Category: Devotions

SUNDAY 12th

Resurrection Day

John 20:1-29

You will often hear me mention what my favourite Bible verses are, No1 is 2 Corinthians 5:17 and then I have two which are equal No 2 and they are:

Luke 2:11 ‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.’

Luke 24:5-6 ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.’

All three are good news. Luke 2:11 is the good news that a Saviour has come. Luke 24:5-6 is the good news that the one who came to be the Saviour has risen – he has accomplished what he came to do, 2 Corinthians 5:17 is good news in that it tells us that if we accept this Saviour we become new creations.

Over the last few months, we have heard almost nothing but bad news, depressing news, news that causes fear and panic. But the message that we must share today, and every other day is good news – Jesus is alive. This news is exciting and brings hope. This news is the answer to the inner need of every man and woman, this news is the news that if believed and acted upon will transform individuals, families, society and the world in which we live. Jesus is alive and he is the answer for the world’s problems.

One of the more modern songs today (this will be my selected hymn at the end) is called ‘the greatest day in history’. And there is no doubt that the resurrection day was and still is the greatest day in history. We can think of many pivotal moments in the history of the world, and as great as many of them were in what was achieved, nothing can compare with what happened on the resurrection morning.

We will focus for the first part of this week on the subject of the resurrection, but for today, let us get thrilled again of the wonder that the man who was beaten, whipped, mocked, humiliated, cruelly executed through the means of crucifixion, and who breathed out his final breathe, gave up his spirit, was taken down off the cross a dead body, and placed into a tomb that was sealed and guarded by soldiers had the power not only to lay down his life, but to be able to take it up again. Three years earlier Jesus had declared, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ (John 2:19) and in John 10:18 ‘No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.’

‘Death could not keep its prey, Jesus my Saviour, he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord. UP from the grave he AROSE, with a mighty triumphant o’er his foes, he AROSE a victor o’er the vast domain, and he lives forever with his saints to reign. HE AROSE, HE AROSE, hallelujah CHRIST AROSE.’

For some of us, this may be the first Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day that we will not have been in Church to celebrate, but one thing is sure, being isolated, being at home will not stop us rejoicing in this wonderful news.

Our reading for today was from John’s gospel, but make some time to read the account from the other gospel writers: Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-13, Luke 24:1-12 and then Acts 2:22-24, 29-32.

The greatest day in history

Death is beaten, you have rescued me

Sing it out Jesus is alive

The empty cross, the empty grave

Life eternal You have won the day

Shout it out, Jesus is alive

He’s alive

Oh happy day, happy day

You washed my sin away

Oh happy day, happy day

I’ll never be the same

Forever I am changed

When I stand, in that place

Free at last, meeting face to face

I am Yours Jesus You are mine

Endless joy, perfect peace

Earthly pain finally will cease

Celebrate, Jesus is alive

He’s alive

Oh what a glorious day

What a glorious way

That You have saved me

Oh what a glorious day

What a glorious name

^{Tim Hughes CCLI 778682}

APRIL 11^th

John 19:31-42

Secret Disciples

Scripture records that after Jesus had died, a man called Joseph of Arimathea asked permission to take the body of Jesus and bury it. Permission was granted and a burial took place quickly as the next day was the Jewish Sabbath. There is nothing recorded in John’s gospel about the Jewish Sabbath, which was the Saturday. The next event in Johns record is on the first day of the week, our Sunday, which became resurrection day!

I want to share something else today before we get to the resurrection in tomorrow’s devotion.

I missed out an important statement that Scripture says about Joseph of Arimathea, did you notice it in v38 – he was a disciple of Jesus, but SECRETLY for fear of the Jews. We read earlier in John’s gospel of another man who possibly may have been a secret disciple, because of who he was as a ruler of the Jews and who didn’t want to be seen decided to come to see Jesus at night, Nicodemus in John 3:1-2.

I wonder how many SECRET disciples there are today. In some nations of the world, such as North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and others we could mention, it is very difficult to be open about your faith as a Christian, it is high risk to be bold in declaring your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, for it can lead to imprisonment, torture and even death. And yet so many have great courage and spiritual strength to do it. In these circumstances we can understand there wanting to be secret and to ‘go underground’ as we say.

But what about in the nations which we would call free nations, where being a Christian doesn’t carry the same risk? How many secret disciples are there? It is possible that we could be described as secret disciples without realising it. Yes, we go to Church regularly, our close family know we are Christians especially if they are Christians as well, but when it comes to the work place or the college, or university and school we cower away from letting our colleagues and fellow students / companions from knowing that we are Christians having a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It can be for a variety of reasons, but most commonly because we want to be accepted, we want to fit in, we don’t want to be mocked or laughed at and more so today we don’t want to be thought of as out of touch. Joseph of Arimathea must have fallen into one of these category’s, for he was a secret disciple as it says ‘for fear of the Jews’.

