Inspirational messages

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The Added Bonus Of Christmas

18th November

“Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 5:18-20

For some, the Christmas season is one of the best times of year; the warmth in the atmosphere, echoing sounds of carols and songs, Christmas trees, lights and other festivities, Christmas markets, mince pies and so much more, make the festive seasons a truly joyous occasion. Of course, sadly all of the above also make for good marketing and business opportunities, for both shops and trades. Yet above all, even 2000 years after His birth, it is Jesus Christ who takes the centre stage in the lives of so many people across the world, as on the 25th of December, although it may not be exactly the date Jesus was actually born, we remember and celebrate His coming nonetheless and rejoice in the ‘how’ and in the ‘why’ He came!

Yet what is astounding is that even after 2000 years, Jesus’ birth continues to bring unity to people everywhere. Isn’t it interesting that an extra effort is usually made during the festive season, for families and friends to meet up for fun and fellowship. That togetherness, that common reason to meet, the extra effort that is made, is why Christmas is more than just ‘Christmas Festivities’, but it is to rejoice in the unity that Jesus’ birth brings. Jesus’ birth, life and death, continues to unite us all bound by the love of the Spirit.

When we meet let us remember Paul’s wise words to the church in Ephesus, and be filled with the Spirit at all times, rejoicing in and giving thanks to Jesus, our Lord and King.

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The Last Days?

17th November

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.””

2 Peter 3:3-4

“THE END TIMES ARE NEAR”, is the cry often preached many Street Evangelists, trying to persuade passers-by to put their trust in Jesus’ salvation and avoid eternal damnation. Now although they are true in some sense, that people need saving from their sins, perhaps their approach could be deemed too aggressive by some. Yet whatever your opinion may be on their methods, or the words they choose, their message is actually a topic that was much discussed in Peter’s day and age too.

When is Jesus coming back as He promised? Is it this year? Is it when Jerusalem becomes a nation again? Is it when a no-body becomes President of America? Is it when Europe becomes a stronger power in the world? No-one could argue that it feels like the last days, right? Yet what is interesting is that people in Peter’s time, also thought they were living through the last days as well. Even some of the Apostles and writers of the New Testament alluded to them living in the ‘last hours’ or ‘last days’. So what is our response as Believers in Jesus? Do we try to shut-up the doubters of Jesus’ imminent return or try to scare the non-believers into the Kingdom?

Our approach should be as Peter encouraged in his letters, ‘while you (we) are waiting for these things to happen (the end times), make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight’ (verse 14). We must be patient for the Lord’s return, because God works in His time not ours. Moreover, as Peter says, the Lord ‘is being patient for your (people’s) sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent’ (verse 9b) . . . . . ‘And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved’ (verse 15a).

Our role is to get our lives right before Christ and pray for others, that they may too know Jesus, the Saviour of the world, if He comes back tomorrow or in a thousand years!!

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The Good Fruit People

16th November

“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. …. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

Luke 6:43,44a – 45

Have you ever been to an apple orchard or a grape vineyard? Supposing you had been, and when you arrived you saw bananas hanging off what was supposed to be an apple tree.. What would you think; Impossible right? That is exactly the same imagery Jesus paints for us here in the Lukan version of the beatitudes. It is as simple as that. Jesus gives a clear distinction between the treasury of a good person’s heart and an evil person’s heart; one produces good things and the other evil things. It almost feels like there is no middle ground.

Yet before we start identifying ourselves as evil if we ever said or done bad things, lets just clarify that ‘evil’ is an association with everything that is not good. It is a conscious decision to rebel against God and to live a life opposite to how He wants us to live. An evil heart denies there is a God and lives in a way that reflects no morality or submission to that higher power. On the contrary, a good heart, only produces good fruits. We may have days where our fruit looks more organic than the nice polished fruits on sale in high end supermarkets, yet the point is, that the treasury of a good heart, is good fruit and that good fruit is GOOD.

It is only by the mighty grace of God that we can produce good fruit. It is by the mighty love of God that He has changed our hearts from evil to good. And it is by the mighty power of God, that He sustains us and causes us to produce good fruit in accordance to the Spirit’s continual work in our hearts. May our fruit ever bring glory to Jesus Christ.

