“But
God, who is rich in mercy…..” Ephesians
2:4
Lost, undone and in a
spiritually compromised, broken and derelict state, is where the Lord finds
each and every one of us. This is true regardless of our background, training,
social status or position. Our sinful condition separates between us and God in
a manner which cannot be mended or bridged by our efforts. It takes the Lord
and His mercy to reach out to us and span the distance that our sin has put
between us and Him! We would remain forever separated were it not for God’s
grace and mercy which is abundant, freely available and bestowed without
limits. The Lord expresses through His love and mercy, an unequalled compassion
and feeling for humanity, though we are lost, miserable and corrupt through our
own doing. His mercy can reach to the lowest levels of human degeneration and
pluck from there a heart and a soul that will become His child and live a
worthwhile and righteous life for His glory. Such mercy is indeed rich! Mercy
is part of God’s intrinsic nature of love, and therefore is not merely
something He ‘has’, but something He ‘is’. Nevertheless and in spite of this
fact, when God displays and extends His mercy towards us, He makes a personal
choice and establishes His will. This is not just a thoughtless, unplanned,
‘knee-jerk’, ‘can’t be helped’, reaction on His part. He wants to be loving and
merciful towards us, His fallen creation. He is thus worthy of our sincere
worship both for ‘Who’ He is and for ‘what’ He chooses to do in our regard and
towards our hopeless condition. Thank God for the richness of His abundant
mercy!
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
“I have fed you with milk, and
not with meat: ….. not able to bear it…..” 1Corinthians
3:2
Carnality
will stunt spiritual growth. When as Christians we give allegiance or place to
carnality and fleshly interests, we become dull spiritually, disinterested in
feeding on the spiritual diet of prayer and God’s Word and we can thus retard
our spiritual growth. A baby is justified by his age to only drink milk and
being unable to chew solids, but doctors are often concerned when a child has
grown sufficiently to ingest more than milk and will not tolerate solid food.
Certainly a healthy grown up with a good set of teeth cannot but do damage if
he is not eating the diet suitable for his age. It is so in the spiritual sense
also. The Apostle Paul expressed concern when he found himself dealing with believers
who were not able to feed on and digest the food appropriate to their age in
the Lord! He diagnosed the cause of their problem as carnality and prescribed
cleaning their lives of all the things which violated their bodies as temples
of God’s Spirit. Replacing true spirituality, worship and prayer with empty
religious form and ceremony while feeding on the things of the world, will
surely do damage to the quality of our relationship with the Lord. It will kill
our hunger for spiritual things and impede our spiritual acumen.
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
“If a thief be found breaking up, and be
smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him” Exodus 22:2
The news
have reported instances of people who for attempting to stop a burglar from
entering their home, have incurred heavy penalties when sued at law by the perpetrator,
and have ended up paying damages to the person who was actually committing the
crime in the first place! Unlike the more liberal views of today, the law of
God set rather severe consequences for thieves’ breaking and entering into a
home at night. It was to be assumed that under the cover of darkness, their
intentions were not only to steal but potentially to kill and therefore
self-defence justifiable and without repercussion. Grace has added a new
dimension to the stringency of the law. Jesus lifted the dealings between the
wronged and the wrongdoer to a new plane, revolutionising the thinking of how
we should manage offences. Grace however does not alleviate the necessity of
true repentance, turning and ceasing from sin and making restitution. Laws
which have severe punishment attached to them are deterrents to committing
those sins but the best motivation for us to stay righteous, avoid sin of any
kind and live a worthwhile life, should not be fear of the punishment, but a
genuine and wholehearted fear of God and love for Him and His ways.
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
“Behold, I will send my
messenger…” Malachi 3:1
The prophet
speaks of the forerunner of Jesus, who would come to preach and prepare the way
of the Lord before the people of Israel. They had been without message from God
for four hundred years due to their sin and straying from God. This silence was
finally broken by John the Baptist preaching a message of repentance and
baptising those who responded. God does not leave Himself without a witness. He
works in His own time and purpose. He is well prepared and ready long before we
have the advantage of seeing with our eyes the evidence of His foreknowledge
and planning. There may be times when we in our natural limitations may think
God has forgotten or forsaken us, but His promises are sure and His ways
everlasting. He has made plans for our lives and has always intended on seeing
them carried out. All we need to do is wait, pray and sense after Him. He knows
the end from the beginning and He will send His message, His provision, His
answer, His solution, His protection or whatever else we have need of in His
time as He has already fore planned on our behalf!
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
“He layeth up sound wisdom for the
righteous…” Proverbs 2:7
God’s
provision for those who are upright in His sight and walk in His word includes
‘sound wisdom’ – the application of knowledge at the right time, in the right
way and for the right reasons! This wisdom is from above and a wonderful
blessing to the hearts of believers. The wisdom of the world pales in
comparison to this wisdom, in fact God takes pleasure in bringing it forth from
those who are considered naught by the world and its sages. Note firstly that
God lays up this wisdom. It isn't merely learnt, it is made available and
plentiful by the power and provision of the Lord. Elsewhere in the scriptures
we learn that those who may be considered babes or unlearned often display this
kind of heavenly wisdom and they didn't get it from a local school or
university, but from interaction with the Almighty and His Word! See secondly
how that this wisdom is ‘sound’. It is healthy wisdom, complete in its purpose
and it is a ‘working’, applicable wisdom, positively and powerfully influencing
the lives of those who subscribe to it and allow its work in them. This is not
mere philosophical fantasy bearing no ultimate good to the soul or man, but a
sturdy, vigorous, life-giving wisdom which applies to all aspects of life. God
lays it up – He gives it freely and liberally and makes it available to all who
strive unto righteousness and seek His face and will in their lives.
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
“I know thy works, and thy
labour, and thy patience...” Revelation 2:2
Nothing
escapes God’s attentive eye! He is able to see every detail of our lives and
hearts. He knows both the good and the bad in us and acts accordingly to
direct, teach, encourage and correct us. Just like the churches in Revelation,
we too are an ‘open book’ before Him and He can put His finger right on the spot
or area of our lives which He desires to address. This may sometimes make us
uncomfortable, particularly when we know we do not stand right with Him, but
how wonderful to know that God is so present and so interested that He can
reach our hearts with His instruction. We see from how He dealt with each of
the churches, that He is fair and balanced and His judgements are always true
and correct. We need only ensure that we walk uprightly in His sight, obeying
His Word faithfully and keeping our hearts pure. Having done so and continuing
quietly and without great ado (for He knows our works, labours and patience) to
fulfil the righteousness of God, we will find both personal satisfaction and divine evaluation to reward all efforts and obedience. We too will soon
hear the report from the Reader of our hearts and Discerner of our motives, and
it will include a welcome into His presence – 'well done my good and faithful
servant….enter into the joy of your Lord'!
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
“But the Lord is faithful, who
shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” 2Thessalonians
3:3
Our
relationship with the Lord is firmly established firstly and fore mostly on His
faithfulness. He was faithful to us even before we ever knew Him or served Him.
He firstly gave us life and then made a way for us to regain it when we lost it
to sin! When in response to His unswerving love and unabated faithfulness, we
respond and become true to Him and His word, His ways are established in us and
we therefore become settled on His firm foundation, rid of evil from our lives
and kept for His good pleasure. The sensation and knowledge that we belong to
Jesus and are maintained in Him by His power and strength flowing through us,
is most precious and reassuring. If He who is so faithful promises to keep
us, establish and protect us, what do we have to worry about?
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
