devotions

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God Is Incredible

24th September

 “You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.”

Nehemiah 9:6

Yesterday I visited the largest aquarium in the world. It is found on the beautiful island of Okinawa. It was spectacular. The main viewing gallery boasts an enormous water tank that holds some of the biggest fish I ever saw in my life. From majestic sting-rays (bigger than a car), to huge sharks, tunas and of course whales (the size of buses).

When I saw these incredible fish, I was truly speechless. It not only reminded me of how amazing God is to have designed so many types, colours and species of fish, but the sheer size of them reminded me how big God is. It is only when things are put into perspective in our eyes than we can begin to start to fathom how much bigger God is than us.

When you are flying in an aeroplane and look down on the earth, humanity just seems like a spec. In space, islands seem likes a spec. In God’s universe, earth seems like a spec. Yet God is even out of time and space itself. To God, even the universe is like a spec. Yet incredibly, He chose to make human’s in His likeness and chose to sacrifice His only Son for our sakes.

We may be physically small, but to God we priceless. We are His. We are created to worship Him and give Him the glory and honour He deserves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Blind Bartimaeus

23rd September 

“And when he heard it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Mark 10:47-48 

Where do your help come from? When you have no hope whom do you call upon?

Praise God, that we are not left alone in helpless and hopeless situations. God is always there. Bartimaeus was a blind man that had to rely purely on the generosity of others for his survival. There was no NHS to house him and care for him, and no benefits from local councils. Moreover, he was an outcast of society. Yet when he heard that Jesus was in town, he knew that his hope had come. He knew that in his hopeless situation he could cry out to Jesus and be healed; not just once, but twice. Even when the crowds tried to silence him, he called out even louder. He knew where his hope was found.

May we also learn to cry out in mercy to our Lord Jesus; not just in times of need but it times of plenty. May our hope and assurance be in Christ; not just for physical healing but spiritual too. God is full of mercy and wants to shower us with His blessings. All we need to do is cry out to Him for mercy. He freely gives His love and peace. Even when the crowds try to silence us, let us remember that our hope is found in the King of Kings, and Lords and Lords.

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Have You The Heard The Voice Of God?

22nd

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me.”

John 10:27-28

What does the voice of God sound like? Have you ever heard it? The truth is that God speaks to us in so many different ways; through the still small voice in our minds, through creation, through His word and sometimes even audibly.

However, the underlying truth is this… We must all be able to discern and hear the voice of God. Why? Well, the obvious answer is, that if we are to engage in any type of relationship with God Himself, then we need to be able to have a conversation with Him. Any relationship is a two-way communication. God has so much to share with His sheep, so much to share with YOU! You know that you are His. You know that you can follow His voice and His guidance. There is richness and fullness of life in His words.

Yet so often, our minds are clogged up with so many others thoughts and voices that we find it hard to hear what God is saying. Even David, the friend of God, sometimes had moments in his life when he felt distant from God…”My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are You so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call You, my God, but You do not answer.” (Psalm 22:1-2) In fact Jesus Himself, repeated those words as He was hanging on the cross. Although the context of these two examples might be completely different from what we face, the fact of the matter is, is that sometimes things get in the way of us discerning and hearing God’s voice. Sometimes, we do feel far from Him. Sometimes, we do feel abandoned. Yet God is always there. He always wants to talk to us.

A great way to hear His voice is to read His word and allow time for Him to speak to you. Read the passage a few times and try to discern what it says about God, about you and your response to it.

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God of the Impossible

21st September

“Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.””
Mark 9:23

The word impossible occurs nine times in the New King James Version of the Bible, and most of the references tell us that this word doesn’t appear in God’s regular vocabulary.

Matthew 17:20: “Nothing will be impossible.”
Matthew 19:26: “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Mark 10:27: “With men it is impossible, but not with God.”
Luke 1:37: “With God nothing will be impossible.”
Luke 18:27: “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”


Hebrews 6:18 tells us it is impossible for God to lie, and Hebrews 11:6 adds that without faith it is impossible for us to please Him. How important to cast our impossibilities in God’s hands. Just as He parted the sea for Israel, reversed the events in Esther, raised Jesus from the dead, and converted Saul of Tarsus, God is capable of reversing our irreversible problems.

