Category: Devotions

FRIDAY December 13^th

 

Matthew 13:18-23

 

‘“Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”.

 

Any farmer that sows seed will be looking for the best possible harvest he can get from it, yet at the same time knowing that there are external factors which will affect the success of the harvest. A good farmer will do his best to get rid of the rocks before he sows, some even put up scarecrows to prevent losing seed to the birds and fences will be put up around the perimeter of the field to stop folk from walking over the field, destroying the seed, and he will do his best to maintain it sufficiently to stop the weeds from growing. Now when it comes to this parable, we need to be not only those who have had the seed sown in our hearts, but also like a farmer to do whatever we can to bring us to the place of fruitfulness.

 

We need to guard our hearts in such a way that the seed sown is protected and does become fruitful, and some of the means available to us is to read the word of God, to spend time in prayer, to regularly be found in a place of fellowship with other believers and to learn to say no to activity and places and even people that could so easily distract us spiritually and cause the seed to be ineffective.

 

Jesus gives us an insight into some of the external factors that may affect the seed of the gospel that is planted in our life and in the lives of others.

 

The evil one comes and snatches it away, and Peter tells us to be aware of the devil who goes about like a roaring lion seeking those who he can devour.  

 

Jesus spoke of those who received the word with great joy, but only last for a while, he says that tribulation and difficulties cause them to fall away, we need to ensure that we become rooted in the word of God, standing firm in the armour he has provided for us so that when these things come against us—and they will—that we are able to stay rooted and to stand firm.

 

Then Jesus spoke of those who having received the seed become tangled by the thorns which speaks of the cares of the world, and we need to be careful as to what it is we allow our lives to be filled with or overtaken with, for this world is full of thorns that are ready to choke us and cause us to fall away.

 

But thankfully there is seed that lasts, seed that survives the attacks of the enemy, seed that survives tribulation and difficulties, seed that overcomes the cares and the deceitfulness of the world and becomes seed that is fruitful, some yielding a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold and some any other fold in between. We should all strive to bear as much fruit as we possibly can, but at this point I say it is better to bear some fruit, however low the yield may be rather than to bear no fruit at all

.

 

How is the seed that has been planted in your heart doing—may God by his Holy Spirit enable us all to be fruitful, giving joy to the One who gave his life for us. May the kingdom of God be found within our hearts in such a way that we will also be willing Sowers, telling others the good news of the gospel, after all ‘Jesus the very thought of thee with sweetness fills my breast’, may our hearts long for others to also come and to know the sweetness that is found in knowing Jesus.

THURSDAY December 12^th

 

Matthew 13:3-8

 

“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

 

We will consider his parable in a little more detail, reminding ourselves that Jesus told the parable to the crowds, but explained its meaning to the disciples as we read in verses 18-23

 

‘“Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”.

 

It is from the explanation that Jesus gave that I am going to turn to for the devotions, and I will need to keep reminding myself not to go into sermon mode! For there is so much incredible truth to be garnered or harvested, and first perhaps is for us to see that Jesus himself is ensuring that we understand the importance of the seed and it is that which is to do with the Kingdom of God, v19 ‘When anyone hears the word of the kingdom. . .’  This is the message of the gospel that when heard and received leads to repentance, Matthew 4:17 ‘From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”’

 

Therefore, the seed is seed of the gospel that is planted into the heart of an individual who readily responds to it and receives it, but sadly as we will see there are different circumstances that will lead to many not allowing the seed to develop and lead to fruitfulness.

 

Can I suggest today that each one of us who has received the word of the gospel, and allowed it to be planted in our hearts ensure that we become good caretakers, become good gardeners, to protect the planted seed, tending our hearts every day, looking out for the evil one, looking out for the things that will prevent it from taking root, looking out for those things that will try to snatch it away or choke it, ensuring we stand firm in the middle of our trials and difficulties, and tending it in such a way that we bear fruit.

WEDNESDAY December 11^th

 

Out of the four gospels writers, John doesn’t record any of the parables that Jesus gave, it is to the other three that we turn to, Matthew, Mark and Luke.

