Category: Devotions

FRIDAY January 31^st

 

Today, we will continue to consider the truth that Jesus is superior, as we read from Hebrews 1 in the previous devotion, he is superior to the angels, first because he is the Son of God, secondly, he has a superior name, third because he is worthy of worship, fourthly because he is exalted and seated upon the throne, fifthly because he is eternal, sixthly because he is Creator and seventhly because he is God.

 

Now in making this list, it is not a complete list, but it takes us to 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.’

 

Jesus has always been superior, that is he has never been anything less than superior, because he has always, that is he has eternally been and forever will be the Son of God, but if I can put it this way, there was something about his incarnation, his suffering, his death, his resurrection, his ascension and his exaltation that rubber stamped it. It declares to all of heaven, to all upon the earth and under the earth, to principalities and powers and spiritual forces, and even if they will be determined to deny it now, the day is coming when they will have to accept it, that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

 

In other words, if the angels may have thought differently, and we know that the devil wishes differently, and mankind definitely thinks differently, God through the exaltation of Jesus has made it resoundingly clear that Jesus is far above all, he is exalted to the highest place, he has been given the name which is above all other names and he has been given an eternal throne.

 

As the Son of God he is unique, in that his name is the only name whereby men and women can be saved, his sacrifice is the one and only acceptable sacrifice that can atone for the sins of the world, he is the only door or gate into heaven, he is the only way, he is the only one who has lived in such a way that he could present himself as the sacrifice, become the Saviour and be exalted as the superior one.

 

This is my Jesus, and the very thought of him, as I consider who he is, what he has done, what he is doing as he blesses me here on earth while at the same time is preparing a place for me in heaven with sweetness fills my breast.

 

Now the word superior leads me to the next word that I want to use and is linked to the verses from Philippians 2, and we will come to that in the next devotion.

 

THURSDAY January 30^th

 

Luke 4:36

‘And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”’

 

Matthew 8:27

‘And the men marvelled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”’

 

As I come to an end of looking at the miracles of Jesus, again as it was with the parables, I couldn’t go through them all, but just highlight a few that fitted into the theme, concerning Jesus, today I have included two verses.

 

The first follows from where Jesus had delivered a man from an unclean spirit (mentioned in the previous devotion) and the second follows from after Jesus had stilled the storm and they lead us to the next word I wanted to highlight beginning with S, concerning Jesus and it is from sweetness to satisfaction to sufficiency to stillness to serving and today to superiority!

 

There is absolutely no one like Jesus. He is superior because he is above all, he is superior because he is God, he is superior because he holds all power and all authority, (Matthew 28:28) he is superior because there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved, (Acts 4:12). We could continue, but the words of Scripture declare this and tomorrow we will look at what these verses from Hebrew 1:1-13 say to us about Jesus:

 

‘Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?’

Wednesday January 29^th

 

Luke 4:38-39

 

‘And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.’

 

In two verses we have recorded for us what I am going to call two parts. The first part is the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law who had a high fever, and Jesus goes to the home to visit, and he stood over her, rebuked the fever and it left her. This is the first physical healing recorded in Lukes’s gospel, and in the verses preceding it he has recorded the deliverance of a man delivered from an unclean demon.

 

So immediately as Jesus embarks on his earthly ministry, we see that he has authority over the demonic and over sickness / disease.

 

But it is what happened after the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law that caught my attention, and it is this ‘and immediately she rose and began to serve them’. Now obviously this included all that were in the house, however many there may have been, but more importantly she would have had the joy and the privilege of serving Jesus.

 

And I want to remind us that there is joy in serving Jesus, a joy that should come from hearts that have been spiritually healed! We were spiritually sick, in fact it is worse than that we were spiritually dead, but Jesus came, and he has quickened us, he has made us a live again, as Paul puts it in Ephesians 2 and as a result we should long, we should desire to be in a place of service for Jesus. And in doing so we are not only serving him, but we are also serving each other, all who are in the house, particularly the house of God where we fellowship together.

