modern devotionals

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The True Vine

26th January

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5

Jesus significantly uses the analogy of a tree and fruit to symbolise our relationship with God and the fruit we bear as a result of being ‘connected’ to the source. As we discussed yesterday, being filled with the Spirit is key to producing God like fruit. In addition, being connected to the source of all life, Almighty God, gives us all the nutrients we need to also bear fruit, and in doing so, bring glory to His Name, to all who are receivers of the God-like fruit we are bearing.

Jesus warns us of the importance of staying connected to the Father. He simply states that “a branch cannot produce fruit if it severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me.” It is an obvious example yet the simplicity of it can often lead to complacency in understanding it. The question we must ask ourselves is, how do we stay connected to the vine (God the Father)? The answer, by obeying God’s commandments. His commandments are simply to love Him and love others with the same love He loves us with.

In fact, verse 10 tells us that “when you obey My (Jesus’) commandments, you remain in My (Jesus’) love…”. So, the simple starting point to living a life bearing God-like fruit is to accept God’s unconditional love and to obey His commandments of loving Him and loving others. This keeps us connected to the source of love, which in turn allows us to bear God-like fruit in our lives. It is then that God the Father is glorified through our lives. Moreover, it is the Holy Spirit that leads us to love, to obey God and stay connected to the source.

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Living In The Spirit: Producing His Fruit

25th January

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

Galatians 5:23-24

When you plant a seed, you expect the fruit of that seed to be what you planted right? It would be pretty shocking if you planted a tomato plant and an apple tree starting growing. You would feel deceived by the packet and probably by the person/shop that sold it you. So it is the same with our lives. Our packet may be labelled ‘Christian’ but if we live according to the desires of our sinful nature, we will constantly be scattering fleshly seeds which in turn will bear fleshly fruit, (full list found in verses 19-21).

Yet if we live in the Holy Spirit and by His guiding, we will produce fruit in accordance with His nature. Think about Jesus. His roots were firmly planted in the Father and He truly produced Godly fruit. He was kind, loving and patient will all He met, even the marginalised of society. He was faithful, full of goodness, joy and peace. He was so gentle, taking our burdens and carrying them on the cross for us. Finally, when He was tempted by the enemy, He stood firm and showed self-control to overcome the enemy’s lies. Jesus is still all those things today.

That same Spirit, is the Spirit that lives in us; The person of the Holy Spirit. He lives to guide and lead us and to produce fruit in accordance to God’s nature. Notice that verse 22 doesn’t say that these fruit are something we can produce on our own, but rather it is the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in our hearts and lives that produces these fruit. May we be daily, consciously asking for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Not just an infilling but an overflowing of Him in all we do. May the seeds we sow, bear good fruit.

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Living In The Spirit

23rd -24th January

Weekend Edition

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”

Galatians 5:16-17

So often we fight to live righteously because we want to obey God’s commands and keep holy. Yet Paul writes in verse 4 of chapter 5 that, “.. if you are trying to make yourself right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.” These may seem like strong words, but the context of this verse is a people group (the church in Galatia), trying to please God by obeying Moses’ law, rather than relying on the grace of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. We too can fall into this bracket when we tirelessly try to uphold the law, even with our best intentions. Yet even our best intentions will fall short because our motives are in “doing” rather than “being led”.

Simply put, the way to live righteously before God, is not to get caught up in trying to keep God’s commandments, but rather by being led by the Holy Spirit. Let us be clear, that it is in surrendering to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives that we can have victory over our sinful nature’s cravings, as He leads us to righteous living, rather than we trying to live righteously. It is only when we fully submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives, that we can be free of “doing” and “religious works”, and “be” fully alive in the grace of Jesus. The weight of trying to gain God’s favour by the obeying His law is lifted and we are set free to fully live liberated lives.

If we know that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us more, and nothing we can do that will make God love us less, then we will gladly rejoice in the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives, and can be free of our sinful nature’s cravings. Yes, there will always be a spiritual battle going on, but rather than trying to win it, we just need to rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us closer to God and further away from fleshly desires.

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He Is Faithful and Just

22nd January

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:9

There are no truer words than these written by John in his letter to the believers. Simply put, when we ask God for His forgiveness through Jesus, we are forgiven, because God is great, full of grace and mercy and He is faithful. Moreover, He does not just forgive our sins but cleanses from all the guilt and condemnation that comes with it. It is like every time we ask God for forgiveness, He gives us another chance and washes our account clean. What grace!

Sometimes, we may still have to face the consequences of our actions, but even there, God is pouring His grace over us, to restore what was broken and damaged and to lift us up out of the holes we may have dug ourselves into.

