out?
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December 13: Matthew 21:23-27
Key Verse: Matthew 21:25
John’s baptism – where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?’ They discussed it among themselves and said, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will ask, “Then why didn’t you believe him?”
Devotion:
It seems like the more the keepers of the law tried to trip Jesus up, the more rope He gave them to hang themselves with! Jesus had the authority to put down anything they said and to back it up with something straight from God – but He chose to allow them to trip themselves up. The teachers did not like what Jesus was doing because it undermined their authority they had built up for themselves.
What God wants is for us to have authority when it is given to us from Him and not the DIY, home-grown variety we so like to peddle as the real thing. We can look back at these words and dissect them, bringing the truth out for everyone to see and hear – but in those times, these were the people everyone should have been able to trust and they were bending the truth! How then are we supposed to find out what is true?
Jesus gave us the answer to this by pointing us back to God’s Word in all cases. We have been given the truth and that truth will not change. What people say, what we learn in school and what scientists say are the latest facts will all change over time; but God’s Word does not change!
What John was teaching was the truth given to Him by God. He upheld the gospel because that is what God wanted Him to do. He could only baptise with water, but Jesus was come to baptise with the Holy Spirit. What John was teaching was the basics of believing in Christ and upholding the truth God gives us. What Jesus was doing was laying the foundation for us to see He was the Messiah!
Points to Ponder:
When someone asks you to start teaching them, where do you start?
Will you uphold the Scriptures and allow people to see the truth for themselves?
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December 12: Psalm 146:6-10
Key Verse: Psalm 146:9
The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
Devotion:
Have you ever met someone famous? What was your impression of them? God is our Creator. There should not be anyone more famous in our lives, and yet He is the One who comes looking for us instead of us going seeking the famous! No matter how small and insignificant we seem in this world, we are everything to God and we are treated like that by Him. He is faithful to us, always!
When things go wrong in our lives and we go astray, we don’t expect important people to follow us or to be interested in us… unless they are the police and are looking for us because of what we have done wrong! But seriously, we don’t expect everyone to follow us and to be interested in everything we do in our lives…
No matter what little things happen in our lives, God is interested in them. He continues to look out for us no matter how unimportant we may feel. When we are oppressed, He is the one who comes looking for us to support us. When we are hungry, He is the one who will supply our needs. When we feel trapped by everything in life, He is the one who will set us free.
When we feel like the odd one out, the Lord is the one who makes us feel like we fit in and gives us the comfort we need to keep going. When our families reject us or are taken from us, He is the one who brings us into His family so we can feel wanted again. When others work against us, God will confound them to give us room to breathe and move on. And He is doing this for all generations!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know how famous God is?
Do you lift Him up and praise Him like He is?
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December 11: Matthew 17:10-13
Key Verse: Matthew 17:12
But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognise him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.’
Devotion:
When the prophets brought the Word of God to the people, the stories told by them were passed down and retold by future generations. Each generation would try to retell those stories faithfully so they would be remembered – and before long these words would get written down and saved for future generations. But the teachers of the law would not give copies of the scriptures to anyone and everyone like we do today; they were kept by the teachers.
One would think this would be a good idea since the words would be faithfully kept – but we are human and our temptations for greater things for ourselves often get us into trouble rather than allowing us to stick with the truth. The disciples had learned the scriptures and they knew they were taught how Elijah would come before the Messiah would return…
What they didn’t realise was John The Baptist was that person who came in the spirit of Elijah, bringing the Word faithfully to life so everyone would know the Messiah was coming. John taught the true word about repentance and forgiveness and even baptism – all things God wanted them to know. But when John started saying things which were a bit hard to keep (for them) they rejected John’s Words and forced him out into the desert alone.
Just as John suffered by the hands of the people who should have been telling the truth, so too would their Messiah have to face those same people who would make Him suffer. Not because He was the Messiah, but because they did not want to believe the Messiah could come and tell them what to do! After all, they thought they were the ultimate authority then!
Points to Ponder:
Do you ever admit you don’t know something?
Will you admit to not knowing everything about God and ask Him to teach you more?