But when it mattered, he must have overcome his fear, for he was willing to go to Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus for burial. I am assuming in my thoughts today, that like others he would have witnessed the horrific crucifixion. Why didn’t he let one of the other disciples who had been more public in their following of Jesus arrange the burial? I like to think that something happened in his heart when he looked at Calvary, when he saw Jesus hanging on the cross, bloodied and dying, I like to think (yes I am a thinker!) that something was triggered in the depth of his soul that caused him to marvel and wonder at the love that Jesus must have had to be willing to suffer and die in such an awful, brutal, cruel way to save sinners. We don’t know how much he understood but he knew enough. He may have heard the conversation between Jesus and the dying thief, ‘today you will be with me in paradise’, he may have heard Jesus cry out ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do’, he may even have heard Jesus cry out ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He may have heard Jesus as he breathed his last breath cry out ‘It is finished.’

After visiting the cross, If he was secret before, he was not secret afterward, he was bold enough and brave enough to go to Pilate, he took the body, he buried it in a fresh, unused tomb, he cared for the One who had died. And did you notice who was with him? John 19:39 ‘NICODEMUS also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night . . .’

Secret believer? I can only answer for myself, but the challenge I bring to us all today is that over this Easter weekend we take a fresh look at Calvary, visit the cross once again, contemplate the wonder of the love of God, meditate upon what Jesus was willing to do as he suffered on our behalf, taking our sins, our sorrows making them as if they were his own. He took the punishment we deserved; he bore the wrath of God on our behalf, he was beaten, he was mocked, he was disgraced, he was tortured, he took our shame so that we can have forgiveness and eternal life. And as we ponder afresh, may God grant us boldness not to be afraid, not to be secret in those places where we may be but willing to be counted as one of his disciples.

Can we take an Old Testament promise and make it ours today? Joshua 1:9 ‘Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.’

Another Scripture I quoted in an earlier devotion; ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.’ (Romans 1:16)

‘Give me a sight, O, Saviour, of thy wondrous love to me; Of the love that brought thee down to earth, to die on Calvary. Oh, make me understand it, help me to take it in; what it meant for thee, the Holy One, to bear away my sin.’ (Katherine A. M. Kelly)

I hear the Saviour say, Thy strength indeed is small

Child of weakness watch and pray

Find in me thine all in all

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow

Lord now indeed I find Thy power and Thine alone

Can change the leper’s spots and melt the heart of stone

And when before the throne I stand in Him complete

Jesus died my soul to save, my lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow

Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow

He washed it white as snow, He washed it white as snow

Bridge 1

O praise the one who paid my debt

And raised this life up from the dead

Bridge 2

O praise the one who paid my debt

And raised this life up from the dead

^{Alex Nifong, Elvina Hall, John Grape 2006 worship together.com songs CCLI 778682}

FRIDAY 10^th

John 19:1-30

We come today to what I believe are the most important days (what we call Easter weekend) in the history of the world. For what took place in the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ has repercussions for all mankind, not just for time but for eternity.

Thousands of years earlier our fore-parents Adam and Eve had disobeyed God and as a result, sin entered the human-race defiling every single person that has ever been born. (Psalm 51:5 ‘Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.’ Romans 3:23 ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’) But God was not caught out, he had a plan and the plan involved undoing what happened in the garden of Eden and restoring lost humanity.

But it was going to cost! The plan was in place before creation and the cost was going to be the shed blood of the Son of God. (1 Peter 1:18-21 ‘. . . knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God . . .’) And Galatians 4 tells us that at the right time, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoptions as sons.’ (Galatians 4:4-5) This is good news, God sending his Son (John 3:16) to redeem mankind so that we could be reconciled and brought into his family.

And his Son did arrive, born of a woman (Mary), with the purpose of becoming the sacrifice for the sin of the world.

That Friday which we now call Good Friday, with all its horror, was a day of ‘good news’ for as Jesus went through all that he went through, (and it’s good to meditate upon John 19 to consider all that he suffered for us) what was taking place is summed up in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.’

To be honest it’s difficult in knowing where to start, where to stop and what to include in between in putting this devotion together. It is such a wonderful story, it was such an amazing day, because it is only as a result of what Christ did at Calvary that we today can say that we have been ransomed, healed, restored and forgiven. It is because God was ‘in Christ’ when he went to the cross that we post Calvary can come to the Cross and find ourselves ‘In Christ’. It is a wonderful study to look at all the ‘in Christ’ texts, for this is where we are, we are no longer alienated from God, no longer foreigners, no longer dead in our sins, no longer heading for a lost eternity in hell. Instead we are reconciled and at peace with God and we can call him ‘Abba, Father.’

