May 24

“…for ye were the fewest of all people:” Deuteronomy 7:7

It is said that there is ‘strength in number’. This usually means that the more numerous a group of people, or a nation, the more powerful, noticeable or resourceful it may be. When God selected Israel to be His people and to be a nation that would proclaim His principles and be an example of His Holiness, there were already many large and powerful nations, which could have commandeered His attention. Before Israel was a nation, God called one man, who through faith, became the father of the faithful whom God would make His. Abraham, his family and the families that would follow, remained a relatively small number of people among the many and larger nations of the world that surrounded them, for quite some time. By His choice, Yahwah emphasised that His motivation was not how impressive and numerous they were as a people, or what resources they had accumulated by their own ability, for none of those things mattered to Him. God showed that His choice of Israel was based on His love, and His faithfulness to the promises He had made to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God keeps His promises.  Predicated upon His unchanging faithfulness, constant love and inimitable longsuffering, Israel survived, and remained His people. The same can be said of the church today. Those same qualities which God displayed with them, He continues to demonstrate to us. Yahwah is unchanging; He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His laws and ways are established from everlasting, and His purposes are determined from eternity. Like the Hebrews, the church also has grown. Yet though it may number many more followers than just the early disciples, by comparison to the unsaved - the Christless masses of the world, the term used by Jesus calling the apostles a ‘little flock’, is still applicable to the church today! We are encouraged therefore, by the fact that God’s love and not our numbers, defines our calling. We are sustained with the knowledge that it is not by our works and ability, but by His love, grace and power that our salvation is provided. We are strengthened in the conviction that He, who has elected the church, will fulfil the promises He has made, and that if we remain faithful till the end, we will live forever, because ‘he is faithful that promised’!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

Apr 22

“…thou art a mighty prince among us…” Genesis 23:6

Abraham has sojourned among the Canaanites for many years. He had come as a stranger among them, but was now considered a prince. His wealth, manner, authority and dealings with them, merited the recognition they gave him.  Clarke says of this account that they saw him as “… a prince of God - a person whom we know to be divinely favoured, and whom, in consequence, we deeply respect and reverence.” What a great testimony for the Lord to be seen and recognised as a person who is in favour with God and therefore to be respected. This is the kind of honour our lives, attitudes and conduct should bring to the Lord. Note Abraham’s kind and humble approach to the purchase of the field and cave he desired to buy for the burial of his dead. He didn’t take advantage of the position he held among them, nor commandeered his preferred portion of the land, he did not demand recognition or favour, but made a point of insisting on paying for it the full price. This was a legal transaction with witnesses and it made Abraham the legitimate owner of this parcel of land for all time. Some, who profess themselves as Christian, go about with an air of superiority and a manner which distances unsaved people from God and godly ways. They are argumentative and insist on knowing better, and being right on everything that is discussed, because they are ‘Christians’. They do damage to the cause of Christ because they do not convey or present a correct and appropriate witness and example of the faith. The humility that Christ taught by His manner and dealings with others, is yet another aspect of the imitation of Jesus, for which we are personally responsible as His disciples. It is difficult enough to win others to Christ without placing even more obstacles in their way, by our insensitive demeanour! No wonder we are told in scripture that "he that winneth souls is wise"! There is therefore a godly and Christ-like conduct, to which we as believers must learn to subscribe, and do so with genuine motivation. Like Abraham, we will find some around us recognising that we are, as we should be, children of the King and therefore ‘princes with God’!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

Apr 15

“…walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Genesis 17:1

Some thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, God appeared to Abraham. He was then, ninety-nine years of age. Yahwah renewed His covenant with Abraham and it is at this time that God first tells Abraham that he will father a son from Sarah, and that the child shall be the son of promise. The encouragement the Lord gives this faithful man, is to continue in his walk of uprightness and sincere faith. The concept of ‘walking before God’, means to walk in faith and dependence upon Him, in obedience to His laws and in awe and respect for His authority in our lives. The command to be ‘perfect’ is indicative of God’s desire for us to be complete and mature in His sight. The text does not imply an ‘absolute perfection’ - that belongs only to God, but a relative perfection, one which is within our grasp, through our communion with the Lord and knowledge of His Holy Word. God calls His people to a life of holiness and separation, a positive and consecrated life, which has as its goal the highest, most perfect ideals and purposes for which man can possibly live! When we choose to live on any other plane, we are living on a lower scale, and are not fulfilling the design for which we were created. Unless we strive for the perfection for which we were conceived and fashioned by God, we are selling ourselves and our Creator short of the mark. The excellence God has always had in mind for us, is not some unrealistic, unattainable, illusionary ideal. It is a tangible, sentient and joyful accomplishment, for which purpose God not only saves us, but also empowers us, that we may reach it. Perfection then, far from being too high a calling, is an actuality and a necessity of the believer’s life, and the evidence that he is walking with the Almighty!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

Feb 10

“…it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Galatians 3:6

Abraham walked by faith. Faith and righteousness are presented as related yet distinct in scripture. It is because we believe God that His righteousness is imputed to us. The mental assent of faith and even the action of faith, does not of itself beget righteousness, until the ‘object’ of that faith is clearly exhibited – that object is Jesus! Abraham’s action of faith was not the reason for righteousness being accounted to him, but the fact that his faith and obedience was placed in the Lord and His word. We can say then, that what authorises and validates our faith, whether it is expressed in our heart or shown by our actions and obedience, is the fact that it is located and fixed in Christ! As such it displays in us Christ’s righteousness, and we become a reflector of Him and His virtue! This is important because many have a ‘faith’ which can be considered genuine, though misplaced. Their ‘faith’ may be in human abilities such as science or technology, or in entities which they may consider ‘divine’. Never will such faith bring about righteousness with the One True God however, regardless of how well intentioned, strong or sincere it may be! Not until Jesus Christ is the sole and central object of a person’s faith, can true and godly righteousness be attributed and assigned to that individual! Even with Christians faith can often be misplaced. Some place their faith and make their belief system, their church organization, human ministry or acts of devotion. These things cannot of themselves bring about the righteousness of God! Abraham-like faith, a faith which acts and demonstrates its value through genuine obedience, is accounted for righteousness because it has as its clear object the Lord Jesus, it is firmly placed in God as the absolute authority, and is based on the validation of His Word!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion