June 24

“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD…” Ezra 7:10

Ezra had been directed by God and had found favour with the Lord, to do a special work and carry out a mission. He prepared his heart to carry out the threefold task of seeking the law of God, doing it, and teaching it to the people of Israel. His heart preparation is a significant aspect of true leadership. Spiritual leaders, who would please God with their service, are people who prepare themselves thoroughly and consistently. The athlete would not be ready to compete without his physical preparation, which often amounts to daily toil in strenuous exercise. The artist could not paint the variety of colours needed without suitably mixing and preparing them on his palette. The musician would not produce any intelligible or pleasing sounds, without first tuning his instrument. In the same manner we cannot really do God’s bidding, without appropriate and sincere heart preparation. Ezra gives us a good example of how we should prepare ourselves. He started in the right place and so should we. God’s word, His law, His thinking, His wisdom and authority, should be the starting place for all our preparation. Like Ezra also, it should become more than just head knowledge however, and develop into what we ‘do’. It should form the basis of all our thinking, understanding and action. It should guide our decisions, choices and preferences. It should touch and affect every area of our lives and influence all our desires. Only when we truly ‘do’ God’s word, willingly, faithfully, with willing discipline and joyful desire, can we really teach it to others, and be effective leaders. Pray that God give us leaders like Ezra, who are willing to prepare their hearts the right way, and personally practice what they have learned from God that they may positively affect others with their teaching and example! 

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

June 21

“…as Christ also hath loved us…” Ephesians 5:2

The Holy Ghost through the Apostle Paul here instructs us to walk in love, in the same manner that Christ loved us. The high calling of the believers in Christ includes the privilege, honour and responsibility to demonstrate to one another and beyond reasonable doubt, the kind and quality of love that they have learned and experienced from Jesus. The love of Christ is open, manifest, constant, selfless and available to all. When such qualities are evident in ‘our’ love, we are approximating the example of Jesus and delivering a true message from heaven to those around us. It is noteworthy that we do not actually have anything like true love of our own, that is, in our natural fallen nature. Any love which is morally appropriate, godly and scripturally correct, is therefore a reflection of what God has imparted to us, and of what we allow Him to work through us. The best exercise we can enter into when considering love, is to look to Jesus and observe closely His pattern of love. The purity, altruism, gentleness and firmness of His matchless, unparalleled love, strikes our hearts with a sense of reality and causes us to long to be more like Him! We cannot imitate His Omnipotence, or His Omniscience and are limited in our physical ability to be in more than one place at once - but we can all learn to love more like Jesus does and follow the example He gave us! This is doubtless one of the ways by which we can most readily emulate the Lord, His manner and life. It is within the reach of every believer, and every day brings to us ample opportunities to practice His love. He told us this was His new commandment, the one by which others would identify us as His true disciples, that we would love one another by the standard and quality of His love! Even our love for God is quantified and qualified by the love we hold for each other! I think we can all readily admit that we are thoroughly challenged by the benchmark He has set for us, and that we all, even when we have been at this for a while, and may have made some progress, have yet a long way to go!  

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

June 4

“For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ…” 2Corinthians 2:15

What aroma is to coffee, flavour to food and perfume to flowers, we are to be unto God (for His Glory), as a reflection of Christ, and bring this ‘taste’ of Jesus, both among those that are saved, and among those that are yet lost. It is only to be thought of as our ‘reasonable service’, that we should reflect the glory, victory and love of He who saved us and made us new and free from sin! When we are in the company of fellow-believers, they should be able to verify and clearly see the evidences of God’s grace in our lives. The desire for the things of God, obedience to His ways, diligence in His Word and humility of spirit, should be commonplace with us if we are ‘in Christ’. In a similar way the particular qualities of Christ, just like a distinctive taste and aroma, should be noticeable to those who are not yet saved, when we are in their company! Can the people we work with, meet every day or know quite well, tell that we are ‘different’ from the world they are used to observe? Can they recognise the qualities of Jesus in us? Are there evidences in the way we talk, behave, what we do or refuse to participate in, that speak out lout and leave the ‘scent’ of Christ in their nostrils? As Christians we are in the privileged position of being ambassadors, representatives and examples of what God is all about, both in the church, and outside of the church. This is an advantage and opportunity we should take very seriously and maximise to bring God glory and praise. There should therefore not be shyness or reticence about the fact we are Christians, nor arrogance or superiority in our manner and attitude! Rather in true humility of heart and with holy boldness and love, we must communicate to both our brethren and the world at large, that Jesus lives and that He lives in us! In our words, but more importantly in our actions, let us take the Savour of the Saviour to all around us!

