July 4

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal…” 2 Corinthians 10:4

In several of his epistles, the apostle Paul makes it clear we are at war. Unlike any other warfare our end is spiritual and so are the means by which we fight the war. From this text then we are reminded that we are at war, that we have weapons and that they are not of a carnal, fleshly nature. The Christian’s war is not against flesh and blood. It is not a battle against other humans or human governments. It is a spiritual fight against spiritual entities, powers unseen by human eye, and yet very real and threatening. These principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places, as the Bible describes them, are the seat of Satan’s authority and government. They are the promoters and motivators of temptation and sin, urging iniquity upon humanity. They influence man to turn from God, His spiritual life and His love, and towards the world’s materialism, inciting rebellion against God’s ways and encouraging selfishness, self-will and self-worship. The Christian’s battle is not only to personally overcome these forces of evil, but to also help others against them. To do this, God has supplied the believer with weaponry! This is not like conventional armaments, such as can inflict physical injury or death, but a spiritual arsenal to be used against the enemy and in support of those whom evil victimises. The weapons given to believers to overcome in this fight are many and include, prayer, the name of Jesus, the power of the Holy Ghost, the knowledge and preaching of the Word, the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit, fellowship, church, God’s love and a lot more! The wise and faithful believer will learn how to use these arms, and maximise their effect, in the conflict against sin and the devil. The Bible further describes these weapons as not being carnal, but mighty through the Holy Ghost! Carnal here, refers to that which belongs to the flesh, which by comparison to the power of the Holy Spirit, is weak and ineffective in such spiritual warfare. Christians can rejoice in the fact that God has not left them without means to overcome, and has also promised not only to be with them, but to ensure their victory if they trust in Him!

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

June 26

“After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.” Job 3:1

Much has been written on Job, his patience and faithfulness in his relationship with God. This verse is a clear reminder that even men who have grown in relative perfection and in such graces of God as patience, compassion and generosity, are yet human and capable, under circumstances of pressure, pain and affliction, to open their mouths and utter things which may be unwise, negative or unedifying! This is not to say that if a believer expresses sorrow, disappointment or another negative feeling, he is automatically sinning. Sin can take hold however, if we do not deal with the negative emotions correctly, give place to them, and become controlled by them. Instead we should yield them to God and trust Him for help, solutions and strength to overcome. Job had by this time endured seven days of mourning after the loss of all his family, possessions and health, without apparent relief to his condition, and he does something here, which was not unusual among the people of his time, when they were faced with intense distress and sorrow – he curses the day he was born. Although this may be considered a slip in his spiritual compass, let us note a few things which may be explanatory. Firstly, Job did not ‘curse’ God as the devil had falsely predicted, and his wife had so callously incited, nor did he curse anyone else or even himself as creatures of God. In fact he did not even curse the present condition and suffering he found himself in. Secondly, it is questionable that man can of his own accord, actually ‘curse’ anything, since such power lies outside his ability, and is therefore merely reflective of an attitude or desire to do so, if only it were possible. Thirdly, he turned his despair and ill will, towards something that could not be changed nor was in any way in his control, making his ‘cursing’, a mere token expression of his inner despair, his discomfort and disconsolate situation. Lastly, later in the narrative of his life, we find Job repenting of anything he may have spoken unwisely and without due regard toward God. He was conscious that even this moment of negative expression from his lips, should have been avoided. Such cursing isn’t necessarily saying any bad word or oath, but a wishing that the event, in this case his birth, had never taken place. Jeremiah stated something similar (Jer 20:14-18) when he was in distress over Israel rejecting God’s word and torturing God’s prophets. The reasoning behind this expression of negative emotion is that the present suffering and distress, which is so painful and discomforting, would not have taken place if the individual had not been born; we would relate it to the expression - ‘sorry you were ever born’. So whilst it is an expression of suffering humanity, it is nevertheless inappropriate for the believer to make such a statement, because it reflects a lack of acceptance that God is in control of all things. If we truly know and believe that Yahwah is Omniscient, then not only the time and event of our birth, but all the details of every aspect of our human lives are known to Him, and ultimately in His control. True faith, in spite of our despairing humanity, would call and demand that we remember this fact. It would encourage us to believe that somehow God’s mind, His wisdom and plan is perfect and higher than what we can comprehend in our despair, appropriate to us by His allowance, and that we should take nothing in our hands and away from His, even if only in token complaint or misplaced desire, born out of our human  affliction. This high standard of trust and reliance upon God is a goal of all true believers, and it is only from God that we can draw the strength to perform our lives in this manner and remain pleasing to the Lord. 

