devotions

by

I Was Blind But Now I See

9th April

“Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; And He vanished from their sight.”

Luke 24:30-31 

Yesterday as the bright light shone in my eyes, I decided it was time for the sunglasses to be worn. As I put them on my whole perspective of what I could see completely changed. Everything had a slight amber glare. As I pondered this I realised that much is the same with our eyes. When we are blind and dead in our sin, life looks so bleak and dull. There is no hope, no reason to live and everything looks a monotone. When Christ comes alive in us, when we receive Him into our lives, everything almost seems like in has come alive. To steal Ben Cantelon lyric, ‘everything I see is in colour’.

In the story of the ‘road to Emmaus’, exclusive to Luke’s gospel, we are told of a similar situation whereby two of the disciples en-route to Jerusalem met the risen Jesus. As they are walking, Jesus, whose true identity was hidden, starts to explain to the two disciples who He really was using Moses’ and the Prophet’s writings. Yet still them could not discern whom this man was that they were walking with. It is only until Jesus broke the bread and blessed it that their eyes were opened. It is almost like they finally understood what it meant that Jesus’ own body had to be sacrificed through the breaking off the bread.

Until they fully realised who Jesus was, the image and perception of Him was just an ordinary man, who in their eyes had failed at restoring the Kingdom of Israel from the Romans. It is this reason that they were walking so sadly when Jesus met them. However, when they knew Jesus’ real identity, they were filled with joy and couldn’t contain their excitement. They had just walked a long 7 miles to Jerusalem and now travelled back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples the good news.

The question we must ask ourselves is this, have our eyes truly been opened to see who Jesus really is for personally, and if so what is our reaction to it? Are you looking at Jesus through someone’s glasses or your own?

by

Jesus’ Resurrection – FREEDOM!!!

8th April

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”

Romans 8:1-2 

We are free. Free to live without condemnation. Free to fall down (although we strive to live holy lives before our holy God), but free to approach the mercy seat of God with no shame, fear or guilt!

Jesus again in His encounter with Nicodemus in John chapter 3, tells him in verse 17 that He didn’t come to condemn the world but that through His sacrificial love, we will be saved. The writer of Romans echoes these words in today’s verse. There is no condemnation at all. If we can say with surety that we belong to Christ Jesus, if we have accepted His love, repented of our sins, acknowledge Him at King of our lives… then there is good news…YOU ARE NOT CONDEMNED.

Yes we will sin, yes we fall short of God’s holy standards but we are freed from the power of sin by Jesus’ resurrection power. We no longer live a life that leads to death but live a free life that leads to a fully alive LIFE.

This doesn’t give us a free licence to do whatever we want and never face the consequence of our bad choices, but rather when we feel like we cant pray, go to church, fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ because of sin, we can identify that as a lie from the devil and know that Jesus welcomes us into His loving arms no matter what we have done. It was while we were still sinners that He died for us. The only thing that changed is that God doesn’t look at our sin but looks at what Jesus did on the cross. He paid our price so we wouldn’t have to. THAT IS LOVE AND GRACE!!

 

by

The Breath Of Jesus

7th April

“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.””

John 20:22 

When Jesus rose from the dead, He returned to His disciples to encourage and commission them. However, the disciples were mourning their chosen King who was crucified. He even was handed over to the Romans by one of their friends. Not only were they mourning their Rabbi but also they were living in fear of persecution by the Jews. It is interesting to note that when Jesus revealed His identity to the disciples, He came bearing peace. Sometimes in our lives, when we are rocked by sad and shocking news, we need to invite Jesus into our situations and allow Him to being peace. Peace is not an emotion, peace is a person and that person is Jesus Christ. And His peace makes us glad, as it did for the disciples.

Jesus goes on to commission His disciples, and by doing so, sends them out into the world to share the good news of His salvation. However, as promised, He leaves them with a parting gift. Jesus knew that in and of their own strength, the disciples would fail. Jesus breathed on His disciples giving them the Holy Spirit. This is the same breath that breathed life into mankind from the beginning of time. When Adam was without life, God breathed His Spirit into his nostrils and gave him life. Here, Jesus breathes His Spirit into the disciples and gives them life; Life to be able to fulfil the great commission.

Our new birth is a fruit of the breath and peace of God in our lives and situations. It is this breath that gives us the strength to preserve through life’s hardship, and to fully fulfil the great commission that was given to all the children of God, not just the disciples. May Jesus breath His life giving Spirit in you and fill you with His perfect peace!

 

by

The Resurrected King

6th April

 “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance…”

1 Peter 1:3-4a 

Hallelujah, Jesus is risen. I often think what it would be like in Heaven on that 3rd day when Jesus resurrected from the dead, conquering death and sin and taking back the authority of this world from the enemy. I am sure that there was a huge party, the angels rejoiced in a victorious chorus and all the heavenly hosts praised the Father for His great act of mercy and love.