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Teach Our Children

15th November

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Yesterday, BBC news released very disturbing facts about the causes of death in the UK. According to the BBC news statistics, the most common cause of death in 5 – 19 year olds in the UK is suicide1. It is a disturbing fact that shouldn’t be overlooked, as painful as it is. Where has it gone wrong? What are we not doing? These are valid questions and ones that definitely need answering. Yet our responsibility is to initiate the change in our homes, both through praying for our nation’s children, but also through teaching our own children Godly principles, teaching them that they are loved and teaching them they have a hope and a future. If we don’t teach them, then where else will they learn these values? Bob Talbert comments on this topic and says “teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them whats counts is best.”2 In other words, if we just give children an educational upbringing, we will have a nation of clever kids, without a purpose, destiny and with statistics such as the ones the BBC published, if not worse.

It is our responsibility, parents responsibility, uncles and aunties, godparents, cousins, brothers, sisters and friends, Sunday School teachers and family in Christ, to pour Christ’s teachings, hope, love, and purpose into our young people’s hearts as a matter of urgency! As today’s verse says and as the Jewish culture still does, let us too ‘talk about them (Godly principles and values: God’s law in context)) when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.’ Let us make it our purpose to raise the next generations of world changers for Jesus.

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The Wooden gods

12th & 13th November

Weekend Edition

“They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”

Jeremiah 10:3b-5

As Jeremiah continues his relentless criticism of false gods, we begin see an almost tongue in cheek approach in his words; it’s almost as if he is making fun of the false gods. Yet what Jeremiah is really doing, is making a case to the Israelites, imploring them to see the foolishness of worshipping gods that are made by human hands. They can do nothing, as Jeremiah says, ‘they can neither harm you nor do you any good’.

When we read this passage, we too are almost encouraged, to take a fine sieve and filter through any ‘worthless idols’ in our lives, any thing that is taking the place of God, and filter it out, getting rid of it and leaving no trace of them. We are almost forced into analysing our lives by Jeremiah’s words because he makes such a clear and heart piercing conclusion about the foolishness and stupidity of putting anything else in front of the ONE TRUE GOD. In verse 11, Jeremiah comes to the crescendo of his argument, and it will be here where we leave this weekend’s devotion. As you read his words, think about what kind of a God you serve, and of how powerful and awesome He is.

“Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth and from under the heavens. But God made the earth by His power, and He preserves it by His wisdom. With His own understanding He stretched out the heavens. When He speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from His storehouse. . . But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists… The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is His name!”1

1Jeremiah 10:11b-13,16

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The God Who Sees

11th November

“Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O Israel! This is what the Lord says: “Do not act like other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them. Their ways are futile and foolish.”

Jeremiah 10:1-3a

Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet who just said things like it was. He heard from God and spoke. Because of his brash yet true words, he was often persecuted and maligned, yet he knew that the God he served, was by far, above every other god.

If Jeremiah was alive today, we can only wonder what he would say to those looking for God in the wrong places, or to those who are seeking ‘divine’ guidance or inspiration from the wrong sources. Yet what is astounding about most of Jeremiah’s prophetic words, is that they were directed to God’s people, his people, the very people whom God led out of Egyptian bondage, who were fed ‘divinely’ for 40 years in the wilderness and who had continually been saved from their enemies by God. Yet somehow, they had again abandoned their God and followed in the ways of foreign, unknown gods who had no power. Perhaps this was why Jeremiah was so unpopular: because the very words of truth that he prophetically spoke, were directed at his own people, his own leaders, and his own priests.

Before we too quickly judge the Israelites, maybe Jeremiah’s words are a reminder for us too, in our day and age, to not put our trust in other nations, in foolish and futile advice from people trying to be like gods. Rather, let us too put our trust back in the One true God who can alone, save, lead and guide. We have nothing to fear about the future, because we serve a God who sees and knows all, and whose ways are higher than ours. All we need to do, is put our trust in HIM! Let us not be like other nations or religions, but trust in the one TRUE GOD, and let Him lead and guide us, His children.

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Who is the King of glory?

10th November

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him. For He laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the oceans depths.”

Psalm 24:1-2

God is not just God on paper. He is not a fictional Bible story or character. He is real. He is as close as your breath and the skin on your body. He is the God who created the very place you are standing or sitting reading this. Everything is the Lords! The world and all its people! We are perfectly created in the image of God, to reflect His glory and to shine His light.

