modern devotionals

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No Longer Slaves To Sin

14th January

“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with Him.”

Romans 6:6-8

The book of Romans contains such wonderful good news about Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection and His victory over the power of sin and death. It encourages us to know who we are in Christ and how we can know our identity as sons and daughters of the Most High God. It also highlights the extent of Jesus’ love for us and the power of that love, to change us from sinners and enemies of God to children of God, sharing in the inheritance of all God has for us, both here on this earth and in Heavenly places.

Today’s verse highlights the simplicity of the gospel and the power of what Jesus did on the cross. As Jesus hung on the cross to die to pay for our wrong-doings, all of humanities sins were placed on His shoulders, from the beginning of time to the end of time. Everything we have ever done and will ever do was nailed to Jesus at the cross. As Jesus died on the cross, so did the power of sin over our lives. And when He rose victorious on the third day, Jesus defeated the enemy, and made a way that we can boldly approach the throne of God, without the label of sinner over us. We now can come as children approaching their Father.

Moreover, because of Jesus’ victory, we too can share in that inheritance and walk in victory in our lives too. We are no longer slaves to sin because Jesus defeated the power of sin’s hold in our lives. We are free from the power of sin. All we need to do is walk in the victory of Christ. We are no longer dead in our sins but alive in Christ Jesus.

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Give Without Expecting A Return

13th January

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

Luke 6:38

True generosity gives without expecting a return. In fact, in the previous verses, Jesus says the following, ‘Love your enemies. Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid‘. The Kingdom principle is to give to others without expecting to receive back. However, there is good news. Jesus promised that when we do give, our Heavenly Father who sees all, will bless us and in return, what we give, will be given back to us, even more than we gave in the first place. Yet, what we receive in return should never be the motivation of our giving. There is no formula. We give, because all we have is God’s anyway. We give from God’s storehouse, not our own. We give back to Him, what He has already given to us. It is by the grace of God that He blesses us when we give.

Moreover, when we give, especially to those who we feel might not deserve our gifts, we replicate the actions of the our Heavenly Father, ‘…you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for He is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked’ (v35). Our Heavenly Father is compassionate, and likewise, we are commanded to be the same. Let us not withhold the blessings we have freely and generously received. May we freely give our time, our love, our money and our compassion.

We love because we have first been love by God. We give because we first have received from God.

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The Father Who Gives Good Gifts

12th January

“You parents – if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.”

Matthew 7:9-11

Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, addresses the issue of giving (and asking). He alludes to a parent and child relationship as an example to explain His message. He asks His audience a rhetorical question, ‘if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake?’. The obvious answer of any good parent would be ‘of course not’ right? Parents want to give their children the best they have to offer. Jesus then explains that, if we as sinful people (compared to God), know how to give good gifts, then can you imagine how much more our Heavenly Father has in store for us?

Yet there are two problems with this example. Firstly – What if my earthly parents did give me a ‘stone’ when I asked for bread? Secondly – I feel to ashamed to ask God for anything.

The great news to both those questions, is that God is a kind, generous and compassionate Father. He truly does want to give us good gifts. The greatest gift He gave us was Jesus; so if that is a measure of His goodness, can you imagine what else He has in store for us. Our earthly parents may not have set a good model of generosity, but as we grow in our understanding of who God is, we soon discover what a wonderfully generous God we serve. So much so that Jesus Himself tells us that we should not hesitate to ask God for anything in faith, ‘Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for.’ Know this; God wants to bless us with every good and perfect gift. He wants to shower His love and kindness over His beloved children. We are His children. Let us open our arms and hearts to receive all that He has for us.

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It’s Better To Give

11th January

“Honour the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then He will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.”

Proverbs 3:9-10

The principle of giving should be an evident fruit in any believers life. Not just financial giving, but giving of time, acts of kindness and love, and service towards others. Yet the principle of giving is not made up but the writer of proverbs or some other human writer, it is a principle that comes from God Himself.

