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Daily Devotion May 8th

Friday 8th

Today we will pause in our devotion from Isaiah 40 and reflect for a short while on what today is all about – the 75th anniversary of VE Day or Victory in Europe Day.

Britain along with its allies had been through a bitter and bloody world war, the second in the space of 30 years. It was a war that caused devastation around the world with the estimated loss of between 70 – 85,000,000 people. VE day marked the end of the conflict in Europe, the war would not come to a complete end until the 15th of August when Japan finally surrendered. The arrival of the Coronavirus has meant that all the planned celebrations for this anniversary have had to be cancelled. Just for a few moments today, spend time honouring those who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today and pray for all those who are serving in the armed forces today to continue to provide the freedom we enjoy. It would be a good opportunity to pray for peace in the troubled parts of the world today where there is conflict.

Reading for today – Colossians 2:6-15 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Earlier this week our subject was celebration, and the day is coming where there is going to be the biggest and the greatest celebration ever, and it will not take place on earth it will take place in heaven. The battle took place two thousand years ago where Jesus took on the devil, the powers of darkness and death and he came out of the battle as the Mighty Conqueror. Colossians 2:14b-15 ‘by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.’

And 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ‘When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’

There has been a constant celebration of victory ever since as many millions have been brought out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, men and women born again by the Spirit of God, set free from being captive to sin and Satan, as we saw in earlier devotions, the angels in heaven are rejoicing. But the biggest celebration is yet to happen, and the good news is we will be there! We read of it in Revelation chapter 5 and again later in chapter 7.

Revelation 5:11-14 ‘Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.’

Revelation 7:9-12 ‘After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”’

What a celebration this is going to be, the whole of heaven rejoicing, every blood washed man and woman joining with the host of heaven in celebration, giving a victory shout, declaring ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne.’ He has conquered, he has triumphed.

When World War I ended it was hoped that such a thing would never happen again, the same after World War II, but the sad fact is that because of the fallen state of humanity and its utter depravity war will continue to happen until the end of the age.

When Jesus conquered it was a once for all battle, it will never need to be repeated, because he has triumphed for ever and ever. He has already dealt the final blow, and the victory is already won!

See, the Conqueror mounts in triumph; see the King in royal state,

Riding on the clouds, His chariot, to His heavenly palace gate.

Hark! the choirs of angel voices joyful alleluias sing,

And the portals high are lifted to receive their heavenly King.

Who is this that comes in glory, with the trump of jubilee?

Lord of battles, God of armies, He has gained the victory.

He Who on the cross did suffer, He Who from the grave arose,

He has vanquished sin and Satan, He by death has spoiled His foes.

While He lifts His hands in blessing, He is parted from His friends

While their eager eyes behold Him, He upon the clouds ascends;

He Who walked with God and pleased Him, preaching truth and doom to come,

He, our Enoch, is translated to His everlasting home.

Now our heavenly Aaron enters, with His blood, within the veil;

Joshua now is come to Canaan, and the kings before Him quail;

Now He plants the tribes of Israel in their promised resting place;

Now our great Elijah offers double portion of His grace.

He has raised our human nature in the clouds to God’s right hand;

There we sit in heavenly places, there with Him in glory stand:

Jesus reigns, adored by angels; man with God is on the throne;

Mighty Lord, in Thine ascension we by faith behold our own.

Holy Ghost, llluminator, shed Thy beams upon our eyes,

Help us to look up with Stephen, and to see beyond the skies,

Where the Son of Man in glory standing is at God’s right hand,

Beckoning on His martyr army, succouring His faithful band.

See Him, Who is gone before us, heavenly mansions to prepare,

See Him, who is ever pleading for us with prevailing prayer,

See Him, Who with sound of trumpet, and with His angelic train,

Summoning the world to judgment, on the clouds will come again.

Raise us up from earth to Heaven, give us wings of faith and love,

Gales of holy aspirations wafting us to realms above;

That, with hearts and minds uplifted, we with Christ our Lord may dwell,

Where He sits enthroned in glory in His heavenly citadel.

So at last, when He appeareth, we from out our graves may spring,

With our youth renewed like eagles, flocking round our heavenly King.

Caught up on the clouds of Heaven, and may meet Him in the air,

Rise to realms where He is reigning, and may reign for ever there.

Glory be to God the Father, glory be to God the Son,

Dying, risen, ascending for us, Who the heavenly realm has won;

Glory to the Holy Spirit, to one God in persons Three;

Glory both in earth and heaven, glory, endless glory, be.

CCLI 788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 7th

Thursday 7th – Isaiah 40:9-20

The heading for these verses at verse 9 in my ESV Bible says, ‘The Greatness of God.’

We considered the greatness of God in earlier devotions, for today I want to consider his greatness in the context of what it says in verse 11, ‘He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.’ We are back to the Lord as our Shepherd. His greatness in his gentleness.

I had got to the point of preparing the devotions for this week, I had done the ones for Sunday – Tuesday and suddenly when it came to yesterday’s devotion I had for the first time while preparing the devotions over this period of time hit a brick wall! I had two attempts at putting something together but scrapped them, but deep inside I felt it needed to be about lambs! I ended up putting my planning and prepping aside and going for a walk. The next morning, I felt an inner witness to devote the three days mentioned as yesterday to Isaiah 40 and as I went through it you’ve, probably guessed it, there it was in the chapter,  the word ‘lambs’ – ‘He will gather the lambs in his arms.’ (v11) So this is our subject for today. Believe it or not, while I was preparing this actual devotion I had an email from Iain and it was pointing me to a song he had discovered that morning it was at this point of my prepping that I decided to listen to it and guess what it was called? ‘Gentle Shepherd come and lead us for we need you to help us to find our way.’ wow, talk about a confirmation!

