- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 823
October 1: Luke 10:13-17
Key Verse: Luke 10:17
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’
Devotion:
When Jesus sent out those other disciples to go and teach the gospel, they came back to Him with great news about how many people were believing the truth – even demons were submitting to the truth! So what is the truth? This truth they were talking about was how Jesus had come to be our Saviour and He is the Son of God.
We all have a choice we can make, to believe this truth or to reject it. If we act like we don't care and say we haven't made up our minds, we have already chosen not to believe it. What happens if Christ returns before we make up our minds?
When Jesus sent out these seventy two people, it was not a test to see who would believe and who would not, but another chance for the people who had already chosen to wait and see, or to wait for more proof! Or worse still, had chosen not to believe God would allow His Son to come to earth like He had promised! These people wanted to believe in earthly things instead of what God can do.
Jesus' response to this was to warn others of the pending doom of these people. Jesus has given us free choice – but if we actively put off that choice, we are choosing to not believe for the moment! The warning was dire and once we should not ignore for our own sakes... time to step forward and tell others about this truth to give them another chance to make the right choice before it is too late.
Points to Ponder:
Do you like giving people another chance?
How many times will you give people the chance to know Christ?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 761
September 30: John 1:47-51
Key Verse: John 1:48
‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig-tree before Philip called you.’
Devotion:
One of the biggest revelations I had when I became a Christian was how Jesus knew me before I knew Him. I thought of this first as a teacher would know of me before I got to go to the class for the first time, but it's not like that. When we say Jesus knows us before we know Him, it is more than Him simply knowing our names and knowing we are going to accept or reject Him at some stage... it is a very personal link between Him and you.
The more we hang out with someone, the more we get to know them. The more we get to know them the more we understand how they live and the closer we can become to them. It takes us time to get to know others because we cannot get a brain dump of all the information but have to discern things over time. Christ knows us from the inside out in the beginning!
When Nathanael was approaching Christ he was introduced to the others as a man who was not deceitful in any ways. Nathanael was a bit surprised by this statement and challenged Jesus asking how He knew him. The answer not only surprised him but also gave Nathanael confidence he was talking with the Son of God – someone who knew him intimately!
Don't try to hide things from God. Be honest and open with Christ because He is honest and open with you. Accept what He has for you in your life and do your best to do His will – because He already knows what is best for you!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know Jesus well?
How many things do you hold back from Jesus?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 794
September 29: Psalms 103:19-22
Key Verse: Psalms 103:20
Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
Devotion:
One of the things we learn from the scriptures is how many beings there are who already worship God with everything they are; and I'm not talking about people but the angels and heavenly hosts who have more power than we know. They choose to follow God and to obey Him. They still have the choice, but they have chosen to worship God because they can and they know it is best for them!
We have nothing compared to them and yet we think we can choose to ignore God and to do things by ourselves instead. Why? Because we don't have the knowledge or wisdom to understand just who God is – so we go with what we know and all we know is what we see and hear here on earth!
Let us put aside our earthly ways and set up a new life following God in heavenly ways, with faith. When we submit to Him our earthly ways and allow Him to guide us with His heavenly ways, we will begin to see just how much God does for us and how much He cares for us.
So what is God asking us to do? Is He asking us to be His slaves and do everything even if it is hurting us? No! He is asking us to trust Him with everything we have – to lay it all on the table and allow Him to guide us forward. He does want what is best for us, but, because He gives us free will to choose our ways, He does not control us like slaves...
Points to Ponder:
Are you willing to trust God?
Will you trust Him with more today?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 828
September 28: Hosea 11:1-4
Key Verse: Hosea 11:2
But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.
Devotion:
When you don't feel like praying or you don't feel like going to church... do you feel guilty after you have missed out? There are many things we tend to put off just because we are feeling lazy or we just don't feel like doing them – this does not make us bad people! If we look back on the history of the people of Israel, they turned their backs on God on so many occasions, yet God still continued to call them His chosen people!
Yes, we may well upset others and God when we turn our backs on Him, but He continues to look inside our hearts and not on the actions we take just because we are feeling down or whatever! God knows we are going to have times when we do feel down and we don't do the things we said we would do. He accepts this because we are like any other human being and we get things wrong!