There is nothing too big for Jesus. He is the God of the impossible. He makes what seems impossible possible. No mountain is too high and no problem too big. Whatever you may be facing today, cast it to Jesus…. He is bigger than your problems.

You cannot bring a burden too heavy for God to lift or a problem too hard for Him to solve or a request too big for Him to answer. God does things no one else can do.
Michael Guido

  • Taken from David Jeremiah’s turning point with last paragraph added.
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With The Lions

19th & 20th September

Weekend Edition

“So at last the King gave his orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel.”

Daniel 6:16-17

Sadly, King Darius, seemed to have missed hearing the stories about God’s faithfulness towards Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He also ordered a decree that anyone found guilty of praying to any other god beside himself, must be arrested and thrown into the lion’s den.

Daniel, fell into that category. As he did everyday, he went up to his room, opened his windows towards Jerusalem and prayed to God, giving thanks. However, little did he know that he was being trapped by the high officials and rulers who were jealous of Daniel’s influence over the king. At once the high officials reported Daniel’s law breaking actions to the King. Reluctantly, King Darius ordered Daniel’s arrest and threw him into a den full of hungry lions.

The next day as King Darius went to check on what had happened to Daniel, and he was astonished to see the him completely un-harmed with not even a scratch on his body.

Daniels trust in the one true God and his willingness to not to compromise, not only saved his life, but led King Darius to proclaim that not himself, or his pagan gods but Daniel’s God, is the one true God whose Kingdom and rule will never end.

King Darius was completely right. We still serve that same God today; the God was rescued Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace and rescued Daniel from the lion’s den. All four had one thing in common. A desire to honour and worship the one true God, despite the consequences. We too should strive to honour God in our daily lives whether at work or in our schools and homes, wherever it may be, let us always worship God faithfully. Let our witness be so great that people will also proclaim that our God is the one true God, whose kingdom will never end.

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In The Fire

18th September

 

“So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants (trousers), turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.”

Daniel 3:21-22

Daniel was one of the most noble and God-fearing men to ever live in the Old Testament. He was faithful, a man of integrity but more than anything, he loved God and refused to compromise God’s holy standards. His God-fearing attitude was contagious. In fact so great was his contagious characteristics, that even pagan Kings came to recognise God’s greatness through his life. Furthermore, even his own friends were encouraged by his faith and persevering attitude, which almost caused their death.

King Nebuchadnezzar, was one of the most powerful kings to ever rule over the Babylonian Empire, yet his infatuation with power and wealth blinded his eyes to see who the ONE true God was. He foolishly built a statue out of pure gold, (that measured 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide), and ordered everyone to bow down and worship it. He issued an oath that anyone who refused to do so would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Of course, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were three men who refused to compromise.

Nebuchadnezzar anger was so great that his face became distorted with rage. So much so that he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than it normally was. Even the guards who threw them into the furnace died because of the intense heat. Yet God had other plans for His servants who refused to compromise. Not only did God save them from the fire, but He also sent a divine being to stand in the fire with them, to comfort and protect them. In fact so great was their protection that when they left the fire, no hair on their head was singed and they didn’t even smell of smoke.

When we refuse to compromise God’s holy standards, sometimes danger awaits us. However, we danger does come, we can be sure that God will never leave us. Even in the midst of a fiery furnace, God still can send His comforting presence. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Although we may face great danger for living lives of integrity, the blessings that await, far out weigh the pain of suffering.

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Slow To Anger

17th September

 

“He revealed His character to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with un-failing love.”