There are lots of beautiful things we can see in this world around us, and to me one of the most beautiful is to see a field of sheep and to look at all the lambs playing, running around and skipping together.

A happy farmer is the one who has had a successful lambing season, but every farmer or shepherd knows that during the lambing season there will always be loss, lambs that are still-born or a ewe that has died during birthing leaving orphan lambs. It then becomes the responsibility as soon as possible for the shepherd to do what he can to provide for the orphaned lamb. It could be an adoption with another ewe, or it may be to have to hand rear it, the lamb to become what we call a ‘tiddler’. Being a farmer’s son, I have been involved in this, I was never going to be a farmer, if I had had to remain on the farm it would have either have been as a maintenance worker with the machinery etc or as a shepherd. There was an inbuilt instinct in me from a youngster for the sheep, maybe that was God planting a spiritual seed in my life in preparation for being a shepherd for his flock, the Church and in particular you as the flock he has placed under my care in the present.

We often had orphan lambs which became tiddlers, they would be the lambs that we would bottle feed and during lambing season the farmhouse would become like an animal hospital as the weak, cold and starving lambs would be brought in from the cold and warmed up, wrapped in hessian sacks (sometimes in the Rayburn oven with the door left open or into an electric clothes airer that my mum had) and then fed. Often it was us the children that had the responsibility of feeding them every day. Eventually when they were strong enough, they would be placed in the barn with other lambs until time for them to go out into the field with the other sheep with their lambs. It was particularly during lambing season that you would see the gentler side of the farmer / shepherd.

Our Scripture tells us that the Lord who is our Shepherd is a gentle Shepherd, he knows those who are his sheep (Psalm 100) and he cares for us. These verses tell us that he TENDS his flock, that is he looks after our needs, he feeds us, he watches over us, he checks us over, he heals the wounds, he keeps us safe and should it be needed he lovingly corrects us. I love to picture the Scripture when it says that as a shepherd he gathers the lambs in his arms – I don’t know what you imagine here, but I see us as the sheep especially when we may be afraid, or downhearted, or even broken-hearted, and he the Shepherd stooping down to picks us up, to scoop us up into his arms and hold us tightly, close to his chest, where we can hear his heart beat. It reminds me of the well-known poem ‘Footprints’ where there seems to be only one set of footprints in the sand, and the conclusion is that in those moments I was carrying you in my arms. (poem at the end)

We have touched several times over the weeks about the Lord as Shepherd and us as his sheep. Today may we learn that we can always trust our Good Shepherd, he will never fail us or let us down, whatever our situation, he is with us, ready at a moment’s notice to pick us up and hold us close to his side.

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You’d walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you.”

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 6th

Wednesday 6th – Isaiah 40:1-8

Today we will start to look at some thoughts from Isaiah 40, we will return to this chapter again tomorrow and on Saturday.

I want to highlight for today verses 6-8. These few verses start off with a call for the prophet Isaiah to cry out, he asks ‘What shall I cry out’ and the response is: ‘All flesh is grass, and all it’s beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades . . .’ He then ends the cry with the words ‘but the word of our God will stand forever.’

The whole sentence is making a statement which is a comparison between the life span of mankind and the longevity of the Word of God. Man is compared to the grass of the field or to a flower – here today and gone tomorrow, but the Word of God is eternal, it will last forever. (Peter quotes this in 1 Peter 1:24-25)

It reminds us that life is fragile. If we take the comparison of the grass or the flower, we know how quickly the grass can come and grow and yet soon be affected by weather conditions which causes it to dry up and to die. The same with a flower, I love gardening, back in Rhyl I had planted hundreds of bulbs in the garden and I always looked forward to seeing the bulbs begin to show through the soil, and I would wait patiently for them to grow and for the flowers to begin to show, especially the tulips. We always had our first snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils in January and as they would be coming to an end the tulips would appear, but suddenly, after all the waiting, it seemed like the flowers had come and gone with a blink of an eye.

None of us knows how long our life span is, back in the time of the patriarchs they had a really good innings, Methuselah 969 years, but following the flood, God shortened the life span until we get to Psalm 90:10 and we read ‘The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.’

In the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 12:1 we read ‘Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days draw near and the years draw near of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them.’ When we link what we read here in Ecclesiastes to what Isaiah cried out in our text, it is a call for each one of us to make time for God before it is too late!

Now, I know that I am preparing this devotion for our Church family, therefore I can assume that it is being read by those of us who have already made time for God in our lives, but what I feel led to impress in our hearts today is that we make sure that we live everyday with the realisation that eternity may only just be around the corner. We should live in the light of the revealed truth of God’s Word, his Word which is eternal, we should be living in the present with eternity in view.

The Scripture I am reminded of as I prepare this is found in Luke 12:16-21 ‘And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”’

The rich man was living only for the present, no thought for eternity, perhaps he thought he was invincible, he had overlooked the fragility of life. I remember working for a guy who was very anti-God, he was determined to build up his own little empire, one day I challenged him concerning his soul and told him the day would come when he would have to stand before God, I will never forget the look of anger on his face that I should even dare to warn him. To my knowledge he has never responded, (that was nearly 40 years ago) there are many today who live this short fragile time we have on this earth with no time whatsoever for God.