 

I end this devotion with the words of a well-known song:

 

There is joy in serving Jesus,

As I journey on my way,

Joy that fills the heart with praises,

Ev’ry hour and ev’ry day.

 

There is joy in serving Jesus,

Joy that triumphs over pain,

Fills my soul with heaven’s music,

Till I join the glad refrain.

 

There is joy in serving Jesus,

As I walk alone with God.

‘Tis the joy of Christ, my Savior,

Who the path of suffering trod.

 

There is joy in serving Jesus,

Joy amid the darkest night.

For I’ve learned the wondrous secret,

And I’m walking in the light.

 

There is joy, joy,

Joy in serving Jesus,

Joy that throbs within my heart;

Ev’ry moment, ev’ry hour,

As I draw upon His power,

There is joy, joy, joy that never shall depart.

 

Notice how over the last few devotions we have gone from sweetness to satisfaction to sufficiency to stillness to serving. Well tomorrow see what is next.

TUESDAY January 28^th

 

Mark 4:35-41

 

‘On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”’

 

This is another of the incredible miracles that are recorded for us in the gospels, and there is another one similar to this one, the difference being in this miracle Jesus is in the boat, albeit fast asleep, while the other miracle recorded in John’s gospel happens after the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus is not in the boat, but he walks on the water. In both accounts there is a storm, and Jesus calms the storm.

 

I want to make a play on words for our devotion today and adapt the words of the song ‘Jesus the very thought of thee with sweetness fills my breast’ and from the events of this miracle change it to ‘Jesus the very thought of thee with stillness fills my breast’. Just a single change of word but imagine the fear that would have gripped the disciples as the storm began to batter the boat, the ESV calls it a great windstorm, the waves beginning to fill the boat with water, but what seemed to be more concerning to the disciples was the fact that Jesus was asleep on a cushion in the stern! The statement they make as they wake him is quite telling ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing’?

 

Well with hindsight of course we know that Jesus would have cared, but the truth of the matter is that with Jesus on the boat they were never going to perish, whether he was asleep or a wake, but regardless he gets up and he rebuked the wind by saying ‘Peace be still’ and the wind ceased. And I am confident that I can draw this conclusion that Jesus also brought a stillness to their troubled breasts.

 

And Jesus is the ultimate source of true peace because he is the Prince of Peace, you should be aware by now that I have shared with us the verses from Isaiah 26:3-4  to be the motto for us as a fellowship for 2025, ‘You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock’.

 

Whatever yours or my circumstances are at the time of reading this daily devotion, as we call out to Jesus, just as the disciples did in their troubling and fearful circumstances, he is willing to come and to speak his peace into our hearts.

 

A reminder of Psalm 46, which to sum up the first few verses, though this and that will happen, even may be happening at this moment, God calls to us to ‘Be still’ and to know that he is God. As we learn to be still, he will speak stillness into the storms and the dilemmas of our lives.

 

So, change the word and say along with me, ‘Jesus the very thought of thee with stillness fills my breast’ and allow him to bring calm to your soul.

MONDAY January 27^th

 

I am returning to the miracle of the raising of Lazarus from the dead again because there is something so special that we can learn about Jesus and it is found in the shortest verse in the whole of Scripture, which contains just two words, yet they are so powerful, ‘Jesus wept’, (v35).

 

Yes, the miracle was going to be ‘for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it’, (v4) but it also shows powerfully to us and especially to those who had gathered at Lazarus’ home something of the humanity of Jesus. It says that when they saw Jesus’ weeping, they said these words ‘See how he loved him!’ (v36)

 

Why can I sing and mean the words of the song that is the basis for these devotions, ‘Jesus the very thought of thee with sweetness fills my breast’? Well, there are a number of reasons but the one reason within the context today is because this Jesus who I have come to know and to love is a compassionate Saviour, and because he is God, we can look at some verses from the Old Testament that remind us of his compassion.

 

Psalm 103:13 ‘As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.’ The very next verse says this ‘For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.’ Yes, the compassionate Saviour understands all about us, and we can say he understands more than we sometimes realise, because he himself became a man and suffered in all the same ways as we do, but he did so without sin (Hebrews 14:14-16).

