July 5

“…thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:” 2Chronicles 6:8

In these verses Solomon reiterates the direction God gave his father David, regarding the building of the temple. It had been David’s desire to build the house of God that Israel might have a place in which to worship Yahwah. God had recognised, acknowledged and praised this heartfelt sentiment, but had also forbidden David to be the one to erect the sanctuary. David had been a man of war, and though a man after God’s own heart, the Lord had determined that his son would be the one to construct the place of worship. Many times we find this same principle in God’s word. God’s will, must be fulfilled God’s way. The will of God includes the timing of God and the way in which God wants it to be done. When we violate any of those parameters, we cannot say we have done God’s will. The costliest mistakes made by God’s servants in doing His will, often involved forsaking, omitting or adding some detail to that which God had commanded. Our heart’s motivation may be appropriate and commendable, but our obedience to God must remain complete and of the highest order. Our heart’s yearnings must not surpass our desire to obey the Lord, or supersede our complete submission to His will. Presenting the sacrifice of obedience to God, must therefore be done in clear reflection of His holiness, and in a manner acceptable unto the Lord, in order to be correct and righteous. David loved God, and did not allow his desire, however pure, noble and laudable, to overtake his absolute compliance to Yahwah’s instructions. Let us be like David, showing God the intensity and depth of our love for Him, by our complete, willing and humble obedience of His will! 

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

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

July 3

 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Timothy 6:6

Godliness is God-centeredness, having the Lord at the centre of all aspects of life, or as Poole puts it: “…the exercise of a true faith in Christ, conjoined with a holy life…”! The outflow of all we might call ‘true religious piousness’, the practice of holiness, along with the serenity of the sufficiency which is found in Jesus, is truly great riches! Those who have built this level of relationship with the Lord are satisfied individuals, people who will not need much else in life. The truth and depth of the text before us, escapes most believers. All too often godliness is taken to be a burdensome chore, an unwelcome imposition on mind, heart and time. Unholy, disgruntled and discontented ‘Christians’, are merely church-going, pew warmers! That is not at all the life to which Christ has called us to follow! He is the King Eternal and His riches are our great gain, if we but partake of the kind of life He wants us to live. It is a life of holiness, faithfulness and love; a life filled with new discoveries of truth and life principles, freshly delivered to us by His Holy Spirit every day! It is a life that fulfils, contents and satisfies beyond anything which we ever experienced prior to knowing the Lord! The key is living it the way Jesus wants us to live it, according to His word and in His Spirit. It is like having a very specific recipe which when followed will yield the desired result. Obviously if we choose to change the values, contents or method, in the recipe, we cannot expect the same outcome! Yet foolishly so many think they can manipulate God’s precepts to suit themselves and still retain a contentment in Christ, a fulfilling joy or a sense of real purpose, direction and growth! 

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

July 2

“But where shall wisdom be found?...” Job 28:12

Job reasons that whilst there is a place for everything on earth and value given to the natural treasure found in it, such as silver and gold, yet wisdom and understanding are not to be found as natural resources in mankind. Our modern world would probably decry Job’s claim, and belittle his query as mere opinion, pointing perhaps to the great increase of knowledge and greater understanding we have of our natural world today. Yet Job’s statements, inspired by God, hold true! The wisdom and understanding he is speaking of is not that of the natural man for natural things, but that which is spiritual. True wisdom is the fear of God and understanding is to depart from evil! This is what natural man lacks. He has little cognizance of the higher things of God, for they are revealed and become real only when he yields to God’s higher power. This wisdom and understanding are from above, spiritual and represent the greatest wealth and value that any man could possibly own. Job says that the finest of gold and the greatest of riches, cannot buy such wisdom, nor provide spiritual understanding. It is without price in worth, and yet God gives it freely to all who would receive it. In fact we are encouraged to ask of God such wisdom and be reassured that we will be given it, liberally and without reserve! Sadly, most of humanity places so little importance on these treasures, and ignores them to such degree, that on the ‘commodities market’ of life, they are considered of little or no consequence. For those however who have stopped long enough to view, receive and grow in these precious heavenly commodities, they are the most valuable assets and possessions that could be held. For the believer the choice is made when Jesus is accepted as Lord and Saviour! Thereafter all things of this world should grow dim in the light of His glory and grace! The fear of God, which is the beginning and source of wisdom, remains a great spiritual pearl, far more valuable to any man, than any of the trinkets the world has to offer!

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

July 1

“Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.” Psalms 12:1

When the qualities of godliness and faithfulness cease and fail among men, we are in dire straits and need help from the only One who can supply it! We can in our day, easily echo the cry of despair and concern, which the psalmist uttered, for we are seeing the fulfilment of scriptural prophecy regarding the perilous conditions, which would exist in the last days. Our distress is not something we can take to another human, for no peer of ours can help in this situation. Our pleas for assistance must be lifted to Yahwah, the Lord Almighty, in whose power we rely and trust. He and only He is able to alter the course of life’s condition, in the manner it befits His will, or provide us with the consolation and comfort of knowing that even if others won’t stand for righteousness, He will keep us and see us through! The ‘godly’ character of man referred to in the text, is translated from a word rendered in other scriptures as ‘holy’, the ‘set-aside’ or separated unto God, kind of man. This is what we find there is a serious dearth of in our world today, but more sadly the deficiency is clearly noticeable within the church. There is poverty and scarcity of any desire or pursuit of holiness, with the majority of professing Christians, wanting an easy, sacrifice-free church involvement, where they can be entertained and find a social outlet, more reminiscent of a club membership, than a place of true growth and worship unto the Holy God! Many who held to convictions of personal, practical holiness in the past, have ceased doing so, due to pressures from fellow-believers, seeing them as ‘old-fashioned’ or ‘bound’ in mere tradition and false doctrine, and from the world around them, which labels them as extreme, cultish or even abusive . Faithfulness to the strongest, most necessary and defining principles of scripture, is failing in our day at an alarming rate. The qualities of faithfulness and holiness, by which God most wants to be known, and wants His people to reflect, are the very areas where Christian testimony lacks, ceases and fails! Let us join those who faithfully are holding onto to the values of God, and cry out in prayer every day, for revival among God’s people, and renewal of all they should uphold for God and His glory!  

