Category: Devotions

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.

WEDNESDAY January 10^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.’

Paul in these verses has mentioned his own ancestors, then as he writes to Timothy, he reminds him of his ancestors, going back three generations, from Timothy to his mother Eunice and to his grandmother Lois. He highlights that the faith that was instilled in Lois, had trickled down through the generations so that Timothy himself had received the same faith. Notice that Paul uses the words ‘SINCERE faith’, that is the faith that they had displayed was genuine, real, tangible.

Now, I can look backward and I can say that I thank God for the faith that has been instilled in my life which was also instilled in the life of my mother Joy, and also of my grandmother Ethel, and although I didn’t know her, my great-mother as well. I guess that many who will read this devotion can also look backward and testify to the genuineness of their faith which was also seen in their parents and grandparents, and we give thanks to God for this generational blessing.

But then, there will be those who will read this devotion and your story may be different, you may be the first generation of your family who has come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, maybe the only person in your family, the same cannot be said of your parents or grandparent, if they are still with us, then we can pray that God will make himself known to them.

However whatever the past, we cannot change what has been, but there is one thing for sure, we can seek to do what we can to ensure that the faith that we have experienced will also be passed onto our next generation and likewise to the generation after. I thank God for my children who like myself have come to a genuine faith and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and my prayer is that their children, my grandchildren will also come to the place of accepting Jesus as Saviour and Lord. May we spend time praying this year for family members to come to know the same genuine faith that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

TUESDAY January 9^th

When we came to an end of the devotions for 2023, I finished by high-lighting some of the verses from the various letters Paul had written, ending with 1 Timothy 3:16 ‘Great indeed we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh’.

I want to go to his letters to Timothy again and this time to 2 Timothy 1:3-7 which I will consider through the rest of this week.

‘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.’

Remember that we are looking at the life and the ministry of Paul, seeking to learn from him and from the example he has given to us as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He starts in these verses with the words ‘I thank God whom I serve’. He links his devotion and service to God with that of his ancestors, who pre-Calvary would have been devoted to everything that was required of them as Jews who worshipped the God of their fathers. For Paul, this devotion had now been for want of a better way of putting it, transferred across to his devotion toward God as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And he served God with a clear conscience—as I read this I thought about the man Paul when he was still called Saul, making his way to Damascus, he would have said at the time that he was God-fearing, yet he hated Jesus and those who followed him! But the power of the gospel had changed him, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that he did not have  a clear conscience as he was making his way to destroy the Christians, he was actively fighting against God and against the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, but his encounter with Jesus changed him, he started over afresh and the wonderful news concerning the gospel is that once our sin had been forgiven we had a brand new start, our conscience was cleaned and cleared, and despite whatever we may have done we had the opportunity to start all over again with a clean slate, we began to serve God with a clear conscience.

As you read this devotion today, can you say that you stand before God with a clear conscience, what about our daily service for him, do we serve him as we ought? Are we living in such a way that we truly can say that we serve God with a clear conscience.

One hymn writer penned these words, the hymnal only has his or her initials E.H.H. but it reflects the desire of his or her heart towards being devoted to God with a clear conscience:

Nothing between, Lord, nothing between;

Let me thy glory see,

Draw my soul close to thee,

Then speak in love to me—

Nothing between, Nothing between.

Monday January 8^th

Firstly, as we recommence the daily devotions, a Happy New Year. And welcome back!

Although we are already a week into 2024, I will commence the devotions this year with the verse that I have already shared at Emmanuel as a verse for us to take hold of for this year, Zechariah 4:6

‘Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.’

It is my intention to share more from this verse on a Sunday morning, but for today it is a reminder for us that we need as individuals and as a local fellowship to know what it is to be led and empowered by the Holy Spirit as we seek to live for and serve God in the generation in which we live.

In the natural, some are physically stronger than others, therefore they can take on bigger tasks or do the things that require more energy, but in the spiritual, we can all be equally fit spiritually as we seek to live for the glory of God. He gives his Spirit to us without measure, what we need to do is to earnestly desire the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit and to walk by the Spirit.

