devotions

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Imitators Of Christ

6th August

“Imitate God, therefore in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”

Ephesians 5:1-2

What is true love? Going the extra mile? Doing something you don’t want to do to make someone else happy? Or is it just being kind to everyone? Well you could answer all of the above yet the greatest example of love was Christ’s sacrifice for us.

Sacrificial love

Paul tells us in his wonderful writings, here in Ephesians, that Jesus offered Himself up as a sacrifice for us. That means that He surrendered every Heavenly privilege to come down to this earth as a servant. He gave Himself completely for our sakes. He gave Himself 100%. Even when we didn’t deserve it, He gave Himself up for us. Sacrificial love means loving without thinking about your own privileges, rights or what you can get out of it in return.

Un-conditional love

Jesus’ unconditional love meant that He loved us, even when we were sinners. In other words, He loves us no matter what we do, not expecting anything in return and without limit. His love flows from a bottomless pit. There is no end. If we are to love with that same love, then we need to understand God’s love for us and love with that same love. If we try and love in our strength, it will be conditional but when we love with Jesus’ love, we just keep on giving love. Jesus didn’t stop giving love even when He was being beaten or mocked. He just kept loving. That is our marker!

1 John 4: 12 tells us that although no-one has seen God face to face, He can be revealed through the love that is expressed in our lives. In fact it says that if God live in us, then the FULL expression of His love can be seen through us. That is powerful. Jesus is our standard. Let His full love be expressed through you.

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We Love Because We Are Loved

5th August

“This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”

1 John 4:10-11

When Jesus took our place on the cross, not only did He sacrifice Himself for us, but demonstrated how much God loved us, as He allowed His only Son to die for us. If that picture is too hard to understand, imagine this.

God Himself, came to Earth in the form of a human, the very people He created. He allowed Himself to give up His Heavenly rights and made Himself lower than a servant. He allowed Himself to be tempted in every way, for our sake’s to help us in our suffering and weaknesses, yet He was victorious because He never sinned. He allowed Himself to be ridiculed at the very hands of those He gave breath to. He gave up His right to defend Himself and allowed Himself to be captured in the garden of tears by one of His so called ‘friends’. He went through that so He could relate to us when we feel let down or abandoned. He was whipped, shamed, beaten and tortured. His body was broken and frail, yet all He could think about was you and I.

Furthermore, scripture tells us that it was His joy to endure the cross, because He knew that His sacrifice would mean that we could have a renewed relationship with Him. He even knew that years later, He would still be abandoned by those who call themselves His ‘friends’, yet He still choose to sacrifice Himself for those people too. He knew that people would deny He ever existed, yet yes, He still choose to die for those people as well. In fact, it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us. He didn’t wait until we would become good again. He showered us with His love, even when we were sinners.

Friends, if we have been so loved but such a great God with such great love, then let us accept His love, and love others with that same love. May the world see Jesus’ love through our lives.

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Our Confident Hope

4th August

“Therefore, since we have been right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has bought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”

Romans 5:1-2

God’s love and grace is amazing. Once enemies, we are now children of God. Once sinners, we are now saved. We have been given the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. And it is not because of what we have done, as if it was something that could be earned. It simply was and is a gift. A daily gift that you can have as much of as you want. Jesus’ love is limitless. We have been brought with such a high price that we now are seated in the very presence of God, in Heavenly places. Moreover, we are so blessed that God gives us the faith to receive and believe it. We are in Christ and He is in us. We stand in a place of undeserved privilege, yet can share in the blessings of His grace and glory as true children of God.

We now can confidently and joyfully look forward to Jesus’ return and to living eternally in future glory with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Yet while we are on this earth, we bear the responsibility of being His representative, spreading the grace and love of God, our Heavenly Father.

Wherever you are at today, know that God has so much love for you . No matter where you are, what you have done, God’s grace is a real today as it was when we He bled on the cross for our sins. It is because we have been brought with such a high price that we can boldly and confidently share in His love, accept His grace and abide in His presence.

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Shameless Persistence Prayer

3rd August

“But I tell you this-though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.”

Luke 11:8

Jesus had just finished teaching His disciples how to pray using the model of the Lord’s prayer in verses 2-4 (also found in Matthew 6:9-13). Yet what differs from Matthew’s account of this prayer is the story that precedes after it.