 

When we mourn the loss of a loved ones, he has been there, and as he wept he understands our weeping and our grieving hearts, he knew what it was to be despised, rejected and hated, he knew what it was like to suffer, he even understood tiredness, weariness and hunger, Therefore he is more than willing and more able than anyone else to come alongside us and to help us through all our life circumstances.

 

Often in the New Testament as Jesus went about the many and varied circumstances that he found himself in, it says that as he looked and as he saw he was moved with compassion. When he saw the weak, the helpless and hopeless, the sick and the possessed. Those who were outcasts, those who had plenty or nothing he was moved with a heart of compassion toward them. And he is still the same sympathising and compassionate Saviour today, he knows all about us, he cares deeply for us and every day his heart is moved towards us.

 

The first verse of my all-time favourite hymn speaks of his compassion,

 

Love Divine, all love excelling,

Joy of heav’n, to earth come down;

Fix in us Thy humble dwelling.

All Thy faithful mercies crown.

Jesus, Thou art all compassion;

Pure, unbounded love Thou art;

Visit us with Thy salvation,

Enter every trembling heart.

 

Jesus thou art all compassion—allow him to come and to visit you today and to not only give you his salvation, but also his cheer, to come alongside you and to lift you out of your weariness, for who can cheer the heart like Jesus.

FRIDAY January 24^th

 

I wonder which of the miracles of Jesus that we read of that you find the most fascinating, maybe it is one of the healing miracles, and they are incredible as we consider that it didn’t matter what the sickness or disease happened to be, not one was beyond his healing power.

 

It may be one of the miracles such as the water into wine, the catch of fish, stilling the storm, the feeding of the five thousand, or maybe the instances when he delivered those who were possessed of demons.

 

I cannot define a miracle specifically as a favourite of mine but would perhaps be drawn close to choosing the raising of Lazarus from the dead. One of the reasons being that prior to performing this incredible miracle, Jesus talks about what is my favourite subject, the resurrection.

 

Let’s just read some of the verses surrounding this miracle.

 

One of the most important verses is the statement Jesus made when he was first told that his friend Lazarus was sick, it is verse 4 ‘This sickness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it’. Now it seems a strange thing to say, especially when we read a few verses later that Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus has died (v14) and when he arrives to the town, Marth says ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died’.

 

But Jesus knows what he is doing! Notice from verse 6 that despite what was the urgency of the situation with Lazarus, that Jesus remained where he was for two more days! He didn’t hurry, and the reason being he knew exactly what was going to happen—Lazarus dying, and what he would do—raise him back to life.

 

We can learn that even in what we would consider to be the delay in an answer to our prayers, God knows what he is doing. He has it all planned out, and Jesus made his way to Bethany, with not an ounce of worry, because although he wasn’t there physically, it was nevertheless all under his control.

 

And of course, it leads to the incredible declaration that Jesus made to Martha first in verse 23 and then in verses 25-26. ‘Your brother will rise again’, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die . . .’

 

Yes this miracle led to the raising from the dead of a man who by that time should have been decomposing and stinking, it also proved without any shadow of doubt as to who Jesus really was as the Son of God, and it gives to us the proof that we need today to understand that Jesus really does mean what he says when he claims to have power over death, and to grant eternal life and of course he gave even greater proof by himself being the One who later would die, be buried and three days later rise again.

 

Now I suggested at the beginning of this devotion that one of the most important verses was possibly verse 4, but perhaps the most important words that I can ask today as you read this devotion are the words that Jesus concluded verses 25-26 with, which I deliberately left out to conclude the devotion with and they are this:

‘Do you believe this?’

 

Jesus the very thought of thee with sweetness fills my breast, we can only have and know the sweet thoughts concerning Jesus when we have come to know and to believe who he is and all he has done for us. Your eternal destiny is dependent upon whether you believe or not.

