Category: Devotions

WEDNESDAY January 24^th

So far as I have been preparing the devotions looking at the life and the ministry of the apostle Paul, it may seem that I have been here, there, and everywhere, as I have moved from one devotion to the next. This is what I wrote in the first of them back on November 13^th, ‘Even as I am preparing this first one, I don’t know what direction it will take’. Well, I still do not know, but will continue as I have been, and the best way to describe it is like being on a mystery tour!

I don’t know if it still happens, but I recall the local bus and coach tour operator, Wye Valley Motors back in Hereford as I was growing up, they used to advertise among their regular trips a ‘mystery tour’, you booked your ticket, turned up on time, jumped on the coach and went to a mystery destination.

Well, one of the words that turns up in Paul’s letters is the word ‘mystery’, or on occasions ‘mysteries’. In the ESV these two words appear 33 times, seven times in Daniel, four times in Revelation, all the other occasions are in Paul’s letters.

One of them we quoted in the run up to Christmas, from 1 Timothy 3:16 ‘Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.’

And it is a glorious mystery, the wonder of the Word becoming flesh, and the whole realm of everything he underwent in his suffering, his atoning death, his triumphant resurrection and his glorious ascension, we believe it all by faith even though with our finite minds we cannot fully understand or comprehend it, the hymn writer penned these words, I will end the devotion with this song in the audio version;

‘Tis mystery all! The Immortal dies!

Who can explore His strange design?

In vain the first born seraph tries

To sound the depth of love divine!

‘Tis mercy all! Earth adore,

Let angel-minds enquire no more.

 

Yes, ‘tis mystery all’, yet we can truly declare as we have come to believe and accept it

My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose went forth and followed thee.

No condemnation now I dread,

Jesus, and all in him is mine;

Alive in him, my living head,

And clothed in righteousness divine,

Bold I approach the eternal throne,

And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Charles Wesley RH324 MM 343

TUESDAY January 23^rd

Philippians 4:13

‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’

In our last devotion, we recalled how the Lord had responded to Paul when he had called out for help, telling him that his grace was sufficient for him and that through Paul’s weakness the power of God would be made perfect. It reminds me of the verse that I have shared with us for 2024, that it is not by (our) might, nor by (our) power but by my Spirit says the Lord. God’s power was going to be made available to Paul, evident by the special provision of grace that was going to be made available to him.

In our verse today, Paul recognises the provision of supernatural power or strength that God gives to him. He is acknowledging that of himself he could do very little, but through the strength that God gives to him he can do all things.

Now, I think that the ‘all things’ that Paul is referring to here is specifically regarding to that which God has called him to do in his divine purpose.  Remember when he was converted the mission that he was given was to ‘be a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name’, Acts 9:15-16.

To fulfil this mission was going to require supernatural strength and energy, looking backward from this point in Philippians 4, Paul could see that he could never have and never would have been able to do all that he had so far done in his own strength, and he would not and could not continue in his own strength, he had needed and would continue to need supernatural strength, he would need the power of God, the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to strengthen him.

As a local Church in Gateshead (or wherever you may be as one who reads these devotions) may we learn, or grasp the reality of our own present situation, that we cannot move forward in God’s purposes with our own strength, nor of our own power, but only by his Spirit and by the strength that comes through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

I need the strengthening of the Holy Spirit in, upon and through my life and my ministry, and so do we all. May we seek a fresh empowering, a fresh anointing, a fresh renewal of supernatural power to strengthen us in our ministries and mission for the Lord Jesus Christ so that through him, as he strengthens us we can do all that he wants and needs us to do.

Let us make sure that we do not become self-sufficient, but grace-dependent, for it is through our weakness that God’s power is made perfect.

MONDAY January 22^nd

2 Corinthians 12:9

‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’

It reaches me! It reaches me!

Wondrous grace! It reaches me!

Pure, exhaustless, ever flowing,

Wondrous grace! It reaches me!

Mary D. James RH 339 MM 323

 

We commence with both the Scripture and the chorus that I concluded the previous devotion with, because I want to emphasize or remind us that the same grace that was sufficient for Paul is also sufficient for each one of us as we have come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And additionally I want us to understand that it matters not where we are, nor even how low we may feel we have gone, his grace can reach us.

