devotionals

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Planning Your Life

10th June

“We make our own plan, but the Lord determines our steps.. ..The Lord directs our steps, so why do we try to understand everything along the way?”

Proverbs 16:9, 20:24

It is so great to know that God is in control of our lives. He knows what is best for us and guides accordingly along the right path. Yet so often we seem to want to take the driving seat, row in the boat or try to map out every step we are going to take. In fact even in my own life this sometimes happens. We have some big decisions to make, and I found myself start to worry, start to try and plan things out on my own, even though I know God has, time and time again, provided, guided and led us in the right path for our lives.

Rather than worrying about “everything along the way”, every hurdle, bump and insecurity, we should take comfort in knowing that every plan and idea we have given to God, is in His hands. We can fully trust Him because not only does He hold our lives in His hands but holds the whole world in His hands.

However, this does not negate the responsibilities of planning and organising our lives but rather than be passive and leave everything to God to do or stress, worry and try figure everything out, we simply just need to give our plans to Him in faith that His perfect will will be done. We can breathe a huge sigh of relief knowing that God is planning every step for us already. Let us trust God together for He always knows best and has our best at the forefront of His plans. Be open to His guidance, trust His best judgement and be at peace in His direction.

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Faith Comes From…?

9th June

“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”

Romans 10:17

Does faith just happen when we feel like trusting in God or when we know something will happen for certain? Well it takes takes a lot of faith to believe that when you are about to sit on a chair, the carpenter has made it well enough, that when you do sit on it, it won’t break. Or how about when you sleep? You have enough faith to know that when you close your eyes, you will wake up in the morning..!

Although these examples might seem trivial, the point is, is that faith is not built in what you think you know will happen but faith is built in belief of the one that makes things happen. Like the two blind men discussed yesterday, they didn’t have faith just because they saw themselves with open eyes, but rather because they knew Jesus could heal them. Their faith was found in Jesus Christ and what He could do. Yet how can we build our faith and trust in Jesus?

By hearing about Him in His word. The writer of Hebrews wisely writes that our faith is increased when we start hearing about the Good News of Jesus Christ audibly. Why? Because the word of God is powerful. It encourages our souls to hear about Christ’s victorious triumph on the cross where He defeated death and sin, or the numerous stories where Jesus healed the sick, delivered the oppressed and possessed, raised the dead to life, and spoke mighty words of hope, love, justice, liberty and acceptance. Yet the word of God and the Good News of JESUS is so much more than words but is the power to save lives.

When we pray in faith, yes let us believe that what we are praying for will come to pass, but rather than the faith be in what we are praying for, let it be found in the power of Jesus’ Name. Let our faith come from hearing about the Good News of Jesus. If your faith is increased by hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ, then go and tell others of Him too..

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Because Of Your Faith, It Will Happen..

8th June

““Do you believe I can make you see?” “Yes, Lord,” they told Him, “we do.” Then He touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.” Then their eyes were opened, and they could see.”

Matthew 9:28-30

Today’s story, found here in Matthew 9, is so encouraging, both as a confirmation of God’s compassion and mercy on the sick and the simplicity of His miracles. When Jesus laid His hands on the two blind men, He didn’t ask them if they had obeyed the law, if they had been baptised, if they give tithes or if they have been members of a local church for more than 10 years. He simply asked “do you believe I can heal you?” That is God’s only requirement for miracles to take place… Do you have enough faith to believe that I (God) can heal you?

These two blind men were sure of Jesus’ mighty power… they probably had heard of His miracles, heard of His compassion and were desperate for a touch from the Son of David. In fact in the previous verses Jesus had just a healed a woman with the issue of blood and raised a young girl from the dead. So as these two faith filled men followed Jesus they cried out to Him for mercy. Jesus turned around to them, laid His hands on their eyes and healed them… why? Because of their faith.

There is no special formula, no list of requirements, just simple faith to believe that when they asked Jesus for something, it will happen. When we pray for God’s will to be done, we simply just need to have faith knowing that God can do exceedingly more than what we are even asking Him to do. Faith is simply believing in hope, what we know is truth, and being sure that although we might not be able to see what we are asking for, it will come to pass according to God’s Holy and Perfect will if we believe. Let us believe for healing, even if it seems too big to ask for, because we are not trusting in the circumstances but have faith in NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES…JESUS CHRIST!

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No Longer I Who Lives..

6th-7th June

Weekend Edition

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

We as believers live in a ‘now and not yet kingdom’. We are born again and Christ lives in us so that we can have the fullness of life and the nearness of the Father’s presence. Yet sometimes it feels as if we couldn’t be further away from Christ, particularly when we are living in this sinful and Godless society. We eagerly await Christ’s return to experience the fullness of His perfection and resurrection but live in the reality that we are living in a fallen world.

