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7 October: Mark 15:33-41
Key Verse: Mark 15:34
At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
Devotion:
No matter how much you think you are in control or how well seated you think you are, there are going to be times when you just can't explain why it all went wrong! Well, at least from your point of view!
There are many times in my life when I have felt like I was clutching at straws or felt like it was all about to collapse in a heap around me, but some of those times I can look back on and realise it wasn't so bad after all.
So does this mean we have to be 'very British' and keep 'a stiff upper lip' and stop complaining? Far from it. When Jesus was at the end he cried out to God asking why he had been left all alone! This was the human part of Jesus crying out because he felt like God had just left him there!
When we have things go wrong in our lives, no matter what the reason or even if we think we deserve it, we can cry out to God and ask him "why!" He wants to hear from us, no matter what the reason or when!
Points to ponder:
Do you bottle things up?
Have you tried crying out to God before you 'break'...
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6 October: Luke 10:38-42
Key Verse: Luke 10:47
But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;
Devotion:
Sometimes we get so carried away by the things we think we should be doing that we forget the actual important tasks we have to do. This happens in all walks of life and not just Christians and their work for God!
Identifying when we are caught up in tasks which are not important is not always easy because you are fighting against your own desires and sometimes against your fears as well.
Martha was trying to be a good host by making sure everything was as it should be for her very important guest, but Mary simply sat at Jesus feet and listened intently to all that was being said.
Sometimes we have to balance the work we think we have and the work God would like us to do. Don't get me wrong, life does have some very important tasks to take care of and we should not be neglecting them, but there is a time and place for everything...
Points to ponder:
Do you get sidetracked easily?
Are you trying to find the right balance?
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5 October: Galatians 1:6-12
Key Verse: Galatians 1:10
Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Devotion:
When Paul was writing this letter to the people of Galatia, he must have been somewhat worried the people were so easily swayed away from the Gospel. I sometimes wonder how people cannot see the Gospel as the Truth!
The people were listening to someone or some others who were distorting the truth, probably for their own good or their own profit in some way. When things are not going your way it may seem like a small thing to bend the truth a little so you can have a better time than before.
We cannot do this with the Gospel because as soon as we change it, it is no longer the Gospel of Christ but a word according to you!
Once we start to look for acclaim from humans instead of blessing from God, we lose sight of that truth he has being trying to give us and we go down a slippery slope of promoting ourselves and our ways instead of God's ways and his will.
Points to ponder:
How often do you try to get your own way?
Are you willing to allow God's ways to come first?
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4 October: Matthew 21:33-46
Key Verse: Matthew 21:38
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.”
Devotion:
Sometimes, no matter what we do to try and make sure everything is OK, we still end up in a big hole or a lot of trouble!
In this parable the landowner thought they were doing the right thing by hiring someone to take care of things while they were away. They probably did what they thought was due diligence to select the right people for the job... but it still went badly!
In life, we can make all the right choices and do everything in our power to make sure, but things may still go wrong. This is life. We live in a world where we are not just working against the system, chance or whatever else we see, we are working against other peoples desires, greed and hatred!
God wants us to be aware of the danger in this world so we don't fall into the traps set by the people of this world. God wants us to know we can trust him but still be aware of what others can wreck around us. He has first hand knowledge through what the world did to his Son, Jesus!
Points to ponder:
Do you find yourself in trouble because of what someone else has done?
Sometimes we have to trust God above the people around us...
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3 October: Luke 10:17-24
Key Verse: Luke 10:20
Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’
Devotion:
What is the first thing you do when things go well or you come out on top? Do you boast about what has happened, boast about how good you are now, tell everyone things have gone well? What do you do?
God has warned us many times about how we should not boast in ourselves but should be acknowledging the one who has allowed things to happen the way they have. We should be acknowledging God as the power behind everything.
If we can hold our heads up acknowledging that we are Christians and how we have submitted to God, others may be able to have the chance at getting to know God as we know him.
God wants us to spread the good news, which means others can hear what could happen to them and how they too can have a healthy relationship with him too.
Points to ponder:
What do you find yourself boasting about in life?
How often do you catch yourself lifting yourself up?