 

The hymn writer was writing her own personal testimony, Paul was writing his own personal testimony and it has become the testimony of each one of us, firstly, in that it didn’t matter how low we had stooped in sin, his grace reached down to save us and in the present  his grace is still reaching out to each one of us.

 

I don’t know what your personal circumstances are today, but the One who is full of grace and truth does, and he is willing to pour out from his abundant supply of grace into your life today.

 

I partly quoted a few days ago from Hebrews 4:16, here it is in full, ‘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.’ How did Paul know that God’s grace was sufficient for him, he went to the throne of grace, for he says that three times he pleaded with the Lord! It was then that the One who was his and who is also our great high priest said to him ‘My grace is sufficient for you’.

 

Here is another verse to encourage ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.’ Isaiah 43:2

FRIDAY January 19^th

Romans 1:7b

‘Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.’

I have come back to the same verse again today, simply because I want to consider the word grace again.

From Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we see grace as being a gift from God linked with faith, whereby the benefits of what Christ has done for us in his death and resurrection are granted to us, forgiveness, cleansing, reconciliation etc. All of these we did not deserve, but God has granted to us because of his incredible grace. (See Ephesians 2) We call it the unmerited favour of God.

In the greetings that Paul brings in each of his letters, he is seeking for God’s continuing favour to be upon his people. In other words just as we required God’s grace to be saved, we need his grace to enable us to continue. That is why I like the way that Peter puts it in his two letters, ‘Grace and peace be multiplied to you’, that speaks to me of an abundant supply of grace and an abundant supply of peace.

John reminds us in the opening chapter of his gospel, that the Word (that is Jesus, who is also God) became flesh and dwelt among us, he then continues to say that Jesus is full of grace and truth. And this to me is the wonder, as he has poured out his grace through the ages to all who have come to him for salvation, the supply of grace is not depleted, he is still full of grace and he is still pouring his grace out on the whosoever who is willing to come to him by faith, and at the same time he is still pouring his grace out as divine favour upon those who are already a part of his wonderful family.

It was Paul who had it said to him by the Lord Jesus, as he was going through some kind of difficulty or trial, ‘My grace is sufficient for you’. And this is a reminder for each one of us, his grace is in plentiful supply, we will turn to this in the Scripture in the next devotion.

It reaches me! It reaches me!

Wondrous grace! It reaches me!

Pure, exhaustless, ever flowing,

Wondrous grace! It reaches me!

Mary D. James RH 339 MM 323

THURSDAY January 18^th

Romans 1:7b

‘Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.’

After writing about the peace of God in the previous devotion, I turned to look at Paul’s introductory remarks to the church at Rome, recalling that when he wrote his letters he wished or sought to bestow something of both the grace and the peace of God upon the believers. I wonder how often, if at all, have we greeted someone in the same way, ‘Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’.

Paul had come to understand something of the value of the grace and peace of God and its power as it worked in his own life that he saw the benefit of speaking it over their lives.

Notice the other occasions:

To Corinth in 1 Corinthians 1:3 ‘Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.’

To Corinth in 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatia in Galatians 1:3, Ephesus in Ephesians 1:2, Philippi in Philippians 1:2, Thessalonica in 2 Thessalonians 1:2 and in Philemon 1:3 ‘Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.’

To Colossae in Colossians 1:2 ‘Grace to you and peace from God our Father.’

To Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 1:1 ‘Grace to you and peace.’

To Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:2 and 2 Timothy 1:2 ‘Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.’

To Titus, 1:4 ‘Grace and peace from God the father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.’

It looks like Timothy needed a little bit of mercy as well! Well thank God that mercy there was great and grace was free!

You may remember that Peter also wished grace and peace upon his readers, in both instances using the phrase ‘May grace and peace be multiplied to you.’

Looking back to the previous devotion, we probably readily accept that we need the peace of God, which you will recall transcends all understanding, but we also need the grace of God and as was the case with Timothy the mercy of God.

We still live in a fallen world, temptation and trials all around us, a world that is full of hopelessness and despair, a world that if we are not too careful can begin to consume us and to overwhelm us, but we need to be of good cheer, reminding ourselves that Jesus has overcome, he has triumphed, he is victorious and he offers his grace, his peace and his mercy to each one of us, we need to come daily to the throne of grace to accept it and to receive it. For in coming to the throne and in receiving our daily provision of grace, peace and mercy we will be able to stand firm when those all around us are seemingly falling apart.