This should want to make us shout out in praise as we acknowledge all that Christ has done for us. I am going to stop here and suggest that we make time to look at another Scripture that reminds us of Calvary and the wonderful love of God. Isaiah 53.

It was also a difficult task to choose a hymn to close this devotion with, so I have chosen two. The first is one of my favourites ‘Jesus was slain for me’ the second is a good old well known hymn that always brings a challenge ‘ Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all’. Be blessed today as you centre your thoughts around the Cross.

Jesus was slain for me

At Calvary.

Crowned with thorns was He,

At Calvary.

There He in anguish died,

There from His opened side,

Poured forth the crimson tide,

At Calvary.

Pardoned is all my sin,

At Calvary.

Cleansed is my heart within,

At Calvary.

Now robes of praise I wear,

Gone are my grief and care,

Christ bore my burdens there,

At Calvary.

Wondrous His love for me,

At Calvary.

Glorious His victory,

At Calvary.

Vanquished are death and hell,

Oh, let His praises swell,

Ever my tongue shall tell,

Of Calvary. Amen!

^{George Perfect CCLI 778682}

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

Save in the death of Christ my God!

All the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

^{Isaac Watts CCLI 778682}

THURSDAY 9^th

Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:14-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

The Jewish Passover in the Old Testament becomes the Lord’s Table in the New Testament!

Today in our readings we are in the Upper Room, which we read was borrowed for the Lord Jesus to celebrate the Passover with his disciples.

The Passover is a feast that the Children of Israel celebrated every year to remember the deliverance that God gave them when they came up out of Egypt after over four hundred years of slavery. We can read all about this in Exodus 12, in verses 43-51.

Throughout his life on earth Jesus would have celebrated the Passover, (Luke 2:41-42) and here, before he would go to the Cross, he wanted to continue the practise for the final time with his disciples.

But something special happened on that night – what was the Jewish Passover became what is now known as the Lord’s Supper or believer’s communion. As they were eating and drinking, the Lord Jesus took bread and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said this do in remembrance of me, likewise he took the cup with wine in it and gave it to the disciples and said this is my blood, do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

The Children of Israel were commanded to celebrate the Passover, but we the Church of Jesus are instructed to take the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper.

In the re-enacting of the Passover the Children of Egypt were celebrating their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, at the Lord’s Table, we the Church celebrate our deliverance from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. We don’t celebrate and don’t need to celebrate the Passover for it was a command specifically for the Children of Israel because they had been delivered from Egypt. We the Church, are called to celebrate the Lord’s Supper because we are the ones who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. In the Exodus story a lamb was found and slain and the blood placed on the lintels and posts of the doors so that when the angel of death visited that night, when he saw the blood he would pass over. In the Upper Room at the inauguration of Communion, Christ was about to become our Passover Lamb. (1 Corinthians 5:7)

Jesus in celebrating the Passover and bringing about in its place what we call the Lord’s Supper, ( or Christian Communion, Eucharist etc.) was declaring that something new was about to happen, the old was being made into something new, the old covenant was being replaced with a new and a better covenant. The old testament order of sacrifices would no longer achieve anything because in its place there was about to be a far better and more perfect and permanent sacrifice, that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Three years earlier, John the Baptist on seeing Jesus had said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John 1:29) Immediately after this ‘Passover which became Communion’ in the Upper Room, Jesus would be taken and within a few hours become the Lamb that was slain.

What do the two emblems we partake of represent? We take communion together nearly every Sunday and have an understanding of what it is all about, but it is good to be refreshed. What Jesus established in Communion was a simple meal of bread and wine that speak of two important things. The Body and Blood of Jesus.

The bread is symbolic of the body of Jesus, remember that in John 6 after the feeding of the 5000, Jesus made a very bold claim about himself, ‘I am the bread of life,’ (John 6:48) and he as the bread of life would become broken. He was beaten, marred, his flesh pierced by whips, thorns, nails and spears. The one who broke bread to feed others, himself became the broken bread to feed mankind, bread that if we partake of through redemption at the cross would give us eternal life.

The wine is symbolic of the blood of Jesus, blood that was poured (Matthew 26:28) out though the wounds he bore on our behalf as he hung on the cross, blood that was perfect blood, blood that was atoning blood, blood that was sufficient to take away the sin not of just a few, and just for a year,  but of the whole world if they are willing to believe and is sufficient for eternity.

