daily readings

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Remembering God’s Faithfulness

25th August

“O God our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?……Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence ….We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us.”

2 Chronicles 20:7-9

Remembering God’s faithfulness in times of trouble is a key way to knowing that, in His faithfulness and mercy, He will protect and watch over us as He has promised. God is faithful. Period. There is never a time in history nor will there ever be, when God has stopped being faithful. He is faithful in our weakness and even when we don’t deserve it.

Jehoshaphat, although a God fearing man, previously had partnered with King Ahab (a not so Godly man) of Israel. Because of this bad allegiance, when King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat went to war together (against the will of God), not only did they loose the war but King Ahab also lost his life. God was greatly grieved that Jehoshaphat has not listened to Him and many people needlessly died on the battle field. Yet even still, God showed mercy once again to Jehoshaphat, rescued him and forgave Him.

However, unlike King Ahab, Jehoshaphat completely had full trust in His merciful God. He completely trusted Him to save their nation because of God’s faithfulness throughout their history and because God has promised them the land they were living in. He knew that if they cried out, God would hear.

When we are faced with situations where the outcome is out of our hands, we should not try to fix it on our own, but completely surrender it to God, knowing that just as He has helped us in the past, so He will continue to do in the future. Leaning on God’s promises and faithfulness in the past gives us a solid foundation to trust Him with our future. If the road ahead is unclear, trust God even more and let His light direct your steps.

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King Jehoshaphat’s Response To Trouble

24th August

“Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. So people came from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.”

2 Chronicles 20:3-4

Throughout the Old Testament we read of good kings that followed God’s laws and honoured Him, and bad kings that set their hearts to worship false idols and form alliances with pagan kingdoms. Today’s story features King Jehoshaphat, a good king. He did make some foolish errors in his time, but was remembered for his good works and his deep fear and love for God. In fact so great was the favour of the Lord on Jehoshaphat’s life, that enemy kingdoms started to fear Judah.

However, there were some enemies that didn’t fear his kingdom, the Moabites, Ammonites and the Meunites. These enemies declared war on Judah and when news reached Jehoshaphat’s ears, fear filled him to the very core. This was no small enemy but an army of hundreds and thousands, hence Jehoshaphat’s reaction.

Yet what was his response? You would expect a God-fearing King to say ‘prepare yourself troops, eat well, get ready for war and do not fear because God is with us‘. Yet he doesn’t do that at all. In fact, he does the opposite. He calls a fast and gets everyone to pray. Why? Because he knew that they could not defeat this enemy without God. He fell to his knees, along with his kingdom, crying out to God to lead and guide them. He re-called all the good things that God had done for them and remembered God’s faithfulness to their nation. Furthermore he humbled himself in complete helplessness knowing that there was nothing he could do in his own strength to win this war…“We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”

What is our reaction when faced with troubles or situations out of our hands? Do we continue to prepare and try to ‘sort it out’ by ourselves, or do we completely surrender in helpless submission to God, crying out for His help?

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The Exalted Leader

22nd 23rd August

Weekend Edition

“Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honour and gave Him the Name above all other names, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father..”

Philippians 2:9-11

Jesus had to completely sacrifice Himself for us; both emotionally and physically. He emptied Himself of all His rights and privileges (remember He said He could have called legions of angels to rescue Him if He needed), He humbly came to earth as a servant, obediently endured the hardship of the cross, and sacrificially gave Himself up for our sake. Our sins were pinned on Him. The world’s pain, sadness, and grief were all on His shoulders.

Yet, because He was obedient, the Father exalted Him and gave Him the Name above every name. It is at the Name of Jesus that enemies flee, sickness is healed, salvation is found and lives transformed. It because Jesus had to endure the cross and overcome it, that we too can access His great power, His great grace and His great love. Because He lives, we live. He lives in us and we live in His glorious blessings.

Furthermore, one day, even the doubters, will fall before His throne, and declare He is Lord. This means everyone!! Yet we have been given the privilege to declare His Majesty here on earth, right now. Let us declare that we serve the exalted King. That He is our God. Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords and Name above all Names! Hallelujah.

