modern devotionals

by

Thankfulness

6th – 7th February

Weekend Edition

“Acknowledge the Lord is God! He made us, and we are His……Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His Name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.”

Psalm 100:3a,4-5

Praise God, that we are not only His, but that through Jesus Christ we have a way to literally enter into His very throne room and to worship Him freely without the weight of guilt and shame, which has been washed away through Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We are now seated with Christ in Heavenly places. God’s presence is no longer confined to a building with four walls, or a High priest who mediates for us, but rather our High Priest lives in us and ever stands a mediator between us and the Father.

When we enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, it is an attitude of prayerful worship and thankfulness for His goodness, rejoicing in song and praising in His Name. Why? Because the Lord is good and His unfailing love continues forever. When we wake, thankfulness should be on hearts. When we sleep praise should be on lips. There is so much we have to be thankful for.

Moreover, we can enter His presence because we are thankful; Thankful because of all He has done for us and thankful because we can enter His presence. The Lord is good and deserves to be praised.

by

Once And For ALL

5th February

“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but He was raised to life in the Spirit.”

1 Peter 3:18

Rejoice. Your sins are forgiven. Picture this; In the story of Jesus’ crucifixion in the gospels, the writers tell us that when Jesus breathed His last breath, the curtain that separated the ‘most holy place’ from the rest of the temple was torn into two. The significance? It physically demonstrated to us that the separation between God and man was no longer bound by religious works but that by Jesus’ substitutional sacrifice, we could and can enter freely into His Holy presence.

Peter describes it as Jesus making a way for sinners to come home. What a great picture. When Adam and Eve sinned, it is like humanity took a wrong turn in life’s journey, yet when Jesus came, He re-routed us back on the right path and showed us the way home. Notice that Peter says that Christ suffered for sin ‘ONCE’ and ‘FOR ALL TIME’. It wasn’t a sacrifice for that day, or for a specific moment in time, it was for all time. Christ came, died in our place, was raised to life again by the power of the Spirit, once for all time, so that we might be forgiven and find our way home… Praise be to Jesus.

by

The Holy Sanctuary Of God

4th February

“Who may worship in Your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter Your presence on Your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking truth from sincere hearts.”

Psalm 15:1-2

In David’s time the ‘temple or ‘holy sanctuary’ was the sole place that God’s tangible presence could be felt and was a place where people would gather to pray to God and worship Him. It was a place that travellers and worshippers a like could find rest, peace and a place of shelter. For us living in the age of the resurrection power of Jesus, we can too experience this awesome sense of God’s presence, yet the amazing thing is, is that it is not limited or confined to a building. We have the very presence of God living in us. When we call on His Name, He is with us.

When David asks the rhetorical question who can enter “Your sanctuary” or enter into “Your presence”, he simply is stating that those who have acknowledged their faults and confessed their wrongdoings can experience the fullness of all God has for them and enjoy the beauty of intimacy with God. He is not saying that those who have not confessed theirs wrongdoings, can’t enter a “church building”. On the contrary; God never pushes people away but rather gives us all an opportunity to receive His love, grace and acceptance. However, it those who are aware of who God is and who live in His grace and mercy, that will fully experience the fullness and nearness of His presence.

Come as you are into His presence and let His grace lead you to live blameless lives, doing what is right and hating what is wrong! Accept His love and forgiveness and be transformed by His endless grace. Who can enter His presence??? YOU can!

by

A Blessing From The Book Of Psalms

3rd February

“But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread Your protection over them, that all who love Your Name may be filled with joy. For You bless the Godly, O Lord; You surround them with Your shield.”

Psalm 5:11-12

David knew the benefits of God’s gracious love. He knew that he could call upon the Lord in both his time of need and in peace. He had full security in who he was in the Lord. Moreover he had full assurance that because of God’s unfailing love towards him, he could enter into God’s presence and rejoice in the fullness of God’s love.

We too can have that same assurance, security and peace knowing that we are loved by the creator of the universe. We are protected by the Saviour of the world. In addition, we can find rest for our weary souls, in the refuge of our Father’s loving arms.

May David’s blessing, in today’s verse, be relevant for your life. May God truly bless you. May you find refuge in God’s presence. May joy fill your heart. And may you find protection from the enemy as you are surrounded with the Lord’s shield. The Lord is for you and not against you.

