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April 3: Isaiah 43:16-21
Key Verse: Isaiah 43:18
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
Devotion:
Here is one of those things which is said, you know it is true, but you have difficulty doing what it says! When we started up our youth ministry, we chose this section of passage because of the hope it gives us that we have something new to look forward to. It may not seem like it when you are in the think of trouble, but we can always look forward to something new. At the very least it is the new beginning we are going to receive in Heaven; but more often it is something just round the corner...
I have always had difficulty letting go of things in the past because, more often than not, I put everything into the present and hope for the future. Yes, very optimistic some will say, but after seeing how God answers prayers over and over again, I know I have always got something to look forward to – be it tomorrow or a decade from now!
When we are in troubled times, all we see is the trouble which surrounds us – like being at sea in a storm. All we can see is the next wave coming to crash into the boat. But when the waters are calm, we can see for miles in all directions! Our lives are going to be like this, sometimes it will be clear sailing and we will see everything in a beautiful light. Sometimes it will be as if we are in the middle of a storm and we see wave after wave and nothing more.
But, every storm will pass and once again the sea will be calm. It is during the calm times we need to continue focusing on God so we can steer towards the land in the distance. He wants to show us which direction to turn to, but we have to be willing to stop and listen. God is Good!
Points to Ponder:
Do you focus on the stormy season?
Will you look forward to the spring and summer instead?
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April 2: John 7:45-52
Key Verse: John 7:48
Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?
Devotion:
Just because someone does not do what you want and the way you want it done, doesn't make them wrong! All of us like to be in control of our own destiny, so we like to think we are in control of the things happening around us; which often means we want everything to go exactly as we want. When things don’t go according to our plan, we think of them as being wrong!
We don’t have to look very far to see this happening all around us nowadays. We can read about this in our bibles as people set about fighting each other just because they believed differently from each other. We can ready all throughout history how this has shaped and destroyed nations! We can watch it unfolding on our doorsteps in Europe today!
Jesus knew people would fight each other. He knew religious factions would fight each other. He knew the Pharisees would cause a lot of bother just because they wanted the people to follow the laws as described by them – how else would they stay in power and in control? This is the thing; when people sense power or control over others, they start overstepping the mark until they are no longer fully in control because the greed has taken over instead.
God wants us to hear the truth and to uphold the truth. He wants us to set aside the personal feelings and desires we have and try to ensure the truth is told first and foremost. When Nicodemus dared to support Jesus, the rest of the Pharisees shouted him down and supposed he was colluding with Jesus just because he said one thing in support of Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you uphold you own words, or support God’s words?
Will you set aside your desires and pick up the mantle to follow Christ?
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April 1: John 7:25-31
Key Verse: John 7:27
But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.
Devotion:
How many times have you been sure you knew the truth about something, only to find out a short while later what you knew was not quite right? The more we think we are sure the more we overlook the clues and the more we get entangled in the untruth! Jesus could see how confused the people were because they had become sure they would not know the Messiah – what they did not understand was they would not know where He really came from...
The people had got to know who Mary was and who Jesus was. He was the carpenters son, a human boy born to a mother outside of wedlock… or at least that is what they saw and focused on, leaving the truth out of the equation all together. They did not know the true Father of Jesus because they saw Joseph as the man.
Jesus started to allow people to see the truth; firstly by telling them here He was the Son of God in a round about way. If He had come out with the words, everyone would have tried to punish Him because it would have been seen as blasphemous! Jesus knew the time was not yet right for Him to open the people’s eyes to the absolute truth, so He slipped away while they were in disarray over the statement.
But the people who were willing to listen to the truth and accept it for what it was, saw something very special – they saw the man who was the Messiah, the Saviour who had come to save them once and for all. The people who believed in Jesus because to realise the extent of the miracles He was doing and the truth He was allowing them to hear.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get too tied up in life to stop and see the truth?
Will you take a moment to reflect of what Jesus is doing in your life?
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March 31: Psalm 106:19-23
Key Verse: Psalm 106:23
So he said he would destroy them - had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them.
Devotion:
Would you stand up and take the punishment for someone you love who had got themselves into trouble? I know most of us would try to do what we can to keep our friends from getting into trouble, but standing up and saying you are guilty instead of them takes a whole lot more courage and love.