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

June 30

“Sorrow is better than laughter…” Ecclesiastes 7:3

Here is presented a concept which at face value may appear counterintuitive to our minds. In a world where the social norm and the contemporary wisdom is all geared to finding and promoting ‘happiness’, how can sorrow ever be ‘better’ than laughter? The bible states that the ‘joy of the Lord’ is our strength. There is however a vast difference between the satisfying joy that comes from God, and the elusive happiness which fallen man seeks, often in vain and in constantly changing circumstances. A step further back than that again, is the common place notion that if one can ‘laugh’ enough, then happiness will come. Again this seems another futile man-made attempt, at circumventing the true source of joy and contentment which is Jesus. While it may be true that laughter has some benefits and value for mental and emotional health, it should be the result of a content, settled and happy soul, not seen as a means to obtaining those conditions. In line with this erroneous thinking, the world has assembled a host of so called comedians who find it necessary to pollute and profane in their language and subject matter, every area of life, by serving up a mess of lewd, smutty, negative, vulgar and offensive performances, in an attempt to bring questionable laughter, to those who feel they need cheering up! It doesn’t even begin to make sense! Even so how can sorrow, be better than laughter? From a spiritual standpoint, this concept is very clear. Laughter is for a moment, and passes with very little permanent effect and no benefit to the spiritual man.  The sorrow spoken of in scripture, is not mere sadness or depression, it is a sense of personal regret for offenses committed against God, the distress of realising one’s own wrongs.   When a person can be truly sorrowful therefore, the effects reach the inner, spiritual man and can make a more permanent imprint on his being. Thus sorrow is better, when it is sorrow for sin! Instead of laughing at sinful jokes, a man who realises the guilt and awfulness of sin and becomes troubled over his own iniquities, can by repentance find forgiveness from God and new spiritual life! Such godly sorrow then is better, more useful, commendable, and more profitable than foolish laughter, because it recognises the mistakes which have been made. Instead of foolishly laughing them away, attempting to cover them or trivialising them, it causes the person to face them, repent and make changes to their way of life. Sorrow is a necessary part of the process of humbling oneself in the eyes of God, obtaining forgiveness from the Lord and turning back from a life of sin and degradation. It is the starting point of a person’s self-realization before God, and the pavement of the entry hall which leads to eternal life - a life of unending joy, glory and blissful contentment! That considered, it is not so hard to see why sorrow is better than laughter! 

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

June 29

 “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1 Peter 2:3

In Psalm 34:8, the Psalmist encourages, "O taste and see that the Lord is good"! 

The Apostle Peter echoes this sentiment about the goodness of God and reminds those who have tasted of it that they have a responsibility to separate themselves from the manner, attitude and practices of the world, and remain consecrated unto Christ in growth and service unto Him! 

The old adage “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” is applicable to all areas where the final evidence can only be arrived at by personal experience. This is true of food, for a prepared dish may appear appetising and delicious, but upon eating prove disappointing and bland. Conversely we may, based on their looks, turn down some dishes which are indeed tasty, nutritious and healthy! Once we have tasted and savoured, we are able to tell from firsthand experience, somewhat about what we have eaten! It is no longer someone else’s report, but our own conviction based on personal knowledge! 

This is what the Apostle is suggesting regarding our personal experience of salvation in Christ. We have known through the most reliable methods that the Lord is good, gracious, loving and patient. God’s word told us so, the testimony of others heralded it and finally our own personal experience confirmed it. What else need be done, to prove to us the graciousness of Jesus? 

Clearly God has provided all the evidence we need, so that to pursue His holiness, grow in His grace, give Him wholehearted service and reflect His love to others, should be the natural outcome and logical result of our lives. God performed a clear miracle when He gave us the ability to taste and enjoy His grace! 

A hidden miracle here, is to do with the noun of that word ‘taste’. Before we knew Jesus we had no desire, we might say ‘no taste’ for spiritual things! We were far from God’s concepts, His wisdom and had no understanding of the wonderful, incomparable treasures He holds. A bit like a dish we had never known, we had no idea existed and which our tastebuds had never measured or experienced. But when we first tasted of the goodness of God in salvation, we discovered what our souls had longed for and quickly developed a taste for spiritual things. All that had been unknown to us was now revealed, and we longed for more of the heavenly ‘taste’, the savour of the Saviour! God miraculously opened up, awakened and resurrected the spiritual man in us and we, who had been dead in trespasses and sins, became alive to the reality and wonder of the spiritual life in Jesus! His Spirit, His Word, His power and His ways, now touch and flavour every aspect of our lives. We are no longer without the ability to ‘taste’ the spiritual, but miraculously we can freely ‘eat’ and savour of every aspect of the goodness of God! 

What we tasted initially in our relationship with the Lord, was but the ‘entrée’ of the sumptuous spiritual provision which God has for us, and which we discover as we continue faithfully in our walk with the Lord. There should be no shortage of daily experiences in God, enhancing the quality of the believer’s life with the Master’s grace and goodness! If we find ourselves with lives resembling empty plates, or holding just a few tasteless and mouldy left-overs, it is only because we have failed to continue to come to the banqueting table of the Lord, where a spiritual feast of the tastiest heavenly cuisine, is always taking place!

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