 

Matthew takes us to the first of the parables that Jesus gave, by introducing us to it with these words ‘That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying . . .’ (Matthew 13:1-2)

 

From this position, sat in a boat looking over the crowd he began what we have recorded as the first parable, the parable of the Sower and it continues in verses 3-8:

 

‘“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”’

 

The same parable is recorded by Mark in 4:3-8 and Luke in 8:5-8. Following on from this parable, Matthew records five more in the same chapter.

 

It must have been an incredible experience to hear Jesus as he taught in the various ways that he did, from the mountain with the sermon on the mount with all the various sayings that are found in it, to the different parables as he gave illustrations to reveal spiritual truth.

 

It must have been incredible because we see how the crowds followed him to witness and to listen to all that he was saying and doing, and yet we see that within a year or two they would turn against him! It would seem that for many as the seed of the word of God was planted in their hearts it was easily trodden upon, snatched away, or choked by the cares of the world.

 

But thankfully there were those who allowed the seed to take root and it is from those such as Matthew and John who were two of his disciples, that we in turn are benefitting spiritually from what they have recorded for us so that we too can read and be challenged by the sermons and parables that Jesus gave.

 

All I want to say for today is that we all make sure that our hearts are ready to continually receive the seed of the word of God, and that we guard it from anything or anyone who would seek to prevent it from bearing fruit in our lives.

TUESDAY December 10^th

 

Hebrews 4:12

 

‘For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’

 

I wonder which of the stories that Jesus told is your favourite? They vary in length, yet each one holds a specific meaning that is relevant to our coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Now, besides considering the parables as stories, there is also the greatest of all stories which is of course the redemption story. And it is interwoven throughout the whole of scripture. And so, we can say that the parables are all shorter stories that are based upon some aspect of or set around the bigger story.

 

Now, although I came to faith after hearing a man called George Woodfield preach on the parable of the lost sheep, I think my favourite would have to be the parable of the Sower—and not because I love my gardening, although I have often drawn illustrations between the two! But it’s my favourite because I think that this parable, and I am not going to consider it in detail today, helps us to understand something of the power that is to be found in the written word of God as it is planted like a seed into the hearts of men and women. (hence why I chose the text for today) and likewise, there is power in all the stories Jesus told.

 

The power is seen by the very fact that the stories which Jesus told were illustrative talks based on material or earthly things that the people could see and understand, and they had an interpretation into the spiritual world. How often have we heard them described as ‘an earthly story with a heavenly meaning’.

 

They were a means for making a truth known to those who heard them, although we do know that at times the meaning was hidden from some, as it would require a spiritual awakening within the heart of the hearer to comprehend the meaning as we see in Matthew 13:11 after Jesus had told the parable of the Sower, the disciples asked Jesus ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ to which Jesus replied, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of heaven, but to them it has not been given’.

 

Story telling has always been a great way of illustrating something, and Jesus clearly knew this, but what is more he knew how to do it. How often have we understood a truth when someone sharing the word of God has used an illustration from an experience that they have had which has helped to develop the meaning of what they have been teaching.

 

I know I have done this myself, as an example I have often mentioned my lamb that went missing overnight, and my discovery that a fox had come and snatched it because I found the woolly remains in the field, and I have used it to remind us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking those who he can devour.

 

So, as we consider the parables, the stories that Jesus told, however well we may think we have known them or even despite however many times we may have read them or heard them being preached from, I trust that the Holy Spirit will inspire us further.

MONDAY December 9^th

 

Sometimes there are certain letters in our alphabet that help those of us who preach and teach to use alliteration in what we share. Very recently for me as I have gone especially through the Psalms as been the letter ‘P’. I have just spoken recently when the letter ‘S’ had been helpful, and it comes to aid again as I have been going through these devotions.

 

Jesus the very thought of thee with SWEETNESS fills my breast, and we have considered so far Jesus as our SAVIOUR and seen him also as our SHEPHERD, we have gone through the ‘I am’ STATEMENTS, and as I considered the next step, (yes I know STEP is another, but it doesn’t count) I began to think of Jesus in two more ways, that is from the use of John’s word ‘SIGNS’, but more as the miracle worker and then also from his parables as the STORY teller.