Regarding Communion, we read in 1 Corinthians 11:26 ‘For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he come.’ It is a privilege to be able to share communion together, to be able to proclaim, remember, acknowledge his death and all that it has meant for us who believe, and we do it until he comes again. It is a reminder not only of his death, but also of his resurrection for it stands to reason that someone who his dead cannot come again, so in doing this until he comes again it is a reminder that the Lamb that was slain, also rose as a mighty victor over death. He is alive and he is coming again. But we will consider these things more over the next few days.

For today, imagine how Jesus must have been feeling in that upper room, knowing exactly what lay ahead of him and yet firstly because of his love for you and me he was willing and secondly as we are reminded in Hebrews ‘Who for the joy set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame.’ (12:2) Spent some time in contemplating the cost of our redemption and may it draw us closer to him, who gave himself for us.

We come as guests invited

when Jesus bids us dine,

his friends on earth united

to share the bread and wine;

the bread of life is broken,

the wine is freely poured

for us, in solemn token

of Christ our dying Lord.

We eat and drink, receiving

from Christ the grace we need,

and in our hearts believing

on him by faith we feed;

with wonder and thanksgiving

for love that knows no end,

we find in Jesus living

our ever-present friend.

One bread is ours for sharing,

one single fruitful vine,

our fellowship declaring

renewed in bread and wine:

renewed, sustained and given

by token, sign and word,

the pledge and seal of heaven,

the love of Christ our Lord.

^{Words © 1984 Hope Publishing Company CCLI 788682}

Wednesday 8^th

John 17

This portion of Scripture is often given the title ‘The High Priestly Prayer’.

It is the longest prayer that we have recorded that Jesus made, it is almost the last prayer he made before he went to the Cross. Jesus was a man of prayer. He often went to a solitary place to pray, for example, Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12.

In this prayer, we find that Jesus prays for himself, for his disciples and for those who would believe, that is you and me. This should be a great comfort to us that even before Jesus went to the cross, before we even came to believe – that Jesus prayed for us.

Today I want us to be encouraged to know that Jesus is still in a place of intercession for us. After he ascended to the Father he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high and took up his High Priestly duties! The book of Hebrews covers much of this for us and it is from here we will look at what this means for us.

Hebrews 2:17-18 ‘Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.’

Hebrews 4:14-16 – ‘Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’

Hebrews 7:23-28 ‘The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.  For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.’

Hebrews 9:28 ‘So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.’

To summarize: Our Great High Priest: Jesus,

He has been where we are – he has known temptation, he has been through suffering, therefore he knows what it is like to go through the things that we are facing, so he can intercedes for us and help us when we are tempted and tried.

He is a sympathizing Priest.

He is a merciful High Priest.

He is a faithful high Priest.

He is a sinless Priest

He is a Priest who made a once for all sacrifice for sin.

He is a Priest who offered himself for our sin.

He is an Exalted Priest.

He is a sin forgiving Priest.

He is an Eternal / Permanent Priest.

He is the Priest who has been appointed by God.

He is a welcoming Priest – we are welcome into his presence.

He is a Returning Priest – He’s coming again to take us into his eternal presence.

This is far better than going and talking through a confessional to a man who himself is a sinner, who has no power or authority to forgive sin!

We come to the Great High Priest and in coming he has the power to forgive and to grant eternal life, we come to the Priest who has been appointed by God himself, we come to the Priest who has provided a better and a new and living way. We come not to a priest but to THE Priest! His name is Jesus.

And for him to become that Great High Priest he need first to go the way of the Cross and we close this devotion with what is nearly the last prayer he uttered ‘ Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done’. (Luke 22:42)

Thank God he was an obedient Priest!

Before the throne of God above

I have a strong, a perfect plea

A great high Priest whose Name is Love

Who ever lives and pleads for me

My name is graven on His hands

My name is written on His heart

I know that while in heaven He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart

No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within

Upward I look and see Him there

Who made an end to all my sin

Because the sinless Savior died

My sinful soul is counted free

For God the just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me

To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there the risen Lamb

My perfect spotless righteousness

The great unchangeable I am

The King of glory and of grace

One with Himself I cannot die

My soul is purchased by His blood

My life is hid with Christ on high

With Christ my Savior and my God

With Christ my Savior and my God

^{Dp, Chris Rice © Warner Chappell Music, Inc. CCLI 788682}

Tuesday 7^th

John 14:1-7

As we continue with our theme this week, we come to what is probably one of the most famous portions of John’s gospel. Jesus had already told the disciples that one of the close group of disciples was going to betray him, (John 13:21-30) and that Peter would deny him three times.(John 13:36-38) Jesus has told them he is about to be leaving them and this news caused them to be troubled in their hearts. But Jesus reassures them it’s not the end. ‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.’ (John 14:3) I’m going, but don’t panic, I’m coming back!

