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September 21: Proverbs 3:1-6
Key Verse: Proverbs 3:3
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them round your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Devotion:
How many times have you come up with a plan only to see it fail because you did not account for some 'unseen' circumstance? As a computer programmer, I try to make sure my code is going to stand up to all sorts of things which can go wrong, but there always seems to be something I have not thought of which someone else tries and it breaks the program!
Life is a bit like that too – we try to cover all our bases to make sure our lives are as good as we can hope for, but there is always something which we have not accounted for which sees us fail just when we think we should work things out.
God did not just have to guess what could happen for a few years (like our lives) but had to account for everything man was going to do for thousands of years. He had to make sure there was a way mankind could be saved no matter how many things we try and no matter how many things we get wrong!
He gave us His word it would all work out and has seen that through with the promise we will be saved. He even made sure this was all written down thousands of years before we were born! He made sure we would have a way out of the corner we backed ourselves into. All He asked of us was to trust in Him, believing what He did was for our sake and believing He would come again to take us to be with Him.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you fail at things?
Will you look to God and trust in what He has done for you?
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September 20: Mark 9:33-37
Key Verse: Mark 9:34
But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
Devotion:
How many times have you stretched the truth so you can be 'better' than everyone else? I can remember doing this on multiple occasions when I was young, and then thinking I would grow out of it as I got older... but the temptation is always there to stretch the truth so we can seem better than we are!
When the disciples did not want to admit what they were arguing about, it was because of this situation – they were trying to prove they were better than others. Instead of pulling them up about it and telling them off, Jesus simply told them what they should have been doing. Another trait we should learn and follow Jesus with!
We don't have to tell people off all the time so they can 'learn the right way,' we should be showing them the right way and allowing them to make the choice. Jesus wanted the disciples to learn from example and not from being constantly told off for doing things wrong. We have enough people in our lives who tell us what not to do, but not enough people who are willing to show us the right ways of doing things to encourage us in the right path.
Jesus wants us to not build ourselves up to show others they are not as good as us, but to lower ourselves to a position where we can lift others up and show them how good they could be if they chose to be! This is what Christ does to and for us all the time!
Points to Ponder:
Do you tell people off all the time?
Will you try to build someone up today instead?
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September 19: James 3:13-18
Key Verse: James 3:15
Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
Devotion:
Why would the writer describe ambition as demonic? That's what many people will take away from verses like this, but it is far from the truth. Let us take this in context of what Jesus had taught the disciples about how they should behave; about the most important rules to follow...
Jesus said the most important thing is to love God with your whole being, and then to love your neighbour as yourself... which pre-supposes you have learned to love yourself because you have found the love of Christ... What is ambition? To better yourself beyond what you think is going to happen! Or something like that!
If we have genuinely learned to love God, the loving ourselves becomes second nature and then following Jesus' command to love other the same way follows... But these verses are not talking about acts like that, they are considering people lifting themselves above and before the others around them – which does not fall in line with loving others as you love yourself. To follow Christ's commands mean we need to have a great love for God, for ourselves and for the people around us – which mean we should be treating those around us like we want to be treated.
Earthly envy or ambition is loving ourselves above all else, above God and above the people around us – this is not real love and is called earthly wisdom or love here. When we focus internally instead of externally, we lose focus on God's love and build up false pictures of our own love which turn out to be envy, greed and pride... Allow God's love to spread through your life so you can share it with the people around you!
Points to Ponder:
How far does your love for yourself go?
Will you share more of God's love with others today?
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September 18: Isaiah 43:8
Key Verse: Isaiah 43:8
Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.
Devotion:
No matter what we have done wrong, no matter how much we have got things wrong, God always wants us to come back to Him and to admit our sins. It is the world and the things around us which trap us and stop us from seeing the truth. If we were all able to shut out the noise of the world, we would be able to hear the sound of God calling us!
The first thing I noticed after I moved back to a village in the countryside after living in London for a few years was the quiet and dark nights! I could hear the animals in the forest. I could hear the bats flying round at night. I could hear things instead of them being drowned out by the continual rumble of traffic noise from the highway I lived a few yards from!