Father God knew that His relationship with mankind had been severed by man’s sin in the garden of Eden. He knew the only way to restore that relationship was to send Jesus Christ, His One and only Son as a sacrifice for our sins, to pay the debt we owed and restore mankind’s relationship with God. In other words, God sent His best, His Son Jesus to this earth, for our sakes.

Yet God’s gifts started way back from the beginning of time. He gave humanity trees and crops to bear fruit and vegetables, He gave Adam Eve as a partner, He gave women the ability to reproduce, and even though man sinned when they ate the forbidden fruit, He continued to pour His love, grace and mercy on mankind throughout history.

We have been set the greatest example of giving by the creator of every good perfect gift. Let us remember that all we have is a gift from God; whether financial wealth, friends, family, property, food on your table and clothes on your back. All we have and are is a gift from God. It should be our pleasure to replicate our Father’s action, in our generosity both to God (firstly) and to others.

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Faithfulness That Reaches The Clouds

9th -10th January

Weekend Edition

“For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May Your glory shine over all the earth.”

Psalm 57:10-11

It is a great joy to know that our God is faithful. He keeps His promises and never lets us down. He is there when we need Him, forgives when we don’t deserve it and freely showers us with His grace. It is no wonder David used such descriptive words to describe God’s faithfulness. ‘Your love is as high as the heavens’ and ‘Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds‘. David’s words are so expressive and so heart-felt. It’s almost like when children say, ‘I love you to the moon and back’. There is no measure of that love but you know that when it is said, it comes from a heart completely given over to love.

It is with that same love that David loved God. He truly knew first hand of God’s faithfulness. In fact this psalm was written when God delivered David from Saul’s persecution. We must take time to look upon our lives and reflect on the victories won through Christ, so that we may remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness and unfailing love towards us. His love truly is unmeasurable and His faithfulness is un-ending. May God’s glory shine in us and through us as we celebrate His goodness towards us.

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He Is Faithful and Just

8th January

“But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

1 John 1:9

Confession of sin is multifaceted, but there is a core principle. It is not sorrow, guilt, or shame. It is agreement. The Greek translation for “confess” is made of two words: homos means “same,” and lego means “say or speak.” So, to confess means “to say the same thing as.” As who? As God! We don’t inform God of our sins by confessing them. He already knows what we have done. Our greatest need is to humbly agree with Him: “Father, You call what I did ‘sin’ and I agree with You.”1

Yet it doesn’t end there. We don’t confess/agree with God so He can tell us off or make us feel bad. We do so, because we have full confidence that God wants to make right our wrongs and ‘cleanse us from all wickedness’. God is our loving Father, who freely wants to pour His grace upon us and set us free from the things that separate us from Him. As John says, ‘He is faithful and just’.

Yes we acknowledge and accept that what we have done is wrong according to God’s holy standards but we also acknowledge that He has the power to forgive and the love and grace to release us from the condemnation that our sin brings. Praise God for His grace. He knows when we sin, but loves us nevertheless. Thank you Jesus for Your gift of forgiveness.

1Taken from Turning Point Daily Devotional (7/01/2016)

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A Stake In The Ground: In Jesus’ Strength Not Ours

7th January

“For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and He will give you the victory!”

Deuteronomy 20:4

The last few days we have been discussing making a conscious decision to reject the enemy’s lies, his temptations and all the evil that he tries to throw at us and put in a stake in the ground, to declare that we will not follow his evil schemes anymore but rather make a decision to follow Jesus.

Friends, however, let us not forget this one, most important thing; Yes, a conscious decision to reject the enemy comes from hearts ready to fight and rally against the enemy’s evil, yet victory must be found in Jesus and in His cross. Our role is to decide to not compromise but it Jesus’ power that gives us the strength to follow through with our decisions. When we try to fight in our own strength, albeit with the best intentions, we will stumble and fall. Yet if we fight in the power of Jesus, victory is guaranteed. God fights with and for us.