 

I have decided to consider the parables first seeing as I have been going through some of the signs / miracles over the last few months in the Bible studies.

 

Now, who doesn’t love a good story, I do, I have loved reading ever since I could understand the words in a book. I would read book after book, getting through a book such as an Enid Blyton story in one go, reading into the late hours. I can remember like it was yesterday my grandparents giving me a torch for my birthday which I would use once we had been told the light had to go off to continue reading till a book was finished. My poor mum would have to keep buying the big C batteries for me!

 

Well, I loved the Enid Blyton books, the Winnie the Pooh books, I loved another author called Malcolm Saville with his mystery books and the list could go on—even the Noddy books! but I also love the stories of Jesus! His stories are different, because as we have often been told they are stories that have a spiritual meaning. All the other books I read were just that stories, but the parables are stories that were given to grab our attention, to make us stop and think, to cause us to make decisions, to check our hearts and the responsiveness of our hearts to gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, it was one of the parables as I mentioned recently that brought me to the place where I gave my life to the Lord Jesus Christ, the story of the lost sheep.

 

I haven’t added a scripture yet and I have come to the end of the devotion, so let’s have that story.

 

‘Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.’ Luke 15:1–7.

 

And it is to some of these stories we will turn to for some of our next devotions.

FRIDAY December 6^th

 

We have very briefly gone through the 7 ‘I am’ statements of Jesus as recorded in the gospel of John and you may remember that I mentioned when considering Jesus as the good shepherd, that I commented that I like the agricultural context especially with me being a farmer’s son. Since then, I have thought about each of the statements and considered an angle in which we could liken them or link them to an occupation, and remember as you read this devotion, this is my imagination at work!

 

I am the bread of life – reminded me of a baker and his bakery.

 

I am the light of the world – reminded me of one who is an electrician by trade.

 

I am the good shepherd – reminded me as I have already said of the world of agriculture and the farmer.

 

I am the door – well this is so applicable to Jesus, for it reminded me of a carpenter and was he not brought up by one who was a carpenter, Joseph.

 

I am the resurrection and the life, well we could consider a few occupations here, but particularly the medical profession and in especially a mid-wife who helps to bring a life into the world, and the doctor who helps to support through life, but then Jesus spoke this statement within the context of death, so here comes the undertaker!

 

I am the way and the truth and the life, well the way reminded me of a cartographer as he designs the map to show us the way, the truth reminds me of the law and lawyers who seek to determine the truth in situations and the life again linking to all who help us in the medical profession.

 

I am the vine – well this links us to horticulture and the gardener.

 

In other words, as I have just highlighted a few occupations, Jesus is everything that everyone needs! As a baker he has given himself as the bread, as the electrician he has given himself to be our light in the midst of darkness, as the good farmer / shepherd he came to seek us out, as the carpenter he himself has become the door that opens the way for us into heaven and which protects us while we sojourn here on earth, as the medical practitioner he has revived us, and as the undertaker he is going to prepare us in such a way that death will not be able to hold us captive, we will rise, as the cartographer he has shown us the way we should walk, as the lawyer he acts as our advocate before the Father, as the horticulturist he prunes us.

 

There are many who may not realises this, but Jesus really is the answer, he came into this world to deal with our greatest need and that was our need for salvation and all that is linked to this, but Jesus is also able to help us throughout life in every single situation and even through death itself. ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me’, Psalm 23:4.

 

In the words of a chorus:

 

He is all I need

He is all I need

All, all, I need

He is all I need,

He is all I need,

Jesus is all I need.

 

And then there is another song:

 

Christ is the answer to my every need,

Christ is the answer,

He is a friend indeed,

Problems of life my spirit may assail,

With Christ as Saviour,

I can never fail, for,

Christ is the answer to my need.

 

Do you know him? Not just as your Saviour, but as the one who sticks by you through thick and thin to help you get through all that life throws at you. And incidentally, it doesn’t matter who you are in this world, whether among the highest paid in whatever your chosen profession or the lowest paid in what we might consider to be the lowlier professions, we all need Jesus, for money, wealth, possessions, and status count as nothing toward eternity, it is all about personally knowing Jesus as Saviour that is of the utmost importance.

