December 12: Numbers 24:2-7
Key Verse: Numbers 24:6
‘Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters.
Devotion:
Balaam was a prophet who lived amongst the people of Israel when they were travelling through the desert. It must have been quite a sight to see all of the tents made up in a camp knowing all of the people were doing this because they wanted to please God. They did not have any direct way of knowing they were pleasing God other than what the prophets told them.
God wanted the people to know what they were doing was appreciated by God, so He spoke to them through Balaam at this time. The poetic way in which the display of obedience is described means God definitely was watching them and was pleased with the way things were going.
Sometimes we lose sight of what God says to us because we don’t listen to the people of God speaking to us; God uses people to speak to us because He knows we don’t all listen intently to the Spirit. He knows some will find it difficult to listen to the Spirit, so He talks to us through others…
I have learned to listen to people when they tell me they have a message from God for me. I have learned to stop and spend time waiting for God to speak. I have learned God will always speak to me when I ask Him something – it is not always the same way though. Sometimes it is through others, sometimes through what He does and sometimes even in dreams; we just have to stop and listen!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you stop to listen to friends?
How often do you stop to listen to God?
December 11: Matthew 11:2-6
Key Verse: Matthew 11:5
the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
Devotion:
When John the Baptist heard about all the things Jesus was doing, especially the healing, he sent word to ask Jesus if He was indeed the Messiah. John was in prison at this time so could not go to meet with Jesus himself. What Jesus did was reach out to John and ask him to trust his faith...
I don’t think I have seen this side of the story before, but as I was reading through the words in this Gospel, I could not help but see this point of view! John had faith the Messiah was coming and he had been told these things through the Spirit; so much so he went out to baptise people and teach them about repentance and to get people to trust in the Messiah who was to come!
So, being a human like the rest of us, he sent word to find out if Jesus was actually the Messiah – maybe that would have made him feel more complete and that he had accomplished his task in life… I think Jesus would have seen these thoughts in his heart and so, instead of finishing the story there and then, started the true story of faith!
Jesus does not want to have to prove to us in a court of law and through pictures and physical proof that He is the Messiah. He wants us to have faith in our beliefs. He wants to see us grow in our faith and trust in Him rather than having all the physical proof we can get! This is what He was probably trying to get John to do – trust in your beliefs and have faith!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you trust in your beliefs?
Will you rely on your faith a bit more?
December 10: Matthew 17:10-13
Key Verse: Matthew 17:10
The disciples asked him, ‘Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?’
Devotion:
One of the things many people struggle with is the fact we are very different in Gods eyes than in mankind's eyes. That includes our names, reputations and most other things which we take for granted. Jesus saw people for what and who they were in Gods eyes and was not swayed by human emotions like we are.
When the disciples were asking Jesus about Elijah coming before the Messiah, they were not ready for the answer He gave them – that Elijah had already come. What they did not realise was the Elijah God was talking about was not the Elijah they were thinking about. We tend to get mixed up with people and names; often thinking of the wrong people when someone mentions a name, and even judging people by what name they have been given!
Jesus was talking about the man they knew as John the Baptist, the man who was living out in the desert and baptising people in the river Jordan based on the scriptures which had been revealed to Him through the Holy Spirit. This “Elijah” was the human who was preparing the way… If they had defined the man by the act he was doing, they may have been able to recognise John for the name God knew him by, but they were too entrenched in human ways – like we are!
God can and does use anyone. I have met many people whom the world has rejected because of what they have done in the past. Jesus came into their lives and turned their lives around – they have become extraordinary disciples who are totally different to how they used to be!
Points to Ponder:
Do you judge people by earthly standards?
Will you allow God to tell you about people instead?
December 9: Isaiah 48:17-19
Key Verse: Isaiah 48:18
If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.
Devotion:
The theme seem to be “listening to God” this week! Isaiah had the onerous task of having to tell the people what God was saying, and much of the time it was not good news for the people – they had grown weary of listening and wanted to do their own thing! As they continued to do their own thing, they moved away from God and slowly they began to find out God could not help them as much as He used to! It was not because God could not reach them, God can go anywhere and do anything; but he gives us free choice!
That is the important part – we are given free choice to do what we want. If we go off and do things which go against God’s teaching, He no longer has the right to intervene. We have chosen not to allow Him to intervene in our lives and He abides by our choice – that is what makes it free choice!
As the world begins to shout louder, we start to listen more to the world and less to God… why… because we grow so used to God helping us and guiding us we take Him for granted. Once we take Him for granted, we don’t listen to His instructions as much as we used to! This goes for anyone in your life – if you grow used to them, you stop concentrating on their words and advice…
If mankind had continued to listen to God right from the beginning, we would have had a much better and deeper life with Him! I know it is “empty” just saying that because we only have one side of the story. We have the side where we stopped listening to God and did our own thing. We don’t have the side where we listened to Him so we can’t really compare what it should have been like… or can we? Try reading the Old Testament and see what happens when people stop listening to God!
Points to Ponder:
How much do you really listen to God?
How much do you listen to the world?