Category: Devotions

WEDNESDAY November 22nd

 

Acts 9:20

And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Have you ever wondered how it was possible for Saul to immediately be able to proclaim about Jesus and that he was the Son of God?

Well, he already had a knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures and despite his opposition to those in the Way, as a Jew, he would have had knowledge of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, the one who would come from God. But now, the knowledge that he knew and of course the evidence that he would have seen and been enlightened about while spending time with the disciples would have helped him to begin to put all the pieces together.

But there is something else that happened after Saul’s conversion, which we read of in Acts 9 verses 17-19, Ananias tells Saul that he was to lay his hands on him, so that he may regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Now, the first thought ‘that you may regain your sight’, I like to think that there is a spiritual application here, his eyes were opened not only physically, but also spiritually to the wonder and the realization of who this Jesus really was, the One whose name and followers he had been seeking to deny and destroy.

Secondly, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, this was not his first encounter with the Holy Spirit, sadly the modern versions miss out something we read in the KJV which is this, that he had been kicking against the pricks! (v5 KJV) In other words while he was intent on persecuting the believers, the Holy Spirit had been convicting him! But now, after his conversion, he was filled with the Holy Spirit who would now become his teacher, helping him to understand the truths concerning who Jesus is and of the gospel which he had been called to proclaim.

We too need the help of the Holy Spirit, first to convict us and to lead us to Christ and secondly to help us as we seek to live for Christ and to play our part in proclaiming the gospel to those around us.

And I just love our text that says immediately he proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ.

Notice he was in the synagogues; he was among those who had rejected the Messiah and still to this day reject Jesus as the Messiah.

May we pray for the Jews, that as Saul’s eyes were opened, so the eyes of many Jews will be opened today to see who Jesus really is and will come to know him not just as the Messiah, but also as Saviour and Lord.

TUESDAY November 21st

Acts 9:19-22

‘For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ’

 

Among the many lessons that we can learn from Saul as he is still called here in our verses today is that he spent time with the disciples in Damascus. Remember that only a few verses previously he was asking for letters to the synagogues so that if he found anyone in the Way, to bind them and bring them to Jerusalem. Now, he is going to be with those in the Way. Not to bind them, but to be bound with them! He realized immediately how important it was to spend time with other believers.

 

It is Paul who later speaks to us so much about the Church and the uniqueness of the Church as being the body of Christ and of each one of us as being members one with each other.

Being together in fellowship with one another is not just important, it is vital! Just as we are united to Christ as the head, so we need to be united to one another as the body. And as we continue our look into the life and the ministry of Paul this subject will come up again.

But for now, please take this as a plea that comes from a shepherd who is desiring the best for the sheep under his care, if you are not in the practice of being regular in fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ, makes the adjustments that are needed in your schedule to ensure that it happens.

Blessed be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love

The fellowship of kindred minds

Is like to that above.

MONDAY November 20^th

Acts 9:15-17

‘But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is 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.”’

In our devotion today we come to the third point from these verses, ‘For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’

We don’t know how exactly the Lord revealed to Saul what would happen, in a later chapter in Acts we read ‘And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me’, Acts 20:22–23.

Whatever way it was that the Lord revealed to him, he knew that what he had been doing to the believers as Saul on the way to Damascus was now going to be the way that he would be treated as he carried the name of Jesus as Paul the apostle to the Gentiles. He had seen Stephen martyred, he would have seen and been involved in so much of the violence that had been inflicted upon the Christ followers, what would he do, would he be willing to suffer in the same way, would he be willing to maybe even lay down his life for the sake of the gospel.

Well, we know the answer, yes, he would be willing, for a few verses later in Acts 9 it records for us ‘For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ’ (19–22).

What a testimony, from profaning against Jesus to proclaiming Jesus, from denying that Jesus was the Christ to declaring that Jesus was the Christ. And as he embarked on the journey of carrying the name of Jesus to the Gentiles, to Kings and to the children of Israel, we will see how much he did suffer for the sake of the gospel.

What about us? What are we willing to give up, forgo, even to suffer for the sake of the name of Jesus. There is no other name worthy of honour, worthy of glory, worthy of power and all praise.

FRIDAY November 17^th

Acts 9:15-17

‘But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is 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.”’

The second point we are going to consider from these verses continuing from our previous devotion is this ‘. . . to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.’

Saul was a chosen instrument of the Lord Jesus Christ to carry out a specific task. Saul who up until now was serving Satan – seeking to destroy the Church that Jesus had commenced building on the Day of Pentecost was now being chosen to serve the one he had hated and to carry the name of the one he had hated, the name of Jesus. Again as I mentioned previously, what an amazing outworking of the grace of God.

Over the last few months I have been sharing on a Friday evening from the book of Acts, and we have discovered how the early disciples kept getting into trouble for speaking out in the name of Jesus and from teaching in the name of Jesus.

