devotionals

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Being Thankful

13th July

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

One of the hardest lessons to live by is to be thankful and joyful in all circumstances. After all, as Paul writes, it is the will of those who belong to Christ Jesus. Yet being thankful and joyful in all circumstances doesn’t necessarily mean we should accept all things or be content with injustice or hardships. Being thankful and joyful means that you put your trust in Jesus and not in our own ability to change circumstances for the good. If we know that our circumstances are in the hands of Almighty God, then that gives us cause and reason to rejoice. It gives us cause to be thankful knowing that God is control. It takes away the pressure that we put on ourselves to ‘make things better’ and allows Jesus to be in the driver’s seat. That is why we should never stop praying. By persistently praying we are continually inviting Jesus into our circumstances and by doing our filled with joy and hope.

As we lay down our needs and hopes at the feet of Jesus, may His joy fill our hearts, not just with a temporary happiness but a sustained joy that doesn’t waver in hardships and is not swayed by circumstance. It is a joy that resounds in victory and comes from the very throne room of Heaven. May your hope and thanksgiving be found in Jesus.

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I Can Do ALL Through Christ

12th July

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

Philippians 4:13

Paul was a man who went through everything. Extreme hunger, extreme poverty and extreme persecution; All this, to share the gospel and to share the love of Jesus with others. Yet how did he survive? How did he not give up? The answer is found in today’s key verse. ‘I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength’. Paul learnt not to depend on food, others, circumstances or anything else for his sustenance and strength. The only source of his strength and joy was Jesus. He knew that through the empowerment of Jesus’ strength in him, he could accomplish all, endure all and persevere in all.

Today, if you are going through challenging circumstances, experiencing hardships or financial turmoil, know this… it is only through Jesus’ strength that you can endure. He will lift you up, shelter you from the storm and guide your path in the darkness. He will give you the strength to keep going and not to give up. Put your trust in Him and just as He helped Paul, and so many others throughout history, He will help you too. Don’t give up but instead look up to Jesus.

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God’s Love Is Powerful: Re-Visited

11th July

“Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise Him, all you people of the earth. For His unfailing love for us is powerful; The Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord!”

Psalm 117

There is no greater love than the love of Father God. In fact the Psalmist tells us that God’s love for us is POWERFUL. It is because of His powerful love that sin was defeated. It was His powerful love that resurrected Jesus from the grave. It is His powerful love that saves even the most hardened criminals. Because of His powerful love towards us we too can have an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. Even when we rebel against Him, His powerful love calls us back into His arms. He is faithful and just always. His faithfulness endures forever.

It is because we are loved with such a powerful love, that we can praise Him, we can love Him too, and we can love others with the same love He loves us with. His powerful love breaks the chains of addiction, fear and bondage. His powerful love is liberating. He powerful is constantly re-uniting broken families and bringing hope and justice to the world. Let us unite in praise to the Lord, because of His Powerful love towards us and because of His faithfulness.

Start your week in praise. Accept His Powerful love. Love God. Love yourself. Love others.

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In The Midst Of Turmoil

9th & 10th July

Weekend Edition

“Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him.”

Psalm 34:8

Turn the news on and you will be bombarded with a wave of negativity, depressing facts, hate, killings and economic insecurity. It is a bleak sight. As Christians, we too are obviously effected by the circumstances of the world. However there is a big difference in our approach to them. We can still maintain our joy, even when joy seems a long forgotten emotion. That is not to say we are not sad, concerned or even disturbed by the news and facts but it is to say that no matter what is happening around us, if we take refuge in Him (in God), we will not be shaken. Furthermore, refuge in Him, gives us the motivation to fight injustice, stand up for people’s rights and practice true religion.

Be encouraged, God is for us and will fill us with His joy. Good things are coming.

