devotionals

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In Our Father’s Arms

22ndJune

“Praise the Lord; praise God our Saviour! For each day He carries us in His arms.”

Interlude

Psalm 68:19

Thanksgiving is such a great way to start the day. Thinking upon and remembering the goodness of all God has done for us, encourages us to exercise an attitude of gratitude in our lifestyles and as part of our daily devotion to God. It helps us to put God in the place He deserves to be in our lives. He truly does carry in His arms each day. He lifts our burdens and loads us with His goodness. He exchanges ashes and mourning for songs of praise and dancing. He is a good good God.

David also, in Psalm 68, reminds his readers of God’s redemption for the Nation of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. He recalls when they were rescued from bondage in Egypt, fed in the barren dry lands, rescued from the surrounding chariots when Pharaoh realised he had made a mistake by letting the Israelites go free, (although it was God who was actually at work) saving them by parting the seas and then lavishing them with the wealth of their enemies.

It is only when we recognise God’s goodness in our lives, that when faced with trails and tribulations, we can find strength and courage to persevere through and not to give up. We can be assured that just as God has helped us in the past, so He will help us in the future.

It’s so great to see the ‘selah’ or ‘interlude’ and the end of this verse. It is almost like David is saying to his readers, just pause. Just take a second to really think about Gods goodness. Think about the times He has helped you and thank Him, praise Him. Think about the times He has carried your burdens, remind yourself of the times when He has saved you, remember the moments He carried you in His loving Fatherly arms… Now go, and live a life of thanksgiving, making sure others know how good our God is.

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Stand Firm In Your Faith

21st -22ndJune

Weekend Edition

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love!”

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

This morning, as I sat aside, I noticed a small ant carrying something 3 times it size. As it meandered its way over the rocky flower bed en route to the whole in the ground that they call home, it struggled to keep hold of this object. Yet it did not give up. At one point there was a bigger stone that this small ant came across (it probably was like a mountain to this ant). The object he was carrying was so heavy that the ant couldn’t find a way to carry it over the stone. The ant came at it from all different angles. He tried pulling it, pushing it, and dragging it until eventually he managed to get it over the stone and to its home. I was so humbled seeing this and was greatly encouraged.

We too go through so many trials in our lifetime, carry burdens and problems which sometimes seem so much bigger than us, yet we have an advantage. We have a God who is willing us on, who wants to carry our burdens and who make our path straight. Sometimes we needlessly fight our way through difficulties rather than relying on Jesus to make our path straight and remove our obstacles for us.

We need to take courage than when hardships come in our lives, we don’t need to give up or fight in our own strength. We can stand firm, be courageous and strong. Yet our courage, strength and faith all comes from being in the presence of God, resourced by His Holy Spirit and guided by His power. We can stand firm in our faith and we don’t need to give into the enemy. We can be like that small ant, when faced with situations bigger than ourselves, persevere and reap the reward of endurance. Don’t give up. Be bold and courageous and put your trust and hope in the God who created the world.

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God Really Does Answer Our Prayers!!

19th June

“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

Have you ever stopped and wondered about the prayers you may have prayed a long time ago but have never seen a tangible answer to? Well the good news is that God never forgets. We can be encouraged that when we pray in faith our prayers will always be answered. It may not be the answer you might want to hear but God will always answer. A lot of the time the answer is to wait and keep on praying, being joyful and thankful always.

I recently received news of an answered prayer, after many years of tears and mourning, pleading with God for this situation to change, finally I heard of good news. Yet in the waiting I learned an important lesson. God never forgets our prayer requests and He always answers. Sometimes we try to fit God in our own little box and demand He answers us immediately. We think if we keep on praying we can twist God’s arm and He will get so fed up of listening to our prayers that He will have to answer us. Yet this is not true.

Waiting for God is an important Spiritual discipline. It helps us to recognise God’s sovereignty and our position in trusting in Him. Of course, sometimes God does answer immediately and we can see the fruit of that answered prayer. But when He doesn’t, it is our role to be joyful and thankful in waiting and to not stop praying. Ceaseless prayer allows us to continuously surrender our concerns and worries to God, and stops us from trying to solve the problem on our own. It shows we are completely trusting in God for an answer and fully trust Him to guide our lives. Our hope remains in Him and not in us trying to fix everything.

Never stop praying. Never stop trusting. Never stop giving thanks…. An encouragement for us all.

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A Mere Speck

18th June

“The Lord is KING. Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands be glad…The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.”

Psalm 97:1,5

It has been said that Mountain’s make up 70% of Japan’s land mass. Everywhere you travel to around this island, you probably are not far from a huge mountain range. These mountains and are not glorified hills but huge tall mountains, 2000 or 3000 meters tall. They bask in the sun’s glory in the summer and decorated with snow in the winter.

