modern devotionals

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Never Alone

15th August

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have; For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””

Hebrews 13:5

How many times do you need to hear it?

“He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8). “I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). “Blessed be the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness

to the living” (Ruth 2:20). “The LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake” (1 Samuel 12:22). “He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 28:20). “God did not forsake us in our bondage” (Ezra 9:9). “You did not forsake them in the wilderness” (Nehemiah 9:19). “When my father and mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me” (Psalm 27:10). “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken” (Psalm 37:25). “We are…persecuted but not forsaken” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

God has promised that He will never abandon us. He will always look after us. In our physical, spiritual, psychological, personal or even financial needs, He is there. Because of the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus, our Father in heaven will never forsake us; so don’t despair over anything today. You are not forsaken.

The enemies have more chariots, experience, and artillery? Yes, they are strong, but I am stronger still. And I will not leave you or forsake you.

Max Lucado in Glory Days1

1Adapted from David Jeremiah’s, Daily devotionals

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Hidden In Christ

12th –14th August

Weekend Edition

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Colossians 3:1-3

Since the great divide has been healed and the gap between God and man bridged by Christ, our identity has been transformed as we become new creations. We become children of Christ and heirs to the inheritance of eternal life. Yet above all, our lives are hidden in Christ. When God looks at us, because we are hidden in Christ, He doesn’t see how we used to be, a sinful, wretched man, but instead He sees Christ and see us in Christ, redeemed, renewed and restored. He sees purity and holiness. We have been raised to new life in Christ. Our past is gone, forgotten about and dealt with by God’s grace shown and displayed through Jesus.

We need to set our minds on these truths. We need to stop looking back at the past and letting the past define us. We are forgiven. We are a new creation. We will never move forward if we are always looking backwards at the past. We need to set our minds on the things of heaven; What has God got in store for me? How does God see me? How can I be used to extend His Kingdom? Friends, today, may we remember that we are hidden and enveloped by the love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. That is who we are, that is our identity. Start your day with remembering this precious truth.

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The Bridge

11th August

“For there is only one God and One Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity; the man Christ Jesus.”

1 Timothy 2:5

bridge

The man Christ Jesus, both fully God and fully man. A difficult truth to fully comprehend yet the most significant truth in the whole of Christianity. If Jesus was not fully God, He would not be worth worshipping. If Jesus was not fully man, then there is no way He could have understood our problems, no way He could have walked with us through hard times and no way He could have been be our substitutional sacrifice. Yet Jesus was both fully man and fully God. And it is only by His sacrifice that man-kind and God could reconnect in a true and pure relationship. Jesus is our Mediator, our Ransom and the reason why we can commune with a Holy God and the Creator of the world. Our imperfections, our sinful lifestyles and bad habits are made clean and righteous before God because Jesus made us clean by taking our punishment for us and cleansing us by His blood.

Today we can rejoice that Jesus was fully God, came to live on this earth as a 100% human being, carried our sins and burdens to the cross and there left them, rose again victorious, so that we too can die to our old selves and be resurrected new creations. The past is gone. The new has come. Jesus our Mediator has reconciled us to God. We are victorious in Him. He reigns victorious. That is why we worship Him. That is why we praise Him.

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Rest In Him

10th August

“Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.””

1 Kings 19:7

As we continue with yesterday’s story, we remind ourself that Elijah was in hiding, running away from Jezebel who wanted to kill him. He was so in despair that he too wanted to die. Yet God in His divine provision, provided Elijah with the comfort He needed. Twice, the angel of the Lord, fed Elijah and regenerated his spirit to continue his journey. God knew that the road ahead was tough for Elijah, so He gave Elijah what he needed.

God also speaks today into our lives when we are tired and don’t have the strength to carry on. God says to us, ‘Stop, rest and refresh in me, because you don’t have the strength to carry on anymore. The road ahead is too tough.’ Maybe today you too need some supernatural refreshment from the Lord. It is ok to stop and rest in Him In fact it is a good spiritual discipline to do so. So if you are tired and thirsty Jesus says to you, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest.” Rest and abide in Him.

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The Honesty of Talking With God

9th August

“Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, travelling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”

1 Kings 19:3-4

What does prayer look like for you? Do you even know what to say to God? Well you are not on your own. The greats of the Bible also have struggled for what to say during their prayers. Yet what God desires from us in our prayers, is honesty and a true heart. He doesn’t need to hear eloquent rehearsed prayers or superficial words of praise. No, God wants to hear what is on our hearts. He is our Father, Friend and King. Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees for their long, false and dishonest prayers. “God loves us to talk with Him. He can cope with our temper, frustrations…everything we throw at Him. That is why He is such an amazing God!”1 God wants a relationship with us. That is why He sent Jesus.

Sometimes, as is it says in Romans, we don’t even know ‘what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words’ (Romans 8:26). God hears our hearts when we pray, not just our words. He knows what we are going through. He knows when we need His comfort. When Elijah was threatened with death by the evil king Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, he fled out of fear, even though he had just witnessed two huge miracles through his faith. He wanted to die; and he told God that. Yet God in His grace comforted Elijah, gave him divine rest and food and empowered him to carry on with his commission.