THURSDAY January 23^rd

 

One of the miracles that I concentrated on recently in my ministry on a Sunday morning was that of the feeding of the five thousand as recorded in all four of the gospels, (Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:34-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:5-14)) and in John’s gospel led further to the discussion which takes us to the following verse:

 

‘Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst”’, John 6:35.

 

The miracle that had taken place was incredible, five loaves and two fishes being taken up by Jesus and after he blessed it, it was sufficient not only to feed the hungry crowd that consisted of not just five thousand men, but also the women and children, and for twelve baskets to be filled with the leftovers! Wow!  But the problem was the next day the same crowd were hungry again, the natural only satisfies for a short time and Jesus speaks to those who had come looking for him, that they need to be more concerned about the spiritual, that which lasts for eternity.

 

Yes, he had handled and broken the five loaves, but at the same time, as he was doing it, he himself was the living bread that had come down from heaven, and soon he was going to be taken and broken, so that all who partake of him will never hunger and will have eternal life. ‘I am the living bread that came from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh’, (John 6:51).

 

The theme is ‘Jesus the very thought of thee with sweetness fills my breast, but here with this miracle we see another two word that begins with ‘S’, first is that Jesus satisfies, for he meets our spiritual hunger and thirst, and he alone can satisfy.

 

Second is that Jesus is sufficient, the natural food was only sufficient to meet their need for a short period of time, but Jesus as the bread of life is sufficient to sustain us not only now in time but also for eternity. We do not need to go looking anywhere else for satisfaction for Jesus is sufficient for each and every one of us.

 

When the crowd came looking for Jesus the next day he said to them ‘Do  not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life’, (v27) Jesus is not saying that we should not work, but rather that we need to prioritise that which is eternal, in his own words while he spoke to the crowd from the mountain as he commenced his earthly ministry, ‘But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you’, Matthew 6:33.

WEDNESDAY January 22^nd

 

Matthew 9:20-22 (see also Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48).

‘And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.’

 Of all the miracles, this is the one that first came to my mind as I considered which ones to include in these devotions, and what I want to share from it, is very simple and yet so powerful.

 

Can you imagine how this poor lady must have been feeling, there may have been some feeling of shame or embarrassment, and of course fear in her heart, yet overriding it all there must have been an element of faith at work, so much so that she exclaimed ‘If I only touch the fringe of his garment, I will be made well’, this was sufficient for her to believe that she would be healed, and she was! And Jesus knowing that something had happened, turned to her saying ‘Your faith has made you whole’.

 

She had lived twelve years with this awful condition, Luke tells us that she had spent all her living on physicians, notice it is plural, and could not be healed by anyone—but someone was in the area, she must have heard all about him, and his name was Jesus and despite her condition, despite the vast crowd, because of her simple faith, she knew that she only needed to touch his garment and she would be healed. There had been enough drama in her life, she had had enough of the constant visits from one doctor to another, whatever potions she had tried, and all the prodding and probing had been unsuccessful. She was without hope until she heard about Jesus!

 

And she pushed through with determination in her heart to get even the slightest touch of his garment, what an incredible demonstration of faith and she was rewarded, ‘Take heart’, in other words, ‘don’t be afraid, I have absolutely no problem with you reaching out and touching my garment, in fact, your faith has made you whole!’

 

Imagine how she must have felt! Free at last, no more spending her living on physicians, no longer restricted in what she could do and be as a member of the local community, not only made whole, but she was also now clean, free and all through the power of Jesus, the one who had come from God.

 

What do you or I need to receive?  We need to have just sufficient simple faith just as this woman had to reach out and to receive from Jesus.

 

If you consider the context of this miracle, Jesus was a busy man, he was on his way to the house of Jairus, because his daughter had just died. But it didn’t stop him from having time for this woman, he was not only busy, but he was also pressed in with a crowd, but the individual still mattered to him.

 

You matter to Jesus, I matter to Jesus, all we need is the simple faith to believe, to reach out, to touch him.

 

She only touched the hem of His garment

As to His side she stole,

Amid the crowd that gathered around Him;

And straightway she was whole.