God continues to search our hearts and continues to reach out to us knowing what is on our hearts. He will not turn His back on us just because we have a bad day or a bad week! God will send us a reminder, be it through another person or even personally. What we do with those reminders will define us in His eyes – because that is what is in our hearts.
I know I do feel guilty when I miss out on something or when I don't do something I said I would. But when God reminds me I have missed something, I make an effort to change that and to try better next time. This does not mean I get it right every time after that – I still get things wrong. And I know God still loves me and still reaches out to me day after day!
Points to Ponder:
Do you forget things often?
Will you accept what is on your heart and try fulfil God's wishes?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 798
September 27: James 5:1-6
Key Verse: James 5:1
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.
Devotion:
How often have you wanted to win the lottery or win a cash prize, thinking it would make your life so much easier... Well, it may well make your life easier in the shorter term, but what else would it do to your life?
When we are surrounded by temptation, we usually give in to it at some stage. If we are surrounded by the money from a big win, we will probably give in to the things which money can buy and get so side-tracked from our normal lives with God, we leave Him behind. We don't want to and we know we shouldn't, but we do because it can be done and we convince ourselves we can go back to God tomorrow instead!
That is what the people were doing in this time of the disciples. The rich and powerful were ruling over the poor, not because they were better than them, but because they could with the money doing the talking instead of God's love! The temptation of riches and earthly comforts which money can buy are too great for us to ignore! Have you ever wondered why God does not answer your prayers when you ask Him for money!
We also tend to shy away from hard work if there is an easier way out – not something Christ has taught us, but the greed of the world has taught us! There are so many things which get corrupted by money, we are probably better off without it most of the time. It is not the money which is evil, but the love we gain for it which corrupts us from the inside! God does not want us to be corrupted by this love for money because He knows it will take us away from Him!
Points to Ponder:
How much money would you like in the bank?
What would you really do if you had more money?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 842
September 26: James 5:13-16
Key Verse: James 5:15
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
Devotion:
How often do you pray? I'm not talking about saying your prayers just before you go to be or when you wake up, but praying when there is a special need. The disciples had learned from Jesus they should pray at all times, especially when there was a need for someone or even themselves. God has said He is going to continue to look out for us, but we should not take Him for granted!
If we just accept God is going to look out for us and go about life expecting Him to do everything, our faith will grow weak and or faith will fade. We do need reminders in our lives so we can remember the important things. As I was talking to a friend yesterday, I was talking about how things did not go my way in 2019 and by the end of our talk he was convinced God had a reason for it all – was it because I had become too used to accepting God was always there?
God wants us to remember Him in prayer. If we are in trouble, we should be calling out to Him for help. If we have reason to be happy, we should be singing out in praise! In other words, no matter what is happening in our lives, we need to remember how much God is doing and acknowledge Him in everything.
The more we acknowledge God, the more we will begin to recognise how much He does for us and how much more we should be praying! We should also not be hiding our lives from everyone else, but sharing our faith and lives with others so they can be encouraged by what God does, be it for them or for us. Let us all sing praises to God and cry out for help, louder and always!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you pray?
Do you cover everything in prayers?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 871
September 25: Luke 10:1-7
Key Verse: Luke 10:7
Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
Devotion:
Sometimes we only think of the twelve disciples when we think of the people Jesus sent to go and spread the gospel, but here we are reminded of the many others he sent to prepare the way. He sent them out in pairs so they would be able to support each other knowing two witnesses are better than one.
But He also gave them specific instructions about how they should go out. They were not to get dressed up in the smartest suits and go to teach people, but to simply take what they had and go forward. This meant no big suitcase of clothes or food or anything, just what they were carrying. They were instructed not to stop along the way and get side-tracked by talking to people, but to aim for their destination!
They were also not taking bags of money but would have to rely on the people around them giving them food and supplies as they needed them – not to build up wealth by earthy means, but to build up spiritual wealth and share it! They were also told they would have to work hard and put up with a lot of opposition!