Let’s make the time we do have count, let’s make it matter, yes we have to prepare for the present, for we are living in the present, but may we never make what we do in the present have a negative impact on that which is eternal. Following on from the parable in Luke 12 we have the words of Jesus (vv22-34) that are also found in Matthew 6:25-34, I quote from Matthew,  ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.’ If we want to make our lives count here on earth, if we want to live life in the light of eternity, then our priority must be to seek first the kingdom of God.

Finally, the last sentence of Isaiah in these verses ‘But the Word of the Lord will stand forever.’ Can I suggest that we need to live our lives in the light of his Word, it is his Word that matters, it is his Word that counts, and it is his Word that will stand forever. In the words of an older hymn, ‘Standing on the promises of God.’

All I once held dear, built my life upon

All this world reveres, and wars to own

All I once thought gain I have counted loss

Spent and worthless now, compared to this

Knowing you, Jesus

Knowing you, there is no greater thing

You’re my all, you’re the best

You’re my joy, my righteousness

And I love you, Lord

Now my heart’s desire is to know you more

To be found in you and known as yours

To possess by faith what I could not earn

All-surpassing gift of righteousness

Oh, to know the power of your risen life

And to know You in Your sufferings

To become like you in your death, my Lord

So with you to live and never die

Graham Kendrick  Copyright © 1993 Make Way Music CCLI 788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 5th

TUESDAY 5th – Psalm 66

This whole chapter before us today is a chapter of celebration. The Psalmist is celebrating who God is and what he has done, and he invites the world to join in with him – ‘Shout for joy to God, all the earth . . . say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!’’ (vv1-2) In verse 5 he invites all the earth to come and to see what God has done, ‘he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man’. Later in verse 16 he personalises Gods goodness towards himself, ‘Come and hear, all ye who fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for my soul.’

The psalmist is excited about the goodness of God in general toward mankind, and equally excited about his own experience of the goodness of God and he thinks it is something worth celebrating. ‘I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue.’ (v17) High praise or high praises are mentioned again in a later Psalm, another Psalm that encourages to celebrate in worship, Psalm 149:6 ‘Let the high praises of God be in their throats.’ (KJV mouths) In the cluster of Psalms here, the celebration is one of exuberance and joy before the Lord. Psalm 148 invites everything and everyone to get involved in celebrating and praising the Lord, The heavens, the heights, the angels, the hosts, sun, moon, stars, great sea creatures, even the weather, (v8) mountains and hills, trees, beasts and animals, creepy crawlies and birds, kings, princes, rulers and all people – praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted, his majesty is above earth and heaven. (v13) In Psalm 150 the celebration of praise to the Lord is expected to take place with the accompaniment of instruments, lute, harp, tambourine, strings, pipes, sounding cymbals and loud clashing cymbals and with dance! What a celebration of praise, and why? Because the Lord is worthy.

Our times of worship should be times of celebration as we come to acknowledge the greatness of God, the goodness of God and the grace of God.

He is great – ‘Great is the LORD and GREATLY to be praised’ Psalm 48:1, Psalm 145:3, (my paraphrase ‘Great is the LORD and GREATLY to be celebrated’) the same chapter (Psalm 48) ends with ‘that you may tell to the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.’ (v13-14) He is great in his steadfast love (Psalm103:11) and great in his faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23) Surely his GREATNESS is worth celebrating.

He is good – Psalm 86:5 ‘For you, O LORD are GOOD and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.’ Psalm 145:9 ‘The LORD is GOOD to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.’ Surely Gods GOODNESS is worth celebrating.

He is gracious – Psalm 103:8 ‘The LORD is merciful and GRACIOUS, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.’ Psalm 145:8 ‘The LORD is GRACIOUS and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.’ His GRACIOUSNESS is worth celebrating.

Once this pandemic is over, there will be a lot of rejoicing and celebrating, there will be parties as families and friends are reunited, perhaps not having seen each other for many weeks, or possibly months, there will be many who during this time will have come close to death and they will want to rejoice because of the second chance they have received. I guess that we will be rejoicing and celebrating and why not, but the first priority must be to have the high praises of God on our lips, to be coming with joyful and celebratory hearts to the house of the Lord to give thanks from grateful hearts. Celebrating our God who is a Great God, a Good God and a Gracious God who has saved us and kept us from harm. I am looking forward to hearing Iain with the guitar and Tim on the piano, calling us to praise and worship, and I’m looking forward to hearing all of our voices blending together as we worship the LORD with grateful hearts.

Come on and celebrate

His gift of love, we will celebrate

The Son of God who loved us

And gave us life

We’ll shout Your praise, O King

You give us joy nothing else can bring

We’ll give to You our offering

In celebration praise

Come on and celebrate

Celebrate

Celebrate and sing

Celebrate and sing to the King

Come on and celebrate

Celebrate

Celebrate and sing

Celebrate and sing to the King

© 1984 Kingsway Thankyou Music CCLI 788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 4th

MONDAY 4th – Luke 15:11-32

We return to the chapter from yesterday and continue into the third story that Jesus told to the listening crowd. The story of the lost son, or the prodigal son.

Like the two previous parables this is also well-known and ends up with a celebration, except this time we are told much more about the celebration in the farming family than we read about with the shepherd and the woman.