Jesus, in His model prayer, otherwise known as the Lord’s prayer, taught us how to pray by giving His disciples, and us, a guideline or structure to follow to help us pray. What is amazing, is both the start and the finish of this prayer, lead us to call out to our God as Father, as Holy, as the Lord of all Heaven, clothed with power, dominion and authority. Why did Jesus make this a priority? Well, just as David so often did in his psalms, Jesus knew the importance of making sure we know who we are talking to when we approach God’s throne. Firstly God is our Father, He is the King of Kings, He is the King of glory, He is the Lord, strong and mighty, invincible in battle, and the Lord of Heaven’s armies. He is holy and is clothed with power, dominion and authority. When we come to God with this understanding, then all our problems shrink at the magnitude of who God is. If we understand who it is we are praying to, it changes the way we pray, and we begin to pray out of victory rather than need. Who is the King of glory we serve? Our Heavenly Father!

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Our King

9th November

“Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise! For the Lord Most High is awesome. He is the great King of all the earth.”

Psalm 47:1-2

We serve a King who was not voted in, did not have to go through any publicity to make Himself more popular and certainly doesn’t need people’s approval to prove that He is rightfully KING! He is King by default. He created the world. He is King because He won the ultimate battle against sin and death. He is King because He is King. He is the One, as the book of Romans says, that gives the authority to earthly kingdoms; ‘For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.1’ God is even in control of those in authority.

There is no power higher than God. There is no equal nor opposite to God. He is, the psalmist says, ‘the great KING of all the earth.’ Not just of the earth, but the entire universe. There is no corruption in Him, no scandal, no falsehood, no lies, no racism, no sexism, no rudeness and no division. In Him is life, peace, joy, and acceptance; a fountain of grace and mercy that never runs dry. There is unconditional love for those who accept it. He is the greatest leader of all time; from the beginning to the end of time. He is the King that created time. All things were created by His words. The earth and the universe, the sun and the moon, all listen and obey His voice. He is the King of the animals, the birds, the sea, the land and everything that is! He is the King, that is greatly exalted and worshipped throughout the world, in every language and by every culture! He is KING! Come on! Everyone! Clap your hands, shout for joy! This King is our King!

In a time of global and political uncertainty, it would be wise to put your trust in Him and let Him calm your fears. He is the great King!!

1Romans 13:1

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Lean On Me, When You’re Not Strong

8th November

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Who do you trust when you are filled with uncertainty or anxiety? Sometimes we trust ourselves too much and end up completely lost. It is like following a sat nav. When you don’t know the way you turn on the sat nav, but once you have found a familiar place, you turn it off and continue navigating by memory only to find you took a left turn instead of a right turn and now ended up going the completely wrong way again. More often than not, a sat nav leads you to the right destination, if you put your complete trust in it (and of course if it has been updated!!).

Life can be the same too. We trust God with the big decisions in our lives, then once we start feeling we can take over control again, we almost switch God off until we need Him the next time. Or perhaps we may experience a breakthrough in our lives, and rather than continue to trust Him 100% again for completion, we start managing our lives again, and steer our boats the completely wrong way. Trusting in God with all our hearts is not a one off decision until you get an answer then stop trusting Him. Trusting God is a lifestyle. It’s a lifestyle that says ‘God I don’t know! I need You! I choose to trust You and not live based on my understanding of things but on Your leading!’.

God is like a friend that we can always rely on, when we have no strength and when we out of faith. He is a friend we can lean on always. As Bill Withers said in his famous song ‘Lean On Me’, sometimes we just need to ‘swallow our pride’, admit we are lost, admit we need direction and trust God completely.

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Opposite Spirit

7th November

“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will grant you His blessing.”

1 Peter 3:9

On paper, just reading this verse as it is, it seems like such an easy and straightforward instruction. When insulted, bless your insulter. When wronged, bless the person who has done you wrong. Yet we know in reality that this a hard teaching. Yet friends, we are not on our own. God is with us. Furthermore, when we bless others, God in turn grants us His blessings. When we bless others, we immediately break the offence and the stronghold the enemy wants to have over us. We move in the ‘opposite spirit’, not giving place for the enemy, and in turn pray favour and blessings over those who have wronged us.

Blessings and not returning the insult or wrongdoing, is also good for us personally too. It helps us immediately break the bitterness, anger, hostility or even jealousy we could have felt if we had held on to those feelings. It helps us immediately deal with offence and our carnal ‘revenge’ mentality. Let us be challenged, not just by this devotion but by knowing that this ‘is what God has called you (us) to do!’ We will be blessed when we bless others.