And who knows those falling apart around us as they become overwhelmed with the perplexities of life will see the difference in us, and we will be able to share with them the glorious hope of the wonderful good news of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

WEDNESDAY January 17^th

Philippians 4:7

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

In today’s devotion we continue with one of the verses from yesterday, which Paul writes to the Philippian believers to remind them of the peace of God.

Prior to going to the Cross, Jesus told the disciples that he would give them peace, and it wasn’t any old peace, it was going to be a particular peace that could not and still cannot be found anywhere else, it was going to be the peace that Paul speaks of here, ‘the peace of God’. This is what Jesus had said ‘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.’ (John 14:27) You will remember that this chapter starts off with Jesus saying ‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me’, our believing in Jesus is the means by which we receive the peace of God, and as Paul says, it transcends all understanding, we cannot understand it, in fact we could also say we do not deserve it, but we know we have received it.

Firstly, through reason of the new birth, we have peace with God—our sin which had separated us from God has been dealt with, blotted out and therefore we are reconciled into a position of harmony, peace with God—and as a result we also come to know what it is to have peace from God.

Going back to the dialogue that Jesus had with his disciples, he also said to them ‘In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world’, this is good news for us, especially in the troubling times in which we find ourselves living, but what makes this even better news is that Jesus immediately prior to making this statement also said ‘I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.’ (John 16:33)

Now we know that the disciples faced tribulation through the various trials and the intense suffering many of them had to undergo for the sake of the gospel, and they persevered and one of the reasons they persevered would have been as a result of the peace that they had found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We may not undergo such severe trails and tribulation as the disciples did, but with whatever we do go through, the peace of God which transcends all understanding is available to each one of us, to enable our hearts and our minds to be guarded, to be kept safe in and through Christ Jesus.

TUESDAY January 16^th

Philippians 4:4-7

‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

Following on from our previous devotion, where Paul had told the Philippian church that he saw everything that happened to him as being advantageous to the spread of the gospel, he reminds them from our verses today to rejoice in the Lord always.

What even in the hard times, Paul? Yes, he would reply And what is more he had already led by example. Remember the time when he had been thrown in prison, a prison that was actually in Philippi, the city from where these believers were from that he was writing this letter to, Acts 16:25 tell us that at midnight, Paul and Silas were praising and singing hymns to God! They didn’t have a clue what was going to happen to them the following morning, but what they did know was that God was in control of their circumstances. Therefore they could and would rejoice!

God is in control! Yes whether we are enjoying a mountain top experience with everything going well or whether we are in a valley experience, God is in control, even when we cannot work out what is going on, he knows what he is doing. And what is more, he is with us, God is alongside us. Therefore Paul says despite whatever, ‘The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God’. And as a result we will know ‘the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

So may God help us to ‘rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice’ and as we rejoice learn to surrender everything into his hands, knowing that he will work everything out for those of us who have come to love him and are called according to his purpose.

God holds the key of all unknown,

And I am glad:

If other hands should hold the key,

Or if he trusted it to me,

I might be sad.

What if tomorrows cares were here

Without its rest?

I’d rather he unlocked the day,

And, as the hours swing open, say,

‘My will is best’.

 

The very dimness of my sight

Makes me secure;

For, groping in my misty way,

I feel his hand; I hear him say,

‘My help is sure’.

 

I cannot read his future plans;

But this I know;

I have the smiling of his face,

And all the refuge of his grace,

While here below.

 

Enough: this covers all my wants;

And so I rest!

For what I cannot, he can see,

And in his care, I saved shall be,

For ever blest.

J. Parker

MONDAY January 15^th

When I commenced these devotions looking at the life and the ministry of Paul, I said that I wasn’t sure what direction we would take, and still don’t! I am just taking each devotion and seeing where the previous one will lead me to, Paul has left us such an amazing legacy, both from his life / testimony and his letters that help to enrich our lives as we seek to follow both his example and that of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I started these devotions reminding us of how important the gospel was to Paul, and of how he not only sought to declare it but also to defend it.

In Philippians we discover that Paul also realised that as he had given himself over to fulfil what he had been commanded to do which was to be ‘a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel’, Acts 9:15, that he saw that whatever happened to him as he carried out the task also happened to serve the advance of the gospel.