We often turn to these verses for in them we find comfort in the face of death. Jesus has already gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us – so that whether we are living or dying when he returns, he is going to fetch us, or snatch us up from this earth and into his eternal presence. That is a comforting thought – especially when faced with the valley of the shadow of death. (Psalm 23:4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)

These verses bring to us as already mentioned the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. John only briefly touches on it, but Matthew and Luke have reported for us much more of the dialogue that Jesus had with the disciples in this Holy Week concerning his coming again. (Matthew 24 & 25, Luke 21) In both Matthew and Luke, Jesus tells the disciples about the betrayal and denial after the second coming dialogue, so when we get to the verses in John 14 we need to read this as having taken place after the 2^nd coming dialogue and it is a gentle reminder to them of what they had heard and discussed and that they needn’t be troubled about it.

Later in John 14 Jesus continues to reassure them that he will send someone else, another comforter to be with them, the Holy Spirit, he makes a number of comforting statements through the next few chapters and then closes at the end of chapter 16 with the words ‘I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.’

I have gone a long way around in this devotion to move from John 14:1 ‘Let not your heart be troubled’ to 16:33 ‘That in me you may have peace.’

We are living in troublesome times. Jesus warned that before he comes again that there would be so much happening that it would cause men’s hearts to fail with fear. (Luke 21:25-28 NJV) Even for those of us who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, like his disciples, we can if we are not careful allow the troublesome times and things we read on-line or in newspapers and hear on the television to cause fear or anxiety to come into our lives. Especially at this present time as we see statistics for the Coronavirus.

But Jesus wants to speak his peace into our troubled thoughts and anxious hearts – HE IS IN CONTROL. He has overcome the world; this means that nothing at all can happen without his knowledge and without his allowing it to happen. What is more, Jesus can make the declaration ‘that in me you may have peace’ because he is the Prince of Peace! Remember the words of the prophet Isaiah in 9:6 ‘For to us a child is born . . . HIS NAME WILL BE CALLED Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, PRINCE OF PEACE.’

Peace that we read of in this worlds peace pacts etc are fragile and very often futile, but not so with the peace that our Saviour gives it is a firm and resolute peace, it is a peace that touches our hearts, settles our minds and brings us closer to the heart of God.

If you have anxious thoughts, if you are finding yourself in a place where worry is consuming you, come to the Prince of Peace allow him to overwhelm you with his love and peace. In Isaiah 26:3 we read, ‘You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.’

Allow some of these Scriptures that speak of His peace to fill your hearts and mind today.

Psalm 4:8  ‘In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.’

Psalm 29:11 ‘May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!’

Psalm 119:165 ‘Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.’

Isaiah 32:17 ‘And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.’

Isaiah 55:12 ‘For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.’

John 14:27 ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.’

Philippians 4:7 ‘And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

When my friends have failed me, and I’m standing all alone;

When my spirit is discouraged, and I feel all hope is gone,

There’s no need to be disheartened, for I have a Friend who cares.

When my faith becomes weak, I can kneel at His feet . . . and my burden He bears.

He is always there.

When He speaks peace the raging storms must die . . . hope becomes new life;

When he whispers; everything will be alright.

When he speaks peace the dark night slips away . . . like the breaking of the day;

When Jesus speaks peace.

Oftentimes I’ve wandered, even in my darkest hours,

Would His faithful ears still harken to my needs and my desires

Then I hear His voice so tender, speaking softly in my ear;

I kneel down and pray in my secret place and I know He will hear.

He is always near.

^{Unknown CCLI 788682}

MONDAY 6^th

John 13:1-20

In his gospel, John shows us that from the Monday through to the Thursday, Jesus spent much of the time teaching and instructing his disciples. He was about to leave them and wanted to leave them in good shape!

Following his arrival into Jerusalem, he entered the temple and drove out those who were selling, making this declaration, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.’ (Luke 19:46) This is the second time Jesus has had to do this as he also did it at the commencement of his ministry. (John 2:13-17. I wonder how many times it takes for us to learn a lesson!

Luke continues to tell us that Jesus taught among other important matters about taxation and tithing – Luke 20:25 ‘Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ As we know we are obliged to pay our income tax, so we should realise we are also obliged in our giving to God as well, which happens through our giving financial support to our local Church. (1 Corinthians 16:1-2 ‘Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.’ With this in our minds, the facility is available to give tithes and offering through on-line banking while we are not able to gather.

One of the first things we discover in John’s account is that Jesus teaches the disciples an extremely important lesson – the lesson of humility. John 13:1-20.

