devotions

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The Power To Preach With Boldness

27th May

“”Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”

Acts 4:30-31

After Peter and John had been released by the council, they went back to the believers and shared their experience. It must have been such a joyous occasion to have been released but at the same time a reality check. The persecution was heating up and the believers knew that they could not fulfill Jesus’ commission, to preach the gospel to all nations, without the help of the Holy Spirit.

Interestingly the council, when they convened together to discuss Peter and John’s punishment, had to admit that a miracle had taken place. Verse 16 of chapter 4 tells us that as they discussed with one another what they should do with Peter and John, they came to the conclusion that they had witnessed a miracle, “we can’t deny they have preformed a miraculous sign…”. It is this reason that when the believers gathered together to pray, they prayed that the preaching of the word of God would be heard and accompanied by miraculous signs, healing and wonders.

After the believers had finished praying the room they were meeting in shook and they were again filled with the Holy Spirit which enabled them to preach with boldness.

As believers today we can learn a lot about how to share our faith with others by the story found here in the book of acts. The most important fact is the unity of believers in prayer and secondly the infilling of the Holy Spirit. We must pray that God fills our lives daily with His Spirit to lead us, guide us and to give us boldness to preach His word. Let us pray that we would have the confidence, through the powerful name of Jesus and through the boldness of the Holy Spirit to lay hands on the sick, see the dead raised again and most importantly see souls won for Christ.

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The Power Of The Holy Spirit

26th May

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene.””

Acts 4:8,10

In chapter 3, in the book of Acts, we read of Peter and John’s compassion towards a crippled beggar. As they prayed in the name of Jesus Christ, the crippled man jumped up, walking around and praising God. This caused a great stir among the priests and Pharisees, as this man begged at the gates of the temple for forty years. Sadly the priests and Pharisees were not as overjoyed as the rest of the crowds so they decided to arrest Peter and John.

Today’s reading is taken from chapter 4, where Peter and John are facing trial before the council. Interestingly, the council members were made up of exactly the same members that condemned Jesus to His death. Peter and John had every right to be fearful of their arrest and imminent judgement. In fact Peter denied Jesus a few months earlier in front of less authoritative figures. Yet something was different here. After being questioned by the council, “by what power or in whose name have you done this,” Peter being filled with the Spirit answered them with a statement that blew them away.

Peter (and John), boldly proclaimed that the crippled beggar was healed by the Name of Jesus Christ, the Man they killed but whom God raised from the dead. Such was Peter’s eloquence and boldness in speech, that it left the council dumbfounded as to how these two ordinary men with no particular training where so compelling and knowledgeable in the scriptures. Yet Peter was fulfilling exactly what Jesus had prophesied would happen in Luke 12:11-12 “And when you are brought to trail in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”

The same is true for us today. God empowers us through the Holy Spirit and gives us the words to say to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ in whatever situation we are faced with.

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The Power Of Pentecost

25th May

“”So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah”… Those who believed what Peter said were baptised and added to the church that day-about 3,000 in all.”

Acts 2:36,41

Yesterday marked our anniversary of the baptism and gift of the Holy Spirit for the disciples, 40 days after the resurrection of Christ in around 30 AD. It is a time when we celebrate God’s promise of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter and Helper, who was given to humanity to further extend the Kingdom of God and to reveal Jesus Christ to searching hearts. It is a time when we see the Trinity in all its fullness and power and discover the person of the Holy Spirit through His mighty acts, as recorded in this wonderful book.

Yet for Peter and the disciples awaiting the gift of the Holy Spirit in the upper room in Jerusalem, it was not only a life changing experience but a ministry defining moment when the Holy Spirit was finally given on the day of Pentecost in the form of tongues of fire. He empowered the disciples to live in all the fulness God had intended for them and even in areas of their lives that they didn’t even realise they had gifting in.

None more so than Peter the Apostle. Just a few months prior to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Peter, who had walked so closely with Jesus, denied he ever knew Him as Jesus was facing trial by the High Priest and Pharisees. Yet through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the same Peter boldly proclaimed the message of Christ and 3000 people were added to the faith in one day.