Let our number desire be to put Jesus at the front, in the middle and all around every decision we make, so that when the battle is won, Jesus can get the victory. Yes, let us put a stake in the ground, but let us surrender to Jesus to fight with and for us.

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A Stake In The Ground: Run Away

6th January

“Run away from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.”

2 Timothy 2:22

Francis Chan recently preached a message on how we allow the lie, that what the enemy has to offer is better than God’s best, to easily deceive us. In his sermon he gave an example of fishing. On the hook of a fishing rod, he put a $100 bill. He explained that many would reach out to take it, yet concealed by the money was the hook used to catch the bait. He explained that many of us also fall into the same trap. We take the bait that the enemy dangles in front of us, fully knowing that behind the pleasures of sin, is a hook that can lead to addiction and captivity. We deny God’s goodness and take the bait of the enemy’s sugar coated temptation. Yet the enemy’s best can never compare to God’s goodness and always falls short in comparison.

What if we were to take a stand and reject those temptations; To, as Paul says, run away from anything that simulates youthful lusts. Joseph did, when approached by Potiphar’s wife. Jesus did when tempted by the enemy. And we too can by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us put a stake in the ground and declare that WE WILL NOT STAND IN THE PATH OF SINNERS BUT RUN AWAY FROM TEMPTATION. Let us heed Paul’s advice even if that means making new friends, getting accountable, or even changing our lifestyles. In Jesus’ power we can overcome. Keep your eyes fixed on Him. Let us live in His grace.

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A Stake In The Ground: No More Bitterness

5th January

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behaviour. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Ephesians 4:31-32

On paper, it can seem so easy to forgive. We can almost work it out like an equation. This person did this wrong to me + desire to forgive and forget = forgiveness.. Yet somehow it is not that easy. Mixed into this equation is emotion, hurt, and bitterness. Sometimes we believe that it is our right to hold onto the bitterness and hurt. It is almost comforting. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Holding onto to hurt and bitterness only causes more pain. It only causes us to become depressed and carry heavy burdens on our shoulders. Bitterness spreads like a cancerous disease in our hearts, slowly eating away at all that is good in us.

When we look at our own lives in relationship with Christ, we can see so many times that we have sinned against God, yet time and time again, He has forgiven us by the blood of Son Jesus Christ and the grace and mercy of Almighty God. There are probably so many times that God has every right to not forgive, yet if we ask Him, He always does. It is this example that we should live our lives by. Christ has set the bar for what our attitudes should be like. Forgive as we have been forgiven. If Christ forgave us, then we too should forgive others. Lets us put a stake in the ground, making a conscious decision to FORGIVE WITH THE SAME MEASURE WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM JESUS. Let us lean on Christ’s strength to help us forgive and trust He will make right what has been wronged.

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A Stake In The Ground: No More Worrying

4th January

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.”

Philippians 4:6

How many minutes of our lives do we waste worrying? Worrying about circumstances that are beyond our control? The truth is, as Jesus said, ‘worrying does not add a single moment to your life?’ It is a fruitless agenda. It belittles our faith in Jesus and it lessens our understanding of God as ABBA Father: The God who will provide.

Yet having said all that, our natural instinct is to worry. Even though we know God is more than capable to deliver us, provide us and sometimes sort out the mess that we have gotten ourselves into. Yet there comes a time in our lives where we need to suppress these feelings of worry and exercise our faith by trusting in God. Let us put a stake in the ground and say from this moment on, WE WILL NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING BUT TRUST IN GOD ALMIGHTY FOR EVERYTHING! He is our Rock and Redeemer. It is Jesus’ words that re-assure and comfort us to not worry but trust in Him and it is Paul’s words that re-affirm that truth, so that in thanksgiving we too can rejoice that God is in control. There is no need to worry. It is a promise. This is not to belittle your problems, but rather to magnify God to become greater than your than worries.