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2 October: Luke 10:13-16
Key Verse: Luke 10:16
‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’
Devotion:
Some of us have no problem with believing others can do things after we see they can do them. When we see how people can threaten us and frighten us into believing they can do bad things to us, our perception of life changes according to what they say.
What we should be doing is stopping to think about the power of God and what he can do in our lives. When we give in to things because we recognise the power of God, we start to move in the right direction!
But when we give in to the things of the world and what other people say and do, we are not following the will of God, but the will of mankind.
God has sent people into this world to tell us about him, to remind us of his commandments and to show us what we should be doing with our lives. If we stop and begin to listen to what they have to say, we get a bit closer to what God wants in our lives...
Points to ponder:
Do you believe the person who shouts the loudest?
Or do you stop to listen for the truth?
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1 October: Job 19:21-27
Key Verse: Job 19:24
O that with an iron pen and with lead they were engraved on a rock for ever!
Devotion:
Can you see the humour or maybe irony here as Job cries out about the troubles he is facing and begs his friends to see how much anguish he is in at this time - because from what he sees they just seem to be trying to get him to denounce God and do his own worldly things.
Job knows better and his cry is to God because he is at his wits end. He wants all of what he is going through to be written down for everyone to read so everyone will know that God will eventually answer his prayers. He knows that in his heart!
That is much the same feeling I had in hospital 7 years ago when everyone thought this was the end, but I knew God was listening and would answer my prayers and the prayers of the people back home who were asking for healing!
When you see your prayers answered, go out and tell people what you prayed for and what the outcome was. Let them make thie own minds up whether God was answering your prayers - that is their faith!
Points to ponder:
What have you done when God answered your prayers?
How can someone else's faith grow through your own...
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30 September: Job 9:1-12
Key Verse: Job 9:12
He snatches away; who can stop him? Who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
Devotion:
Job was a very wise person and, even though he faced all manner of trials and horrible things happening in his life because of Satan, he still stuck to what he knew about God. The Holy, Just, Merciful God!
When the people around him started to give in and tell Job he should be cursing God or working toward his own rewards because they believed God must have forsaken him for all this to happen to him!
But Job knew otherwise. He knew nobody was more powerful, wiser or better than God in any way. He knew he had to continue to believe God had a plan in his life.
Nobody can turn round and scold God for doing something in their lives because God is the ultimate power. When things go so terribly wrong, we can bet they are because of someone else doing something in our lives and not God. God may allow some things to happen, but it is for a reason and ours is to wait and see.
Points to ponder:
Do you see bad things happening in your life?
Have you stopped to think about who is actually doing these horrible things?
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29 September: John 1:47-51
Key Verse: John 1:48
Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’
Devotion:
Once again I am a bit late getting this out to everyone... Sometimes life seems to raise its head more than I would like and things go by the wayside; well, the writing may go by the wayside but the communion with God does not stop!
I love this section of passage where Jesus meets Nathanael and says that there is no guile within him, meaning Jesus could see into his heart and soul.
This may have been a bit unsettling to start with, but after Jesus tells him he knew him at a time when he was waiting under a fig tree for Philip. That would have immediately struck something in Nathanael because only he would have known that before Philip arrived on the scene!
This is a great reminder that Jesus knows us. Not just who we are from a Google search or phonebook lookup, but he knows us from the inside out and he still chooses to meet with us and call us!
Points to ponder:
Has there been a time where you have asked Jesus for something without telling anyone else?
How did he answer... think about it
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28 September: Job 1:6-12
Key Verse: Job 1:10
Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
Devotion:
I was just thinking about this passage a short while ago and wondering what it would be like to be in the position Job was in.
He was an upright person, always praised God, made sure God go all the glory for everything in life and was not shy about allowing others to know this!
But as we go further into the passage (after the verses listed here) we start to find what Satan is capable of doing in an innocent persons life just to try and stop someone from praising God!
The evil one is not going to stop being evil and bringing evil into our lives until God steps in and stops him from having a free hand. If we do not invite God in to give us that helping hand, we may face a whole lot more than we are ready to face!
Points to ponder:
Do you invite God in to every part of your life?
Will you drop your pride and ask him in!