modern devotionals

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If You Are Weary..

27th June

“O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depth of His understanding.”

Isaiah 40:27-28

Are you going through a hard time? Does it feel like there is no hope or no end to your struggles? Well, there is a good news. There is always hope as long as our hope and trust is in God. Israel were in a bad place. They sinned, committed spiritual adultery with other gods and allowed themselves to be enslaved and separate from God’s best for them. Yet in all that time, God never left them. He never abandoned them or never gave up on them. Yes the consequences of their bad choices were catastrophic yet God in His grace was already preparing an exit for them.

Furthermore, Isaiah through his prophetic words encouraged Israel that God never forgets, never grows weary and always understands. That same God is the everlasting God we serve today. His character has not changed. He is still faithful. He is still understanding. And even if the mess we are in is our own doing, He is still there to lift us out of it. Let us today encourage ourselves with the truth that we serve a faithful God, who never gives up on us, never grows tired of us and always understands what we are going through.

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Jesus’ Love For The Sinner

25th and 26th June

Weekend Edition

“…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 the tax collectors and prostitutes did….”

Matthew 21:31b-32a

Jesus uses a story of two sons to illustrate our willingness to accept the gospel and let it change our lives. He explains that a father had two sons. He told the older son to go and work in the vineyards. At first he refused but after changed his mind and went. The younger son, firstly accepted his father’s commands, but eventually never went. Jesus used this imagery to explain the difference in the prostitutes and corrupt tax collectors decision to follow Him and that of the Pharisees decision to not follow Him. The prostitutes and corrupt tax collectors accepted Jesus’ teachings and followed Him but the Pharisees didn’t (even though they should have known better as ‘men of God’).

Sometimes the same is true of our lifestyles. At first we might reject the gospel and God’s love for us, but after we realise that there is nothing in this world that can satisfy, other than being loved by God, we change our way of living to honour Him. We realise, through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, that the end product of our sinful lifestyles is death and destruction, yet choosing and accepting God, is life, joy and freedom. In contrast, there are some who follow God just to tick the box ‘I am a believer’. Yet there is no relationship and eventually they end up not following Him at all, just like the Pharisees.

We have a choice to make, to be honest with ourselves and see what son we are like. Let us not just say we follow Him but let our lifestyles reflect a child of God in a relationship with their Father. It is never to late to turn away from your sins, towards the grace and love of Almighty God.

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The Sword Of The Spirit

24th June

“Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Ephesians 6:17

We often think, when Paul wrote that the word of God is the sword of the Spirit, that it is an offensive weapon that we use to hack down the enemy’s lies. However, in a recent sermon, a famous preacher gave another interpretation of what this means. He described this ‘sword’ more like a dagger that Roman soldiers used to use to pluck out the arrows that penetrated their bodies during battle. He compared that to the work of the word of God. When the enemy throws lies at us, sometimes we allow them to penetrate our armour because we believe them. But through the truth of the word of God, we learn that these are lies and pluck them out.

It is God’s word that is the dagger to purge out the enemy’s lies. It is the word of God that helps us fight the enemy’s lies. And it is the word of God that protects us from the enemy’s lies. Finally, it is the word of God that tells us the truth about who God really is and who we are in Him.

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The Scriptures Say….

23rd June

“Then the devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.””

Luke 4:3-4

There is power in the word of God. It is not some fairy-tale story book that was written thousands of years ago to entertain today’s modern readers; it is the words of God. It is the power to save and the power to heal and the power to set us free. Jesus knew the importance of the scripture, hence why He quoted it to the enemy when being tempted by him.

There is great victory in the words that are written in the Bible. The hard truth is, is that we have to know them. If we believe that the battle is already won, then God’s words have even more power than just words. It is our sword, it is our strength and it is our victory. If Jesus, who could have easily just said, ‘get away from me satan’ saw it necessary to use scripture to silence the enemies lies, then how much more do we need to use it. When the devil speaks his native language, lies, we can fight his lies with the truth about what God says about us! When he tries to knock us down, we can remind ourselves that we are not on a loosing side but on the winning side. When the enemy tries to lie to you, stop and stand firm in what the ‘Scriptures say…!’

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God’s Word: The Greatest Love Letter

22nd June

“How can a young man person stay pure? By obeying Your word….. I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You!”

Psalms 119:9,11

Have you ever heard what the letters B.I.B.L.E stand for? One old pastor said that it meant ‘Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.’ A simple truth yet one that is so true. Without the Bible, we cannot know God’s character fully. We don’t know our purpose and we can’t know what to do. Of course God can divinely speak to us all, telling us all there is to know about Him through His revelation, yet God’s word is His 100% accurate and 100% truth about who He is and who we are. It is God’s very own words written down on paper, preserved throughout history (through many hardships), and translated into thousands of languages that enables everyone to access God’s words personally.

If you buy something new and don’t know how to use it, the first thing to do is check the manual. If you don’t read the manual and your machine or appliance doesn’t work properly, your immediate reaction is to blame the maker or the manufacturer. Yet most probably, the answer to your ‘faulty’ product is in the manual. It is the same with the world. People are so quick to blame the creator (God) for all the problems in the world, yet they haven’t read the manual (the Bible) about how we should live. God has given us His word, as David says, to keep our way pure and holy and away from sin. If all creation would read life’s manual, then we would live in a better world. It is our responsibility to share the truth of God’s words with others, so they too may find their purpose and find their Creator.

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No Foothold

21st June

“Nor give place to the devil.”