In this story, the younger of the two sons chose to leave the safety and security of the family farm to go and to do his own thing. We know the story, he wanted the future (his inheritance) in the present, he thought he was adult enough to look after himself, he thought the grass was greener on the other side, and so he got what he wanted, he went where he wanted, he did what he wanted and he ended up in a bit of a mess.

Obviously we see here the picture of the prodigal, or backslider, but at this point in the devotion, I want to suggest that we can often be like this son, we are living in the safety of our heavenly Father’s care, he has bountiful provision for us, not only an eternal inheritance but provision for the present day. And yet, we want more than he wants us to have, we forget to ask for or to get his advice and we try to make our own decisions and often we feel the grass is greener on the other side. He has a plan for our lives and yet we want to do our own thing. Looking at this parable should teach us that it is far better to stay in the safety and security of our Father’s homestead than to go off seeking to do our own thing. This is often how backsliding begins, putting our own self and personal ambition before the will of God.

To come back to the parable, we see the son, at his lowest point, feeding pigs, this would be an insult to a Jewish family and he was so hungry, he could have ate the pigs food, and no one gave him anything. Then we get to verse 17, ‘But when he came to himself’ or ‘to his senses.’ He began to look at his present situation, he remembered the past (what he had been) and began to think again of the future. (what he could be) He remembered the comfort of the family and farmstead and he longed for home. So much so that he knew that even if he only went back as a servant, he would be better off than in his present situation. So, speech prepared off he went, to use a modern phrase, probably with his tail between his legs, thinking, ‘I’m going to have to eat some humble pie.’

But the story has an incredible ending. He did not even make it home, his father was waiting for him, and threw his arms around him, kissing him, and he called for a party. (vv22-23) And why not, listen to what dad said, ‘Let us eat and celebrate. For this MY SON was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and his found. And they began to celebrate’ – there were new shoes, a new coat, a ring on the finger and dinner with the best beef. He got a lot more than he could have ever hoped and dreamt for while sitting amongst the pigs in squalor, for such was his father’s love for him. He welcomed the prodigal back into the family and home, not as a servant but as a son, able again to enjoy the privileges of living at home with mum and dad.

The remaining verses tell us of the older son, he was not a happy bunny, he was angry, he was jealous, he was anything but what he should have been. Whereas the younger son had said I want, the older brother was also all about ‘me’, I have done this, I have done that, I didn’t do what he has done etc. and he complained about the party, the celebration. A warning for us in the family of God to make sure our hearts are right in our attitude towards those who have wandered, not to become proud or haughty, thinking we are better, but to remain humble and prayerful that our lost brothers and sisters will come home. I want there to be parties in heaven yet again not just over sheep and coins being found but rejoicing over prodigal’s returning.

Thank God our Heavenly Fathers’ arms are always held wide open to receive the wandering sinner, but the same arms are also held wide open to receive back the prodigal, the backslider, ready to reinstate their rights as the sons and daughters of the household of God.

Two points for us to finish with today.

First, maybe someone is reading this today that thinks a little like the younger son, I want to do my own thing, I want to go, the grass is greener the other side. Think over this story and learn the lesson the easy way rather than the hard way as the son had to. The grass is not greener, things are not rosier, for eventually by going your own way and doing your own thing you will end up with the pigs and more so with the ‘pig’ himself! Stay in the safety of our heavenly Father’s home, with his family, in a place of safety and security that is not only for now but also for eternity. Our heavenly Father has an eternal inheritance ready for each one of us, do not squander yours by doing your own thing and going your own way.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;

Prone to leave the God I love:

Take my heart, oh, take and seal it

With Thy Spirit from above.

Rescued thus from sin and danger,

Purchased by the Savior’s blood,

May I walk on earth a stranger,

As a son and heir of God.

Secondly. We all know those who we would say are backslidden, there is hope as this story tells us and many have already come to their senses, don’t give up, keep praying that the wayward prodigals, the son’s and daughter’s will return back to Father and home.

Part 3 (Continued from yesterday)

Further on outside the town,

A farmer lived with lots of ground,

Two sons he had who worked quite hard,

In fields and in the farming yard.

The youngest of them said one day,

I really want to run away,

I’ll ask my dad for what I’m owed,

And wander off along the road.

His dad his portion to him gave,

And watched him go as he did wave,

With tears that fell-down, both his cheeks,

Too sad to argue or to speak.

The lad he travelled off quite far,

And spent his time in all the bars,

And soon he found his money gone,

What would he do from now there on?

He found a job feeding some pigs,

It also meant he had some digs,

But hunger always made him ill,

He ended eating the pig swill.

One day all dirty and forlorn,

He thought of home and then did mourn,

‘If only dad would take me back,

As servant then I would not lack.’

So off he trotted back to home,

No more to squander or to roam,

But will they want to welcome me,

Of that there is no guarantee.

As near the farmyard he did get,

His heart was filled with deep regret,

He saw a figure running fast,

And shouting ‘Son it’s you at last.’

Before he even said a word,

His father hugged him undeterred,

‘Son my heart is full of joy,

To see you back my dearest boy.’

The father called to servants near,

‘Rejoice with me my son is here,

Get fatted calf and choicest wine,

Let’s have a party, come let’s dine.’

The older brother in the field,

His anger struggled to conceal,

‘A party for your wreck-less son,

But not for me with all I’ve done.’

The father spoke out loud and clear,

‘My son was lost or dead I’d feared,

But look he’s here and still alive,

Rejoice with me home he’s arrived.’