Here is what he has said in Philippians 1:12-14 ‘I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.’

I wonder as we have surrendered our lives to the Lord Jesus do we see every situation or circumstance as an opportunity to not only reflect something of Jesus from our lives but to speak of him?

Even being found in prison didn’t stop Paul! Every circumstance was an opportunity to share the good news of the gospel to those around him, so much so that it became known to the whole imperial guard that he was suffering for the sake of Christ and for the sake of the gospel.

I think, in all honesty, for a good number of us we probably would be more guilty of shrinking back, holding back, reluctant to speak up, when the reality is that what we have come to know and to receive is exactly what this sin sick world around us needs to hear, that there is a Saviour who loves them enough to die for them, a Saviour who is ready and willing to forgive and grant pardon from sin, a Saviour who is willing to give a brand new start, a Saviour who is willing to fill the helpless and hopeless with eternal hope.

We have the message, we need as we considered a few devotions ago to cry out for the help of and the power of the Holy Spirit to empower us and to embolden us to follow the example of Paul to take hold of every opportunity to speak to others about Jesus.

FRIDAY January 12^th

2 Timothy 1:3-7

‘I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.’

For our last look at these verses, Paul gives to Timothy a very important instruction ‘fan into flame the gift of God.’

Paul had instructed or encouraged Timothy in a similar way in his previous letter to him, 1 Timothy 4:14–15 ‘Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.’

I wonder what is the gift of God, or maybe plural, the gifts that God has given to each one of us? Yes, we have all received the gift of salvation, but there are other gifts that he gives, such as talents, or gifts of the Holy Spirit or maybe a particular ministry, but are we exercising or using the gifts in the body of Christ as we should be or have we allowed them to become dormant?

In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul wrote the following immediately after he had given instruction concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit, ‘Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts’, 1 Corinthians 12:27–31.

Perhaps at this the beginning of a new year, as we may have already made personal resolutions or plans for 2024 it would also be a good opportunity to heed Paul’s instruction to Timothy for ourselves to ‘fan into flame’ again the gift and gifts of God which we have been given and to also as Paul encouraged the Church at Corinth to ‘earnestly desire the higher gifts’ so that together as a local Church we may be encouraged and blessed in a greater measure as we come together for fellowship.

THURSDAY January 11^th

2 Timothy 1:3-7

‘I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.’

There is absolutely no doubt that Paul had a special relationship with Timothy, in his first letter to him, he had called him his ‘true child in the faith’ (1:2) and in the second letter ‘my beloved child’(1:2). Paul longed to see Timothy, he knew that when he did see him, his heart would be filled with joy. Now, Paul felt the same toward the Philippian believers because he expressed such in Philippians by telling them that he prayed for them with joy and I have no doubt that he felt the same joy to all that he had been involved with in the various churches.

Joy is one of those words that should be applicable to the Christian faith. When the news was given via the angels to the shepherds that the Saviour had been born it was accompanied with the words ‘I bring you good news of great joy’.

Paul had come to know this joy, which he not only knew in his life, but which he also expressed from his heart toward his fellow believers.

We too should know this joy that comes from the good news of the gospel in our own lives, we of all people should be joyful, when we contemplate what God has done for us through Christ Jesus, but joy should also be expressed from our lives to our fellow brothers and sisters, there should be joy as we gather together as the family of God.

If we lack joy, then we need to examine our walk with the Lord Jesus, because even when we go through times of trouble and difficulty, it is this joy that enables us to be able to carry on.

Joy is as Paul reminds us in Galatians 5 one of the expressions of the fruit of the Spirit, we have hearts that love but also express joy, and we are also reminded that joy is linked to having spiritual strength, ‘The joy of the LORD is your strength’ Nehemiah 8:10. Scripture even tells us that there is joy in suffering for the sake of the gospel! ‘Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds . . .’ James 1:2.

I am again reminded of a hymn, this one by J. G. Crabbe, number 493 in Making Melody or 509 in the Redemption Hymnal

He gives me joy in place of sorrow,

He gives me love that casts out fear,

He gives me sunshine for my shadows,

And ‘beauty for ashes’, here.

 

Let us make sure that each one of us really knows what it is to have joy, joy, joy, joy, where? Down in the depths of our hearts.