Apr 30

“…Hast thou considered my servant Job…a perfect and an upright man...” Job 2:3

Twice, God held up as a shining example of righteousness and godly perfection, the very man that Satan had determined to make his conquest and trophy. The Lord knows the heart of a man and He recognises and upholds the integrity found within us, as a result of being in close relationship with Him. Like the false comforters of his day, Job still finds many critics today, who would malign him, his motives, his speeches, and his responses to the difficulties he faced. It is from God Himself that we can safely take our position on the kind of man Job was. God calls Him a perfect and upright man, one that feared God and avoided sin and evil! He is given a good character reference by the Lord, and we find him being praised and rewarded as a faithful servant of God, at the end of his ordeal. We understand that this does not make Job a perfect man in the absolute sense, but like many of the men who faithfully obeyed and stood for God, he did so with the kind of perfect heart and righteous spirit, that God honours. How desirable that we also should live the kind of life of which God can be proud enough, to present it as exemplary! Jesus instructed that the quality of our service to the Lord should be such that men who see how we conduct ourselves, might be brought to give God praise! Clearly we have a high calling to live up to, and should walk worthy of our vocation. God wants us to bring forth a witness which glorifies Him. We are His people, His children and He has invested in us His Spirit, His righteousness and His holiness. When we walk faithfully and obediently with the Lord, the world gets a taste of godliness and a glimpse of God through us! We must remember however that when do not walk right with God, we still give forth a ‘witness’. In this case a poor and damaging testimony. This could contribute to the destruction of someone’s chances to believe and accept Christ as their Saviour! This is a daunting thought and it should motivate us to make certain that we align with Job in the quality of our service and faithfulness to God, by being people who walk uprightly, and in purity of mind and heart before the Lord!  

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