This is a timely message for all believers across the world. In and of ourselves we can do nothing. Yet with the empowerment of the person of the Holy Spirit, we can proclaim the message of Salvation to the lost and liberty for those broken hearted and captive to sin. We must be filled daily with the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

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By Faith … We Can Change The World!

22nd May

“Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation…..their weakness was turned to strength.”

Hebrews 11:2,34b

Hebrews 11 lists so many of the Old Testament veterans, who through faith, overcame evil, fought for justice, endured horrible and gruesome deaths for the name of the Lord, or defeated those who opposed the Lord. It is so interesting to read each of their stories found in this intriguing book because it highlights that God used normal people to accomplish His works on earth, and through them, nations were defeated and God’s name was proclaimed among the world.

Furthermore, it highlights that God used these heroes of faith in spite of their weaknesses. If you look through the list of people mentioned in Hebrews 11, you will no doubt be able to pick out stories or attributes of their characters that either seem controversial or dishonouring to Almighty God, none more so than the life of Samson. Yet, here they are in this hall of fame, having being credited for their faith by the writer of Hebrews.

We have learnt that in the last few days that Samson’s life was far from perfect. He was arrogant, selfish, lustful, weak (in terms of controlling his desires), immature, reckless and even lived a lifestyle in opposition to God through his rebellious decisions. However, his last act of courage, bravery and faith show us that God never gives up on us, even in our last dying breath.

We can take comfort in knowing that God doesn’t wait for us to be perfect or doesn’t wait for us to make the right decisions. He chooses us not on our credentials but, because He sees a vessel that He can pour His grace out on. His chooses us in spite of our weaknesses and flaws and gives us strength in our weakness. God’s grace for us is enough.

So stop saying you are not good enough to be used by God and learn to trust in Him. Through Christ’s power in us, we are world changers and we can brings glory to the Name of Jesus throughout the nations.

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Joseph: An Example We Can Follow!

21st May

“She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible!”

Genesis 39:10

Throughout the last few weeks we have been looking at the life Samson and learning valuable lesson about how not to act. His life seemed like a repetitive downward spiral of living in opposition to God rather than in partnership with Him. In today’s passage we read of someone who got it right, Joseph. If only Samson had spent more time reading the stories of old and less time giving in to his selfish and lustful desires.

Joseph, a noble and faithful servant of God, found himself betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt. He was hired by Potiphar, the captain of Pharaohs guard, to work in his household and quickly gained favour for his integrity, honesty and diligence and was soon promoted to run of all his household affairs..

Because of Josephs handsome looks and great physique, he unwittingly caught the eye of Potiphar’s wife. Time and time again she would approach him and offer him her body, yet time and time again he would refuse because of his love for God and because of the trust that his master Potiphar had showed him.

One day, Potiphar’s wife could not resist Joseph anymore. She grabbed his cloak and insisted he sleep with her. However, yet again Joseph remained pure and holy, left his coat in her hands and ran away. This act eventually led to the unfair imprisonment of Joseph, yet he remained true to God and true to his master Potiphar.

When faced with temptation, Joseph gave us three great examples of how to act. Firstly, he kept out of her way as much as possible. When faced with temptation we shouldn’t linger around and flirt with it. Secondly, his love for God outweighed his need to fulfill his lustful desires. Thirdly, when temptation finally cornered him, he ran away (even though it would lead to his imprisonment!!). Honouring God is achievable if our motives and desires are to honour Him, and if we don’t rely on our own strength but on the grace of our Lord Jesus.

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Samson Physical Blindness

20th May

“When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes…”

Judges 16:20b-21a

After being easily deceived by Delilah’s cunning plans, Samson, in a moment of madness and weakness revealed the secret to his strength. Verse 19 tells us that as Samson lay asleep in the lap of Delilah having just had his hair shaved off, the Philistine army came in and captured him, took out his eyes, chained him up and led him to a prison to grind grain.