May “all who love Your Name may be filled with joy.”

by

Goodbye World – I’ll Stay No Longer With You

2nd February

Goodbye World – I’ll Stay No Longer With You

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you the love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from the world.”

1 John 2:15-16

There is a famous song people sing at their baptism and the words are as follows:

“Goodbye world, I’ll stay no longer with you,

Goodbye pleasures of sin, I’ll stay no longer with you,

I’ve made up my mind to go God’s way for the rest of my life.”

Much like today’s verse, it is a declaration to move away from a lifestyle of saying yes to sin and it’s cheap and superficial pleasures, and instead, saying yes to a life of fullness in Jesus Christ. Let us be clear that the word ‘world’ is not talking about the people in it, otherwise that would contradict Jesus’ words to love the world. Rather, the word ‘world’ is more the system of living for self-gratification, pride, and selfish ambition. It a system that denies who God is and lives in the opposite spirit to Godly living.

When John writes, do not love this world, he is not saying don’t love people, but rather saying don’t love the things that offer temporary pleasure. These things only lead to disappointment and a separation from intimacy with the Father. As John writes, the world‘s attractions are cheap frills that promise to satisfy our cravings for pleasure, yet all they do is leave us empty. Moreover, they are in conflict with how our Father wants us to live. Friends, only God can satisfy. Only God can fill our hearts with acceptance, joy and love. Will you reject the enemy’s cheap lies and say ‘goodbye’ to the world and the pleasures of sin?! Will you make a decision to live for Jesus and go God’s way?!

by

Jesus Is With Us Always

1st February

“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given to you. AND BE SURE OF THIS: I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE.”

Matthew 28:20

What an amazing truth; Jesus the One who conquered death and sin, defeating the grave through His resurrection and the One who ever lives for us, stands by our side, not only in His own victory but stands with YOU for your victory through life’s battles and struggles. Jesus does exactly what He says. You can be assured of that fact! He said He would be handed over and betrayed and He was. He said that if He was destroyed, He would rise again in victory on the third day and He did. He said that He will be with you until the end of the age, and He will. He is truthful to His word and that is exactly why we can rest assured in this truth.

No matter what situation we face or how much the enemy tries to disrupt and destroy our lives, Jesus is above and ever present in our situations and lives. His presence with us in both the good and bad, is the anchor and cornerstone for our own personal lives, so that when tough times come, instead of drawing on our fallible and conditional strength, we draw on His infallible and unconditional love, mercy and strength. In fact, when we reflect on our lives, how often was He with us protecting us, even when we didn’t realise it? Jesus said He would be with you always and He meant it.

Remember, whatever you are facing right now, whether good or bad, whatever the situation,

BE SURE OF THIS: JESUS IS WITH YOU ALWAYS.

by

The Loving and Compassionate Embrace of Father God

30th , 31st January

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.”

Luke 15:20

How do you think God sees you? Do you think he looks at you and sees a sinful person and is disgusted by the sight of you? Or do you think He sees someone who has been forgiven and whose identity is a ‘child of God’.

The story of the prodigal son is a fantastic illustration of our relationship with God the Father. Let’s explore. As the son approaches the house after returning from his sinful rebellion (and notice the text says a long way off), the father, filled with love and compassion runs towards his son. He then embraces his son and kisses him to show his love and compassion for his son. The father did not stand with arms crossed, with a stern and serious face waiting for his son to beg for his forgiveness. Nor was there any delay is showering his love towards the son. He literally flung himself over his son.

So often we do picture God, sitting on His great throne, with burning eyes of fire, and an angry looking facial expression showing complete disgust and anger at our sin. Then the view of ourself is flat on our face, like a person who is begging for forgiveness, crawling towards the throne of God, knowing we are too sinful to get there. Yet if we look at Jesus’ depiction of the Father in His parable of the prodigal son, we see the opposite picture. A father who is running towards his son, even though his son had just squandered his inheritance.

So it is the same with God our Father. He runs towards us, a sinful people, YET forgiven, accepted and loved by His loving and compassionate heart. Let us not get confused, God does hate sin and His judgement towards sin is just and right. Yet just as the son acknowledged he had done wrong to his father, so it is with us when we repent and acknowledge our wrongdoings.

Imagine this next time you think of God’s throne room; God the Father jumping off His throne, running towards you, picking you up and embracing you with His loving arms: the loving arms of a God that is so in love with His child.

by

The Wisdom Of Solomon

29th January

“Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. …Then the king said, “Let’s get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other….!””