God too wants to hear your heart, to hear your words and even to hear your cries when you have no words. He is gracious and kind and always welcomes His children into His presence. Talk to God from your hearts.

1Carolyn De Souza, in reply to Monday’s Devotion

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The Power Of Communicating With God

8th August

“…the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.”

James 5:16b-18

Communicating with God is never one way. So often, we get caught up pouring our hearts out to God, but never allow Him to speak to us. In fact, when was the last time you sat patiently waiting for God to speak to you, be that audibly, in your thoughts or through His Word? In truth, life is busy. We are consumed with work, school, studies, family commitments and meeting friends. Yet, the most important part of our day is taking time out to hear what God is saying. One such man was the Old Testament prophet Elijah.

We often view Elijah as some super hero man with an amazing ability to hear from God, and yes it’s true he was a great man. Yet Elijah, as James says, was just a normal man like we are. Yet he made it his life’s work to listen to God and let God’s instruction lead his life. We too have that prophetic ability to hear God’s voice, and let it influence and dictate our lives. We have the ability to speak out what God is saying to us, through our lifestyles and through our words. So the challenge today is this… speak to God and listen to His response.

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God’s Perfect Love Through Us

5th – 7th August

Weekend Edition

“Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.”

1 John 4:11-12

How does the world see God’s love? How does the world know God? Answer: through us. As John says, if God lives in us, then His love in shown through our lifestyles and He is made known. His love is brought to full expression in and through us. Yet the expression of God’s love through us is based on the knowledge and action of God loving us and us loving each other. When we love each other with the same love God has loved us with, we express His character, His heart and His love for others.

We are His creation. His children. His bride. We are loved. We are valued. We are precious. His love for us, helps us to express who He is. God is made known through us loving others. God is made known through our love for each other. When we love each other, it is God’s perfection. Be blessed. Accept you are loved and love others with His love.

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Our Refuge

4th August

“This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety (fortress); He is my God and I trust Him.”

Psalm 91:2

Isn’t it such a comfort to know our hope and trust is in Almighty God. The Psalmist knew that his hope and refuge was in God alone. He knew that God was his place of refuge, his safety and his fortress. He knew that no matter what circumstance he faced, both big and small, he could find peace and security. We too as children of God, can take the same comfort knowing that Jesus is in control of our lives; That no matter what evil or hardship we face, Jesus in our refuge, our fortress and our safety and will deliver us from the snare of the fowler.

Yet more than just knowing is the declaration of that fact. Will you join the Psalmist this morning and declare that the Lord alone is your refuge and strength. Will you boldly declare that He is Lord over your life.

Lord, I declare that my hope and trust is in You. I declare that You are my fortress. I declare that You are my hope and refuge. Lord You are my safety. In You alone is my my salvation.

Amen

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Not Worthy But Not Worthless

3rd August

“But the father turned to his servants and said, “Quick! Bring the best robe we have and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet.”

Luke 15:22

Who are you? What is your identity? Do you identify with being a sinner or is your identity renewed and restored? So often, and sadly so, many Christians mis-understand the depth and truth of grace. Instead of acknowledging the truth that they are free, children of God, they slowly fall back into the hole of condemnation and believe the lie that they are sinners, not worthy to enter into God’s presence. Yet that is completely not the truth. If we have confessed our sins, if we have been forgiven and joined into God’s Kingdom, then our identity is no longer as a sinner but as a child of God.

Let’s think about the story of the prodigal son. The father let the son squander his inheritance, dine with pigs and live a wreck-less lifestyle. Yet when the son confessed (even though he actually didn’t finish his repentance confession; such is the extent of grace), the father completely welcomed the son back into his family, making no mention of the past and adorned him with clothes, sandals and a ring to emphasise the sons forgiven and restored status.

Friends that is our status too. The Father no longer makes mention of our wreck-less past, He no longer remembers our sins, because we are forgiven. We have been given a new status. Yes we still sin, but we are not sinners. Yes we are not worthy, but we are not worthless!! We are forgiven sons and daughters, welcomed into God’s family.

 

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God’s Grace In Afflication

2nd August

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.”

Psalm 119:71

We have grown used to unboxing new digital appliances and using the “trial and error” method to discover how they work. Most of these tools and toys don’t even come with instruction booklets, opting instead for built-in “Help” menus. When we do eventually read the directions, we usually wish we had done so sooner.

Trials can drive us closer to God’s “instructions.” The psalmist learned that lesson, saying it was good to go through trials in order to learn more of God’s ways (Psalm 119:67, 71, 92). Throughout Scripture the same message is repeated: Trials build godly character (James 1:2-4), drive us to call on God for wisdom (James 1:5), build our faith (James 1:6), and give us the opportunity to display the character of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). For those reasons and more, we should “count it all joy when [we] fall into various trials” (James 1:2). But only if we want to discover more of God’s Word, will, and ways, and be conformed more to Christ’s image (Romans 8:28-29).

Don’t try to figure life’s trials out on your own. Read and follow life’s biblical instructions. You’ll be glad you did.1

None of us can come to the highest maturity without enduring the summer heat of trials.

Charles H. Spurgeon

 

1Taken from David Jeremiah’s Turning Point, Daily Devotionals