Yet in all of the glory, they still are nothing compared to the enormity of Almighty God. A human standing next to or even attempting to climb one of these mountains, has to pale into sheer humility at the size contrast. But compared to God, even these mountains are minute. Even if we could compare the earth to God’s greatness it would still be a “mere speck” if His eyes. Our planet is just one of millions of stars and planets in the thousands of solar systems in the known universe. David, in today’s Psalm, also comments on the greatness of God and how even these mighty mountains melt like wax before the Lord’s Majesty. The whole earth sings of God’s greatness.

Today, let us put our problems into perspective. God is far far greater than any of our problems. Seriously nothing is too big for Him. Nothing surprises Him, nothing scares Him and nothing makes Him worry. The best part is, is that God cares for you individually. He cares for us all individually. He knows every single hurt, pain, disappointment, financial need, and family need and HE CARES. Even if He is so much higher, bigger and greater, He still cares personally for each of us. God doesn’t look at our problems, even if they are small for Him and dismiss them. Rather He is there fighting with us, walking by our side and holding our hands through the darkest valleys, fighting to make a way out.

If you are waking up to a whole heap of problems this morning, put you life into the perspective of God’s eyes and know that He is with you. God, the creator of everything in the entire universe, is on your side.

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God Really Does Care..!!

17th June

“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honour. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.”

1 Peter 5:6-7

Have you ever had the experience of thinking that you are on your own? That you have to handle life’s problems on your own? That nobody else understands what you are going through? If we are honest with ourselves then probably all of us have experienced these kind of thoughts before. The truth is, this kind of thinking is completely false. We are never on our own and never have to face “life” on our own. God is not only always with us but He truly cares about each of our worries and pains.

As we discussed yesterday, we can often get despondent about doing the right thing and not always seeing the fruit that that bears. Yet we’re encouraged that at the right time, we will harvest what we have sown if we do not give up. Today’s passage further highlights the struggle between doing good and being humble and not thinking that we are living in vain when we fight for justice or when doing good.

The motivation is the same. To being glory to Jesus in our actions, lifestyles and decisions. That means that even if we have to make decisions in our lives that might seem unfair for us, might be painful and might segregate us from the “in” crowds, if it is for the glory of God, then we need to humbly do it with grace and joy. The reward is that God will lift us up. In truth, God’s elevation is far greater than man’s empty praise (even with the right intentions).

We can also encourage ourselves, that when we feel like we are on our own, we are not: God is always there. It is God who gives us the strength to be humble and to keep fighting for goodness. It is God who carries us when our strength is spent. It is God who holds all of our problems in His hands. Why? Because He cares for us. Let us be encouraged that we are not on our own and our good deeds are not in vain.

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Don’t Give Up Doing Good

16th June

“So let’s not give up doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone – especially to those in the family of faith.”

Galatians 6:7-9

It is so easy to get discouraged when you hear phrases like “the good guys always come last”. However in actual fact, the Apostle Paul in today’s verse, tells us that the opposite is actually true. Moreover we need to examine our hearts to find out what the motivation of doing good really is all about. Are we trying to be people pleasers or are we wanting the world to see the goodness of Jesus through the way we live our lives?

I was reminded this week of a friend who we have been sharing the good news of Jesus with. It felt like the good seed of the Gospel had been sown but no fruit was being seen. Yet just a few days ago, this person expressed a desire to know more about Jesus. Now although this verse may not be talking about evangelism directly, the principle of continuing to keep hope, even when you may not see the fruit immediately is a great encouragement not to give up doing what is right and good. We are promised that at “just the right time” we will reap a harvest.

When the world is constantly telling us to mistreat woman in order to them keen, telling us to fight our way to the top of the career ladder by knocking down everyone who is front of us, or telling us to cheat our way to success, let us rather live in the opposite Spirit. Let us do good when its probably easier to do bad. Let us do good even when we can’t see the fruit of doing good. Let us not give up doing good, for “whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone!” One day we will reap the harvest of blessing and a harvest of lives transformed by the goodness of God.

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Reaping What You Sow

15th June

“Don’t be misled – you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.”

Galatians 6:7-9

It’s so great when you plant a seed in the ground, water it every day and then watch its growth either into a beautiful flower or a fruit or vegetable to eat. It would be rather strange though, if you planted tomato seeds and a rose tree grew instead. Well, believe it or not, as today’s scripture clearly states, what you sow, is what will grow.