God sends all of us out to spread the gospel in whatever way we can – not to build up all the technical wizardry and plan everything to the last cent, but to go and depend on others to help you! God wants us to focus on the gospel and not on worldly possessions so others will not get distracted by what we do, but also see the word for what it is. The gospel truth.
Points to Ponder:
Do you try too hard when talking to others about Christ?
Will you try to keep it simple and allow God to convict people instead?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 779
September 24: Psalm 150:1-6
Key Verse: Psalm 150:6
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Devotion:
I'm sure there's a song based on this Psalm, but I could be getting mixed up with another Psalm... I wonder how many of the Psalms were written to music and sung rather than being said as poems... How often do you take time out of your day to praise God for what He is doing in your life?
So many times we get carried away with our lives and forget about thanking God and praising Him for everything He does. When things don't go according to our plans we get upset and stop praising Him – what we should be doing is looking for the things to praise Him about, even when we feel the world is turning against us.
David had to take time out and praise God on several occasions because he got carried away with his life. But, each time he was reminded by a prophet or priest, he would take time out and praise God; often writing down the words in Psalms. Maybe we should take a leaf out of his book and write down the praiseworthy things which we see in our lives. Maybe then we will be able to recognise just how much God does for us!
Don't wait for the world to change before you pray. Don't wait for the people around you to change so you can thank God. Start by thanking Him and praising Him, then you will see the things He continues to do in your life and you will be able to praise Him every day! Why not make a song and dance of it so others can see how much God does for you – encourage them to see how much God can do for them too!
Points to Ponder:
Do you wait until Sunday before praising God?
Stop what you are doing and think of 10 things to praise God for!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 819
September 23: Luke 6:6-11
Key Verse: Luke 6:9
Then Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?’
Devotion:
I wonder, have you used Sunday as an excuse to not do something you had promised to do, or not done what you promised because it is Sunday! We tend to use excuses of all kinds to get out of doing things we promise others just because we are feeling lazy or we don't want to do what we promised!
God has not promised us anything which He has not been willing to deliver on – we can depend on all His promises all of the time. When Jesus was in the synagogue on the Sabbath, He was not going to stop healing others who needed it just because it was the Sabbath. He was not going to use the Sabbath as an excuse to not show His love for others!
We tend to give in to excuses when it suits us and use those excuses to get out of doing things when it suits us – as if we are living on both sides of the fence! Jesus made sure everyone was going to witness His healing of this man on the Sabbath because the Pharisees were doing what they could to try and trick Him into working on the Sabbath... twisting God's law into something it was not meant to be!
God wants us to continue doing good at all times, continue loving others at all times and continue giving Him the glory at all times too. This includes doing things on Sundays, not to show people they should work on Sundays, but to show them we follow God above any rules written down! God does not want His own commandments to be used against Him!
Points to Ponder:
What do you do on Sundays as well as going to church?
Do you go out of your way to help others on Sundays?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Hits: 809
September 22: Psalm 119:33-37
Key Verse: Psalm 119:36
Turn my heart towards your statutes and not towards selfish gain.
Devotion:
This chapter is roughly in the middle of our modern bibles and is the longest chapter too. It is a series of stanzas of a great poem talking about God's Word and what we should be doing with it – rather fitting it is in the middle of the bible!
If we take a look at the whole bible, we may well get a bit discouraged because it is a long book and is hard to take in because it separates us from God. God is Holy and cannot abide sin, our bibles are a reminder of this fact and continue to teach us what we do wrong in our lives. We can either take it as a book which tells us of all the ways we have done things wrong, or we can look at it as a book which describes all the ways our forefathers have done things wrong!
If we take it personally, we will get discouraged and we may well give up trying to follow it before we get this far in the book. But if we allow it to teach us of all the things which have gone wrong in the world, and aim to not follow in the path of those wrong-doings, then we stand a much greater chance of sticking with things!
We can follow the words of this stanza and plead with God to teach us what has gone wrong and how we can avoid doing the same things in our own lives. We can ask Him to protect us from the evil in the world and allow the word to guide us where we should go rather than what we have done wrong. Always look at the positive side and gain strength from it rather than allow it to beat you into submission!
Points to Ponder:
Do you have a positive attitude?
Will you allow God to guide you through His Word?