However, we need to keep reminding ourselves of the above verse, to live in faith and believe that our former ways are crucified with Christ. We are now new creations. We are no longer slaves to fear, we no longer have to say yes to sin, we no longer have to bow down and give in to old cravings and temptations but rather we can stand in the victory of the cross, in the victory of Christ and His resurrection. We need to continually remind ourselves not to “copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform” us “into a new person by changing the way” we think (Romans 12:2).

Let us not use the excuse that we live in earthly bodies and in a sinful world to act as we will but rather let us agree with Paul in saying that we “live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me!!” In Christ’s strength we can live holy lives in an unholy world…. Not by works but by the grace of God, not because of anything we have done or can do but because He loves us and gave Himself for us.

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Serving Facilitated Church Growth

5th June

“So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables…choose seven from among you ….. we will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.””

Acts 6:2-4 (NIV)

Today’s devotion highlights key advice for our churches but also in our own lives. We are a body and each part has it’s own use, it’s own purpose and it’s own gift. Each person cannot do everything all the time. It is clear that the apostles gift was in preaching, teaching and in the apostolic ministry. Yet here in verse 2 they are found to be waiting on tables, serving people their daily needs and getting involved in petty squabbles.

The apostles knew that in order for the church to grow they needed to dis-attach themselves with this ministry and focus on the “ministry of the word of God.” That is not to say that it was a lesser ministry to wait on tables but rather they knew their strengths and they knew that they were not being best used in them, if their time was devoted elsewhere. In an act of complete wisdom they appointed seven other Spirit and wisdom filled believers and commissioned in the ministry of hospitality. Because of this “God’s message continued to spread”…and the “number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted too.” (verse 7)

Know that God has given us all a specific gift for the extension of His Kingdom, whether directly or indirectly. He didn’t give everyone every gift otherwise the church would be in chaos and never move forward. Let us learn from this example, that we all can be used, whether in sweeping the floors of the church, doing a neighbours gardening, serving teas and coffee after a Sunday service or working in the slums in India. We all have a part to play in extending the body of Christ. It is only when we release people in the ministry that God has for them, that we truly see the church explode in growth and lives being transformed by the love of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.

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The Great Persecution Of The Church

4th June

“A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria….But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went.”

Acts 8:1,4

It is amazing that wherever you go in the world today, there are believers who share the same faith in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is even more amazing that just 2000 years ago, “the church” started with just a few dedicated believers who met together, shared what possessions they had with each other, and were faithful in sharing the gospel with others. Yet what made the church grow so rapidly?

Of course it was the Holy Spirit, as it is His work that brings about salvation, but as Luke tells us in Acts 8, it was also in persecution that the church grew. The early church believers had just witnessed the death of one of the brothers in Christ, Stephen, at the approval of the then called Saul. Saul, by permission of the ‘religious leaders’ started a wide spread persecution of the church. Little did he know that this would have an adverse effect. Instead of stopping the church, the church grew and grew as the believers everywhere continued to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ wherever they were scattered.

In fact this is exactly what Gamaliel said would happen when he gave his advice to the council in Jerusalem.. “but if this is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:39). Indeed that was exactly what was happening. A man led agenda to crush the church, ended in the church exploding in numbers and in faith.

We can be encouraged that even today the church is continuing to grow around the world. People are still being scattered through persecution and people are still being sent as missionaries across the world to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. Moreover the sharing of the gospel also includes us so let us not give up sharing about Jesus either. The Gospel is alive and “is the power of God, to bring salvation to everyone who believes!!” (Romans 1:16)

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The Light Of The World

3rd June

“…and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

John 1:4b-5

Light has so many characteristics. It shines to give light in the darkness, it exposes unclean places that have been neglected and gives direction in unknown places. When Jesus came into the world He accomplished all of the above.

Light in darkness

Sometimes it almost feels like this world is becoming a darker place, when in actual fact, it is not so much that darkness is filling the earth but rather there seems to be an absence of light. Moreover, darkness in and of it itself is actually only the absence of light. When we say it is dark, what we really mean to say is that the light cannot be seen. If Jesus is the light of the world and Jesus lives in us, then we should be shining brightly for all the world see. As Jesus rightly said in Matthew 5, “no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket!” The amazing thing is, John tells in verse 5 that the light we possess can never be extinguished. We are always on the winning side. Don’t hide your light. Let it break through the darkness in this world.

Exposes unclean places

Jesus came into the world not to condemn us but that through Him we may saved. Yet Jesus’ perfection and Jesus’ light was so strong and so bright, that it exposed our sin, not to condemn us but rather to help us realise that we are the sick ones in need of a doctor and in need of saving. The light of Jesus exposed the darkness in our hearts so we could and can repent of our sin and be full of Jesus’ light.