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The Obedient Leader

21st August

“…He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Philippians 2:8

The cross in Bible times was a mark of shame. It was one of the worse ways to die and was reserved for the most wicked of criminal’s. The bible even calls it a curse to be hanged on a tree in the book of Deuteronomy. Some even say that because sin entered the world through a tree (the tree of knowledge where Adam took the apple from) that is why it was cursed. Make of that what you will, but what we do know for sure, is that on the tree that Christ was crucified on, all sin and curses were broken as Jesus became sin for us and broke the curse of the law by becoming the curse for us. He took our place.

Yet all this was in submission and obedience to the Father. When Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “Lord, take this cup from me”, the anguish He was feeling was real. It was far from easy for Him to give His life, to take our sins and to be beaten to death. Yet He cried out the most powerful words, “Nevertheless, not My will but Yours!!”.

True obedience calls us to submit our own desires and align ourselves with the will of God; even if the cost is great and involves big sacrifices. Jesus our perfect example, showed us how to live an obedient and self-less life. The cross now stands a blessing for humanity. Moreover, it is not so much the cross itself, but what happened on the cross that causes us to rejoice. Let us draw on the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection to enable us to live lives submitted in obedience to God our Heavenly Father.

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Getting Re-Charged

20th August

“The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told Him all they had done and taught. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said that because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and His disciples didn’t even have time to eat.”

Mark 6:30-31

Yesterday morning, after I had charged my phone I touched the screen to see if the charge had been successful. The big green battery icon indicated to me that the phone was charged to 100%. As I walked away something just jumped out at me. I am charged 100% for Christ or do I need to get re-charged? It’s a thought that didn’t leave me and was confirmed when reading this verse.

Jesus sent out His twelve disciples, commissioning them to cast out evil spirits, heal the sick and call many to repentance. After they came back, they sat down with Jesus and told Him all they had seen and taught. Yet Jesus realised that they all were so caught up in serving that they had forgotten to eat. He called for them to retire to a quiet place and revive their bodies before carrying on with more ministry, (interestingly they never got their rest but did receive food when Jesus fed the 5000).

The principle Jesus teaches here, is that we can so easily get caught in ‘life’ and forget to look after our bodies. Furthermore, we can get so busy that we start giving from our own resources instead of being connected with the real source, the Holy Spirit. When the danger light comes on, stop what you are doing and get connected again to the source. Re-charge your Spirit. If even Jesus recognised the need for rest and re-charging, how much more do we?

Paul echoes Jesus’ thoughts in His pray for the church in Ephesus with these words. May they be applicable to us and may we plug in and re-charge in Christ.

“I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:16)

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The Humble Leader

19th August

 

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling on to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being…..”

Philippians 2:5-7b

This passage in Philippians is one of the most clearest accounts of what Jesus actually had to sacrifice for us. Not only does it explain His sacrificial love for us but also helps us to understand how humble Jesus was.

Paul explains that Jesus was God. Yet when He realised that mankind could never pay the debt of their sin, He knew that He had to sacrifice Himself, in human form, for the sins of the world. So, in the words of the original writing, He literally ’emptied Himself’, gave up His ‘divine privileges’ and took the position of a slave (again the original writing is even lower than a servant).

Let us not forget that this same Jesus, stood with the trinity, in perfect union at the beginning of time, flinging stars into space, breathing life in humanity and all created things. This same Jesus was there even before creation existed, yet here HE is, humbly emptying Himself of all His royalty, His divine privileges and making Himself as a human being, the very people He created.

Jesus did all this for you and I. He gave Himself up for us. He allowed Himself to suffer in our place because He loves us. He set us the perfect way to live our lives. He gave us the perfect example and He is living in us to help us become more like Him. Let us strive to live humble lives in the power of His Name and through the strength of the Holy Spirit.

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The Servant Leader

18th August

“…Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:26a-28

As the disciples gathered together once again, they began to discuss who was going to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus, when He returned to His Kingdom. Yet Jesus wisely didn’t give them a direct answer but instead shared the ultimate truth of what a true leader should be… A servant.

Jesus didn’t just speak empty words but lived them through His life. Jesus explained to the disciples that those who desire to become first or to become leaders must first know what it is to serve. Jesus, in coming to the earth in human likeness, showed us exactly what it means to live as a servant leader. He gave up His Heavenly rights to live as a created being and be crucified at the hands of those He created.