This was one of the reasons why Saul was on a rampage, to destroy those who were in the Way, that is those who loved the name of Jesus. But now, he was going to be a carrier of that name, not just where he was found at the time of his conversion, but he was to carry the name to Gentiles and Kings and to the children of Israel.

And what a revelation of the name of Jesus he had, for later he would write to the Church at Philippi those verses we know so very well ‘Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’,  Philippians 2:9–11.

I end this devotion by asking the question: What does the name of Jesus mean to you? One day every knee will have to bow and every tongue will have to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

You can either make this confession now, willingly by coming to accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord or the other option is to make this confession under compulsion as you stand before Almighty God, but then it will be too late, you will see that Jesus Christ IS Lord, and yet because you failed to acknowledge it in the here and now, he will turn to you and say, ‘Depart from me I never knew you.’

THURSDAY November 16^th

Acts 9:15-17

‘But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is 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.”’

Over the next couple of devotions, we will consider what it is that Jesus is saying to Saul as Ananias relays it to him. Firstly, for today, ‘. . . he is a chosen instrument of mine . . .’

At first we might stop and think ‘well surely there were better men around to choose than this bully, who was determined at the very least to imprison the believers and at worst was willing to kill them!’ Yet God saw through all of this outward demonstration of evil that came from the heart filled with hatred and saw a man whose heart that once changed by his grace would become what I consider to be the greatest champion and pioneer of the Christian faith that this world as ever known.

God can take the vilest and transform them into beautiful trophies of grace. This must remind us of how amazing God’s grace really is.

I often stop and think of some of the testimonies I have heard from both men and women through the ministry of Teen Challenge who used to visit us in our Church in my Hereford days, those who had gone so far away from God, their lives utterly broken and ruined through addictions, violence and crime and yet God in his mercy had met them by his grace.

And, we may not have been breathing out the same threats and acting in the same violent ways as Saul, many of us have never been caught up in addictions etc. yet make no bones about we were all sinners, we were all heading in the same direction, we were all dead in our trespasses and sin and we all needed to come the same way as Saul did, the only way which is through the Lord Jesus Christ.

And no matter what our past, once forgiven it is all blotted out, we are all given a brand new start and Saul was transformed, we could say beyond recognition as God met with him. And so should we be, the things we used to do we should no longer do, for when we are saved we have become new creations. What an opportunity to quote my favourite verse of Scripture ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come’ 2 Corinthians 5:17.

This was Paul’s testimony; he had proven it by the dramatic change that came from his encounter with Jesus. Are we living proof to those around us that we too have been changed by God’s grace.

WEDNESDAY November 15^th

 

Acts 9:1-6

‘But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”’

 

Well today, we have gone back in time from Romans 1 to the moment that Paul, who here in our text today is called Saul, became a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s testimony is an incredible story of how the grace of God can meet an individual and totally transform them.

Our introduction to him is found in Acts 8:1 where it says that he was present at the time when Stephen became the first Christian martyred for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. By the time we come to chapter 9, Saul seems to have become one of the most violent individuals who hated all those who belonged to the Way, that is those who had put their faith in Jesus. He was out to destroy everything that was happening as a result of the gospel, he was obviously filled with hatred toward any that had chosen to love and live for Jesus. But such is the miraculous power of God all of this was about be turned around.

While making the journey to Damascus, filled with hatred for the believers he had an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather than Saul arresting the Christians, Christ arrested Saul!  And, well, the rest is history recorded for us in the word of God. Later in this same chapter (make some time today if you are able to read this whole chapter) we find that Ananias is sent to Saul to explain to him what had happened and why it happened and what Saul was now being called by the Lord Jesus Christ to do (read verses 15-17 – we will use these verses tomorrow)

The gospel is a gospel of hope, and it should also give us hope that there may be those who we are praying for who seem to be so far away from God that it seems that it would be impossible for them to be saved. But Saul’s story gives us hope for them and the assurance that there is absolutely nobody who is so far away from God that they cannot be saved, so long as there is breathe in their lungs the same gospel that saved Saul, that saved you and me can save them. And perhaps by chance or so it may seem to be by chance there may be someone who has come across this devotion, maybe on the internet and you feel that you are hopelessly lost and that you are too far away from God’s mercy and grace, this is not so, God is full of grace and full of mercy, he reaches out to the whosoever and he says to you today ‘Call on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’. If this is you, email us at the Church and we will seek to help you further in your journey of faith.

TUESDAY November 14^th

Romans 1:1-6

‘Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.’

I have returned today to the same verses as yesterday for the purpose of ensuring that we know exactly what the gospel is all about that Paul reminds us that he had been called by the grace of God to proclaim.