What Samson didn’t realise when he woke up, was that because he had broken the covenant his parents made with God when he was a child, to not cut his hair, the Lord had left him and his strength had departed. It was for this reason that he was able to be captured. However, the story doesn’t end there. In fact the next part of the story is what earns Samson his credibility and why he is among the Heroes of faith in the book of Hebrews.

After finally capturing their enemy, the Philistines rulers threw a party to dedicate their victory to their god, dagon. While they were all half drunk, they called out for Samson to come and entertain them. Little did they know that Samson’s hair had already started growing back. In an act of sheer courage and bravery, Samson wisely asked the young servant to prop him up against the pillars of the temple, called out to God for one final injection of supernatural strength and tore down the roof and the temple, crushing and killing over 3000 Philistine rulers.

Interestingly it was only when Samson was humanly blind that he realised his spiritual blindness. In fact this is the only time that Samson called on God to give him strength and didn’t rely on his own ability. Something must have changed in that prison. Moreover it is such an important lesson for us to learn, that when we live our lives in our strength and for own desires, it leads to spiritually blindness and imprisonment. It is only when we rely on God, that He can fully use us according to HIS will in our lives. Sometimes, however, it takes huge circumstances in our lives to realise that we are spiritually blinded to our selfish way of living. We must pray that God would open our eyes to our spiritual condition so we can live in the fullness of all God has for us.

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Samson’s Fatal Weakness

19th May

“Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.”

2 Timothy 2:22

Paul’s advice to Timothy, as shown in today’s verse, is not only a lesson for the early church, but a lesson we can implement in our own lives. Today’s story of Samson’s final fall, highlights the importance of running away from situations that make us vulnerable and surrounding ourselves with God fearing companionship, so we may encourage one another when we are weak and pursue righteous living together.

In verse 4 of chapter 16, we read that Samson again falls in love with a philistine woman, whose name this time was Delilah. This is probably the most famous story of Samson’s life and one which we should take extra care to learn from. In exchange for 1,100 pieces of silver, Delilah is enticed by the Philistine rulers to find the secret to Samson’s strength. However, instead of realising Delilah’s conniving schemes and running away from temptation, his lustful and sinful nature again dictated his lifestyle and decisions.

So Samson decided to play a game with Delilah. Rather than reveal the truth to her, he deceived her three times and told her lies about the reason he was so strong. After the third time of being deceived, Delilah finally gets what she wanted, the secret to Samson’s strength.

“She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it. Finally, Samson shared his secret with her….” (verse 16-17a)

Samson, instead of running away from Delilah’s crafty plan (although it seems like quite an obvious plan to today’s reader), decided to stay in the situation where his weakness and vulnerabilities were exposed. He had so many opportunities to run away, yet because he thought he was indestructible, he ended up being caught out and the secret to his strength finally revealed.

When we are faced with situations that lead us to temptation, we shouldn’t stick around to see if we can outwit it, but instead run away. Moreover, it is better not to even put ourselves in situations whereby we can we tempted. Let us repeat the words of our Lord Jesus, in His model prayer for our lives, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”

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Going Back To Old Ways

18th May

“One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute. Word soon spread that Samson was there, so the men of Gaza gathered together and waited all night at the town gates…”

Judges 16:1-2b

The writer of proverbs wisely warns, that temptation might be as “sweet as honey” but “in the end…its as bitter as poison and as dangerous as a double edged sword.” Today’s passage gives another important example of how giving into temptation only leads to problems.

Samson was a judge of Israel for 20 years. During his time, he had extreme lows and acted foolishly and irresponsibly. None more so than in the story found in chapter 16. Yet again, Samson decided to live a lifestyle contrary to the way he had been dedicated into as a young boy. Instead of keeping pure and holy, as an act of submission to God Almighty, he again allowed his lustful and selfish nature to dictate his life and again feel for a pagan Philistine woman.

However this time, not only did he make himself spiritually vulnerable by sleeping with a prostitute, he also made himself physically vulnerable, by allowing his location to be revealed. Hence why verse 2 of chapter 16 tells us that an angry Philistine mob were waiting to capture him in the morning. Yet Samson’s strength came to the rescue again and saved him from the morning ambush. During the night, Samson dramatically ripped the doors of the town gate, carried them on his shoulders and escaped up the hill to Hebron. The consequence of Samson’s sins could have been fatal, yet because of the grace of God, he survived another day.

