Aug 7

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye,…” Matthew 7:3

By vivid and relevant illustration, Jesus teaches the importance of analysing ourselves ahead of attempting the judgement of others. The experience of having a speck in the eye is not uncommon to most of us. It is an irritant that impedes sight and makes the normal function of seeing difficult and painful. The illustration Jesus gives is logical as it is pertinent. There is nothing wrong with our willingness to help someone who may be afflicted by a small particle in the eye, if our own eyes are clear, functional and able to see. No one in their right mind would attempt to remove something so small from someone else’s eye if they were impaired themselves. Even more surely no one with a speck in their eye would allow someone with a serious impediment to go anywhere near their eye or attempt to help! The inference in this teaching of Jesus, is that the person who has an even bigger problem, that is a ‘beam’, literally a plank or lump of wood in his own eye, should even dare consider the splinter in someone else’s eye! This is at the core of the problem addressed by the Lord. All too often we become critical and begin to scrutinize someone else’s life and shortcomings. We find fault and criticize them, when in our own lives we have by far more serious problems and issues to resolve! The logical and wise direction from God, is to take care of our own difficulty, cleaning and cleansing our own life and vision, so that then we may be able to genuinely be of some assistance to someone else. How much easier and more useful we would all be if this simple, logical and Christ-like principle was followed in our lives. Through prayer, the careful reading of God’s Word, the sincere analysis of our own lives, and maybe the assistance of someone who has ‘clear vision’, we should first face, deal with and overcome our own spiritual impairments. Armed with the knowledge, love and humility learned in the process, we may then without hypocrisy or fear of doing damage, assist our precious brother or sister in their difficulty or challenge.

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

July 30

 “…the king… made a covenant before the LORD…” 2 Kings 23:3

King Josiah was responsible for a major revival in Israel. He meticulously removed the idolatrous places of worship, overthrew their temples and destroyed the priests of the heathen religions which had grown populous in the nation. His cleansing work included the removal of sodomite houses, and of those practicing occult arts. The Bible reports him as doing right in the sight of the Lord, walking in all the ways of His forefather David, and not being influenced by pressures around him, but staying on course spiritually. This is a sterling testimony and a rarity among the usually poor performances of kings who either did outright evil in rebellion against Yahwah, or walked righteously but only in part and without consistency throughout their lives. Josiah stands out from among the rest as being a righteous man and a godly king in Israel. He stood by the pillar - this was understood to be a special place in the temple set aside for the king, from where he would make his orations to the people and offer prayer and worship unto God. It was from this prominent and public place and in front of all the people that Josiah made a promise to God. His heartfelt pledge to God included that He and the people would walk close to God, keep His laws with all their heart and all their soul, and uphold the words of God’s covenant with them as written in the book of the law. Wonderfully all the people took a stand with him in total support and commitment to that promise. How precious it is to have leaders who are sensitive to the Spirit of God, in tune with His will and obeying His word wholeheartedly! God will perform good and great things through such men! The task of all believers is to be obedient and aligned with Jesus and His word. This is much easier to achieve when the individuals who lead us, give us a consistent example of loving God and honouring His word. When such men by their example and teaching remind us of all that is holy and righteous, we should take notice and with all our hearts make our stand with them! May God raise many leaders like Josiah among us, to help guide us in the path of righteousness and encourage us to a life of holiness before the Lord!  

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

May 13

“…that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands…” 1 Timothy 2:8

Prayer is and remains the top priority in the Christian’s life. Every day and in every way, prayer should form the core of our spiritual experience and expression. It should be the forerunner and the follower, to all our decisions and actions. Prayer holds prominence in scripture, and here again, Paul writing to Timothy, expresses his intense desire and gives direction, under the inspiration of God, that prayer be present in believers’ lives, for all occasions.  It was considered necessary and appropriate by the Jews that prayers be offered only in the temple. The effectiveness of prayers lifted in such a holy place, was thought to be increased and merit the attention of God. Contrasting this view, and reflecting the tenor of Christian teaching, Paul calls for prayer to be made in all places. God can be reached and touched in any place, at all times, and our prayer can heard and be effective, without the limit of location. This is a liberating and empowering ability! It is also a God-given opportunity, which removes any excuse for lack of prayer, due to not being in the ‘right place’. The lifting up of hands is recognised as a sign of reaching towards heaven in prayer, denoting petition, pleading and surrender to the Lord. Paul again reminds us that the lifting of our hands remains a part of our prayer and calling to God, as we entreat Him and make our requests known. He also points out that hands employed in this manner should be holy hands. Hands are significant and represent the things we do and participate in. The importance of washing our hands physically, and keeping them clean and free from germs and other contaminants, has become a well-accepted fact and necessity in our society. Sadly the same attention is not given to the ‘cleaning’ of our hands in a spiritual sense! When we sin or participate in that which is offensive to God, we may be said to have ‘touched’ that which is unclean, and have become spiritually defiled. It is clearly inappropriate to lift hands to God in prayer, which are sullied and soiled with sin, unrighteousness or rebellion against His word. Our hands should be used in the service of God, and reflecting in their actions and involvement, the love and respect we have for God and His ways, they should not be employed in any aspect of iniquity. We need to cleanse our beings of that which is against the Lord, and wash clean our mind, heart and soul. God has made provision for this cleansing through Calvary, and it is only through Jesus that we can have and retain ‘holy hands’. Holy hands are gifted hands; they are hands of love, patience and care. They are hands given to peace, hard work and usefulness. They are willing hands, helping where ever they can, lifting burdens and opening doors. Most of all holy hands are worshipful, praying hands, reflecting the purity, honesty and righteousness, imparted to the believer by the Lord Jesus Christ! May God’s men, be men of prayer, whose hands are holy in the sight of the Lord!

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

Apr 16

 “…I gave them into your hand…” Joshua 24:8

Israel had been granted victory by the Lord. He had delivered their enemies into their hands and caused His people to triumph. The conquest of the land of Canaan, was a significant step in the establishment of the people of Israel as a nation. In order to be settled, however, they had to dislodge the inhabitants of the land, and in doing so, remove and cleanse the country of their heathen and idolatrous practices. In obeying God to conquer the ‘enemies’ which are in our lives, there may be times when we have to be fierce and forceful. Cleansing of certain ingrained habits and sins often cannot happen in any other way, but to be sincerely brutal with ourselves. Should we treat sin with anything less than the hatred God has for it, we would do our Saviour a gross injustice. Should we justify and be soft on the iniquities for which God has delivered victory into our hands, through Calvary, we would bring shame and dishonour to the cross. God cannot live with sin. God’s holy people should not either! In an age, when so many are blinded by cultural acceptance of sinful conduct; when church and pulpits are silent on the topic of sin; when compromise reigns and fear of man is greater than the fear of God, we are directed to wage war against the enemy of our souls! With courage and determination, let us remember that God has given us the victory, if we go in His strength and in His name, and that “we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us”! 

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