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Statement Of Faith

8th July

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”

Romans 10:9-10

What do you believe and why do you believe it? Do you just believe something that you were made to believe or do you personally sincerely believe it? Deep question right! Yet knowing what you believe and why, is the difference between life and death. It may seem rather dramatic but it is a truth we need to take seriously. Life and death, of course is ultimately eternal life or eternal damnation. Yet it could also mean life or death on this physical earth too. Many Christians boldly stand up for their faith in Jesus, in persecuted countries, then face the ultimate penalty for not denying Christ. This is the reality of what it truly means to know what you believe, why you believe it and in extreme cases, even be willing to die for your convictions.

If Jesus wasn’t truly sure He was God, then our faith would have been built on a lie. If Paul and Peter, kept wavering in their faith, and denying Jesus every time persecution came, where would today’s church be. In fact, as Paul addresses in this wonderful chapter, how can people be saved, if they don’t know what they believe?

Our role is firstly to get our own lives in check. We mustn’t sit on the fence of unbelief or in the courts of lukewarmness. We must know what we believe; that Jesus is Lord and He was raised from the dead to forgive our sins. This is the foundation of our faith and the truth we must hold firmly. After we are sure what we believe, we can then have enough of a conviction to share it boldly with others so that they might believe for themselves. “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news.” (Romans 10:15b)

What is your confession of faith?

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God Always Gets The Praise

7th July

“For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May Your glory shine over all the earth.”

Psalm 108:4-5

God is so faithful. Because He is so faithful He will always get the glory. He even makes bad situations in our lives work out for good so He gets the glory. The question is do we give Him the praise when bad situations get fixed? Do we give Him the glory and praise He deserves?

If you think that you have run out of things to praise God for then have a read of Psalm 111:4, “He causes us to remember His wonderful works. How gracious and merciful is our Lord!” In fact God is so great that “everything He does, reveals His glory and Majesty.” We cannot hide from the majestic works of our God. We cannot run from His mercy and faithfulness. His love is inescapable. His glory shines over all the earth.

Let us think upon the goodness of God. Let us rejoice in the blessings of the Almighty. Let us ask God to remind us of anything we have not thanked Him for. When you see His glory, praise Him. He loves to be told how great His works are. He delights in our worshipful admiration. In fact He created the beauty of this world to reveal Himself to His creation. Even if you are facing a challenging situation this week, know that God is already working in your situation, so He can be glorified and you can be set free.

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A Compassionate Jesus

6th July

“When the Lord saw her, His heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” He said.”

Luke 7:13

Her tears blurred her vision. While we do not know if she saw Jesus, she did not reach out to Him: her son was dead and needed life. She knew Jesus was a healer but what could He do for her? In the midst of her grief, Jesus saw her and He had compassion. Instead of skipping to the happy end of this story, let’s stop here: Jesus had compassion. It is interesting to note that even in the midst of our sorrow, struggles and grief, Jesus is there, even if we don’t cry out to Him, He sees our tears and hears our cries, just like he did with this widowed woman.

Compassion, is a simple phrase that is found throughout each of the four Gospels. It was an integral part of Jesus’ character. Compassion saw him reach out to a widow who had just lost her only son and compassion is what sees Jesus reach out to us. The life-changing truth is that Jesus is good and He encourages us to ask Him for help. He never ran from disease, death, or wretchedness. While we may not understand why certain prayers are answered quickly while others hang painfully in the air, we can be assured that He sees us and cares. 1 He has compassion to come to our aid when we need Him and to be an ever present source of strength in our moments of weakness.

1Adapted from David Jeremiah, Turning Point Ministries

 

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A Promise Of Hope And Peace

5th July

“The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore..”

Isaiah 2:4

Have you ever been promised hope in a hopeless situation? It must have felt so great to know that there would soon be end to your suffering or turmoil. Today’s message was exactly that for a nation who was in self-inflicted persecution, yet never abandoned or forsaken by their kind and gracious God. Yet, the reason God’s word is so valuable for today’s readers, is that God’s promises were not just for those who lived thousands of years ago, but also for today’s day and age. After all, we worship the same God who spoke these words.