It is the ‘gospel of God’ which was declared through the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other gospel, and as we read in Acts 4 there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we can and must be saved (Acts 4:12)

In fact, Paul is so fired up concerning the gospel, that he had to speak a severe warning to the Church at Galatia, for some were beginning to distort the gospel, we see it in Galatians 1:8 ‘But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.’

Many have continued to distort the message of the gospel, and not only do we see it with the various cults and isms, but we also see how a false gospel is presented through other religions and sadly far too often we see how it has become distorted through so much of what is presented through those who share in the health, wealth, prosperity gospel.

We should be grateful that God gave to Paul, and the other New Testament writers such an understanding of what the gospel is really all about that we too can understand its message and respond to it. But, at the same time we need to ensure that we do not distort the gospel and be careful that we do not follow or listen to those who distort the gospel, but always stand true to what is written in the word of God.

MONDAY November 13th

Romans 1:1-6

‘Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.’

Over the next few weeks, or longer—depending on how long it takes I am going to take us in our devotions through a journey with the apostle Paul. Even as I am preparing this first one, I don’t know what direction it will take, but these few verses give us a clue.
We see that he was man who was transformed by the gospel and as a result he spent his life after meeting with Jesus consumed with the task of sharing the gospel.
It will probably mean that as we go through these devotions I will revisit some things that we may have already looked at, and I will repeat some content in my Friday evening studies which I am taking us through from the book of Acts, but, what I want is that as we consider Paul, we will have the desire grow within us to become more Christ centered and gospel focused and that we too will be eager to share Jesus to those who we come into contact with on a daily basis.
In our text today Paul says that he was ‘set apart for the gospel of God’, in other words it was the gospel that was to be his priority, and in Acts 9 after he met with the Lord Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road, the Lord said that he was to be a chosen instrument to carry the name of Jesus before the Gentiles (Acts 9:15)
Here in Romans 1, he has already been fulfilling his mission, he says that he had received grace and apostleship for the sake of his name, that is the name of Jesus which he was to take to the nations.
We will go on a journey with him, seeing how he lived in obedience to the call of God upon his life.
May we learn to, so that as we have been called by the grace of God, we too must be obedient to the claims of the gospel upon us.

FRIDAY November 10^th

 

HONESTY – As we come to the conclusion of our devotions from 1 Peter, I think that the need for honesty is inferred throughout the letter. Honesty both toward God and toward one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

I am using verses from another New Testament letter, Galatians 6:7-10  ‘Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for a whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.’

There is a well-known saying ‘What you see is what you get’ therefore we need to ensure that what others see is a true and genuine reflection of what it really means to be a follower of Jesus. Imagine claiming to be a believer and living in a way that discredits the gospel! That I think is one of the reasons that Peter calls us to a life of holiness, so that as we become more Christ like the better examples we will be as those who represent Jesus in this world.

Therefore, we cannot live a sham life, we must live in honesty and integrity, remembering that we can try to cover up in front of each other, but never before God because he sees us exactly as we are.

I trust that the devotions from this epistle have been an encouragement to all who have read them.

For a number of weeks knowing we were coming to an end of 1 Peter I have been considering where to go to next! Last week I came to a decision, and we will spend however many devotions it will take learning something from the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul. The audio devotions will return on Monday.

THURSDAY November 9^th

 

HUNTED – 1 Peter 5:8 but not caught!

‘Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’

Notice that I have said ‘hunted but not caught’ I have deliberately put it that way because it is my prayer as a shepherd over the flock of God that not one who attends our fellowship will be devoured or caught by the evil one.

 

I may have used this illustration before, so forgive me if I have. When I was growing up on the farm we would have lambs that needed to be bottle fed, so they became like pets, one year I had the  responsibility of a lamb and he got to know me and recognise my voice. When he was strong enough he was taken to be with the other sheep out in the field and when it was time to feed him I just used to call his name and he would come to me. After a period of time, I went one morning and I called and called and he didn’t come. Eventually after searching for the lamb, I discovered that a fox had been prowling around the field and it had got my lamb and killed it.

 

Peter has been very clear here in his warning to us as sheep belonging to the good Shepherd, the devil will do all he can to devour us, to draw us away, to keep us from being in a place of fellowship and safety with other believers and from walking close to Jesus. Peter says ‘Be watchful’, we need at all times to be watching what we do, watching where we go, watching who we hang out with and even watching what we listen to with our ears or see with our eyes,  the devil will use anyone or anything he possibly can to devour us. We need to keep close to Jesus and to stay far away from anything the devil will try to use to trap us, to draw us away from Jesus our Shepherd, even to try and devour us.

 

In the great psalm concerning the Lord as our Shepherd, it says ‘he leads me in paths of righteousness for his names sake’. If today you are walking in any way that is unrighteous and not in accord to that which fits in with the will of God, beware, be careful, it is making you a sitting target for the prowling devil to be able to pounce and to try to devour you. It is so vital that we walk in the right paths, the way that the good Shepherd leads us in.