If we are to strive for leadership and strive for influence, then we must first learn how to serve our brothers and sisters with sacrificial love, self-less kindness and humility. The world teaches that great leaders are always the strongest characters, the boldest and the most outspoken. Yet Jesus teaches that the greatest leader should be like the meek and mild servant. This is not to say Jesus was a weak character, moreover it is to say His strength was in His gentle heart and His attitude to serve rather than be served. This was ultimately demonstrated when He gave His life as a ransom for our sins.

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When God’s On Your Side..

17th August

 

“The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; He will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.”

Psalm 118:6-7

David was a mighty man of battle. Many victories had been won by his leadership. In fact it has often been said that Israel has never had such a great king in all of it’s history. Such was David’s great fame and respect that even Jesus was often named the ‘Son of David’. It is clear that David’s life was a monumental period of time in Israel’s history. Yet why did David receive so much praise?

Quite simply, because his trust was never in himself, never in his great army and never in his wealth. It was always in God. Even when faced with foes that outnumbered his own, he stood defiant because he knew that God was with him. Even when faced with hate and fear, he could triumphantly because he knew that God was fighting with him.

His confidence was not in what he could do, but in what God could do. He knew that man’s ability to harm him was limited compared to God’s ability to save him. Time and time again, he drew on the strength of God to face his enemies and trusted Him with his life.

We too can take that same confidence into our own lives if we learn to put our full trust in Jesus. We can look at our problems triumphantly. We can face fear and anxiety with a winning attitude because God is with us. When we have full confidence in who we are in Christ, life’s problems seem less of a mountain to climb. Let us join in with David and rejoice our Saviour is with US!

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The Lord Of Lords and King Of All Kings

15th – 16th August

Weekend Edition

“Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because He is the Lord of all Lords and King of all Kings. And His called and chosen and faithful ones will be with Him.”

Revelation 17:14

There is no denying that the book of Revelation is not bed time reading. It has been said that it contains stories which are hard to understand and hard to relate to. In fact so many books have been written on it, trying to understand the intricate wordings of John’s revelation on the island of Patmos during his exile. Yet the key to understanding this book is to highlight the mega themes, of which one supersedes them all; Jesus WINS and the enemy is defeated. In fact so great is this mega theme, that it is repeated not just through the book of Revelation but throughout the whole Bible. Countless times we read of satans defeat and Christ’s victory.

Chapter 17 follows this mega theme as John describes his revelation. He explains that he saw a great prostitute, drunk with the blood of martyrs, adorned with jewellery from precious gems and full of blasphemous writings and obscenities all over her. Her power came from those who had committed adultery with her and those who had been made drunk by the wine of her immorality (all those belonging to the enemy). Yet foolishly, the beast and the prostitute try to wage war against God.

There is always only one outcome when in war with God; Jesus WINS. Period. There is never a time where God looses and there never will be. Why? As it says in today’s verse “because He is the Lord of all Lords and King of all Kings”. He will always overcome because He is God. He is Power.

Notice that it says that, we, His called, chosen and faithful ones will be with Him. We are His children and we have that same powerful God living inside us. Friends let us remember, that with God, we always can live in victory. Jesus is the Name above all Names, the Kings of all Kings and the God above all gods. We can live in victory over sickness, death, sin, loneliness, and sorrow. He is victory. He is our God.

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Jesus’ Patient Return

14th August

“And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight. And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved…”.”

2 Peter 3:14-15a

Jesus is coming again. The scriptures are full of prophecies concerning this and even Jesus Himself said that He would comeback again to His disciples as He returned to Heaven after His resurrection. Yet so often we get complacent and impatient in His timing. We long for the day when He will return and finally remove our suffering, pain and sorrow. When we can be re-united with loved ones we have lost on the way. When we can speak face to face with God Himself. Yet that day is not yet…

Peter reminds his readers that one day in God’s timing is like one thousand years for us. In fact God is out of our time. He created time Himself. Peter reminds his readers that it is not that God is delaying His return because He is slow but rather because He is being patient.

“The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” (v9)

God’s heart is only full of love. He is giving all people a chance to repent and come back to Him. He heart is that no-one will perish. He died for that very reason. However, the sad truth is many will reject Him, reject His truth and many will perish. We can hasten the speed of His return by sharing the gospel with as many people as we can. The world needs Jesus. They need His salvation. Moreover they can know about Him through YOUR life! Go and share His good news while there is time.