1 Kings 3:16-28

(Please read the whole story… )

Soon after God had given Solomon his wisdom, two women came to him to have an argument settled. They both lived in the same house and both conceived children at the same time. In Solomon’s age, it could be assumed that there were no baby cots (except maybe for the rich, and these two women were probably far from that), so the new born babies slept with their mother in the same bed. During the night, sadly, one of the mothers rolled over onto her baby and killed her baby. Yet instead of simply mourning for her child, she deceivingly swapped the deceased child for the living child. Once the mother of the living child woke up, she noticed she had been deceived and that the deceased child was not hers…thus where the argument started.

After a long protest from both sides, Solomon decided that the best way to solve this situation was to cut the baby in half. Of course Solomon had no intention to do this, but rather it was test to see who was the real mother. A real mother definitely would not want to see her baby cut in half. And so, surely enough, the real mother protested to the baby being cut in half, whereas the lying mother agreed to Solomon’s idea. Solomon had seen what he needed to see. He pronounced his wise judgement and said, “do not kill the child but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother.”

Solomon’s wise judgement in this situation, exhibited the incredible wisdom God had bestowed upon him. Yet, it is the last verse in this chapter that highlights an even more incredible message. “.. the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice.”

Every gift we have been given, is for the glory of God, to bring praise to Him, to bring God’s justice to this earth and so that people might draw closer to Him. May we use our gifts as Solomon did, and may God receive the glory for all good works we do through His strength.

by

The Smell Of Fresh Bread

28th January

“But thank God! He has made us His captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God….”

2 Corinthians 2:14-15a

Have you ever experienced the smell of freshly baked bread? There is nothing like it. It conjures up so many feeling of both nostalgia (remembering the good times you had eating freshly baked bread), and an overwhelming mouth-watering sensation that slowly leads your hand into your wallet, reaching for your money, to buy the bread and satisfy your cravings. On the contrary, have you ever tasted bread that is stale or that has not been touched for a few weeks? It’s dry, tasteless and dull. Moreover, it would probably make you sick. Now, picture our lives as the same.

Paul describes our journey with Christ as a triumphal procession, whereby everywhere we go, we spread the goodness of both the knowledge of God and the evidence of Him in our lives like a sweet perfume or fragrance. Much like the freshly baked bread illustration, we too can have that affect on people. People can become so hungry for God, so thirsty for His words, by the fragrance we give off.

Yet so often we live on yesterday blessings. We celebrate God’s goodness for yesterday and don’t allow ourselves to get excited about what God wants to do today in our lives. Sometimes we can get so consumed in yesterday’s blessings that we become like stale bread, tasteless, dull and inedible. Our challenge is to be filled daily with more of the Holy Spirit, more of the knowledge of God’s love for us and His world and ask the Lord, what is my ‘today’s blessing?’ Praise God that His mercies are new every morning.

May you be a sweet smelling fragrance to God and to others. May your light shine before men, that the Father may be glorified. May you live in ‘today’s blessings’!

by

Remain In My Love

27th January

 

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love……..I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.”

John 15:9, 11-12

Here is a good way to start your day, by reading Jesus’ words in John 15 v 9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me!!!” In fact so great is that news, that even Jesus Himself said that, because of that knowledge, we will be filled with great joy…. Wait there’s more; not only filled with joy, but that we will overflow with joy. That is incredible. If Jesus says that the knowledge of Him loving us will fill us with overflowing joy, then surely that is something we should be excited about. Moreover, it is most definitely something we need to keep reminding ourselves of when we walk through dark valleys in our lives, and when we feel so distant and so far from Him. We must remind ourselves that the Creator of the universe loves US.

That knowledge is enough to bring a smile to anyone’s day…Yet there is more. Our relationship status with the Creator of the universe is not just someone who is loved, but also, we are known as His friends. Verse 14 tells us this, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” Well, what does Jesus command? The answer is found in today’s key verse….“This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” Our commandment is to love others with the same love we have been loved with. That means first, we must know how much God loves us, second, accept His love, third, love yourself (not in vanity but in knowing who God has made you to be) and finally, loving others with the same love God loves us with.

Finally, to top it all off, Jesus says that it is He who chose us. He loved us first. He loved us while we were still sinners. And yet He still chose to lay His life down for us. Today, know this, you are loved by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You are His friend. May that knowledge fill your hearts with overflowing joy.