Apr 14

“His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD…” Leviticus 7:30

Under Old Testament ceremonial law, offerings and sacrifices were to be made unto Yahwah for various reasons. Some of these were animal sacrifices, brought to the priests to be slaughtered, and offered as sin offerings unto the Lord. The priest placed certain portions of the offering, into the hands of the individual whose offering it was, and in turn he would ‘wave’ them before the Lord. This was significant of relinquishing the gift unto God and of abandoning the sin associated with the sacrifice. Portions were then burned, and other portions became food for the priests and their families. The entire sacrificial system was set up by God for Israel, to foreshadow the ultimate sacrifice of Christ at Calvary. It was in a type, to represent the offering of the ‘Lamb of God’, which takes away the sin of the world. As we come to the cross, inspect its horror and yet admire its glory, we recognise that it is through Jesus alone that our sins can be forgiven, covered and taken away! Like the offering giver of old, we must relinquish, not so much the offering, for that has been given by God, on our behalf, but ourselves.  It is in this willing abandonment of our desires, preferences and self to God that we are able to take upon us the salvation, the Saviour has supplied for us. This giving over is known as repentance in the Bible. It is a willing turning away from our sin and ways and accepting the path God has set for us. Repentance is the surrender of the reins of our lives to God, and turning away from the sins which have beset us. By this action we are saying that we will no longer insist on our wants or the desires of our flesh, but that from here on we will observe and obey the law of God and do His will. No one else can do this for us, we must come before the Lord ourselves and ‘with our own hands’ so to speak, bring this offering of self, unto the Lord. Repentance precedes the forgiveness of our sins in the waters of baptism, and the regeneration and new life we are imparted through the infilling of the Spirit of God!

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

Apr 13

“…Why reason ye these things in your hearts?” Mark 2:8

Jesus is God, and He knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts! The critics of His day, not intending to challenge Him openly, reasoned in their own minds, their disagreements with the Lord’s words and methods. Thinking themselves safe, they soon found out their minds were being read like a book by our Lord! We may think that our thoughts remain private and unknown, but God is Omniscient, and even our most intimate feelings, opinions and beliefs, are open and visible to Him. He that created the mind and the heart of man, knows all that transpires within it. He sees and understands both the good things and the evil things that cross our consciousness and make their mark in us. It makes sense that we should be up-front and honest with God, with all our sentiments and attitudes! This is the reason why God is able to judge righteously, fully and effectively. He has all the facts! He remembers all the details, and has first-hand knowledge of all our motives! Some may resent such Divine ‘intrusion’, but ultimately, it is wise to remember that the Lord has the right to be in every part of our lives, and to know every detail. As the psalmist David suggested, there is no place we can ‘hide’ from God. He knew us before we were formed in our mother’s womb, and sees every place and action we attend to, and comprehends every particular of our mind and heart, even as we begin to form it! David adds: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” God’s power and ability to ‘know us’, must not be seen as ‘scary’ or invasive. It is a great blessing and support in our lives that He does know us, as well as He does! It makes His love and care very personal and individual. That means there is Someone that understands me! It means I can come to Him in prayer and enquire from Him and receive direction I can trust. It means He is my closest Friend, wisest Counsellor, the best Option every time and my strongest life-long Ally! Jesus is truly wonderful! He is my Saviour and my God! The best thing I can do, is to be conscious of this Divine, Heavenly, Loving Guard of my soul, and make sure my heart and mind produce the pure thoughts and desires, which will please Him and keep me in right standing with Him.

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

Apr 11

“…O king…break off thy sins by righteousness…” Daniel 4:27

Pride will destroy a man, regardless of his position. It becomes a millstone tied around his neck that causes him to sink to his ruin! Nebuchadnezzar was not exempt because he was king. God warned him in a dream which Daniel interpreted. The king’s pride and wickedness would cause him to be removed from among society and normal human life, and he would become demented, live outdoors and eat grass like cattle! The warning allowed for him to repent quickly of his sins and begin doing righteousness. He had probably been indifferent to the poor and tyrannical to his subjects. Ambition and selfishness ruled the ruler, and in spite of some semblance of religiousness, he was nevertheless morally decayed. King Nebuchadnezzar is typical of much of humanity. Right doing begins with acknowledging the Lord God is the Almighty, the Creator, that His law is to be obeyed, and that we are accountable to Him! When as humans we forget and forsake God and His laws, and become filled with our own selves and our achievement, we lose perspective on the reality of life. In a sense it could be said, we lose our ‘right minds’ and become as brutes, filling our bellies with all the things of the world, which are inappropriate for us and do not satisfy. When we behave in ways contrary to the plan and will of God, we lose our God-given position as proper rulers over God’s creation. Filled with our own pride and self-driven ambitions, we forget the needs of others and become guilty of the same wickedness and sins which have condemned so many before us. Here is wise advice, to be followed before it is too late – break off thy sins by righteousness! It is not until we recognise that Yahwah rules above all, that we are his subjects and willingly do His righteous works, that we return to a ‘right mind’, and life becomes what He intended it to be, enriched, blessed and filled with hope eternal!