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 3rd

SUNDAY 3rd – Luke 15:1-10

As we commence another new week, how would you personally review the past six weeks?

I must be honest, that when I started writing the daily devotions starting with the 22nd March, I did not think I would need to be preparing them for such a long period of time. Over this period, we have covered various topics, and gone to many different Scriptures. My prayer is that sometime over this period that the Word and the devotions will have ministered in some way to our Church family. As I’m preparing for this week’s devotions I am hopeful that by the time I am sending them that we may be close to being able to get back to having gathered Church again, where we can be together in fellowship in safety and with hearts that are overflowing with joy.

For Sunday – Tuesday this week we will think of the word ‘celebrate’ and then again on Friday as this week Friday is a Bank Holiday to celebrate or to commemorate V.E. Day

Our Scripture today comprises of two well-known stories or parables that Jesus taught. A parable is described as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning or, as an earthly illustration to bring out a spiritual meaning. Tomorrow we will consider the third parable in this chapter.

In the first parable, a shepherd has lost one of his sheep, in the second a lady has lost one of her coins. That which was lost in both stories was of value to the owner. One sheep out of a hundred may not seem much, but if your living depended upon it then a 1% loss is a loss and should it have been a pregnant ewe then an even bigger loss. One coin out of 10 again may not seem too bad, but it is a 10% loss. One percent or ten percent, it does not matter, something was lost, and the Shepherd went to look for the lost sheep and the woman did all she could to find the missing coin.

At the end of the first story, having found his sheep, the shepherd calls his neighbours and friends saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Likewise, the same with the woman after finding the coin, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’

First, let us be honest, I wonder how many farmers call their neighbours to rejoice when they have been out and found a lost sheep? I spent 23 years living on a farm and believe you me sheep are always breaking out and getting lost – but I never ever remember my dad throwing a party after finding a lost sheep! The same with a coin, we have probably all lost a coin, and maybe spent ages searching for it, but I guess you never ran around your neighbours houses shouting out to them ‘rejoice, I lost a coin and have found it.’ But here in the parables they did!

Why? Because the story is emphasising not so much the value of a sheep or of a coin, but of a lost soul. Remember verse 1 says that Jesus was sat with sinners and eating with them, and the Scribes and the Pharisees were grumbling and criticising Jesus for spending time with them. So, Jesus told the parables to explain what he was doing – he was looking for lost souls! This is what it says in verse 7 after the sheep in the story was found, ‘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.’ And in verse 10 after the coin was found, ‘Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’

The loss of a sheep is not good news, the loss of the coin was not good news but what is even worse is the loss of a human soul. A sheep can be replaced, a coin can be replaced but not a soul.

The Bible says that ‘All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned each one to our own way.’ (Isaiah 53:6) As lost sheep we were bound for eternity to be lost forever, but the Shepherd came to find us. The Shepherd came to seek and to save the lost. It is ironic that to be able to do this, the Shepherd became a lamb as Isaiah 53:7 says, to be slaughtered on our behalf so that we could come into his fold, under his care as the Good Shepherd.

And just like the coin was precious to the woman who had lost it, so the human soul is precious to God who created it! (Genesis 1:27) And like the woman who did all she could to find the precious coin, so God intended to do all he could to find lost human souls.

And when a ‘lost sheep’, a ‘lost coin’, a lost soul is found there is a great celebration in heaven, there is joy in the presence of the angels.

Again, I have to be honest, when I look back to when I was found on May 18th 1969 after this parable of the lost sheep was the subject of the preacher, there wasn’t a party in the church, nor when we got home as a family, yes the preacher was excited, my parents were excited, I was excited, but there is one thing for sure there was a great celebration in heaven.

Imagine the celebration on the day of Pentecost when three thousand were saved! It would have been an ‘all-nighter’, think back to the moment when you were saved, and imagine the party in heaven over your being found. And the angels still like to celebrate, the Shepherd is still looking through the hillside, crags and briars, the woman is still sweeping through the house, the heavenly ‘champagne’ is always ‘on ice’ ready to celebrate.

The challenge today is this, are we willing to become like shepherds to go out and to look for the lost sheep, are we willing to be like the woman and to sweep through our neighbourhoods, looking in the nooks and cranny’s to find the lost souls that need saving. Are we willing to do whatever it takes so that the angels in heaven can celebrate again?

Instead of the usual hymns for today and tomorrow I am using a poem which I had already written myself based on Luke 15. It is in three parts, part 1 and 2 today and 3 tomorrow.

Part 1

A shepherd with a flock of sheep,

Cared for them on the mountain steep,

He led them into pastures new,

And luscious grass they all did chew.

He watched them through the day and night,

He never let them from his sight,

One day he counted them all up,

But alas, he’d lost a little tup.

There should have been a hundred sheep,

His watchful eye on them to keep,

How could one have gone astray,

I’ll look for it without delay.

He left the others in the fold,

And went out in the night so cold,

He searched the valley and the plain,

While getting soaked with all the rain.

But hush, he listened to a sound,

It came as if from rougher ground,

He followed as he heard the bleat,

And saw his tup caught by his feet.

The brambles tangled in his wool,

He’d struggled hard and tried to pull,

But got himself in such a mess,

He’d driven himself to deep distress,

The shepherd caught him with his crook,

And in his arms his tup he took,

He cut the briars all away,

And fixed him up without delay.

Back to the fold they both did go,

And then a party he did throw,

‘Rejoice with me for I am glad,

My sheep are all back in the pad.’