Yet that is all well and good but what is our reaction to His resurrection? In John chapter 3, Jesus instructs Nicodemus what to do to see and experience the Kingdom of Heaven. He exclaims that one must be spiritually born again to experience the gift of salvation. He then goes on to say that in the greatest act of love, God sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue and save the world from their sin. On that glorious 3rd day, Jesus rose from the dead and fulfilled that promise. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we too can have new life and be born again.

If Jesus stayed dead, we would have no means to live a resurrected life, but because He was raised from the dead, because He no longer lives in the grave, we can experience new life with Christ. Our old selves are crucified with Christ on the cross, buried with Him in the tomb and we now live a resurrected life with Christ!!

Yet Peter encourages us further. That after this mortal life finishes we have a glorious inheritance awaiting us, were we can live eternally in the very presence of our Saviour, where there is no more pain and suffering, no more tears and sorrow, but only peace, joy and love.

“So be truly glad. There is a wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a while” (verse 6). So don’t give up. Rejoice that our King is resurrected and we can be part of that resurrection too!

 

 

by

He Is Alive

4th & 5th April

Weekend Edition

“If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

John 20:23 

Jesus’ death and resurrection was a great example to all of humanity in what love really looks like. He came and was nailed to a cross, the ultimate sign of shame and rejection, murdered by the very people He formed with His breath. Yet all that exuded from Jesus was love.

In today’s passage we find the resurrected Jesus, in His resurrected body, greeting the disciples and showing His wounds to them as a sign that it really was Him. Jesus really did rise from the dead. Yet the words He passed on to the disciples in verse 23 stands as a landmark and an ultimate commission for the disciples then but also for us now, “forgive and they will be forgiven.” Jesus doesn’t give permission to His disciples to now take the place of the Father and forgive sins but rather encourages them that if someone wronged them, they should not hold onto that bitterness. To release someone from that wrong towards us, not only liberates the other person but also ourselves. Forgiveness is an exchange of love from the wronged to the wrong doer.

Yet why did Jesus choose at that time to talk about forgiveness? He has just breathed on them and given them the Holy Spirit, isn’t that enough? If we look at what Jesus had just gone through and some of His last words on the cross, we can get our answer. In Luke 23:34 Jesus cries out and says “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing” talking of His accusers and murderers. Even on the cross, in His dying breath He pleads for mercy for those who inflicted death on Him.

Jesus was so full of love, that there was no room for un-forgiveness or bitterness. He knew the power that love had to overcome all un-forgiveness. He could only go through what He went through with complete peace and love in His heart. We can have all the gifts of this world, rejoice in the resurrection of Christ and even be filled with the Holy Spirit. But without love and forgiveness we will fail in our commission to show Christ to a dying and lost world. Forgiveness is an important key this Easter, in unlocking the hearts of the broken. Forgive as Jesus did and see the breakthrough in your life and others. Happy Easter. Jesus is ALIVE.

by

Rejoice It’s Good Friday

2nd & 3rd April

 “Jesus fully realised all that was going to happen to Him, so He stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” He asked. “Jesus, the Nazarene,” they replied. “I am He”…As Jesus said “I am He,” they all drew back and feel to the ground.”

John 18:4-6 

I remember the first time I realised that Jesus died for me personally was at a communion service. I was sitting on my dad’s lap and he was explaining to me why Jesus died for me. I think I must have been around 8 years old. As soon as he had finished telling me, I started crying because I knew that I didn’t deserve someone dying for me, even at that young age. So often on Good Friday around the world we can feel that same sadness because an innocent Man had to die to pay for our debt.

However, the reality is, is that if Jesus did not go ahead with what He came to Earth to do, then there would be no salvation, no forgiveness of sins, and no personal relationship with the Father. We wouldn’t know who we are in Christ, we wouldn’t know the purpose as to why we are on this Earth and we wouldn’t have a reason to bring joy, light and hope into a dark and needy world. It is because Jesus died that we can rejoice in His death. It may sound contradictory to rejoice in someone’s death, but the truth is that Jesus had to die and it is a great thing He did.

John, in His depiction of Jesus’ last hours, tells us that Jesus was fully ready to embrace the forthcoming torture, beatings and inevitable death sentence. He writes that when the angry mob came to arrest Jesus, Jesus didn’t run away or hide in the olive grove. He stepped forward and embraced His adversities. He was prepared for what was about to come. The writer of Hebrew even describes that Jesus knew the joy that awaited His endurance of that shameful death on the cross.

If Jesus knew that His death would set humanity free from the debt of their sin and was joyful about enduring the suffering for our sakes, then we should also rejoice with Him and not mourn. He died but now He is alive. Rejoice the King died but now is alive.

by

A Strong Warning

1st April

 “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”

Romans 8:6

 So often in the bible, there are passages that say if you do this or that then you will reap the repercussions of your bad choices. Alternatively if you live according to the Spirit then you will be blessed in this way or that. Interestingly today’s passage is one of those examples.