When the Hebrew people started to make idols for themselves and worship them instead of God, it was Moses who stood up and was willing to bed God to forgive the people. God had every right to be upset with the people and even to take away everything He had given them – including their lives; but Moses was willing to stand up and ask God to give everyone another chance. Moses stood in the path of destruction so God would not take it out on the people!
When Jesus came to earth in human form, He was willing to stand up in front of the accusers and take on the punishment instead of us. We are the ones who have sinned and have done things wrong before God. Jesus did no wrong before God; yet He was still willing to stand up instead of us and take the full punishment which was death!
The Apostles learned through Jesus example this is what love is all about. They learned through the harshness of the death of Christ on the cross that love must not have any limits. They began to understand the full extent of the love God has for us all because Jesus showed them through example. Jesus wants us to be able to stand up and be counted for the love He has shared with us!
Points to Ponder:
How do you show people love?
Are you willing to stand up and declare your love for others?
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March 30: Proverbs 3:5-7
Key Verse: Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
Devotion:
How many times have you tried to fix something your own way and had it go terribly wrong – making the situation worse than before? Sometimes I think I must attract bad situations in life because they just seem to happen. Then I remember how much God is watching over me and the comfort comes back. So what is this all about?
Living in this world means we have to sometimes put up with what happens in this world. It can be a tyrant invading another country or it can simply be a rain shower as you are walking home. Bad things do happen in life and the more we dwell on those things and those times, the more we will focus on them and the more down we get because we think it is all going terribly wrong!
It is normally just life happening around us – both the good and the bad. We have to go through the same things as the people around us. But God may well be walking with us through these tough times and may be the one giving us the strength to walk forward and not get bogged down in it all.
Whatever happens in life, we can always turn to God and get comfort from Him. No matter how rough and tough things get, we can always find rest with God. It may only be spiritual rest and not physical rest, but you will find that spiritual rest is worth more than the physical rest at the end of the day. Don’t try to analyse everything and set it all right according to your own rules – allow God time to work the spiritual things out in your life too.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get confused with life?
Have you let God take control recently?
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March 29: Psalm 94:1-3
Key Verse: Psalm 94:3
How long, Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?
Devotion:
How often have you wondered why the wicked people seem to gain so much in this world? Have you asked the question “how long will they get away with it?” At the moment I am asking this question of the Russian president just as I have asked the question of other tyrants in our world.
When I was reading these verses the one thing which struck me was the fact we always ask these questions as if they belonged only in our time-line. We have a finite life-span and we expect answers to our question while we are still around to think of them; we don’t look at the bigger picture which God is doing! When we look back on the Hebrew people spending so much time in the desert, we try to measure the time based on our ideas.
God was concerned about the people, the generation of people who had continued to doubt Him time and time again. He was not looking at how many days, weeks, month or years it would take, but the generation of people. When we start asking questions of God, we should be willing to allow God to answer in the time-scales He is used to working in. When we ask God to let the wicked come to justice, our prayers have already been answered!
The evil will not inherit the kingdom of God. What is ahead for these people is a time and place we cannot imagine in our worst nightmares. They will be facing the most evil they have brought into the world and they will be facing it for eternity! We may face the evil for a while on earth, but God is looking after us and will take us to be with Him in heaven just as He has promised; not so for those who deal in evil...
Points to Ponder:
How long before you give up praying against evil?
Will you continue to pray against evil and allow God to deal with it?
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March 28: Exodus 2:11-14
Key Verse: Exodus 2:12
Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
Devotion:
How many times have you wondered why God has chosen you to do the things you do? How many times have you thought you were not worthy enough to do anything for God? How many times have you surmised you are not good enough to be chosen by God? Well, let us look at this moment in time when Moses was not all he seemed to be...
Moses had been saved from certain death by women who felt sorry for a young child. He grew up in a privileged position when he was supposed to be put to death. He learned all manner of things when he should have been just another poor person from a slave family. But God chose him before he did anything wrong.
Moses went out to see the plight of his own people and came across an Egyptian beating up a Hebrew, one of his own people. Instead of doing what other Egyptians would do and look away, he got involved. He checked to see if anyone was watching, thinking nobody was, he killed the Egyptian to save his fellow Hebrew. This went terribly wrong because this act encouraged another Hebrew to beat up his fellow men.