Today’s world is full of war, rumours of wars, financial crisis, and un-rest. Who do we turn to in such times? Who can we find hope and peace in? The answer.. The Prince of Peace: Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. If God is with us, then what do we have to fear. God through Isaiah’s words promised that He Himself would mediate peace between nations… Nation will no longer fight against nation… There will be peace. It is a promise. In our waiting and our trusting, let us put our hope once more in God’s promises, in the security of His words and trust that His word will always come to pass. May we too be vessels of His peace, love and hope.

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No More

4th July

“Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting – they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings.”

Isaiah 1:13

Like many of the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah had the hard job of communicating God’s holy and righteous anger to the people of God, even if it was with such heavy words as we read in today’s verse. Yet the message was timely and necessary, even if it was hard hitting.

Israel were in a time of rebellion. The once faithful chosen people of God, now living as prostitutes, selling themselves to false idols, and worship of pagan gods, corrupted by the love of money and sinful pleasures (v19). Yet they still hypocritically made time to offer sacrifices to God in His temple, and still made time to observe the holy days, as set out in the law given by Moses. Yet their actions, according to God, where meaningless,, sinful and false. God didn’t want to receive gifts from people just ticking off their religious duty lists. God wanted people who loved Him and served Him only. He wanted people who did good, sought after justice, helped the oppressed, defended the cause of orphans, and fought for the rights of widows (v17).

Yet God in His grace, even in the midst of the Israel’s deep rebellion and falsehood, still promised them a way out and still promised that He would make them new again, if they just turned to Him in truth. He promised to turn their scarlet sins as white as snow, and as pure white wool (v18).

Today’s truth is a reminder that it is never too late to turn back to our kind and loving and faithful God. You too may be living in opposition to God and maybe God is calling you back to Him as He did with Israel. He promised to turn our scarlet sins as white as snow too. He wants us to worship Him in truth; To do good, seek justice, helping the oppressed, defending the cause of orphans and fighting for the rights of widows. But above all, He wants all of our hearts. To say ‘no more’ to sinful rebellion, and yes to a true and right standing relationship with Him. Even in the midst of our sin, Jesus always offers His hand of mercy.

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Spiritual Fitness

2nd & 3rd July

Weekend Edition

“Do not waste your time arguing over godless ideas and old wives tales. Instead, train yourself to be Godly. “Physical training is good, but training for Godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.””

1 Timothy 4:7-8

Many people invest a lot of time in trying to get fit. Hours spent in gyms, strict eating regimes, and disciplined lifestyles. These are not bad. In fact, as Christians we should be encouraged to look after our bodies, as they are temple of God. Yet what is the point in investing so much in our physical appearance and health if we allow our spiritual man to wither away and die? For it is our souls that lives on long after our physical bodies have perished. So how do we stay spiritually fit? Well, both private and corporate exercise.

Spending time in personal spiritual exercise is essential in the Christian faith. Reading the word of God and letting it feed your soul, spending time in prayer with our Father and resting in His presence are key tools in our spiritual fitness program. Yet corporate exercise is just as important as personal or private spiritual exercise. We are in a journey together with our brothers and sisters and we need each other to encourage, lift us up when we are feeling weak, and to also invest in our spiritual lives. To do this, we need to meet regularly, praying together, worshipping together and growing together in Christ.

Finally when we serve the body of Christ, in whatever form that takes, we start putting our spiritual investments and training into practice. We then start to grow even deeper in our walk with God. We are saved to serve. It is there that our time invested in the ‘spiritual gym’ (personal exercise), comes good. As the Apostle Paul quoted, ‘physical training is good, but training for Godliness is much better!’ May we filter out our lives, disregarding anything that will make us spiritually lazy and invest into our spiritual lives, both for this life and in the next.