God wants us to be able to hear Him and to know we are loved in so many ways by Him. If someone did not first tell us of this great news, we may well have continued to listen to the traffic and think that was normal! If someone did not tell us of the light of Christ, we may well have continued to be blinded by the hustle and bustle of the city!
Yes, we all need to stop focusing on the world and spend a bit more time seeking God; but we also need to tell others about Him so they will know they have to seek Him out too. If we don't mention God in our lives, people will not know He exists because of the deafening and blinding ways of the world...
Points to Ponder:
Do you focus on the city lights and ways?
Will you try to share Christ's light with someone today?
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September 17: Psalm 14:1-3
Key Verse: Psalm 14:3
All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Devotion:
You may be forgiven for not liking what you read in these verses, after all it sounds very much like the scriptures are against us... When God gave the commandments to Moses to give to the people, it was not Him setting up a trap through which He could reject everyone because none of us can keep all the laws... the commandments were given to us to show us we have no hope without God. King David must have gone through this in his heart quite a few times because he knew he had done many things wrong – but he also knew in his heart God was willing to forgive if we come to Him with humble hearts.
No matter how much we think we have done everything right, there has always been times in our lives where we have thought the wrong thing or said the wrong thing in the heat of the moment. God wanted us to know He sees and hears everything and so nothing will escape His judgement.
But He also wanted us to know there was going to be an ultimate sacrifice which would cover all of our wrong-doings, no matter how bad they were. When Jesus came to live amongst us, He made sure people understood this and He also made sure they understood we have a choice to make. If we choose to go against God, then we are actively choosing to say Jesus was not good enough to cover our sins...
I am thankful Jesus came to live amongst us in human form so He could take on the sins of the whole world being our perfect sacrifice – once and for all. I know I have done things wrong in my life, but I also know Jesus is willing to forgive me because He promised me He would when I come to Him and ask for forgiveness!
Points to Ponder:
Do you still feel guilty?
Have you asked Jesus to forgive you?
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September 16: Isaiah 40:6-8
Key Verse: Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures for ever.’
Devotion:
How many times have you been discouraged by someone who steadfastly refused to listen to you talking about Jesus? I know I have been discouraged on occasions when people seem to turn off their minds when you start to talk about Jesus, God, Christianity or anything close to it! After listening to the introduction of the Alpha course I am encouraged to continue talking about Jesus no matter what!
Hearing some of the honest answers from people as they admit to either not knowing Jesus or even thinking He did not exist makes me want to talk about Him more. When we get to know Jesus in person, we have our eyes and hearts opened up to many things – things which continue to be hidden from this world because people don't want to talk about Jesus!
The more we are able to say things, the more people are going to hear things. The more we are able to tell people about Jesus – the more their hearts and eyes will be opened to what He has done and continues to do in our lives. We just have to open the door so people can see Jesus for themselves...
If the doors remain firmly shut, how will they ever get a glimpse of Him or what He can do? But if we are able to open the door a little so they can see in, or even just a crack so their interest will be kindled and they will start to want to open the door to see what is behind it for themselves. God wants us to open the doors, even if it is just a little crack.
Points to Ponder:
How many people around you close off the door to Jesus?
Will you try open it just a crack so God can have a turn?
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September 15: John 12:30-36
Key Verse: John 12:32
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
Devotion:
If you are worried about how you explain Christ to others, think about how Jesus had to explain Himself to the people! Jesus knew what was going to happen, but did not want to totally discourage people by saying He was going to die outright, after all the scriptures talk about a Messiah who is going to come and be with the people of Israel forever...
The easiest way I find of talking about Jesus is to remind people He became a real human being in order to accomplish what had to be done. If He remained as God, He would not have been able to die. But, by lowering His status temporarily to human form, He was able to lay down His life so the scriptures could be fulfilled!
Thus, by physically laying down His life, He was able to be raise up Physically to show us He has authority over death so we do not have to worry about physical death. He also showed the physical death did not take away what "He is" because that lived on in His soul or spirit; so coming back to life He had total recall of everything which had happened beforehand.