Gives direction

Jesus’ light, as mentioned above, was never meant to be put under a basket. We must let our light so shine before men “so that everyone will praise our Heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16). Any light that we possess is to guide people back to the Father. When Christians take authority in dark places, atmospheres change, darkness is exposed and the Name of Jesus Christ in lifted up, bringing glory to the Lord of all creation. Don’t hide your light but rather let it shine so bright. Darkness never wins and can never extinguish light.

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Caleb’s Different Spirit

2nd June

“But My servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land.”

Numbers 14:24

In spite of Joshua and Caleb’s strong argument to pursue their enemies in Canaan and possess the land that was promised to them, the people of Israel continued to wallow in self pity and even threatened to stone them after hearing their words. Yet because of the Israelites rebellion and because they did not believe God’s promises for them, the Lord punished them by saying that “they will never see the land I swore to their ancestors”, moreover “none of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.”

How sad. The Israelites were so close to the promised land. If it took the 12 spies 40 days to travel there, explore and come back, then at least they were less than 40 days walk away. Yet because of their rebellion everyone over 20 years old, completely missed out on the Promised Land, except Joshua and Caleb. Why? What was so different about Joshua and Caleb?

They had both seen exactly what the others had seen. The had seen how God led them out of the land of Egypt, they had seen God’s protection when He parted the sea for them, they had seen God’s divine provision of quail and they had seen God give the people the law on Mount Sinai. Yet what was different about them was their faith and belief in God’s promises even in the face of persecution time and time again, and here in spite of the consequences and despite they were completely the minority continued to believe in God’s promises.

Do you ever feel like the individual voice among the crowd, the minority fighting for justice, fighting for purity, holiness and Godliness? Sometimes it is hard being the only standing out, yet just as Joshua and Caleb were commended for their attitudes, so will we be. The reward for their faithfulness was that they would see God’s promise fully revealed. Let us join with Caleb and Joshua being God pleasers not man pleasers, let us have a different attitude and let us rejoice in the blessings of faithfulness.

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Caleb and Joshua’s Speech Of Faith

1st June

“And if the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us safely into that land and give it to us.….don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

Numbers 14:8-9

In today’s devotional we head back to the Old Testament, into the book of numbers, where we will explore the story of the courageous Caleb and Joshua.

After arriving in the wilderness of Paran, God commanded Moses to send out 12 spies (one from each of the tribes of Israel) to the land of Canaan, the land God had promised the Israelites when He led them the out of slavery from Egypt. After 40 days, the 12 spies returned and brought back a report of the land that they had just scouted out. What they all agreed about was that the land was beautiful, fertile and flowing with milk and honey! However, the agreement stopped there. The rest of the spies, excluding Caleb and Joshua, then chose to focus on the size of the enemy they found there, rather that on the promise that God had given, that the land would be theirs. Caleb was confident that they could overcome their enemies, but their negative report was so great, that it caused the whole nation to mourn all night and decide to elect a new leader and head back to Egypt.

Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb were incensed. They fell down and tore their clothes as a sign of their deep sorrow. Nevertheless, Joshua and Caleb arose from their sorrow, and tried to encourage the despondent Israelites. “The land we travelled through and explored is a wonderful land!. . . It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey……Do not rebel against the Lord…The Lord is with us!” (v7-9).

Caleb and Joshua were so confident in the promise God had given to them, that the size of the enemy almost seemed insignificant to them. They knew God had promised this land to them and they knew that God was with them, which would have led to their victory. We too, when faced with problems the size of mountains, can take courage in knowing that God is with us and that we are not alone.

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The Power Of Unity

30th -31st May

Weekend Edition

“And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need…And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”

Acts 2:44-45, 47c

Why did the early church experience so much growth, particularly in the face of persecution? Obviously God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit are huge factors, but could it also be that the unity seen within the church was also a huge factor to church growth?

In today’s church, sadly we often see the opposite. However, of late there seems to be a huge move towards the unification of the church across denominations and across styles of worship. It is so encouraging to see as this unity and attitude promotes church growth. Why? Because the world is crying out for hope, its crying out for unity in a world that is so filled with disunity, corruption, and individualism. Luke tells us in his writings that one of the reason that many people were ‘added to the fellowship’ was because of the unity of the believers.

In fact verses 32 to 34 of chapter 4 tell us that ‘all the believers were united in heart and mind’ and ‘felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had’, so much so that there ‘were no needy people among them’. It is because of this attitude, because of the power of unity, that God graciously added to their number.

This was not some unachievable, ideological elitist club, but a living and breathing tangible organism. The body of Christ is as much alive today as it was in the early church days. The great news is, that as individual members of this body, we too make up the body and we too can contribute to the unity of the church. When people look to church let them not see hypocrisy, slander and disunity. But rather, let us support our pastors, support our leaders, support our brothers and sisters around us, give liberally, love generously, meet regularly and worship faithfully. The church is growing and God will continue to add to our number of people being saved through the power of unity and through the power of the Holy Spirit!!