 

Oh, touch the hem of His garment,

And thou, too, shalt be free!

His healing pow’r this very hour

Shall give new life to thee!

TUESDAY January 21^st

 

As we continue with the theme, Jesus the very thought of thee, I will turn our attention to the subject of the signs that Jesus did or performed which we also call miracles, for John reminds us that he recorded the ones that he did in his gospel so that

 

‘. . . you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name’, (John 20:31).

 

In the final verse of his gospel he wrote, ‘Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written’, (John 21:25).

 

As with the parables, I am only going to consider the miracles or signs briefly, but in doing so, the wonder of who Jesus truly is as demonstrated in the amazing things that he did should cause us to be excited and thrilled that in coming to believe on him and having come to know him personally as our Saviour and Lord that as incredible as all the miracles were, the greatest of all is the miracle he has performed in our hearts transforming us into new creations, exactly as my favourite verse says, ‘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.

 

I concentrated my ministry for a few months last year on a Friday evening and a couple of Sunday mornings on the miracles that we read of that are not to do with healing and deliverance but more to do with external elements, such as water into wine, or the multiplication of loaves and fishes, the stilling of the storm and the incredible catch of fish. They show the power of God at work through the Lord Jesus over external things. But beside this are the miracles of healing and deliverance, which demonstrate to us the power of God at work through Jesus over or within individuals, both physically (healing) and spiritually (deliverance).

 

First, I want to remind us that the miracles show to us that there is nothing that can happen to us internally or externally, physical, spiritually or naturally that is beyond the power of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. We can entrust every aspect of our lives into his hands therefore, I am just going to close this devotion with a couple of phrases from some well-known songs to encourage you this morning as you may consider your own circumstances at this moment.

Leave it there, leave it there,

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there,

If you trust and never doubt, he will surely lead you out,

So, take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

 

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because he lives, all fear is gone,

Because I know he holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because he lives.

MONDAY January 20^th

 

I suggest that if you have the time, you turn to and read Matthew 25:1-13 but I will use verse 13 as the basis for the devotion:

 

‘Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.’

 

This is the last parable I am going to turn to in this series, for if I went to all of them, it would become a series on its own, but I have chosen this one to link to the theme ‘Jesus the very thought of thee . . .’ for there is something about our thoughts of Jesus which should cause us to have a longing in our hearts for the fulfilment of his promise that he would one day return again. 6

 

And this parable is a very clear warning from the lips of Jesus himself that we should not only be waiting and watching, but we must be ready for when he comes! I wonder and I must ask myself the same question, as to are we ensuring that we are ready for when he comes again.

 

Clearly in this parable there were a group of individuals who assumed they were ready, when in fact they had been keeping themselves so busy with other matters that they had failed to ensure they had sufficient oil to keep their lamps trimmed and burning, and the final verdict from the lips of the bridegroom was ‘’I do not know you’!

 

When I was growing up as a child and into my teens, the subject of the Lord’s return was a regular feature in the preaching and the teaching in the local church, so much so that we were often enthralled with it and of course determined to ensure we were ready and living in expectancy, somehow, the emphasis has become lost, and alongside it the subject concerning how we should be living and conducting ourselves in this world as the children of God.

 

As a result, the importance of being ready and the need to be waiting and watching no longer seems to grip us as it should do.

 

And yet if it was a warning from Jesus 2000 years ago, it stands to reason that we are living closer today than ever before to his appearing, and as we see the mess and the confusion in this world, there should be a longing in our hearts for him to come and to take us into his presence.

 

Yet, sadly how many choose to live with what I will call spiritual carelessness, rather than ensuring their lamps are trimmed and burning they will flirt with the things of the world.

 

Jesus is coming again, and the thought of this and our thoughts concerning Jesus should inspire us to live in expectant hope, and as Paul says as he talks of this subject in 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 18 ‘Therefore encourage one another with these words’.

 

Jesus the very thought of thee—the very thought of his coming again should thrill our hearts and fill us with joy, the very same hymn continues with these words ‘But sweeter far thy face to see and in thy presence rest’.