July 12

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:…” Isaiah 9:2

The Messianic Prophet Isaiah, speaks here of the great light which was to come to the world, in Christ Jesus. Both the people of Israel who had fallen in spiritual darkness through sin, and those nations who had never known anything but the darkness of their lost spiritual condition, would soon see the Great Light. God’s personal expression, the image of His person, would be revealed on earth as the promised Messiah, to bring spiritual deliverance to the lost and dying. The term ‘walked’ refers to living life, continuing in this case, in spiritual murkiness. Such is the condition of every man, woman and child, before they ‘see’ and receive the light of God’s love and grace! Christ’s coming to earth, to save the lost, was the brightest star to ever light mankind’s tenebrous sky! The darkness of sin is dark indeed. No glimpse of hope or clarity exists there. The destiny of man without Jesus is to grow, live and die in that spiritual gloom! God understood the self-inflicted plight of man, and loving us beyond our most vivid imaginations, He made a way to remove the darkness from us! He came as the Son, in the human form of a servant, lived a sinless life, and died to give great light to all those who would receive it. The light that God shone for man is undeniably great! Many purposefully hide from this light, placing barriers to shield themselves from it, as they would from sunlight. Yet God has made certain that anyone who wants to, can and will ‘see’ it, receive it and benefit from its benevolent, magnificent influence. Viewed from a carnal standpoint, Jesus’ life and death may be dismissed as some miniscule ‘candle’ lit for a short while, in some remote corner of the earth, insignificant or at least no more momentous, than the life of many other individuals. From a spiritual standpoint however, the life Jesus lived, and what He did at Calvary, is the singular, most significant event in the history of humanity! It shines brighter, more permanent and more powerful, than the brightness of the noon-day sun! God’s light is still available today even for those who have lived in the darkest, darkness of sin, and have not to date recognised or accepted this divine gift! If allowed to shine into our souls, the warmth, healing and blessing of God’s Great Light, will fill us, renew us and forever chase away the deepest, thickest, most resistant darkness!

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

June 10

“Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world…” Galatians 1:4

What an amazing thought! Jesus who as the Eternal God needs nothing, and is Supreme above all His created work, didn’t merely spend out of His treasury to rescue our lost human race. He didn’t just trade some other property in exchange for our freedom, but rather gave Himself! This is the loftiest and most incomprehensible view of God’s love for mankind! We who had nothing, were without hope of ever be free from the slavery of our sin, and were enemies of God, would even merit the least of His attention, never mind His personal sacrifice! It is truth sublime and without parallel! This is the love of God, which He has freely shown to each of us, and which merits our hearts’ greatest gratitude and praise. Our best response to such love is to live the life for which He made such sacrifice. He did it so that we could be delivered, saved, rescued and made free from ‘this present evil world’. Creation itself, the physical world God made is not evil, but the sin which is perpetrated by the human race in this world, makes this present world wicked and evil beyond imagination! It is out of this spiritual darkness that Jesus desires to save and deliver us. Even the casual observer would agree that the condition of our world is becoming more desperately wicked and increasingly vacuous of the values and morals of God. Sin reigns in our world’s societies, and all efforts made by human government to police and curb, malicious and evil behaviour, overall fail, and are met with progressively less manageable challenges. There seems to be no end to the wickedness, and no answer to the sin problem, except in Christ! Jesus gave Himself for just such purpose. He Who had no sin, gave Himself for our sins! He made this deliverance open to all who will receive it and available to people of all ages, background or nationality. There may be many things that we cannot do as individuals, but we can all learn to love Jesus! To love God, means to believe in Him, partake of the salvation He has provided, and obey His commands and words so that we may live the kind of life He has always intended us to live! A life that testifies of His goodness and reflects His love to others; a life blessed and fulfilled by His purposes and lived for His glory! Like all things made and conceived for a specific purpose, we too function best and are happiest when we live the kind of life He created us for and made us capable of. Jesus gave Himself for us, it is only fitting we should give ourselves to Him!

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