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

June 17

“Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock…” Psalms 28:1

David had been in the unique and rather strange circumstance of life, of being anointed to be the next king of Israel, by the prophet of the Lord, and yet sought after as an evil doer, and pursued to be killed, by the present king! Twice he was in a position to rid himself of Saul and the threat which weighed heavily on his life, and twice he turned down the opportunity and temptation to take things into his own hands, choosing rather to leave it in God’s hands and timing. There must have been times like this one described in our text, when he felt totally at odds with his life’s situation, and could not but to cry out to the Lord in distress. Recognising and admitting that we are struggling sometimes, is not a bad thing, provided that like David we don’t wallow in the mire and self-pity our condition, but rather go with our distress and need, to the One who can help us and lift us up out of the pit we feel we are in! In other words it is when we concentrate on the problem and not the solution that we can do damage, and potentially lose ground in our walk and progress with God. This does not mean merely ignoring the problem or thinking positive thoughts, but dealing with the issue through One who has power greater than our own! Everybody experiences low times in life, and it is human to feel the sting and pressures of the afflictions we face. The all-important difference is our willingness and desire to go to the Rock! Jesus is the Rock upon which our salvation is founded. He is the basis of our faith and victory, and the One who has overcome sin and the world, and gives us power to overcome any and all of the difficulties which face us. Our crying out in prayer and supplication to the Fountain of Life, the Source of all Good, the Rock and Strength of our souls, will achieve much, when done in faith and fervently. God will supply the answer to our question, the solution to our problem, the relief to our distress. At times He does so by somehow removing the impediment or difficulty from our lives, for He has the power to do all things. We rejoice over the victory He gives in these situations and feel delivered and lifted. If the irritant, or problem, or affliction in our life is meant to teach us some valuable lesson, God may not remove it, but utilise it to build our faith, strengthen our determination, steel our resolve and impart to us priceless traits of character such as patience, persistence, humility and stability. During these times we may not feel the ‘burden lift’ per se, but we will register His calm and confident strength, which makes us able to carry the burden victoriously and continue regardless, on our journey towards heaven. We serve a God of power, love and wisdom, and must trust that He knows what is best for us in every situation. In faith praying, trusting and leaning on Him we can make it, and are more than overcomers through Christ Jesus our Lord!

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

June 8

“In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust…” Psalms 31:1

David is afflicted, facing enemies and feeling the sting of afflicton. He doesn’t begin his prayer and call to God with his pressing needs, but starts by asserting his faith and firm confidence in Yahwah. In this time of distress he does not rely on the trust he has placed in God in the past, or on how he may lean on the Lord in the future. It is in the present, during and because of the current anguish, that he focuses his thoughts and heart of faith to God. Often we are guilty of letting our problems get in the way of our trust in the Lord. Right at the time when we should lean on Him and trust Him the most, we turn from faith in God to considering and pitying self. Like Peter who had just walked on water, having focused on the boisterous waves of our distress, and taken our eyes off the Lord, we sink! The billows of our difficulty engulf us and we flounder, wondering how we can ever survive! Putting our trust in God, should be more than just a passing, fleeting moment of reliance. It must become for the believer the default conduct, the ‘normal’ way of life. Whether the sun is shining in our life, or we are being tossed by the fiercest of weather, our staying power in found in the Lord. It is faith that anchors us in Him and keeps us in the darkest times of life. This may well be the reason why God allows us to go through the tough times we all face. It is easy to claim a reliance on God when things are smooth and everything is going our way. But when the going gets rough, the finances lack, the problems at home and work are multiplying, health has deteriorated, or we are facing opposition and our little world is being tossed, we have to learn to hold on to the One who can see us through! In His great love, our Father knows just how to train us and teach us to trust Him! Learning to lean on Him is the all-important skill of the Christian walk. It is only when we are able and willing to genuinely place our trust and confidence in Jesus that we find the fulfilment, peace, contentment and victory we desire in all areas of life!

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

May 25

“And the LORD discomfited them before Israel…” Joshua 10:10

Attempting to defend themselves, five Amorite kings formed an alliance to fight against the Gibeonites, who had become servants to the already feared Israelite intruders. Their plan was probably to draw Israel into a defensive battle; it succeeded, but not to their advantage. God reassured Joshua not to fear them, and preceded Israel in battle, disturbing, confusing and disadvantaging the enemies. Though Joshua and the people fought valiantly and the battle is described as a great slaughter, yet it is clear that God’s intervention in the battle made the greatest impact by raining huge hailstones on the enemy, which accounted for the larger number of those slain! Throughout the Old Testament we find that whenever God’s people trust in the Lord and keep His commandments, Yahwah is present and prompt to fight their battles. This is a principle we can also rely upon in our day, as Christian believers. Although our enemies are not ‘flesh and blood’, and our battles do not involves human weaponry, we certainly are faced with real spiritual enemies, and are involved in spiritual warfare. The weapons of our warfare, the scripture says are not carnal, but they are mighty through the Holy Ghost! We have Jesus to our General, and He will fight our battles with us, helping us to overcome the enemies of our souls, the devil, the world and the flesh! Some may feel that the battles we face are not as ‘real’ as those we read of in the scriptures, but they are in fact even more definitive. Whereas the battles Israel fought were largely for physical survival and conquest of land, our battles are for our souls and will impact our eternity! It is our task as Joshua did, to lean on, and trust in the leading and direction of God’s Spirit, and with courage and faith, face the enemy and consider that while we remain in Christ, we have the assurance of His overcoming power! 

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

Jan 10

“…Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people….” Joshua 3:6

Filled with the symbols of God’s provision and protection for His people, but most of all a vehicle of the presence and glory of God, the Ark of the Covenant was in its correct place and its rightful position, when it was borne by the priests to be in front of the people. There, the power of God was most evident and performed the greatest of miracles for His people. Our eyes should ever be set on the presence of the Lord and all He holds in His Word for us. His rightful place in our lives, is not as an ‘optional extra’, or a piece of luggage we drag around ‘just in case’, but as the central feature of our eyes, and heart’s desire. He should be the One at the focus of our thoughts and plans, and should be at all times in view of our spiritual eyes. In Israel it was recognised that the ark leading the people in battle meant protection, power, victory and conquest. We also should know assuredly that seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in everything we do or desire, will bring victory, cause us to overcome and see all the things necessary to our lives, added by the power, provision and compassion of the Lord. We struggle unnecessarily to seek the temporal and the mundane, when true satisfaction, fulfilment and permanency is found in putting Jesus in the right and most prominent place of our heart, mind and soul!

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