God chose Moses. He then watched on as Moses committed a grave sin. He then watched on as the earthly the consequences of what Moses had done caught up with Moses. But God did not banish Moses; He had already chosen Moses and knew it would be Moses who would be able to save the Hebrew people. God would continue to protect Moses before encouraging him to do something outrageous – to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt under God’s protection.
Points to Ponder:
Do you wonder if you are good enough?
Do you not see God can choose anyone?
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March 27: Luke 15:11-20
Key Verse: Luke 15:14
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
Devotion:
This parable of the lost son is pretty well known and so is the message it gives us, no matter what we have done, God still loves us and He will welcome us home in open arms if we come back… But something else struck me when I read through these verses to write these words for us: When we are blessed by God, or are living a blessed life, we often lose our way and run off the rails a bit!
When the one son heard about the inheritance, all he could think about was the money and what he could do with it! If we are not careful in our lives, we will take the blessings God allows us to have and we will focus on them instead of the one who has given us those blessings! When we focus on those worldly things instead of the things of God, we run full on into the world instead of into God’s arms.
It is only when we realise we have nothing without God we see just how blessed we were to have Him in our lives to start with. We then think about all the other people who God is blessing and we can even get jealous about it! That pulls us further down the rabbit hole of wanting earthly goods instead of wanting God in our lives…
The son in this parable had to realise he had a much better life when he was with his father. He had to realise the people who were with his father, even though they were servants, were is a much better position than he was. When we realise the people who stick with God are in a better place than us, we may finally realise just how far we have gone away from God and turn back to Him. He will be waiting with open arms!
Points to Ponder:
Do you thank God for your blessings?
Will you try to focus more on God in your life?
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March 26: Hosea 6:1-3
Key Verse: Hosea 6:1
Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.
Devotion:
How many times have you commented on how God has done something to you or has allowed something to happen to you – you know, like blaming God for something bad in your life! Whilst I cannot remember doing so outwardly for as long as I can remember, I do know I have thought such thoughts inwardly!
These are the words of Hosea the prophet who was sent to try and talk some sense into the people of Israel, or Ephraim & Judah as they were known to some. The words are saved here for us to show how the people had lost their faith and trust in God and were blaming God for what was happening in their lives – something which is all to easy when we are in troubled times!
But just how much of it is down to whom? When we take a step back and get things into context, we will see so much proof and witness to the fact God does not let anyone down and remains the one constant in our lives. So why do bad things happen? Take a look around you and tell me what you see? Do you see a bunch of people working to make your life better, or do you see a bunch of people trying to make their own lives better and not always thinking about others?
We are constantly competing in this world and, sadly, many people don’t think of others but focus on themselves. When they do that, someone has to lose out. If we continue to try and follow what God has encouraged us to do, we will be obeying His will in our lives but could well be going against what some people want. They then turn against us, maybe without realising it, and we get into trouble; not because of God, but in spite of Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you blame God when things go bad?
Do you realise where the bad things come from?
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March 25: Hebrews 10:4-10
Key Verse: Hebrews 10:9
Then he said, ‘Here I am, I have come to do your will.’ He sets aside the first to establish the second.
Devotion:
I think this is one of the more poignant places in the bible which talks about the end of animal sacrifices in the face of Jesus sacrificing His own life for us. When the people of Israel were taken out of Egypt to follow God’s direction, they had many laws and rules put in place to guide them and to focus their hearts and minds. Is it right God should have set such hard laws, laws which could not possibly be met by mankind?
I put it to you we would never have been convinced if our ancestors would have had an easy life after being in captivity for such a long time. I put it to you God knew what we needed to refocus our minds and hearts. I certainly was not alive in the days when the people of Israel faced such hardships in the desert, so I cannot hope to understand their plight. But what I do understand is having strict rules to follow…
In boarding school we were always told how harsh our lives were by our peers who were not boarding; they could not understand how we put up with the rules and regulations we lived within. What I have learned from those days is that we were much more disciplined and could achieve more without having to be told what to do all the time.
God opened the gates by allowing Jesus to come and lay His life down for us. I fear many people have taken this too lightly and do not have a proper grasp on the seriousness of what Jesus went through. I cannot compare my boarding school life to what Jesus faced, but I can understand the difference between living a life within very strict rules to living a life of freedom and plenty.
Points to Ponder:
Do you have a blessed life?
Will you give some proper thought to what Jesus went through?