Jesus shares this interesting parable to highlight a very important truth when we come before Him in prayer. He gives the example of two friends. One of the men goes to his friend’s house in the middle of the night, as a visitor had just arrived. The host had no food to offer his visitor so he went to his friend’s house to ask for some food. However, this friend was trying to sleep, the door was locked and his answer was no. However the helpless host kept on persisting and eventually the friend gave him some food to share with his visitor.

Jesus then goes on to explain the meaning of this parable and alludes it to our relationship with God when we pray. Jesus says that if we keep on asking, we will receive what we are asking for. However, persistent prayer is not trying to bend God’s arm into giving us what we want. It a discipline to daily put our trust in Him as the One who can answer our prayers. Jesus used the example of shameless persistence in this parable as instruction to us too. He instructs us to keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep knocking, Eventually we will receive, seek and find all that we are asking for.

God is so good, so gracious and so kind and knows how to give good gifts. In fact our Heavenly Father gave us the greatest gift ever, when He sent His only Son as a ransom for us. And if that was not enough, when Jesus ascended to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to be our comforter and guidance. Because God loves us so dearly, He wants to shower us with His goodness and grace. Let us persist in seeking His goodness.

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Faith To Love God Comes From God

1st & 2nd August

Weekend Edition

“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not!!”

Romans 6:1-2a

The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. This doesn’t mean that God is constantly angry with us if we don’t have faith, it is actually the nature of the gospel. Without faith, without believing in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ the Lord, and His ransom for our sins, we remain enemies of God. Yet the good news is, is that it is not a secret, not exclusive and is a free gift. His love, grace and mercy is not just limited to an elite few. Jesus died so that we all may have life. He died for the sins of the world, that means everyone and that includes you!!

Yet the amazing thing, is that God actually gives us the faith to believe in Him, accept His love, repent of our wrongdoings and live a life in the very centre of His love. When God sent His only Son to die for us, He didn’t just send Him to endure the physical beating, Jesus actually took our place, a punishment we should have had to pay. Yet He who knew no sin (Jesus), became sin to make us right before God. That means He paid the price we should have paid so that when we accept the finished work of the cross we can experience being lavished with God’s unconditional and eternal love every minute of the day.

It is from that love that we can love Him back, love ourselves and love others. Even more amazing is that God gives us the faith to accept His love, grace and mercy. It is God’s love that stops us from sinning, the Holy Spirit’s love that warns and convicts us of our sins and Jesus’ love that beckons us back when we do sin. This does not mean we can take the grace and faith of God for granted. Rather it is because we are so loved, that He forgives and reconciles us back to Himself.

Jesus’ love is free. It is eternal. God gives us the faith to accept it. Let us ask for faith to accept more of His love. For when our hearts our full of His love, it overflows out of us and more people can know of His great love for them too.

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Sin Leaves A Stain But God Is Wipes It Out

31st July

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of Your unfailing love. Because of Your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognise my rebellion…”

Psalm 51:1-3a

David will always be remembered as a man after God’s own heart. Yet he, like most other men in the bible, had his faults too. One day as he was standing on the rooftop of his home, he spotted the beautiful Bathsheba bathing. In an act of what can only be described at selfish lust, he ordered her to his palace, impregnated her and killed her husband to cover it up. It almost sounds like something from a Romantic Thriller Movie, yet it really did happen. In fact so real was the guilt of David’s actions, it led him to write this repentant psalm to God.

The emotions David expresses here in this psalm are so very real. If we are honest, we too can relate to the pain and the guilt that personal sin has in our lives. Sometimes sin can feel like a big concrete wall between you and God. In fact that’s what the enemy wants us to think. His desire is that we feel so bad about our sin, that we feel we cannot even talk to God. Yet that is a lie. Yes sin is bad, yes it does create a barrier between us and God and yes there are consequences to our sins, but God does forgive and He does want to renew His relationship with us daily.

David knew that guilt and the consequence of sin can haunt ‘day and night’. He knew that if he didn’t repent, it would crush him, ruin him and even destroy him. However, thankfully David recognised his rebellion, repented and enjoyed the fruit of God’s forgiveness. He knew that he could rely on the unfailing of love of God, on His great compassion and that through the grace of God, his sin could be wiped clean.

Today let us come before the throne of God with the confidence that Jesus has paid our debt, that God is gracious and compassionate and that He can remove the stain of our sins. Thank you Jesus.

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The Troublesome Sons

30th July

“Then Jesus explained His meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did.”