Looking back to the last few days that Jesus spent with his disciples, one of the most important commands that he gave to them was to ‘wait for the promise of the Father’, which was to ‘receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’, this Spirit infilling was to empower them to become witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came, and the disciples immediately began to boldly proclaim the good news of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and many signs and wonders were done in His name.

See in themselves they were powerless, therefore as far as the disciples were concerned they could not move forward by their own might, nor by their own power, it needed to be, it had to be by the Spirit.

And so, two-thousand years later it is the same for the Church in the 21^st century, it is not by our might, nor by our power but, by the Spirit of the Lord.

We need to seek, to desire to know what it is to go through this year filled with the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, equipped by the Holy Spirit, we have to learn to shelve our own ideas, our own preferences, our own agenda, our own programme and to be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to do what he desires, discover what his agenda is for us, his programme for us.

FRIDAY December 22^nd

I have deliberately left things to end this year with something from Paul’s letters to Timothy. And I am choosing just a few words from 1 Timothy 3:16 ‘Great indeed we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh’.

As we celebrate the birth of our wonderful Lord and Saviour over this coming few days, we join along with Paul in saying that great indeed is the mystery yet amazing fact that God was manifested in the flesh, born as a baby in Bethlehem, held in the arms of his mother Mary!

It can become too easy for us to overlook the wonder of what this incredible birth meant for the world and for us each individually as we allow ourselves to get caught up with all the trappings that have become attached to the season.

Joy to the world, the Lord as come! A saviour has been born and he is Christ the Lord.

So to end the devotions for 2023, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read the devotions or listen to them if you use the audio version and thank you for your support to me as the pastor over this past year again. It is almost a job to believe that this will be the 4^th Christmas we will have been up here in the North East for! The first one was with all the restrictions of Covid, thank God we can now enjoy ourselves and celebrate without any restraints.

So I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a very happy New Year. I will have a break from doing the devotions over the holiday period and will recommence them from  Monday January 8^th where we will continue the theme based around the life and the ministry of the apostle Paul.

To end the year, ‘To God be the glory, great things he hath done’.

Now, I haven’t added a song for quite a long time, so here are the words of a carol which will be added as a song at the end of the audio devotion.

Hark the herald angels sing

“Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled”

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

“Christ is born in Bethlehem”

Hark! The herald angels sing

“Glory to the newborn King!”

 

Christ by highest heav’n adored

Christ the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin’s womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! The herald angels sing

“Glory to the newborn King!”

 

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris’n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

“Glory to the newborn King!”

THURSDAY December 21^st

Today we go to Thessalonians, Titus and Philemon.

Much of 1 Thessalonians is concerning the return of the Lord Jesus, so I will select the well-known verses from chapter 4:13-18, another reminder this Christmas time, that the one who came to Bethlehem, is one day going to come again, and we need to ensure that we are ready, watching, having put our faith and trust in him. ‘But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.’

From 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2:13-17 ‘But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.’

Titus 3:4-8 ‘But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.’

Then from Philemon, Paul’s shortest letter, 1:4-6 ‘I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.’ May the sharing of our faith also become effective.

WEDNESDAY December 20^th

Today I will highlight some verses from Philippians and Colossians, again it is difficult to choose which ones but here we go, for me the first most obvious is from Philippians 2:9-11 ‘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.’ Another reminder for us this Christmas time, that the One who humbled himself and came as a baby in the manger in Bethlehem has been highly exalted because of his obedience to the will of his Father.

Next we will go to 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.’

From Colossians, chapter 1, Paul’s prayer which is a prayer that we can also pray for one another, ‘And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins’, verses 9-14.

And then I must add in from Colossians 3:16-17 ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’ I add this for as we have been quoting so many verses of Scripture over the last few devotions, we need that the word of Christ will dwell in us richly, that is we need to desire that as we read it, that it will do something powerful within us. After all as the Hebrew writer reminds us it is a living and a powerful word.