So when you have to try and explain things again – think of yourself in parts just like God – after all, He made us in His image. We have a physical body which will die in the end, but we also have a soul and a spirit through which we continue to live on even after physical death. The most joyous thing is God will raise our physical bodies in the end just we Jesus was raised up. We don't have to understand the minutia of everything, just believe in what Christ has already achieved by example.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get worried what will happen?
Take comfort in how Jesus lived, dies and was raised up again!
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September 14: Galatians 6:12-16
Key Verse: Galatians 6:13
Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.
Devotion:
Do you struggle with people who try to convert you from doing things your way to doing things their way? Many people have this idea about churches because there are churches who try to make you change your way to fit into their way – just so they can boast about how they converted you!
This is not what Christ asks of you and not what He has taught us either. Christ wants us to be open and honest about what He has done for us in our lives so we can be a witness to the way Christ has changed us. He continues to give each one of us a free choice as to what we do – there are commandments and there are laws written down in our bibles... but we have the choice as to whether we apply them in our lives or not. We do not have the right to apply them in other people's lives!
Try telling people how Christ has changed your life and allow them to see you are a better person because of what Christ encouraged you to do. Remind them it is your life and you chose it. God may have created us and He may have given us the bible to allow us to see how we should be living our lives – but it is our choice!
Whether we actually break the laws or not is not going to include us or exclude us from a life with Christ. He asks us to change our lives so we are a positive witness or example of how Christians should live; He asks us this so we are an example for others to make their own minds up with. If we break all the rules, they will see us as just another earthly person and not as a child of God trying to live for Him!
Points to Ponder:
What example are you to others?
Will you try to be a positive role model for others?
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September 13: Psalm 19:7-9
Key Verse: Psalm 19:7
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
Devotion:
How do you look at God's Word? Do you see it as the law you need to follow, or the statutes laid down for you to follow, or the stories of the Lord, or His commandments? Or maybe you have a special reverence for all God has said and done and see them as all the righteousness we need in our lives? Whatever or however you see the word as, we must know it as very special in our hearts.
If you are feeling a bit down and in need of some refreshing news – then read or listen to God's good news! If you need to know something you can rely on like the truth, then you do need to know more about God and His promises – through His word. The more we get to read about what He has done, is doing and continues to do, the more we get to know the joy we gain from Him.
If we can recognise the gravity of God's word, we can know these are commandments He has given us, not a a tick list of things we can pick and choose from to live our lives, but a list of the rules which will allow us to get the most out of our lives. The more we learn about what God wants us to live like, the closer we become to Him as we begin to live with Him in our lives.
This can all be summed up in saying we have the fear of the Lord... which is not a trembling fear we get from something too strong we cannot get round it, but an uttermost respect for something which is so special we should never ignore it. This is an enduring fear which we take with us to help us remember the respect we must have for God at all times... because He is righteous!
Points to Ponder:
How do you look at God's Word?
Will you take time to think about what God's Word means to you?
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September 12: Joshua 4:19-24
Key Verse: Joshua 4:21
He said to the Israelites, ‘In the future when your descendants ask their parents, “What do these stones mean?”
Devotion:
When you have something different, or live differently to others, people will ask you why or how... This is the way we are as humans, we are inquisitive, and we like to know why, where, how and even who! I like wearing my Christian T-shirts because it gets people to ask why or to comment on them – that gives me a chance to share a bit about who I am and why I do it!
After the Israelites had crossed over the Jordan and things were getting back to normal (as normal as they could be,) Joshua got the twelve stones the twelve tribes had picked up from the riverbed and he set them up as a monument for everyone to see. Why a monument? Is this not making an idol? No, it's not making an idol, it is setting up a reminder for the people and future generations to ask why, who, when and other interesting questions – it gives us the chance to tell people about God and what He can do and has done!
If you, like me, sometimes find it hard to start conversations, then maybe you need something which can be a conversation starter – something which will get people to as the interesting questions so you can give them the amazing answers we know about God!
Someone is bound to cross the line and call you names or mock you for doing things to remember Christ – but if there is just one person who will get to hear about the gospel because of what we have done, then that is a good thing!
Points to Ponder:
Do you act like a normal person does?
Will you do something different to get people to ask why?