Today’s encouragement is to simply believe, that if you have confessed your sins to Almighty God with a true and honest heart, then you are forgiven. Period. Trust that a great exchange took place – your sin at the foot of the cross exchanged for forgiveness by Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. It is through Jesus’ sacrifice that we find our forgiveness. You don’t have to stay in the condemnation of your sin, but can be free; Free to live fully for Christ. Free to not have to carry your sinful baggage around with you. Free from condemnation and guilt. It is God’s promise. He is faithful to forgive and also to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Rise up from the ashes. Take courage. You are a forgiven child of God. Your identity is in Christ, and not in what sin and the enemy has labelled you to be.

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Run The Race With Patience

21st January

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne”

Hebrews 12:1-2

Usain Bolt can take pride that he is the recorded ‘fastest man on this earth‘. He trained hard, most probably sacrificed many things, all for the sake of perfecting his sport and becoming the world’s best champion. Did you know that we too are in a race, the race of life. Yet this is not a race that needs to be won, in terms of finishing the fastest. This race is won with patience, integrity and God-like living. Our training is imitating Christ in all we do, exercising spiritually (praying, worshipping and reading His word), sacrificing the empty pleasures of sin and living for Jesus wherever we are.

The most comforting thing, is that we can all be winners and be crowned champions. Moreover, when we feel like giving up we can look to those who have gone before us as our inspiration, ‘the Hero’s of faith‘ mentioned in Hebrews, chapter 11; a people who were just like us, warts and all, yet persevered to the very end. Yet above all else, we can look to Jesus, who came to this earth, ran the race of life and completed it with excellence. He know sits championing us on, encouraging us along the way and being our best supporter.

Wherever you are, re-focus on Jesus, fix your eyes on Him and press on. If you have fallen, get back up. In addition, if there is something that is causing you to stumble, get rid of it. Give it to Jesus. May we all run together, encouraging one another, keeping our eyes on the Author and Finisher of life itself; For what joy awaits those who finish well.

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Live As Christ Lived

20th January

“But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we can know we are living in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”

1 John 2:5-6

As the stone rolled back and Jesus’ earthly body was resurrected, a great victory took place, both on this earth and in the Heavenly realms. The angels celebrated, humanity celebrated and we too now celebrate Jesus’ victory over sin and death. Our commission on this earth is to simply live as Christ did, and make His Name known among the world. Christ lived to serve others. He lived to show God’s love, grace and compassion to all, even to those who hated Him. He lived to bring healing to the sick, the burdened, the lost, the spiritually oppressed and the marginalised. Yet above all, He came to make a way that we can receive forgiveness from our sins, through His substitutional sacrifice for us. In other words, He took our place on the cross.

It is because of what Jesus did on the cross that we too can live for Him, obey His word and replicating His loving, kind and compassionate deeds on this earth. Yes there will be times when we slip up and fall very short of the standard of living Jesus set, but as it says in the beginning of John’s letter in verse 1 and 2 “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ…..the sacrifice that atones for our sins – not only our sins but the sins of the world.” Friends may we show how much we love Christ by living for Him, reflecting His character in our schools, homes, work and communities. Let us live for Jesus, turn away from our sins and keep our eyes fixed on Him.

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Restoration

19th January

“But the father said to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatten calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” And they began to be merry.”

Luke 15:22-24

Jesus in Luke 15 tells 3 separate parables, highlighting the joy of when something lost is found. The most famous of these is probably the story of the prodigal son, who left home taking with him his portion of his father’s inheritance. He squandered all he had on prodigal living and ended up feeding pigs in the fields. He eventually came to his senses and decided to go home and ask for forgiveness from his father.

As the son approaches home, incredibly the father rushes out to greet his once lost son, throws his arms around him and declares that his ‘dead’ son is now alive. Moreover, he restores the son by giving him three items. The first a robe, to symbolise status, a ring, to symbolise authority and sandals, to symbolise his liberation from slave like living and to affirm his status as a son of his father‘s household.

Much has been made of the true meaning of this parable by commentators and scholars alike. Is this a parable depicting the journey of a Christian who was once fallen away from the church, and God the Father waiting patiently to reconcile that person back to Him? Or is it our daily relationship with Father God; our daily sins and rebellion, forgiven by a loving Father, full of grace and mercy? We could probably argue for both viewpoints, yet what is key to this parable, is truly the grace, mercy and love of a compassionate Father, who is in the business of restoring broken things, ie.. US. Our Heavenly Father does beckon us back when we fall away from Him, when we sin and rebel against His holy standards. He does adorn us with royal robes and give us the status of being sons and daughters of His Kingdom. He does restore us and give all the benefits of His inheritance for us, even when we don’t deserve it. That is grace. That is love. That is our God.