Humility is a lesson we have probably all needed to learn in our lives, for the disciples it seemed to be an issue they struggled with, for Jesus had already dealt with the subject before. Remember the time when they had asked who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? (Matthew 18:1-5) Then a couple of chapters later (Matthew 20:20-28) two of the disciples mother asked Jesus if her sons could sit, one at his right hand and the other at his left hand in his kingdom, to which Jesus replied, ‘But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be the first among you must be your slave.’ And here in our text John 13, Jesus is having to teach them the lesson of humility again. If you follow Luke’s chronology of events, you will discover that even after the foot washing incident (which only appears in John) they repeat an earlier question to Jesus; ‘Who among them is the greatest? (Luke 22:24-20) The penny still hadn’t dropped!

I remember many years ago saying that I would take any job available except to be a toilet cleaner! I wasn’t so much proud, but just didn’t think I’d be willing to go quite that low! It wasn’t long afterwards when I worked in an agricultural manufacturing facility with a group of about 20-25 men. And I soon discovered that the men were not very fussy about toilet hygiene and no one had the task of ever cleaning them. I will leave you to imagine what they used to get like! Well, I decided one day that I would take the task on and so I learned to do what I said I would never do! But that wasn’t the end, it was about ten years later I needed work and as a result I took on work as a school cleaner, cleaning a primary school in the mornings and a secondary school in the evenings, and guess what, school children had worse toilet  habits than the men in the factory! And, yes, it was my job to clean the toilets! A lesson on humility was learned, and it’s a lesson we all need to learn, we should never put ourselves to be above doing anything.

Jesus was teaching the disciples the same thing by doing the lowliest of tasks himself. He took on the role of a servant, he wrapped a towel around his waist, poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciple’s feet. There are those who follow this practise today, convinced that Jesus was giving us a literal example that we should follow, and if they want to do so then let them, I have no problem with that. But I think here that Jesus was teaching us a very important lesson that not one of us should think that we are above another. It doesn’t matter what our status may be regarding class, race, career, education, position, or calling, ‘In Christ’ we are all equal, we are all on a level playing field. The pastor is no better than the last person that may have come into the Church family and got saved. We are brought together not to Lord it over one another but to serve one another. 

In Philippians 2:1-11 we are taught the same lesson, ‘Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, . . . he humbled himself . . .’

If there is something that the Coronavirus has taught us is that it is no respecter of persons, it has infected from every strata of society and from possibly nearly every nation of the world.

May we catch humility – each one of us and let it spread like wild-fire as we learn to seek to serve each other, bringing Jesus to our communities who need him more than they need anything else today.

Oh kneel me down again,

Here at Your feet

Show me how much You love humility

Oh Spirit be the star that leads me to

The humble heart of love I see in You

You are the God of the broken

The friend of the weak

You wash the feet of the weary

Embrace the ones in need

I want to be like You, Jesus

To have this heart in me

You are the God of the humble

You are the humble King

^{Brenton Brown CCLI 788682}

Sunday 5^th

This week being Passion Week our devotions will reflect on events that happened during the week, mainly taken from John’s gospel.

John 12:12-26

Today is what is known as Palm Sunday, the day that we recall the event of Jesus riding into Jerusalem.

Thirty-three or so years earlier Joseph and Mary had made the journey from their home in Nazareth to the city of Bethlehem to be recorded in the Roman Census that was to be taken. Traditionally at Christmas children sing a song ‘Little, donkey, little donkey on a dusty road, got to keep on plodding onward with your precious load.’ On this occasion the precious load being carried by this little donkey was the unborn son of God in the womb of his mother Mary, the one Isaiah had prophesied about, ‘For unto us a child born and a son given.’ (Isaiah 9:6)

When we get to John 12, the ‘precious load’ had been born and had lived as a man in the surrounding area and is now himself sat on a donkey, riding toward another city, the city of Jerusalem. In the song the children sing ‘the precious load’ was going to soon be born, but, here in John 12 thirty-three years later ‘the precious load’ was soon going to die! In that short space of time 33 years, we move from a Roman Census to a Roman Crucifixion.

Here in our chapter for today, we have a Roman Crowd. Scripture says it was a large crowd, they had branches of palm trees and were crying out ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.’

They had seen and heard what the ‘precious load’ had become. An itinerant preacher, a teacher, a healer and a miracle worker, there had never been anyone like this man before, he taught with authority, he spoke with authority, so much so that not only did demons flee when he confronted them and sickness vanish when he touched the sick, and storms become still when he spoke, but, he even claimed to be able to forgive sin! And so, they followed him, in their droves, as we know from the feeding of the 5000 men plus the women and children.