THURSDAY December 5^th

 

John 15:1 ‘“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”’

 

To understand this ‘I am’ statement we need also to include verse 5 ‘I am the vine; you are the branches’, I will sum it up this way, by coming to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we should become disconnected from the world, that is all that is connected to walking in darkness and become connected to the Lord Jesus Christ as the vine. The source of our daily sustenance and our daily strength is now to be drawn from him and him alone, and as a result we should be spiritually fruitful.

 

So, to me I would use keywords which are linked to this statement that must be applied to you and me.

 

There is connection, continuation, fruitfulness and pruning. These are the positive outcomes of a life that is connected to Christ, they live for him, they abide in him and are daily receiving from Christ. It is those who have chosen to forsake the world and the things of the world and have chosen instead to fill their lives with righteousness, Jesus said that those who do this will become fruitful, and to maintain the fruitfulness will be pruned.

 

But Jesus also talks of those who fail to be connected as they ought to be, he says that they have become fruitless, that means they do not show any signs of life, so they are like dead branches and because of their fruitlessness they will be cut off.

 

Now, a branch that is cut off is different from a branch that is pruned. I regularly like to prune the plants that are growing in my garden, but I also like to cut off, get rid of the plants that are not producing whatever it is they should be producing, whether flowers or fruit.

 

What is the difference between the two. Generally, to cut off, means to cut the branch off exactly at the spot where it is coming from off the main trunk of the tree or main stem of the plant, the cutting off detaches the whole branch, and it will no longer be attached to the source of life and will not grow.

 

To prune means that you just cut off the end of the branch maybe a few inches or feet along from the end, and this in turn will promote further growth, because the branch is still there and still connected to the source of its life.

We need to ensure that we remain connected to Jesus the vine and ensure that we remain connected so that our lives will be fruitful and will bring glory to God.

 

I have only touched briefly on this ‘I am’ statement, but can I encourage each one of us to look at the full account in John 15:1-17, for the fruit that seems to be seen in this chapter, and perhaps the most important is the fruit of love which proves we are his disciples and we know of course that love is a segment in what we term the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.

WEDNESDAY December 4^th

 

John 14:6 ‘Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”’

 

We are going to explore this statement of Jesus further by considering the way, the truth and the life. Jesus declaring himself to be these three things, although talking about himself, says them because who he is and our response to it influences our lives greatly—or should.

 

For if Jesus wasn’t who and what he said he was, then we would not have the new life that we claim that we have! To use Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15, we would be of all people most to be pitied.

 

So, in saying he was the way, Jesus was not only claiming that as to who he was, but also that he would provide the way, in saying that he was the truth, he was not only claiming to be the truth, but also the one from whom we can know truth. And in declaring himself to be the life, he was stating that he himself is life, but also that those who believe in him would come to receive and to know that life.

 

Our accepting and believing Jesus for who he is means that by believing in him, we enter or get onto the way that he has provided, we get onto the narrow way that leads to heaven, and when we die, we will go through Jesus as the doorway into heaven.

 

Also by accepting him, we have chosen to turn from ourselves and from this world that seems to be getting darker and more deceitful as each day passes to the One who is the truth and we allow the truth to impact our lives, ensuring that we live not in the same way as the world lives, the way that we used to live, but allow our lives instead to be govern and guided by his truth.

 

And our accepting him means that we have passed from death to life, we have as Paul puts it in Ephesians 2, been quickened, made alive again, we have received new life that comes from the life-giver.

 

Accepting the words of John 14:6 and responding by faith means that we have become new creations, and as a result we are not of all people most to be pitied, but we are of all people the ones who have the most to rejoice in. Our sin is forgiven, our home is in heaven, and soon and very soon, the One who is the way, and the truth and the life is going to return exactly as he told Thomas along with the other disciples that he would and take us so that we can be where he is. To the home that is being prepared.

 

I am the way the truth and the life

That’s what Jesus said

I am the way the truth and the life

That’s what Jesus said

Without the way there is no going

Without the truth there is no knowing

Without the life there is no living

I am the way the truth and the life

That’s what Jesus said

TUESDAY December 3^rd

 

John 14:6 ‘Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”’

 

‘. . . and the life’, I am the life.