Part 2

A woman living down the street,

She found her necklace incomplete,

Ten coins it really should have had,

One was lost and she was sad.

She turned her cottage upside down,

It must be here it must be found,

She searched the cupboards, swept the floor,

And looked behind each of the doors.

She moved the carpet and the mat,

And even scurried out the cat,

And as she pushed aside a drawer,

The tiny coin her sharp eyes saw.

It must have tumbled through a crack,

But she was thrilled to get it back,

She called her neighbours and her friends,

‘Rejoice my necklace I can mend.’

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 2nd

SATURDAY 2nd

Galatians 5 – Fruit of the Spirit (vv23-24)

I did not intend to go to these verses for this week, but it seems to be the way it has happened.

We finished yesterday with the importance of the characteristic of love to be found within the Church. Jesus himself said in John’s gospel; ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’ (John 15:12) The measure for our love toward one another is the measure of the love that Jesus has toward us! That is a high standard! For his love is an everlasting, sacrificial, perfect love. In an earlier chapter John 13:35 ‘Jesus said ‘By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.’

In the verses before us today we have what we commonly call the fruit of the Spirit – that is, the evidence of a life that is transformed by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and which has been and is continuing to be sanctified by the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians defines this person as being one who been set free from a yoke of slavery (the desires of the flesh) Galatians 5:1 and who is walking by the Spirit. (V16)

When we open-up the fruit of the Spirit (I like to picture it like an orange with segments) we find that the first segment is love, second is joy, third is peace, fourth is patience, fifth is kindness, sixth is goodness, seventh is faithfulness, eighth is gentleness, ninth is self-control.

There are if you remember nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, here we see nine segments in the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but which is the most important the gifts or the fruit? My answer would simply be they are both important in the life of the believer and in the Church, but the gifts should only operate out of lives who are displaying the fruit. May God help each of us to be good examples of individuals living and walking according to the Spirit and not of the flesh.

In 2 Peter 1:5-11 we have Peter’s list of qualities he sees has essential in the life of the believer. ‘For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so near-sighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.  For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.’

Today I will highlight some other ‘Fruit’ Scriptures and trust as you read the verses you will be blessed and encouraged.

Psalm 1:3 ‘He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.’

Proverbs 11:30 ‘The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.’

In the KJV – ‘The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.’

Matthew 3:8 ‘Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.’

John 15:1-11’I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.’

Romans 7:4 ‘Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.’

Ephesians 5:9 ‘For the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.’

Philippians 1:9-11 ‘And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.’

Colossians 1:10 ‘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.’

There’s a sweet, sweet spirit in this place,

And I know that it’s the spirit of the Lord;

Sweet Holy Spirit,

Sweet Heavenly Dove,

Stay right here with us,

Filling us with Your love,

And for these blessings

We lift our hearts in praise,

Without a doubt we’ll know

That we have been revived

When we shall leave this place.

There are sweet expressions on each face,

And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.

Sweet Holy Spirit,

Sweet Heavenly Dove,

Stay right here with us,

Filling us with Your love,

And for these blessings

We lift our hearts in praise,

Without a doubt we’ll know

That we have been revived

When we shall leave this place.

Doris Ackers CCLI 788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 1st

FRIDAY May 1st

1 Corinthians 12 – The Nine Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit who himself is a gift to the Church, also comes with gifts. Firstly, there are gifts of service within the Body of Christ. We read of these in Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

Secondly, there are what we usually describe as the ‘Gifts of the Holy Spirit’ gifts or giftings that are spiritual endowments given to individuals within the Church. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 lists them as:

The utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, the ability to distinguish between spirits, various kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues.

Nine gifts which are as explained in this chapter apportioned by the Spirit to individuals as he wills.

I am a Pentecostal believer, and I not only believe in the receiving or the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I also believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and that they should be evident in a Pentecostal Church gathering.

Now this is a subject that is too vast for me to cover in these devotions, but too important for me not to overlook! So in this short devotion I want us to be inspired again, I want us to not only be Spirit filled and equipped, I want us to be a Church where there is very real evidence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work.

In verses 4-7, we discover that in the area of the Church and gifts of the Holy Spirit there are a variety of gifts but the source is the same – the Holy Spirit (v4) There are a variety of service – but the source is the same – The Lord (v5) and that there are a variety of activities, but the source is the same – God empowers them all in everything (v6) and then in v7, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit FOR THE COMMON GOOD. Notice the work of the trinity in the bold letters.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are nine in number, usually when someone gives us a gift it is for our own personal benefit, but not when it comes to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, whichever of the gifts he may have given to us individually is for the common good of everybody else, for example, in particular to a local Church setting, if one person has the gift of prophecy it is for the mutual good, or for the benefit of the whole assembly.

The gifts have often been divided into three groups and each group identified in this way:

Prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues – voice gifts

Wisdom, knowledge and discerning of spirits – revelation gifts

Faith, healing and miracle – power gifts

Whichever we way we want to group them, does not really matter, what matters is that we seek God for the manifestation of the gifts among us. In our own lives we need to come before God and make ourselves available for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be used.

Following on from chapter 12, we have the famous ‘love’ chapter. I think that Paul by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is giving to us in this chapter, the secret to creating an environment in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit will be used and the only kind of environment in which they should be used. He ends chapter 12 by listing all kinds of ministries and giftings in the Church, ending with these words, ‘But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.’ And what is this more excellent way? It is the way of LOVE. Read through chapter 13 and note as you do all the good that we can do, but if we do not have love it profits nothing! Paul then continues in the next chapter (14) with, ‘PURSUE LOVE, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.’