Samson’s neglect of his responsibilities as the judge of Israel, only damaged his walk with God and further highlighted his weaknesses. It is a lesson we too can learn when faced with temptation. When we allow ourselves to give into temptation, it opens the door for the enemy into our lives. However, there is good news. James tells us that if we “resist the devil, he will flee.” Resisting does not come in our might (as proven with Samson), but comes from the power of the Holy Spirit and through the Name of Jesus Christ.

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Revenge Never Ends (Do Not Pay Back Evil For Evil)

16-17th May

Weekend Edition

“Samson said, “This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do you Philistines.””

Judges 15:3

It’s so easy when we have been angered, to get caught up in the emotion of the situation, that you don’t realise what you are saying or doing. It is no coincidence that a fruit of a Spirit filled believer is self-control. When our lives are fully submitted to God, if we are squeezed then only goodness should come out. Yet so often this is not the case, as seen in todays passage.

A few days later, Samson returned to Timnah see his wife again. Upon arriving, he realised his wife had been given to his best man in his absence, and was offered the more beautiful sister instead by her father. Obviously Samson was outraged. In a moment of fury, he caught 300 foxes, tied their tails together in pairs, fastened burning torches to their tails and sent them to run wild in the Philistine fields. In doing so, their fields of grain, vineyards and olive groves were completely destroyed. In retaliation to Samson’s act of destruction, the Philistines, ordered Samson’s wife and her father to be executed.

This angered Samson even more, and as expected, he took revenge by killing 1000 Philistines with the jaw of a donkey. Whats more, he showed a complete lack of remorse by celebrating with an arrogant victory song about himself, in verse 16.

We too can learn a very important and valuable lesson from today’s passage: There is no end to retaliation and revenge. It goes on and on and on. If we are to show Christ to the nations, then we should strive to live like Christ in all we do. Jesus, when being accused of blasphemy and beaten by the Roman guards, did not strike back in revenge but acted as “a sheep being led to slaughter”. This did not show weakness, moreover, it took more courage, humility and self discipline for Jesus not to react than to strike back in revenge. Revenge will have its day, but that is for God to decide and not us. Submit in all things to the will of our Father and reap the benefits of His blessings, even in persecution.

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Samson’s Greed And Unsolvable Riddle

15th May

“”All right,” they agreed, “let’s hear your riddle.” So he said:

“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;

Out of the strong came something sweet.””

Judges 14:13b-14a

During Samson’s wedding preparation party to the Philistine woman of Timnah, he decided to challenge his new “companions” to a riddle. In exchange for solving it, the winner was to receive 30 garments of fine linen robes and 30 sets of festive clothing. However Samson knew his riddle was near impossible to solve. It is clear that he had ulterior motives. His greed for wealth and possession continued to dictate his lifestyle and decisions.

As expected the young men could not get the riddle, even after the fourth day of trying to figure it out. So the young men forced Samson’s wife, by threatening to murder her and her family, to deceive Samson and reveal the riddle to them. It seems like Samson’s plans for riches were quickly backfiring. Samson finally told his wife the answer to the riddle due to her persistent “nagging” and she in turn told the young men, who correctly answered Samson’s riddle.

Samson was outraged. He had been tricked by wife, lied to, deceived and whats more, he didn’t get the robes and linen that he thought he would rightfully receive. So he took revenge on the people of Ashkelon, killing 30 of their men, taking their robes and giving it to the young men, he had lost the competition to. In the space of a few days, Samson who thought he could gain riches, wealth and a wife, ended up losing everything.

How often to we get caught up in the spur of the moment, making wrong and selfish decisions that more often than not, have disastrous outcomes. Greed never wins as was proved in today’s story. It is only when we are fully submitted to the will of God, that we find His blessings in abundance. Greed is a deceiver. It ends up dictating our lives and always has an unquenchable thirst for more. We must be content with what we have, knowing all we do have is a gift from God.