Matthew 21:28-32

Jesus often used questions to present His listeners with a powerful teaching. Today’s passage is no different. In the preceding verses, the Pharisees approach Jesus and question by what His authority He was able to teach others and to do the signs and miracles that He was doing. He never directly answers them but instead, in the next passage, throws a question back to the Pharisees in the form of a story.

He explained that there were two sons. The father was an owner of a vineyard and asked his older son to go out and work in the vineyard. He flatly refuses and says ‘No, I wont go!’ After a while the older son changes his mind and agrees to work in the vineyard. The same question is asked to the younger son who gladly agrees but never goes. Jesus asks His listeners the question, “Which of the two obeyed his father?” They all answer rightly, “The first”.

Jesus explains His question but highlighting a simple truth. The tax collectors and prostitutes obeyed and will enter the Kingdom of God, but those who don’t, won’t. Although there is a much deeper meaning to this statement, there is also a simple truth. Jesus doesn’t differentiate between tax collectors and prostitutes (sinners) and the so called Pharisees (hypocrites). He is more interested in those who although may refuse the Gospel at first, turn from their sinful ways, acknowledge they are wrong, repent and enjoy the blessing of a redeemed life. However there is a strong warning for those who agree to following the Gospel in word, but in reality their lifestyles and actions are contrary to what the Gospel teaches.

Let us take the opportunity to turn from our rebellion, put our trust in Jesus, rely on His grace and not just be followers of Jesus in word but also through the way we live our lives.

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He Must Be Greater And I Must Become Less

29th July

“He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. He has come from above and is greater than anyone else.”

John 3:30-31a

Jesus and John the Baptist had many similarities. They not only were cousins but shared a passion for holiness, righteous living and were marginalised by society yet popular at the same time. A lot of people expected John the Baptist to be the Messiah, a claim which he avidly denied. John’s teaching caused much division and was hard to hear because of the convicting truths, of which eventually led to his execution by Herod.

Yet John the Baptist knew who he was. He knew that he was only a sign post to the true Messiah. He was, as he said in his words, the best man at the wedding feast glad to hear the wedding vows. In fact John often passionately denied the claims that he was the Messiah, even stating that he was not worthy to tie the sandals of Jesus. He was aware that Jesus was someone special.

In today’s verse John declares a truth which was not just powerful when he said it 2000 years ago, but even more so now in a Godless and selfish society. He declared that he should become less and less and Jesus should become greater and greater. This is such a powerful statement. So often we try to dictate our own lives, live in our strength, and try to include God as an after thought. Yet our prayers should be that our own desires and selfish ambitions should become less and less so that God can be greater in our lives. When He becomes more in our lives, we hand over the reigns to way we live so that He drives, He leads and He guides. We become less fixated on ourselves and more on Jesus and His Kingdom purposes. We realise who He is and live our lives accordingly.

Let our prayer be that we may decrease so He can be greater in and through our lives.

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Give To Caesar What Is Caesar’s

28th July

“He saw through their trickery and said, “Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well then,” He said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.””

Luke 20:23-25

The Pharisees, time and time again tried to catch Jesus out, make Him look like a fool, or at best get Him arrested by the Romans for breaking their laws. In a similar situation, the Pharisees again approach Jesus to catch Him out however this time under the disguise of some spies pretending to be honest men.

The ‘honest men’ approach Jesus with flattering words that seemed contrary to their malicious intentions of trying to have Jesus arrested. They pose a question to Jesus to try to trick Him, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar?” If Jesus answered yes then the religious leaders could have stirred up a storm and put Jesus in the same bracket as the pious and greedy tax collectors. They could have accused Jesus of putting burdensome demands onto the Jewish people who already felt that taxation from the Romans was unfair and unjust. However, if Jesus answered no, then the religious leaders could have reported Jesus to the Roman governors for inciting rebellion among the Jews. Perhaps they could have even accused Jesus of being a religious zealot trying to set His people free from the Roman authority.

However, Jesus in His supreme wisdom answered, yet again, with such intelligence and authority. His answer, “to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”. Amazing. In answering this way He silenced His critics, didn’t incite rebellion and actually taught both the people listening and today’s reader an important lesson.

We need to obey the law of the land and pay our taxes faithfully (for in doing so we honour God) and give to God what belongs to God (after all, everything we have is God’s anyway). Jesus’ wisdom yet again silenced the Pharisee’s shrewd tactics and yet again, Jesus set us an example of how we too should live our lives, purely, justly and righteously.

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God’s Love Is Powerful

27th 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.