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A Simple Word

18th January

“That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick.”

Matthew 8:16

After Jesus had healed Peter’s mother-in-law, many came to Him, bringing their sick and spiritually possessed to Jesus. Matthew records this event in just one simple verse. Of course there are many other occasions where Jesus healed the sick and delivered the spiritually oppressed. But this verse stands out for the simplicity in which Jesus performed His miracle. Matthew tells us that Jesus cast out the evil spirits and healed the sick with a ‘simple command’. Other translations write, that it was with just a ‘word’, yet what is incredible, is the power of Jesus’ ‘word’ or ‘simple command’!

If we believe that Jesus lives in us, then guess what, that same power also lives in us. Yes, the same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives in us. What is more exciting is the authority of Jesus’ words. We often build up sickness and the demonic to be on an equal level with Christ or at least His opposite, yet in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus was and is and always will be. Sickness is temporary. The enemy’s work on this earth is temporary. Pain, sadness and sorrow is temporary. Why? Because, Jesus is greater that all the above and has the victory and authority to overcome them all. Guess what? We do too… When we pray in Jesus’ Name, we bring the power of God into our situations and the victory that that brings. The power of Heaven invades the earth. After all, do we not pray Jesus’ model prayer…‘let Your kingdom and Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven?‘ This is no meant to be an inspirational philosophy or ideology.. This is the truth. In Jesus’ Name we have the victory. We live in His victory.

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Following Jesus

16 -17th January

Weekend Edition

“When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. But when Jesus touched her hand the fever left her. The she got up and prepared a meal for Him.”

Matthew 8:14-15

Jesus is our healer. He healed so many people throughout His life on this earth and continues to heal people today. He is as alive now, as He was when He walked on this earth over 2,000 years ago. His healing in our lives is not just limited to physical healing, but emotional healing, spiritual healing and mental healing. He truly is our healer. Yet what is our response when we have received a touch from Jesus?

As Jesus entered Peter’s house, it came to His attention that Peter’s mother-in-law had a fever. In Jesus’ time, there was probably no Lemsip or anti-flu jabs that you could take. So when a fever came, it was a serious affair. Yet for Jesus nothing was impossible. He reached out, took her hand and the fever left immediately. Jesus’ miracle was incredible, yet the reaction of Peter’s mother-in-law is what stands out most in this passage. As soon as the fever left her, she got out of bad and started to prepare a meal for Jesus.

This is so significant in our lives. For many, we have received a healing touch from Jesus Christ. He may of healed us physically, spiritually, emotionally or mentally. But rather than get up and serve Him, we have stagnated and gone ‘back to bed’. Today, the call is here. Dust yourself off. Live in the healing of Jesus’ miraculous work in your life and start serving the One who made you whole. Serving is not out of duty but out of a heart of thankfulness and gratitude. So it was the same with Peter’s mother-in-law.

We must believe that Jesus has the power over of sickness, whatever that may be, but also that He has the power to completely restore and transform our lives. May we dust ourselves off, get up out of ‘bed’ and serve the Lord with gladness and joy, celebrating His healing in our lives and hearts.

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Our Great High Priest

15th January

“He is the kind of High Priest we need because He is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honour in Heaven. Unlike those other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. BUT JESUS DID THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL WHEN HE OFFERED HIMSELF AS THE SACRIFICE FOR PEOPLE’S SINS.”

Hebrews 7:26-27

The most comforting thing about living a life for Christ, is that we do not worship a religion but a person, Jesus. It is for that reason that there is no long list of rules and regulations that we have to adhere to, in order to reach God. Yes of course God has set us guidelines of holy living in His word (the Bible), but the reason we are saved from our sins, is not because we have followed ‘the rules’ meticulously but rather because we have faith in Jesus Christ, and because we believe and accept that His victory on the cross, was more than enough to save us from our sins. It is because we believe that by the grace and the free gift of Jesus’ redeeming love, we have had our guilty verdict overturned and are pronounced innocent by the Judge, Almighty God.

Jesus, the perfect, sinless Saviour, offered Himself on our behalf to pay the debt we owed. Notice the words the writer of Hebrews uses, ‘Jesus did this once and for all’! Yes, you can smile! You can lift your voice in thanks! Jesus’ sacrifice was not something He had to do over and over again. It was an exchange between God and humanity. Our wretched and filthy sins were exchanged to clothes of righteousness. It was a ‘once and for all’ action.

It is in this forgiveness and acceptance that we can find our peace, joy and purpose in life. We are loved by the creator of this world. And it is by His grace that we can live for Him and love Him too.