LOVE – love must be the characteristic that binds a Church together and create the atmosphere in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit can operate. May we pursue love, so that the Holy Spirit will be pleased to impart gifts that in turn will benefit each one of us in the body of Christ, in the local Church.

Of all the Spirit’s gifts to me,

I pray that I may never cease

to take and treasure most these three:

love, joy, and peace.

The Spirit shows me love’s the root

of every gift sent from above,

of every flower, of every fruit,

that God is love.

The Spirit shows if I possess

a love no evil can destroy;

however great is my distress,

then this is joy.

Though what’s ahead is mystery,

and life itself is ours on lease,

each day the Spirit says to me,

“Go forth in peace!”

We go in peace, but made aware that,

in a needy world like this,

our clearest purpose is to share

love, joy, and peace.

Fred Pratt Green CCLI 788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion April 30th

THURSDAY 30th

Acts 1:8 – Power to be Missional

We go back today to Acts chapter one, for when Jesus told the disciples to wait, it was initially to wait to be empowered for mission. ‘Do not go, don’t leave Jerusalem until you have received the promise of the Father, you heard me speak about it, John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit . . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’

Matthew and Mark record for us the commission of the disciples from Jesus, Matthew in 28:16-20 and Mark 16:15-18.

Back in the commencement of his ministry when Jesus called the disciples, he was calling them to be fishers of men. (Mark 1:17) Today we use the phrase to be evangelists, to tell the goods news so that others will hear, respond, and become disciples. Some of the disciples understood the concept of fishing after all that was their occupation, and they would have known that fishing was not easy, it wasn’t a case of sitting in a boat and looking overboard and saying, ‘here fishy, fishy, jump in the boat so that I can catch you’ no, it took a lot of hard work and energy. They needed to be properly equipped. And Jesus had called them to be fishers of men and it was not going to be easy, they would need to be properly equipped. Therefore, after commissioning the disciples to go and to fish (make disciples) Jesus said, ‘Do not go until you have the power (the resource) or the equipping of the Holy Spirit.

And after they had received the power of the Holy Spirit they went fishing. And the Book of Acts records for us their fishing adventures. Yes sometimes it was a smooth run, but at other times it was tempestuous, fraught with danger, literally for Paul as it involved him being shipwrecked, but because the original twelve had been obedient in ‘waiting until’, they laboured through the good times and the bad times by knowing the enabling strength and power and leading of the Holy Spirit.

The men (and the women with them) fished and fished till they caught fish and in so many places, islands, towns and cities and countries far away from Jerusalem. They went to at least Spain which is mention in Romans 15. And thank God, the fishing has never stopped, the disciples made disciples who in turn made disciples until the fishers of men have eventually caught you and I two thousand years later, and the fishing has taken place and is still taking place the whole world over.

I have never been fishing, other than the occasional crab baiting, I have watched others fish, often wondered why they can be bothered when you can go and buy a piece of fish more easily and quicker from the supermarket or even ready cooked at the chippy! Let somebody else do the fishing!

I wonder if we can be like that spiritually, let someone else do the fishing! But Jesus calls us all to be fishers of men (and women) and he doesn’t expect us to go out and to do it alone, he has also given the Holy Spirit to us, to equip us and to empower us in our sharing of the gospel. And like the disciples it will not always be an easy venture, there will be rebuffs, there may be conflict, there will be those who will reject the message, but it is the only way we will catch the fish. If you do not fish, you will never catch a fish! And believe you me, there are plenty of fish out there, and some are almost ready to jump into the net, it just needs us to put the nets out.

In John 21:3, Peter said to some of the disciples ‘I am going fishing’ and they fished all night and caught nothing – sometimes we may feel we have fished all night and caught nothing, I can assure you I have been there. Then it says that Jesus appeared and said to them ‘Cast the net on the right side’ and in doing so they caught 153 large fish.

In Acts we see the importance of the leading of the Holy Spirit in our fishing ventures. It is all about casting the net on the right side, or in the right place. For example, in Acts 8:29 we read of the Holy Spirit telling Philip to ‘Go over and join this Chariot’ In obedience Philip went and fished, and a man was saved. In Acts 16 which is a great missional chapter because there was successful fishing in so many places but in verse 6-7, we read ‘they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. And when they came to Mysia they attempted to go into Bythinia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.’

We need the help of the Holy Spirit in directing us, but we need to obey his voice, his leading. Next time you feel the Holy Spirit prompt you to speak to someone – be obedient, who knows you may catch a fish!

Peter said, “I’m going fishing,”

so his friends went out with him.

Through the night, they labored, watching,

hauling empty nets back in.

In the grey of early morning,

Jesus, you came walking by.

From the beach you called a greeting,

“Cast out on the other side!”

Soon their nets were filled to brimming;

someone cried, “It is the Lord!”

Jumping in, he started swimming;

Christ, you met him on the shore.

Guiding them to better waters,

eating fish and sharing bread –

you showed Peter and the others:

You were risen from the dead!

Risen Christ, you send us fishing!

God’s great sea is everywhere.

you have guided us in mission,

you have given love to share.

Through the years, our church has heard you,

we have answered your great call:

“Cast your nets where I have told you.

Bring my Word of love to all!”

Lord, be with our congregation;

by your Spirit, send us forth!