But there was a problem – a big problem, even though they had seen him and heard him they hadn’t fully understood his message and they hadn’t fully comprehended who he really was. They had seen him as a prophet (Matthew 21:11 ‘this is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth.’) but now as he rode into Jerusalem, they were proclaiming him as a king, but not in the right sense of his kingship. The crowd were tired of the Roman empire, they were tired of being held in the sway of Roman rule, they wanted their own King and to them Jesus was going to be the answer – ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ (Matthew 21:5)

To them, Jesus was going to be the one who would deliver them from Rome and establish a throne in the City of Jerusalem. And yes, he would – but not yet. If they had been more diligent when they had heard him preaching (John 2:18-22, John 3:14) and had been more diligent in reading the Scripture (Isaiah 53) they would have known that before the crown, this man riding upon a colt would first have to go the Cross.

Yes, he had come to deliver, but for now, during this week we call Passion week it was not going to be deliverance from the Roman Empire, it was going to be to deliver from something else that was more vital and urgent, something that held them (and the world) in even greater bondage than the Empire and the deliverance he would bring would be available not only to Israel, (the Jew, the people of God) but for the whole world. Jesus was about to bring deliverance from the bondage of sin and Satan and the curse of death and Hell. (John 12:27-32) As Jesus rode toward Jerusalem, the crowd had a crown of triumph in their minds, this was it, a new king in the city, a coronation, but Jesus had the Cross and a crown of thorns in his mind, a crucifixion. The Crowd were really only thinking of themselves and want they WANTED Jesus to do, but Jesus was thinking of you and me, the world and what he NEEDED to do, he was looking further ahead than that week, he was thinking ahead into eternity. Before he would become a King in the city, he would become king in the hearts of the redeemed.

‘King of my life, I crown thee now, thine shall the glory be; Lest I forget thy thorn-crowned brow, lead me to Calvary. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony, let I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary.’

As we go through this week, may we have a fresh understanding and appreciation of what our Saviour has accomplished for us. If you happen to be reading this and you have never committed your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, I urge you to consider what Jesus has done for you. He took your place; he took my place as we will see later in the week so that we can know eternal redemption. If you have made a commitment but haven’t fully surrendered, how about this week making it your goal to surrender fully to the claims of the gospel. He gave his all for us, such love demands my soul, my life, my all.

You are the King of Glory

You are the Prince of Peace

You are the Lord of heaven and earth

You are the Son of righteousness

Angels bow down before You

They worship and adore You

For You have the words of eternal life

You are Jesus Christ the Lord

Hosanna to the Son of David

Hosanna to the King of Kings

Glory in the highest heavens

Jesus the Messiah reigns

^{Mavis Ford CCLI 788682}

SATURDAY 4th

Psalm 133 and Hebrews 10:19-25

‘Believers walk with God through consistent fellowship with other believers’

We have now come to the end of the second week since we have been unable to meet as the family of God at Emmanuel Pentecostal Church. We have sought in different ways to keep in touch through text, e-mail, phone calls and social media, to encourage one another and to be able to pray for one another. It could be summed up that we are trying to make the best out of a difficult situation. What has happened is that the blessing of fellowship by being together as gathered Church has been hindered or hampered. If this unexpected isolation has done anything for us spiritually, I trust it will have caused us to realize how important fellowship as gathered Church really is. We really do need each other! Yes, we can text, phone, email but, how much sweeter it is when we can be together. In Psalm 133 there is a blessing attached to unity and this isolation has caused us to be united because of the common cause and in isolation we have been and are being blessed as we seek to be a blessing to each other.

In Hebrews chapter 10:25 we are given an instruction which temporarily we cannot heed! ‘not neglecting to meet together.’ My prayer is that after the restrictions have ended, we will heed the command from the Hebrew writer for as he continues to say, ‘encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’

We all need encouragement, we all need fellowship, we all need spiritual support and the best place to find it is when we are together. Our seventh point is that believers walk with God through consistent fellowship with other believers. Consistent here must mean regular fellowship. I need you, you need me, we need each other – together as gathered Church whether it be for corporate worship, to gather around the Lord’s Table, to hear the preaching of the Word or to participate in corporate prayer but, even just to be together, we are family and we pray that soon and very soon the restriction will be lifted and Emmanuel Pentecostal Church will be filled again with our spiritual family, being encouraged and encouraging, being blessed and being a blessing, being in a place of unity where God will command his blessing. Wouldn’t it be wonderful that the first time the doors are open for worship the place would be full not just because we will all be eager to be there but that as a result of the Coronavirus the hearts of other men and women will have turned to the Lord God and they too will want to join with us.