Psalm 103:7-8

During the Israelites trip to the promised land, after God had graciously set them free from their bondage at the hands of the Egyptians under the leadership of Moses, time and time again the people dis-honoured God, did not trust Him for their daily provisions or feared the worst when confronted with troubles. Yet what they didn’t realise or at least didn’t appreciate, is that for 40 years their shoes never got worn out and they were daily provided with manna and quail to feed them. Moreover, God was ever merciful with them and kept pouring His love over them, even when they didn’t deserve it. God truly revealed His character to Moses and His deeds of love and kindness to the people of Israel.

God hasn’t changed. He is still that same compassionate and merciful God that we saw in the Israelites Exodus. He is still slow to anger and is still full of un-failing love; even when we don’t deserve it. God is for us and not against us. He lives to be spur us on, not to trip us up. He is our God and worthy to be praised.

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Enter His Gates

16th September

“Acknowledge the Lord is God! He made us, and we are His……Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His Name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.”

Psalm 100:3a,4-5

Praise God that we are not only His but that through Jesus Christ, we have a way to literally enter into His very throne room and to worship Him freely. We are now seated with Christ in Heavenly place. God’s presence is no longer confined to a building with four walls, or a High priest who mediates for us, but rather He lives in us.

So often places of worship are seen as sanctuary’s to escape lives difficulties, places to find refuge and peace, places of security and sources of hope and joy. Yet what we now know because of Jesus’ resurrection, is that His very presence has made a home in our hearts. God’s presence is no longer confined to a building, but is found in us, His children.

When we enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, it is an attitude of prayerful worship, thankfulness for His goodness, rejoicing in song and praising His Name. Why? Because the Lord is good and His unfailing love continues forever. When we wake, thankfulness should be on hearts. When we sleep praise should be on lips. The Lord is good and deserves to be praised.

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God Was and Is and Is To Come

15th September

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth!”

Genesis 1:1

There is no greater truth than knowing who created you and I and the world we are in. Genesis 1:1 boldly and plainly tells us that it was God, Elohim; the Hebrew name for the God-Head, symbolising the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Yet God did not labour day and night to create the world we live in, but simply spoke it into being by the very words of His mouth; light, darkness, the sun and moon, waters and mountains, creatures that fly and those that swim. Yet His greatest creation was mankind, whom He made in His own image. He breathed His own breath into us and gave us all a plan and a purpose.

This morning, take a reality check. Not only were you hand-made by the God who created the entire universe we live in, but you have the very breath of God inside you. You have been anointed to walk in God’s eternal plan for your life, written even before you were in your mother’s womb. You are completely loved by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as they work in perfect union as One, through you and in you. God thought about YOU… Even before time began, He had a plan to make you. Even when He knew that sometimes you would disobey Him, He still wanted to create you so He could shower His love over you. You are loved and created by the God of the universe. You were planned and you are part of God’s plan to show His love to the rest of the world.

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The Joy Of A Forgiven Heart

14th September

“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!”

Psalm 32:1-2

Every human has a desire and longing to be loved. Many try to satisfy that longing with drugs, drinking, womanising, and the like. Yet there is no greater joy than knowing you have been forgiven and accepted by your Creator; knowing that you have a purpose, a destiny and that God has a plan for your personally.

In 1678, John Bunyan released one of the most famous pieces of English Christian literature, the Pilgrim Progress. In his book, we follow the story of a man name Christian, who makes his perilous journey to Celestial city (Heaven). However, he carries on his back a huge bag like burden, which represent his sins. These burdens are finally relieved when he reaches the ‘place of deliverance’, a representation of Calvary’s cross. Although this story may be mostly allegorical, the truth remains that we are all on a journey. In life’s journey we may face dangers and temptations, yet the most liberating and life giving stage of our journey is when Jesus Christ sets us free from our sins. It truly is like a burden being lifted from our backs.

In today’s psalm, David also speaks of this joy, freedom and liberty that await a forgiven soul. Sin can so easily hold us down and feel like a huge weight on our lives. Yet when we are set free by the power of Jesus’ love, those chains are broken and we can walk upright in the power of His might and in the purpose and plan He has ordained for our life.

What joy awaits a forgiven soul, and those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt!!