As discussed yesterday the way to transform holy living is by the renewing of our minds. However, today’s passage highlights an even greater truth, in that if we keep letting our sinful nature control our minds, then it will lead to death. This death is a spiritual death. An evil thought, although still harmful can almost be harmless if not acted upon. However that evil thought not dealt with only leads to death if we let it stay in our minds. It is a strong reminder that sinful thoughts not dealt with have severe consequences.

However, this verse does not end on a negative note. We can take encouragement in knowing that when we let the Holy Spirit control our minds (total submission), the benefits are a life of peace and joy. Jesus said He came to bring life and life in its fullness. If so, then by having a clean and pure mind, we can live life to its fullness. That is a promise. But we need to do our part too.

This is a great verse to memorise, so that when you feel tempted by thoughts contrary to Godly living, you can quote and remind yourself that pondering, dwelling on and meditating upon them will lead to death but rebuking and replacing with Spiritual thoughts leads to life and peace.

by

Clean Mind..Clean Life

31st March

 “Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Romans 12:2 

I was recently having a conversation with someone about the necessity as a chef to keep ones kitchen and working sections in a clean and orderly fashion. I explained that as soon as you start working in a mess, immediately you fall behind with your work, your mind starts to get clogged up, you start panicking and lo and behold, you have a pile of orders queuing up with customers waiting for their meals. The most important thing to do is to keep your section as clean as possible. As a chef I once worked with said, ‘a clean ship is a happy ship’.

The same is with our minds. The writer of Romans wisely says that our mind is the key to living a life contrary to how the world expects us to live. Without a doubt our minds dictate our lifestyles. When we think bad and sinful thoughts, it is not long after that we find ourselves living it out in the flesh. In order to live a holy life, we must first ask God to purify our hearts and MINDS. It is only then that we are able to live as God wants and intended us to. However how can we control what goes into our mind?

We can protect our mind by taking authority from firstly what goes into it and secondly what stays there. If we know we are tempted by certain thoughts and desires then we should do our best to avoid putting ourselves in situations whereby we may be tempted. Moreover, when thoughts do come into our minds, we should not dwell on and entertain them, but simply rebuke them in the authority Jesus gave us and fill your minds with the word of God.

Let us be honest with ourselves, analyse what we are feeding our minds and take authority in cleaning it out, “Then you will learn God’s will for your life….!”

by

Taste and See

30th March

“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!”

Psalm 34:8 

Today’s verse talks of the simple truth that God is good. Yes we may have raging battles around us, as did David when he wrote this psalm but through every circumstance, he knew that God is good and God was always there to watch over him.

It is often said that when we hear a good word from a preacher or fill the presence of God in a tangible way, it almost feels like we are eating. It is a strange sensation but if we are to take the word of God as food for our bodies, then this analogy makes sense. Tasting the presence of God may seem odd, but it comes from knowing and spending time in the most intimate place with God. Although it may not feed your stomach, it definitely feeds your spirit.

David comments in psalm 119:113 that God’s words as a sweet as honey to his lips. If David could experience that delight in God’s word then we should also strive for a love and hunger for that also.

We not only are encouraged to taste but also to see the goodness of God. Look around you. God is good. When we see God’s hand in our circumstances, when there is no hope or light at the end of the tunnel, we can but rejoice in God’s goodness and provision. David experienced God’s deliverance time and time again. Why? Because he had complete trust in a God whom he knew would deliver him. He probably read the stories time and time again, of God delivering Moses and the Israelites from the hand of the Egyptians. He had read of Noah’s miraculous deliverance when the great flood threatened all humanity. David not only read these stories, but he experienced God’s deliverance on a daily basis.

How good is our God. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Taste and see God is good.

by

Answered Prayer

28th-29th March

Weekend Edition

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Romans 15:13 (ESV)

Our God is in the business of answering prayers. No prayer is too big, no request too small. A prayer offered in faith, in accordance with His perfect will, WILL BE ANSWERED. There may not be evidence of instantaneous fruit from your prayer but we can rejoice in hope and peace knowing that we believe that it will be done. God is the God of Hope!

I have recently been encouraged by a friend of mine’s belief and hope for an almost impossible prayer request. Yet God is faithful and through a journey we are starting to see the fruit of our laboured prayers. This is not to say that we have to pray to twist God’s arm in submitting to our will but rather in the patience and waiting, we learn to fully trust God and submit to His will. We become aligned with His heart and His desires. We may not always see the positive but we can rest assured that God’s ways are higher than ours and that His will is always perfect. It is in the waiting that our character is formed and in the trusting that are hope and faith are built.

This weekend’s encouragement is to keep hope alive. Keep trusting in God, that He will deliver and answer your prayers. Keep believing and rejoicing in peace and joy and see how God answers you!