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

Apr 10

“…go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend” Proverbs 6:3

The book of proverbs is replete with wise and spiritually healthy advice for the believer. The concept of being ‘surety’ in the Bible is equivalent to our being ‘guarantor’ for someone else’s debt. This practice is not recommended, and in fact is called ‘unwise’ in scripture. The reasons are obvious. When a person becomes ‘guarantor’ for someone else, he also becomes immediately liable, should that other individual fail to pay their debt. The sentiment in taking on such responsibility, is the belief that the person being ‘covered’ is trustworthy, and will make good his debt. While the intention may be solid and the belief in a friend admirable, we cannot in reality ‘guarantee’ another person’s future circumstances and actions. This means of course that, should the conditions upon which our initial trust was based change, then we would probably find ourselves locked into someone else’s debt, and responsible to pay it. We might still choose to consider this course of action for another person, particularly a family member, depending on the circumstances, but in general, it is not a ‘wise’ thing to do. We are always well advised in scripture ‘not to owe’, that is, not to enter into debt unless absolutely necessary, and then to make sure we pay back all that is owed as quickly as possible. In days of old, if a debt was not repaid by the debtor or his ‘surety’, the debtors, their assets and their families, could all become the ‘property’ of the creditor. This many times meant that entire families would enter into servitude, until the debt was paid off! While this may not appear as great a concern or severe a practice today, in our modern western society, the advice offered in the text still stands. Truly the debtor is subject and dependent on the creditor. Our present world conditions, where entire countries owe astronomical amounts of money in national debt, illustrate how quickly even an entire nation can become controlled by and subservient to, the money lenders. In a situation where either an individual is in personal debt, or in debt via having being ‘surety’ for someone else, the correct attitude to take is one of humility, appealing to the creditor’s goodness to consider leniency. Instances are recorded, where more time was allowed to pay back the debt, or where the debt even all together forgiven. Arrogance, empty excuses, or ‘passing the buck’ of responsibility, are not attitudes appropriate to one who is indebted and cannot repay! Wisdom then teaches to avoid debt, and when that is unavoidable, to exit debt quickly by remitting diligently and efficiently. Keeping the right spirit and humility of heart, is a necessary condition for those who believe, not merely towards anyone to whom a material debt may be owed, but most of all towards the Lord, to Whom we owe the greatest debt of all

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

Apr 9

“Preach the word…” 2 Timothy 4:2

An action, and the object of it, is expressed in the first part of this verse. The action is ‘preach’! This means to ‘proclaim loudly’. It is the equivalent in manner and purpose to what was done in ancient days. When a king wanted a message to be sent among his people, he would issue a proclamation. Men in the service of the king, called ‘heralds’, would then go through the land and loudly announce the proclamation the king had made, so that that people everywhere in the realm could hear it. Sometimes a trumpet sounded before the herald spoke, to gain the attention of the people, and encourage them to momentarily leave their activity or work, and gather around to listen. This is the context of the task and manner of preaching. We as Christians are to ‘herald’ the proclamations of our King Jesus, to the world around us. As an action, preaching is loud, in the sense that it stands out as different from normal speaking; it is meant to carry the message from the King clearly; it must be done in places and ways where people can hear; it must be carried in the precision and authority of the Sender; it is a task of obedience and personal consecration, which may well also require sacrifice in various ways, and at different times! Preaching is different to any other ‘speaking’ activity known to man. It is not merely giving a ‘talk’ or discourse. It is not oratory in the general sense of the word, or lecturing per se. It differs from teaching in manner and overall content. It can only really be properly carried out, through the anointing of the Spirit of God resting on the speaker and causing him to bring out ‘the message’, God laid on his heart to begin with! The object of this holy exercise is the ‘Word of God’! ‘Preaching’ anything else, regardless of how interesting, current or pressing, is not the preaching intended for God’s heralds! The Word of God, must be the centre, basis, content and message of Christian preaching, and the motivation of the preacher. All topical preaching must be soundly founded upon the correct basis of scriptural principle. It is in expounding, and explaining the text and principles of the Word, that preaching (and teaching), is actually carried out. To this privileged task, God has called His people, in every walk of life. Preaching the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, is an action that takes place at many levels. God calls some to various aspects of ministry, such as pastoring, teaching and evangelism, where this task is a very regular part of life. He also calls all believers, everywhere to be faithful and ‘preach’, proclaim and share the message from the King of Kings, by words, actions and lifestyle behaviour, to all with whom we come in contact with, in everyday life. It is by preaching the Word that God has seen fit to save the lost of this world! Have we done any of this preaching lately?

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

Apr 8

“But we preach Christ crucified...” 1 Corinthians 1:23

The Apostles didn’t know or preach a stately triumphant Messiah, who would conquer their physical enemy, establish a new earthly kingdom, and retrieve for them the position and privileges they once held. This was the expectation of many of the Jews, but the crucified Christ, the Christ who suffered and allowed Himself to be humiliated, was what they were presented with! The message of the Apostles exalted the sacrifice of Jesus for the atonement of our sins. Little wonder it was a ‘stumbling block’ to them! It was the opposite of what they had expected! It was inglorious, ignominious and ignoble! How could such a slain Messiah save or even inspire! This is exactly the mentality of so many today and the error they make. They misunderstand the cross of Calvary. Without God’s revelation, His understanding and light on the plan of salvation He so lovingly made available for us, we would surely miss the mark and totally misconstrue the Divine purpose. The power of Christ crucified, is like nothing else on earth! It doesn’t depend on the grandeur and pomp, or the force and violence that the human mind expects, when strength or authority is described. It is based in, and functions from the very essence of God – His love! This is the most powerful force in the universe. It conquers in a manner otherwise unknown to man, and incomparable to anything else. This power is able to reach the heart of humans, across the boundaries of culture, language, age and education. It grips the soul and cleans it; makes inroad in the darkest places of the heart and turns the light on; devastates the devil and the sin that enslaves man, and frees him, in the most complete sense; reaches down to fallen man and lifts him from the slime pit of perdition, upon the solid rock of salvation! That is why ‘we’ – all who believe and know Jesus – preach the crucified Christ! Like the apostle Paul we want to know nothing but ‘Christ and Him crucified’, this is the core of the faith, the centre piece of exaltation, and the focus of life - there is power in the message of the cross! 

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