If we decide to live a lifestyle, constantly giving into temptation, constantly gratifying our fleshly and sinful desires, then we can’t expect the fruit of Godly living to be evident in our lives. In fact as Paul writes in his warning to the church of Galatia, you will only reap “decay and death”. Those are seriously strong words. If we keep sowing into our fleshly sinful desires, the only thing that will grow is a desire for more sin, less of God and eventually eternal separation from Almighty God.

However, chapter 5 verse 16 has good news. If we let the Holy Spirit guide our lives then we won’t want to do “what our sinful nature craves.” Our flesh and Spirit are constantly in conflict with each other. On one hand we want to please God yet on the other hand our fleshly desires burn within our hearts. Yet the more we say no to the flesh, the more the we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lifestyles and decisions, pleasing God and living a lifestyle that will harvest everlasting life and joy in Lord. Yet the key is not trying to live a lifestyle that pleases God in our strength but asking for the “Holy Spirit to guide our lives.”

Lets us say no the flesh and ask for more of God in our lives. Let us live to please the Spirit and not to satisfy our sinful desires. Let us decrease so He can increase.

Lord, less of me and more of You in my life.

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God’s Mercies Are New Every Morning

13th -14th June

Weekend Edition

“Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting in you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.”

Psalm 143:8

It’s amazing that as the dawn bring a new day, so the mercy of the Lord is new every morning. Yesterday sorrows are gone and today is a new day. The past is behind and we look to the future.

Its so great to remind ourselves in the morning of God’s greatness and unfailing love. It gives us such a boost to know we are supported by a God whose love is unfailing. Furthermore it’s so great to know that we can start our day off with the trust and security that we are in the hands of Almighty God. Even when we feel like we are boxed in by life’s problems, or surrounded and knocked down by enemies, as was David in this Psalm, we can take full courage and assurance that God is fighting for us and if our trust is in Him, He will show us where to walk.

It is so important to remind ourselves of the unfailing love of God, early in the morning. It’s more important than breakfast or our morning cup of coffee. It is what truly sets us up for the day. It gives life to our bodies knowing that we are loved by the creator of the universe. It encourages our souls to know that we are forgiven by the love of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. It gives us energy to know that God’s mercies are new every morning because He is a faithful God.

Before you start your day each morning take some time to think on God’s love. Let the knowledge of His love be your spiritual breakfast that feeds your soul and guides your steps. May we give ourselves fully to Him.

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Fruit Filled Believer

12th June

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

Galatians 5:24-25

An old pastor once said to me that you can tell what kind of Christian someone is when something falls on their toe and their reaction to it. Although this has comical undertones there is a truth hidden in there. When life’s pressures and temptations squeeze us, what is our reaction to them and what comes our of us?

Galatians 5:22 highlights the list of the 9 fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Notice that not one of these things is an attribute that we alone can muster up. Every characteristic mentioned here is indicative of a life filled by the Spirit and the fruit that produces. We alone cannot be kind, loving and gentle in and of our strength. We cannot muster up self-control to withstand the enemies temptations on our own. The only way to live a fruit filled life, is to be filled with the Holy Spirit daily and rely on Him in everything.

Let us live by the Holy Spirit’s power and not in our own strength. Let us follow His leading, not just when we are in public places, but also in the quietness of our homes, in the moments we are alone. Let us nail every sinful pleasure and desire we have to the cross. Let the Holy Spirit completely fill us, remove our sin and birth new life in our hearts and minds that produces the kind of fruit that bring glory to Jesus’ Name. We don’t just want to be known as nice person who didn’t get angry when something dropped on their toe, rather we want to live our lives to show the world that through life’s hardship there is hope, through the trials there is peace and through temptations there is victory: His name is Jesus Christ.

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What Really Matters?

11th June

“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.”

Philippians 1:9-10

Life is full of so many temptations, so much pressure, so many decisions to make and so little time. Our lives in the Western world are lived at a fast pace, surrounding by chaos, career and ambition. People work to live, provide for their families and enjoy life’s luxuries. Yet on the final day of Christ’s return, what will really matter?

Ambition to progress in our careers and desires to provide for our families are not negative character traits, in fact much the opposite. However, so often these admirable desires overtake what should be our number one priority; living pure and blameless lives, growing in the knowledge and understanding of God’s character and being filled with the love of Christ so that it overflows to all we see and meet. The great news is as we love others at work we are growing in our walk with Christ. As we provide for our families we are honouring Christ. But the focus must always be Jesus.

In whatever we do and say let what really matters dictate our decision making, love giving, serving and desires. Let Jesus be the center of all things we do. Let Him lead us away from temptation, deliver us from evil and grow in the goodness of all He has for us and all He is. “May you always be filled with the fruit of the your salvation – the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ-for this will bring much glory and praise to God.” (verse 11)