 

Life, we all love to see signs of life, be it a baby that has just been welcomed into a family, the sign of bulbs breaking through the soil after a long cold winter, the lambs that jump around the fields in the spring time and we could list so many other things, but the sad reality is that a baby is born a sinner and therefore is destined to die, the bulbs will last but a month or two and they will fade away, and the lambs, well I leave you to think about the fate that awaits them.

 

Life seems to be so fragile, and it would seem to be temporal. But then as we think of all the negatives, we come across this amazing verse of scripture that reminds us that the One who is the way, and the truth is also the life!

 

He has come as the One who is the source of life to reverse that which seems temporal into an eternal reality. Now, of course I am not thinking of the bulbs here, nor the lambs, but more particularly about the baby. For scripture says that we are all born in sin and shapen in iniquity, it also says that the wages of sin is death, but thanks be to God a plan was afoot way even before the creation of the world to enable that which would be ruined as a result of sin to be overturned and the death sentence removed and the gift of God to be given which was to be eternal life.

 

And this life can only be received because of the One who himself is life, and willingly giving himself up as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus came and Jesus died so that we may have life, eternal life, life in all its fulness.

 

We have already seen that Jesus had declared that he was the resurrection and the life, and he knew even before he went to Calvary that even though he would die, he would not be kept captive to death, that God would not allow him to see corruption, but that when the greatest of all transactions was over with, he would be raised again. And what an awful way in which he did suffer and die, and we need to remind ourselves it was not for anything that he had done, but rather because he was willing to take upon himself our sins and our sorrows, the things that we had done that had offended God, he was willing to take on our behalf the wrath that we deserved from God, so that as he bore it all, we could receive life eternal.

 

We declare on the authority of the word of God and the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ that eternal life can only be ours through the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

On the basis of this verse, he is truth, therefore what he has spoken is the truth, therefore he is the only way to the Father, there is no other way, for the life that we all need to be able to dwell in the eternal abode is only available through Jesus as the One who is not only life, but is also the only One who has made it available to all who will believe.

 

There is life for a look at the Crucified One,

There is life at this moment for thee.

Then look, sinner, look unto Him and be saved,

Unto him who was nailed on the tree.

 

Look, look, look and live.

There is life for a look at the Crucified One,

There is life at this moment for thee.

 

For any who may find this devotion on the internet, if you are looking toward something else or someone else for eternal salvation, I remind you that Jesus is the only way, Jesus is the only truth, Jesus is the only source for eternal life, ‘And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’ Acts 4:12

MONDAY December 2nd

 

John 14:6 ‘Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”’

 

‘. . . and the truth’, I am the truth. I have returned to this again for this devotion, because when it comes to truth, we see it as also being the opposite to error and to falsehood. That which is non-genuine.

 

I used the words in the previous devotion that Jesus is the real deal, and as I mentioned when we considered the words ‘the way’, that there are many who would seek to present a way, but the way they present is not genuine, the so called way that they show will lead to a dead end and so it is the same when we consider truth, there are many who seek to present something as truth, but it is far from it, or at the least a distortion of the truth.

 

We read in scripture that the enemy of our souls is subtle, and we see his subtlety in the way that he deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we see how he continues to deceive so many today, through his deception and distortion of truth.

 

We need to keep reminding ourselves that real and genuine truth is found in Jesus, for he came from God who is the God of truth. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that his word, that is the written word, the Bible is also truth, ‘The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever’, Psalm 119:160 now this is from the quill of David, but what did Jesus who is the truth have to say about scripture, it is in John 17:17 ‘Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth’, therefore if we believe that Jesus is the truth, then we also accept that he speaks the truth and this then should give us total confidence that if Jesus has said it then God’s word is truth, totally dependable and reliable.

 

Let us be careful that we do not allow any of the confusion that is prevalent in our world today side track us and cause us to lose our way, but ensure that we keep close to Jesus, keep our steps in the way and our hearts in tune to the truth, for as we will see in the next devotion, this is essential to receive life that is eternal.