Ephesians 4:27

Boy Scouts, infantry soldiers, and wilderness explorers are required to have a working knowledge of topography. The key root in “topography” is the Greek word topos, or “place.” So topography is the science of place—as in the places laid out on a map. In the New Testament topos is translated “place,” “locale,” or “opportunity.” When it occurs in Ephesians 4:27, it means not to give the devil a place or opportunity. The New International Version translates that verse as “Do not give the devil a foothold.” That works—a “foothold” being a “place” where a climber can insert his foot when scaling a cliff. A foothold was needed by soldiers seeking to gain entrance to an enemy stronghold or fort.

So what gives the devil this place, opportunity, or foothold? Sinful anger, Paul writes in Ephesians 4:26. The longer anger remains in the human heart, the greater an opportunity, the more secure a foothold, it becomes. All the devil needs to get his foot in the door of the human heart is for us to nurture our hurt feelings, anger, or resentment.

Keep short accounts; fill in the footholds; erase the sinful places from the map of your heart. Give the devil no opportunity.1

1 Today’s devotion is taken from David Jeremiah’s Turning Point Daily Devotionals

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Overwhelming Victory Is Yours

20th June

“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

Romans 8:37

We are victorious. Our Father didn’t just rescued us from the enemy but destroyed the power of our enemy, when Jesus died on the cross; and, one day, he will be destroyed forever in the burning fiery lake. As children of our Heavenly Father, we partake in that victory and in every blessing because of it. That means, that although we may go through hardships, we may be persecuted and go hungry, we are still victorious. That means that what Jesus Christ did on the cross, for us, is the ultimate act of love that can never be changed, that never runs out and is eternal. We can have full access to the victory of the cross, in whatever circumstance we face and whatever situation we find ourselves in.

This is the joy of the believer. This is the joy that is found in Christ’s death and resurrection. We are no longer on the losing side, but have overwhelming victory in Christ in Jesus. It is our responsibility to live in the fullness of that victory. Victory is yours. Now go, live in it.

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God Is For US

18th – 19th June

Weekend Edition

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

Romans 8:31

If God is for us, does it mean we don’t have enemies? Does is mean that everyone will like us if we profess we follow Christ. As much as the answer should be yes, unfortunately it is a no. Just look at Jesus’ life. He was murdered by a group of people that didn’t like Him. So what does Paul mean when He says ‘if God is for us, no one can be against us’? In order to understand this verse fully we need to look back to the previous verses.

Paul clearly says that God chose us, cleansed us, made us new creations and that because of the love of God, we are right before the throne of God, due to the sacrifice of His son. He adds that we can eagerly await the full inheritance of a child of God and the promise of life eternally spent in the very presence of God, with new bodies and without sin and suffering. If all of the above is true, then this means that there is no-one in the world, both physically or any other spiritual powers, that can come against us and tear us away from the blessings of what Jesus did on the cross. Paul adds in the following verses that there is no-one who can condemn us, no-one who can accuse us, and no-one that can separate us from God’s love.

Friends, God is for us. We are on His side. There is nothing or no-one that can change that. Yes we may face opposition, both spiritually and physically, yes we live in a fallen sinful world, but nothing changes the fact, that our identity and position in Christ is un-movable, because God is for us. If God is not against and doesn’t condemn us, then we can live without fear of others doing so.

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Do You See Him?

17h June

““If you had really known Me, you would know who My Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show Him to you?””

John 14:7-9

Carrying on from yesterday’s theme, it is important to truly understand who Jesus was so we can fully understand who Father God is. Jesus’ disciples were full of question about Father God. They wanted to see Him and understand His character, yet Jesus made it very clear, ‘anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!’ The disciples saw the face of God because they saw Jesus.

As we too search out the truth about who God is, we must remember that Jesus wasn’t talking in allegorical subliminal messages, He was telling the truth about who He was. He was God. Friends, we mustn’t overlook this truth. So often we think of God as one thing and Jesus as another. We picture God as a far away God, who only wants to punish us for our sins. Is that true though when we look at how Jesus lived His life? This Jesus who spent most of His time making broken people whole? Think of Zacchaeus and Matthew the tax collectors, Mary Magdalene, and the women of Samaria. This is the God we serve, that reaches out to the lost, not to condemn them but to save them. He is not quick to pass out judgement but quick to shower His mercy and love, as He did with the woman caught in the act of adultery.

As we read more about Jesus, let us understand God’s character more too. God is near to us, full of mercy, grace and love.

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Who Is God?

16th June

““If you had really known Me, you would know who My Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show Him to you?””

John 14:7-9

Have you ever wondered what God looks like, what His character is like or how He behaves? Then look no further than the New Testament accounts of Jesus’ life. Sometimes it is a truth that is so quickly overlooked, but, Jesus was the fullness of God. If you want to know what God is like, then look at Jesus’ life. That is who God is. There is nothing else added or taken away from the character of God. What you see Jesus as, is who God is. Jesus came to show us who the Father really was, a statement repeated by Himself often. So what was Jesus like?

Jesus was loving. He loved all people. His actions, His words and His miracles showed His love for the lost, broken and the desperate. He loved turning broken, hopeless and outcast lives into remembers of His family and vessels for His Kingdom growth. He showed His love by laying down His life for us. He was passionate. He was passionate for holiness, passionate for righteousness and passionate for Godliness. He, in righteous anger, overturned the tables for defiling God’s temple, challenged hypocritical living and wrong theology or understanding of who God really was. He was powerful. He command evil spirits to leave the bodies they possessed. He turned water into wine, raised the dead and made blind people see. He was a leader. His powerful, always on point words, lead many to put their trust in Him, leave their old lifestyles and follow Him. Even those despised by society, upon hearing Jesus’ life giving words, turned from their sins and followed their Master.

If you want to know who God is, then look no further than Jesus. Jesus is the complete image of God. He was kind, powerful, loving, funny, and passionate. That same Jesus calls out to us today. He is the same Jesus as He was in the New Testament. He lives forever.