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

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 12

 “The Lord was as an enemy…” Lamentations 2:5

As the Creator God, Yahwah, is a benefactor and lover of all of His creatures, particularly so of man. It is not God’s default condition to be or behave as an ‘enemy’ to man, especially to His own people! Israel had found God to be their Friend, Protector, Leader and Ruler, but when they turned their backs on Him, they also experienced the reality of His enmity! We learn a great deal from the Lord’s dealings with the people of Israel and can draw much personal instruction from their experiences. God will not play ‘second fiddle’ to anyone or anything else in our lives. Some think that because judgment has not instantaneously fallen upon them, when they violated God’s law that somehow they have got away with it, or that God no longer rules or cares. This could not be further from the truth!  There is a time stored up for the wrath of the Almighty, and in that day, woe to them who find Him to be their enemy! The God, who is love, is also a just and fair God. He will visit his antagonism on un-repented sin. He will reply to the defiance of the atheist and the questions of the skeptic, with answers which will forever silence their tongues, and settle their eternal destiny. The Almighty is not a whimsical God, who simply chooses to turn on His creation. He has given plenty of time for all mankind to turn from sin and make things right with the Creator. When in the final analysis, man chooses to remain the opponent of God, he will find that the Lord is indeed a formidable and terrible foe! How inane for a man to go against the Almighty! How senseless for limited and finite humanity to question and defy the Eternal and Omnipotent! Why does God allow it? How can He put up with it? It seems God is not lessened or harried by man’s defiance. His mercy lingers still and His longsuffering prevails, and there still remains a choice for mankind. The time will come when He will say “no more”! Will He be then your personal Saviour, or your eternal Judge? The choice for now is still left to you and me!

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