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December 10: Romans 14:10-12
Key Verse: Romans 14:12
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Devotion:
One thing which makes me angry is when people start talking about others in derogatory ways especially when they have their own issues which they admit to having! I had a hard time in boarding school because there was always someone willing to say something bad about someone else – it seemed to be a part of living in boarding schools at that time!
When you see someone who is clearly in need, what is your reaction? Do you run the other way to hide from the truth, or do you step forward and offer a solution to help with the need? Yes, it is difficult when the need you see makes you uncomfortable in some way, and harder still when you think there is no way you can currently help out… but it takes one person to step forward and offer help to allow others to see they can make a difference too – no matter how small that difference is to start with!
In order for a change to begin, someone needs to step forward and start the ball rolling. In order for people to stop taking advantage of others, one person needs to stand up and offer a little hope. We need to be the change in our societies because God wants someone to be brave enough to step forward and say, here I am… even if you think you cannot make a difference!
When Christ comes to judge the world, each person is going to have to give an account for what they have or have not done. If Jesus is not your advocate yet, then you may well be fearful of what lies ahead. But if you have Jesus as your advocate, you have someone who is willing to stand up and give an account on your behalf instead of standing up and describing all the things you have done wrong in your life! Allow Christ to be your advocate today!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have good friends who stand up for you no matter what?
Will you be a good friend to someone today and stand up for them?
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December 9: Psalm 145:9-15
Key Verse: Psalm 145:10
All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you.
Devotion:
Every relationship is a two way thing. When one breaks down, the whole relationship seems to break down; but if that part which is broken can be fixed in some way, the relationship is restored once again. When we fall away from God because of the temptations we follow or because of the things we get up to, God is patient and gracious to wait for us to return.
All around us, people will be brought into action to try and tell us of the wonders which God continues to do. When we fail in any way, God places people around us who can help us and who are able to get us pointed back in the right direction. I can remember being very far away from God (or at least that is how I looked at it) and God sent one person to come an knock on my door to invite me back. The first week I did not accept that invite, but the next time I did!
God has a way of getting His word back into our hearts when we seem to have done everything possible to push it out of our hearts and minds. He will send the smallest spark to light the biggest fire burning in our heart so we come back into this relationship He continues to uphold.
Everyone and everything around us reminds us of the things God has done for us. If we open our hearts and minds, He will light the fire and make sure it burns brighter than before. This is the way He ensures His Word is brought to every person in the world so each of us can make the choice to follow Him. God is not limited by time, but we are. We only have a limited amount of time to make the choice to follow Christ!
Points to Ponder:
Have you thanked God for what He has shown you today?
Will you pass on the torch to the next person?
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December 8: Isaiah 40:27-31
Key Verse: Isaiah 40:29
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Devotion:
How often have you doubted God is watching over you or how He cares for you? Each time we face difficulties or hardships we tend to doubt our Creator God because we see only the hardships in front of us. How quickly we forget! God did not just create us and then sit back to see what we would do; He created us and then walked with us right up until we rebelled and walked away from Him. At that time He stepped back to give us the space we craved, still watching, still caring and still there.
He never grows weary and never gets tired of watching over us, caring for us and guiding us. We, on the other hand, do grow weary, tired and scared we have no guide. If we are facing the wrong direction, how are we supposed to see what God is trying to say? How are we supposed to listen to Him when we have shut off everything but the world around us!
I love these verses because they remind us God is not just our Creator, but our hope and our strength at all times. When we do grow weary, we can reach out to Him and ask for strength to continue onward – He will always answer and always give us the strength. When we feel like there is nothing left to give, nothing left to live for, we can turn to Him and He gives us a little more to give and a reason to continue onward.
God will give us the strength to rise above our troubles, to rise above those around us trying to trap us in our despair. God will give us the wings to rise above everything – so long as we are willing to trust in Him and ask Him for the help! God uses the people around us to reach out to us at times. He uses everything because He created everything and can always be counted on to do what is righteous!
Points to Ponder:
Are you calling out to God?
Will you trust Him to allow you to fly free?