Psalm 122:1 ‘I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the LORD!’ Perhaps you can forgive me for changing it slightly – ‘I was glad when they said to me, restrictions are lifted! You can go to the house of the LORD!’

Acts 2:42 ‘And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.’

Romans 12:4-5 ‘For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.’ (NIV v5 ‘so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.)

‘Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man.’ Dwight L. Moody

 Blest be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love;

The fellowship our spirit finds

Is like to that above.

Before our Father’s throne,

We pour our ardent prayers;

Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one

 Our comforts and our cares.

We share our mutual woes;

Our mutual burdens bear;

And often for each other flows

The sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part,

It gives us inward pain;

But we shall still be joined in heart,

 And hope to meet again.

From sorrow, toil, and pain,

And sin we shall be free;

And perfect love and oneness reign

Through all eternity.

^{John Fawcett CCLI 788682}

FRIDAY 3^rd

1 Chronicles 16:8-36

‘Believers walk with God through consistent worship’

The Scripture I have used comes from the time when the ark of God was placed in the tent that David had pitched for it to be kept. At the same time, he appointed some of the Levites to ‘invoke, to thank and to praise the Lord, then David appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord. (vv1-7 It is then followed with David’s song of thanksgiving. Verse 29 reads, ‘Worship the Lord in the splendour of holiness.’

Worship is an essential part of our Christian life, perhaps when we think of worship today we automatically think of the times when we as God’s family come together such as on a Sunday morning and we spend time in worship, and yes this aspect of worship is very important. There is something powerful and precious when God’s people join in worship, as we sing songs of praise and worship, as we bring expressions of praise and thanksgiving. There is something about it that not only brings us into the presence of God but binds us together as a spiritual family. Today there are many different expressions of corporate worship, and lets be honest we all have our preferences – whether loud and noisy or quiet and peaceful, modern or old or somewhere in between, some like to be exuberant with dancing and jumping, others, well they prefer something a little more sedate! What matters is not so much how we express our worship but whether it comes from a genuine heart that is truly surrendered to the One whom we are coming before in worship. It needs to be real! Psalm 24:3-4 ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.’

David the psalmist expressed or at least indicates that his worship was demonstrated in many ways, he knelt, he bowed, he sang, he expressed, he talks of harp, stringed instruments, clapping, loud clashing cymbals, trumpet, flute etc.

But, the thought today is ‘consistent worship’ This could mean at least two things – consistency in that we practise worship on a regular basis such as mentioned on a Sunday morning or it can mean that our lives must consistently be an act of worship. I suggest it means both! We should meet consistently for corporate worship but, I also believe that our lives should consistently be an act of worship. In other words, I don’t wait till we meet on Sunday morning to worship, I am an act of worship every day, my life should be lived as an act of worship, daily bringing glory to God. This means that if I take this seriously – for it is a serious matter – I will make sure that every day I live in a way that is God honouring, avoiding in every possible way anything that would bring shame upon my Christian testimony and on the Name of my Lord and Saviour.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question; What is the chief end of man? The answer given is ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

In the modern world we seem to have made Man’s chief end to live for self and to enjoy all the fleeting pleasures of the world instead of to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. There is nothing wrong with so much of what we do enjoy in life, but there is certainly something wrong if these things come before God and become the priority in our lives. How much of our 24-hour day is spent glorifying God! It should be the whole 24 hours, it doesn’t mean we are continually on our knees, or continually got our eyes closed praying, not even spending the whole-time singing worship songs and it doesn’t mean we have to lock ourselves away from the rest of the world. It means ensuring that in whatever we are and in whatever we do we are glorifying God. (Ephesians 5:15-21)

In Micah6:6 the question is asked: ‘With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? The answer comes in v8, ‘He has told you, O, man what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?’ This is a quote extracted from the content of Deuteronomy 10:12-22, where whole-hearted devotion to God is commanded and this would then be demonstrated in our attitude to the world around us. This is how we can consistently walk in worship with God.

I close this devotion with the words of Paul in Romans 12:1-2, ‘I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.’

What wonder of grace is this,

What story of passion divine,

Where judgement and mercy kiss,

Where power and love are entwined?

No tongue can speak this glory,

No words express the joy You bring

As I enter the courts of the King.

My desire is to come to this place,

My desire is to look on Your face,

Perfect in beauty, in truth and love,

Your glory shines over all the earth;

The King who lavishes grace on us is here.

Your will is my daily bread,

Enough for my plenty and need;

I’ll live by the words You’ve said,

And follow wherever You lead.

And though my flesh may fail me

You prove Your grace in all I do,

Lord my heart is devoted to You.

^{Stuart Townend Copyright © 2002 Thankyou Music  CCLI 788682}