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 4

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake…” Matthew 5:10

Having warned His disciples that they too, like their Master, would be persecuted in this world, Jesus here teaches the blessing of such persecution. It is not in our natural spectrum of understanding, to see or feel blessing when persecution is waged against our name, reputation, property, person, or our loved ones. Yet it is a truth of scripture, the reality of which is imparted to us, by the teaching and example of Jesus, and the power of His Holy Spirit. The word persecuted here implies, being pressed upon, pursued after, and hunted as prey! There is no blessing in such ill-treatment, if we as believers find ourselves at the receiving end of it, because we have acted unwisely, whether in pride or in foolishness, spoken out of line with God’s word or betrayed the values we claim to live by! When in the course of living a godly life, and in humility upholding the values of God, however, we find ourselves at the butt of the attacks of those who in hatred towards God, hate us also and revile the uprightness we stand for, then we can align ourselves with the teaching of Jesus regarding the blessing found in God as a result of such harassment by man. God has sent us into this world as ‘sheep among wolves’, an analogy which speaks of itself of the necessity for us to lean heavily of Jesus! There are those who are favourable towards godly men and women, admiring their stand in God, even if they do not desire to participate in faith toward God personally. Others instead remain quite unaffected, neutral and even dismissive, of the godly behaviour they may see in believers. Then there are those who become inflamed, enraged and take personal offence, at the mere suggestion of righteousness, whenever they spot it in the virtuous manner or speech of a Christian. Some of these do not hesitate to turn on the believer, with ridicule, accusations, and attempts to victimise and belittle him, particularly when they are in company with those who know them, and may ‘look up’ to them. We are instructed that whatever the persecution, and regardless how severe, we are not to retaliate or give back in kind, but rather show the love of God, and conquer our enemies the way Jesus did, by standing, living and if necessary dying for righteousness’ sake. Great blessings are laid in store for those who follow the Master’s way and obey His principles. May God grant each believer the conviction, peace, strength and anointing to stand for God, God’s way!

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

Mar 5

“…and the God of peace shall be with you.” Philippians 4:9

Paul had just encouraged the saints at Philippi, to observe the godly patterns established in his life and to imitate them. The concept of following (Paul) a leader, as he follows Christ, is both acceptable and desirable in scripture. Naturally it is up to us to align the individual’s life with God’s Word and deem it a correct paradigm to follow, or a poor example to be shunned. Note that the emphasis is not in following the ‘man’ himself, but Christ’s patterns of life and teaching, in that man. The apostle intimates, that following in a godly manner will bring the peace of God into the life of the believer. This expression ‘the peace of God’ is repeated often in the New Testament, both as a condition to be desired and pursued, and as a blessing directed at fellow believers. Among believing Jews the word ‘Shalom’ is used in salutation, this is taken around the world to mean ‘peace’. It is used as a greeting also among many Christians, who in their own language convey once again, the idea, concept and desire for God’s peace. Apart from the main meaning of peace, for which it is known, according to Strong's Concordance (7965), Shalom means “completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord”. It is associated with another word which carries the meaning of being ‘fully paid’! Each of those definitions embellish and describe the kind of ‘peace’ God intends us to have, and makes available for us, when we follow His principles. God brings peace to us and is thus titled, among many other things, the ‘God of peace’. This is the true peace, which is beyond all human understanding, and which has been the subject of many hymns, prayers and sermons. It comes as a result of being ‘at peace’ with God, meaning not fighting against Him by our sin or worldly behaviour, but fulfilling His will and complying with His word. Being in conflict with ourselves or others is unpleasant, but warring against God is futility and extreme absurdity. Heavenly peace can only be received from God, and only when we place ourselves in alignment with Him. This condition is most beneficial to our hearts, minds and souls. This is the reason why ‘seeking to make peace with God’, and then ‘having the God of peace in our lives’, are exhortations often heard and frequently presented in Scripture and the exposition of it. In all His dealings with mankind, God has indicated and shown that He desires the best things for each of us. Experience has taught humanity, over some six thousand years, that one of the best things to have and hold, is the very condition we all seek at heart – peace. The world tried to achieve this by all other means except yielding to God, and fails. True, lasting and fulfilling peace can only come from the God of peace, and benefits us when we finally yield to His ways and principles, and apply them in our lives. What a blessing to know and have the peace of God! How precious and health-giving is this quality and condition of life! It should become a priority in our lives to obtain and maintain this glorious, soul healing peace, defend it from all which would damage and lessen it, and like Paul, share it with the people and situations around us, by godly example and loving instruction. 

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