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?
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?
December 7: Matthew 14:13-21
Key Verse: Matthew 14:16
Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’
Devotion:
What sort of attitude do you think you have toward the people who are in need around you – yes, those in need around you! Far too often we think of the people in need as being others who are in a different country, far away or with some other physical barrier between them and us. Jesus did not turn His back on any people instead, encouraging the needy to come to Him!
Another trait is to think we cannot do anything for ‘them’ because they are too far gone or you think you just cannot spare enough to make a difference. Jesus started making the difference one person at a time; but this demonstration of His love and power went beyond anything the disciples could imagine!
They were trying to be compassionate by seeing how people may have been struggling, or getting weary… so they told Jesus to send the people away so they could at least go and feed themselves! Jesus answer must have stunned them at first: ‘feed them!’ Not what they were expecting! After having a quick ask around they came to the conclusion they had five loaves and two fish – probably just enough to give themselves a light snack before resting for the evening.
Jesus gave the problem to God knowing God was going to come through. He asked God to bless the food and then started dishing it out, and out, and out! God continued to provide because the people were in need. When we feel like we have no way of helping, we need to get God involved so we can give Him the glory for what He will do!
Points to Ponder:
Do you always give thanks to God?
Will you ask God to help you help someone else?
December 6: Luke 5:17-21
Key Verse: Luke 5:20
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’
Devotion:
Can you imagine the commotion as Jesus was teaching the Pharisees and teachers of the law; in amongst this all, there were people bringing the sick for Jesus to heal. This story is about a group of men who were carrying their paralysed friend to come and get healed by Jesus. This man must have been able to convince the others how amazing Jesus was and how he would be able to walk again – if only they could get him to see Jesus face to face.
But there was a bit of a problem – there were simply too many people crowding around and trying to get a glimpse of Jesus as He taught. We would presume this would be like a sold-out performance; absolutely no more room! Maybe one of them was an engineer and they planned to get to Jesus via the roof. First they would have had to remove enough tiles to make enough space for their friend to be lowered down, then they would have had to organise rope and somehow lower him down without making too much mess otherwise everyone would have probably run out of the house they were in!
When they finally managed their task, Jesus turned to them and said “Friend, your sins are forgiven!” Now, we don’t know what had happened to this man or how he was paralysed, but between them they had enough faith to make this all happen – not to show off and say how adept they were, but simply to get their friend to be face to face with Jesus!
Of course the Pharisees and teachers all revolted about this because Jesus dared to say his sins were forgiven! This was the task of the chief priest after people had brought their sacrifices and done everything which was written down in the law books… What they were not seeing was this was their Messiah who had come to change the world and change the way they sacrificed, just as it was foretold! Don’t close your eyes just because you see something as not humanly possible...
Points to Ponder:
Do you limit your faith according to science and technology?
Will you allow God to work with the freedom He requires of us?