May we care for your creation;

may we work for peace on earth.

In our worship, in our giving,

in our serving those in need,

may we know, Lord; you are living,

guiding us in ministry.

Unknown CCLI 788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion April 29th

WEDNESDAY 29th

Acts 3 and 4 – Rivers of Living Water

The ministries or the work of the Holy Spirit within our lives are many and varied. He not only helps us in spiritual ministries, but he helps us in our everyday living, he enables us to walk in his ways rather than in the ways and the desires of the flesh. (our subject in the devotion on April 2nd)

Within the scope of the Church the Holy Spirit not only empowers us and anoints us, he also equips us. He gives us the grace and the strength in our work and service for the Lord.

There is another area that we come to in today’s reading, and perhaps we overlook this when we look at this portion of Scripture, and it is this; I believe that the Holy Spirit makes us more aware of the needs of those who are around us, he sensitizes us to becoming more compassionate toward the less fortunate or those in need. In a sense it is the Holy Spirit working in our lives to make us more like what Jesus was like – it says in Matthew 9:36 that when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.’

Jesus was a man who was moved with compassion. Today we are seeing all around us folk who are harassed and helpless, the easiest thing to do is to pass by them, to ignore them and think to ourselves, ‘someone else can see to them.’

In Acts 3, Peter and John were making their way up to the temple at the hour of prayer. On the journey was a man who was less fortunate than they were, a man who was harassed and helpless, a man who spent his day sitting and begging just to try and get by. He had been lamed from birth.

I think that the first thing that was triggered in the hearts of the two men was a supernatural compassion for the man. It would have been so easy to just walk by him. But he had a need and they could do something about it. But what they were about to do was something extraordinary. They couldn’t help him out financially , their pockets were empty, but because of the encounter that they had had in the ‘Upper Room’ they had something even more important to offer, something that would end the man’s hopelessness, and mean he would vacate the place where he had been sitting every day and do something that he had never experienced before, to walk and jump and to leap about. They had the Power of the Holy Spirit at work in their lives, they had the ‘faith to believe that something extraordinary could happen’ They had authority to minister ‘in the name of Jesus’ and so they spoke to the man (v6) and took the man by the right hand and ‘immediately his feet and ankles were made strong’ This in itself is amazing, but let’s not miss a major point, the healing was wonderful but through it they introduced the man to Jesus.

Now, I am not suggesting that we should go to every person we see begging in the streets, and begin to do this, what I am suggesting is that when we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit we will know and recognise the sensitivity of the leading of the Holy Spirit to go to those who he wants us to go to. It will not always be necessarily to go to someone in the streets, it can be anywhere, for the helpless and the harassed are found in our neighbourhoods, maybe in our families and maybe even within the community of the Church.

At first, this narrative does not seem to end too well for the disciples, they are arrested and put into custody! But it gives them a great opportunity to share the gospel again(4:7-12) and the verdict given was two-fold, 1) The authorities knew something spectacular had happened (4:13-14) 2) They forbade them from speaking or teaching any more in the name of Jesus. Then they were released.

But immediately the disciples were released from custody they reported back to the Church and they have a prayer meeting about the situation and God releases yet again another spectacular outpouring of the Holy Spirt. V31 ‘And when they had prayed, the place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirt and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.’

Hang on, ‘They were all filled with the Holy Spirit’ I thought that that had happened on the day of Pentecost? How come they were filled again? Well, can I suggest that the disciples who had been filled on the day of Pentecost had also been giving out as they had moved under the power of the Holy Spirit. They had received and they had also been giving, and (hopefully not to sound to disrespectful about spiritual things), they needed topping up again! In John 7:37-38, Jesus cried out ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink’, Jesus said that we need to drink so that out of our hearts will flow rivers of living water, ‘this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.’ (V39) This tells us, that for the rivers of living water to be flowing out they first need to be flowing in! We continually need to ‘drink’, to know what it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he can overflow out through our lives as rivers of living water towards others.

Going back to where we started, as you picture Peter and John speaking to the lame man, allow your mind’s eye to look deeper, first see Peter and John before they make the journey, drinking the living water, they are filled with the Spirit and as they begin to speak to the lame man, in the Name of Jesus, the rivers of living water are flowing out and a need is met and God is glorified.

I am a big tea and coffee drinker, probably drink far too much and guess what, what goes in needs to eventually come out! The more I drink the more . . .!

Paul says in Ephesians 5:18 ‘. . . but be filled with the Spirit . . .’ Scholars tell us that it should read ‘Keep on being filled with the Spirit’ Keep drinking in the water Jesus offers, keep drinking, drinking and drinking, because, you’ve guessed it,  the more you drink the more the rivers of living water will flow!

Rivers of living water,

Rivers that flow from the throne,

Rivers o’erflowing with blessing,

Coming from Jesus alone.

Rivers of living water,

Rivers of life so free,

Flowing from Thee, my Savior,

Send now the rivers through me.

Whoso is thirsty come hither,

Here is abundant supply;

Water transparent as crystal,

Come without money and buy.

Cleanse me, oh, cleanse me, my Savior,

Make me a channel today;

Empty me, fill me and use me,

Teach me to trust and obey.

Then, and then only, Lord Jesus,

Through me the rivers can flow;

Thus and thus only will others

Learn Thy great fulness to know.

Now I surrender to Jesus,

Here I lay all at His feet;

Anything, anywhere only,

Just for His service made meet!

Unknown CCLI 7882682