“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.“ Matthew 6:33 NKJV
Welcome to the 50th week of our devotional recap. This is where we remind ourselves of all we learnt during the week. This week, we learnt about time and prudence in our spiritual life, that we are safe in God, how to be prepared, and how to show gratitude.
We kicked off this week on Monday with a teaching on Preparedness. Jesus Christ told us over 2,000 years ago to be prepared for when the son of man will return (Matthew 24: 44). As believers, we must stay ready in mind and body at all times to do our duty, just like the five wise virgins (Matthew 25: 1-13).
Two ways to stay prepared are to abide in Christ (1 John 2: 8) and to do whatever He asks you to do, no questions asked (John 2: 5). A great way to show your level of preparedness is to do what Christ has already asked you to do – Go into all the world and preach the gospel!
On Tuesday, we were reminded that we are safe and kept. Fear is a common emotion in today’s negativity-filled world. However, as believers, we fear not because our father who owns the universe has promised us peace (Isaiah 46:10, Jeremiah 29:11). This doesn’t mean that we will not face challenges (John 16:33), but when the challenges come, we have a potent weapon, which is the word of God. The more we meditate on scriptures that remind us of our safety in God (Psalms 91, Proverbs 18:10), the more conscious of it we are.
On Wednesday, we were instructed to walk carefully and circumspectly. As believers, the only way to do this is by living according to the word of God. Because we have a limited time on earth, we must use our time to understand and to do God’s will (Ephesians 5: 16-17, Psalms 90:10). As we approach the end of the year, it would be wise to reflect on what consumed our time this year and realign our steps with God’s will.
Thursday’s teaching taught us to ‘Count our Blessings’. There are many reasons to be thankful to God but the most important one is for salvation through Christ Jesus. We are blessed because our sins have been forgiven and we have been made righteous forever (Romans 4: 11, Psalms 32: 1-2). We have received a priceless gift – eternal life, which outweighs anything else that we could ever receive. So start by being grateful for eternal life, then count all the other blessings that God has given you.
On Friday, we learnt about ‘Gratitude points’. As Christians, we should not be like those who say they have nothing to be grateful for because our story is different. Our gratitude is less about material things, and more about what God did for us through Christ. He gave us eternal life(2 Corinthians 5:21, John 3: 16). Our thanksgiving shouldn’t be based on what we are going through but on who we are in Christ in Jesus. We are saved! (Galatians 2: 20).
Like our anchor text says, seek ye first the kingdom of God. If we fix our gaze on Christ at all times, we will always be prepared for his coming and even in thanksgiving, we will never lose sight of the best thing that ever happened to us – Salvation.
Bible Reading Plan: John 21:1-14, Revelation 21, Job 41:12-34, Zechariah 10-14