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Daily Devotion August 7th

FRIDAY 7th

John 10:1-18

NIV (v7) ‘Therefore Jesus said again, Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.’

ESV (v7) ‘So Jesus again said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.’

We have our third ‘I am’ statement in this portion of Scripture today, plus the fourth in v11 which we will consider tomorrow.

Here Jesus is identifying himself as the door (ESV) or gate (NIV) in the context of this chapter he is not only the Shepherd of the sheep, but also the gate or door or entrance into the sheepfold.

We could bring a number of different lessons from these verses, but for today I want to link it to what Jesus says later in John 14:6 when he says that he is ‘the way, and the truth, and the life. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.’ He is the only door or gate or entrance into heaven. There is no other way, there is no other door, there is no other gate, there is no other entrance.

I have always been a fan of cars, and from an early age, probably from about age eleven I would go every year to the Motor Show that was held in Earls Court, London and then latterly at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, for Earls Court my grandfather would take my older brother and myself by coach from Hereford. Once it had moved to the NEC, I would go by myself. One year, I decided to let the train take the strain, and arrived at the exhibition centre, not sure of the way to get in and I had a bit of difficulty finding the entrance. Eventually, I found a doorway that took me down some stairs and through a corridor. I was then faced with another door. I opened the door and walked through it and there I was in the main exhibition hall! I thought to myself, how as that happened, I have got in without paying, without going through any ticket entrance, I was in for free. I decided to speak to a security guy, and said to him what had happened, explaining that somehow I had stumbled upon a way to get in without paying, he replied don’t worry about it, enjoy your day!

There are many who are trying to get into heaven their own way, through works or personal merit, through religion, through religious fervour and practise, but unlike my stumbling upon an entrance into the show, they will never be able to stumble into heaven, there are no backdoors, no holes in the fence, no short cuts, there is only one way and it through the Lord Jesus Christ, it is by the way of the cross. There is some good news though, and just as I got into the show for free, so also the cost has been paid for our entrance into heaven, the one who said he was the door has also paid the price, by laying his life down for the sheep.

The hymn writer reminds us that the one who is the gate was also the one who unlocks the gate! ‘There was no other good enough, to pay the price of sin, he only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.

Have you come to Jesus, have you come through him, to receive all the benefits that come from knowing him as Saviour and Lord? Remember he is the only way into heaven.

We return to the same chapter again tomorrow.

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Devotions

Daily Devotion April 28th

TUESDAY 28th

Acts 2:14-47 – Power

Luke who has written this historical account for us, continues the story. From the thousands that were out in the streets, there had been a mixed reaction. Some were amazed and perplexed at what they were seeing and hearing, others decided to mock them, suggesting it was as a result of having too much wine to drink, even though the evidence was there, that in the tongues that were being spoken the people understood them and heard them describing the mighty works of God.

As a response to the reaction of the crowd, but more importantly, as a result of the Pentecostal Power and the Holy Spirits Infilling, Peter stood up with the other eleven and began to address the crowd. It was only a few weeks earlier they were locking themselves away for fear of the Jews, (John 20:19) but now, what a transformation. When the Holy Spirit comes and fills with power, he also gives spiritual boldness and spiritual strength, and Peter, who blatantly denied Jesus three times (John 18:15-27) is now boldly proclaiming him.

In verses 15 – 36 we have the first sermon preached after the inauguration of the Church, and what a sermon. It wasn’t a motivational talk, it wasn’t a series of quick steps to make yourself feel better about yourself, it wasn’t a half hour talk that tickled the fancy of the hearers, it was a proclamation of the truth, it expounded and verified that what was happening was a fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy,(vv16-21 and Joel 2:28-32) it declared the truth concerning who Jesus was, and that though his life, death and resurrection God was at work, (vv22-28) it was a declaration of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, (vv29-36) it exposed the sins of the hearers, for at the same time as the Holy Spirit anointed Peter to preach the sermon, the Holy Spirit was also at work in the hearts of the crowd, for we read in v37 that they were cut to the heart, conviction had gripped them as they realised the reality of their sin and their need for the Saviour. They responded, ‘What shall we do?’ and Peter answered, ‘Repent and be baptised, everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the Holy Spirit.’ 

We need to know again the Holy Spirits anointing on the preaching of the Word of God, I confess, that I need to know the anointing, I need to know the equipping power, those of us who preach in Churches today need to know what it is to not pussy foot around trying to pamper, but to preach with authority and in power the whole counsel of God so that conviction will fall upon the hearers. In the words of the famous William Booth hymn, ‘We need another Pentecost, send the fire today’ I need it, we all need it, may God visit us again with Pentecostal power and anointing.

The end of the sermon is not recorded for us, as it says that after giving the command to repent and to be baptised, in verse 40 ‘And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying save yourselves from this crooked generation.’ ‘With many other words’ he continued, but the exciting part is there in verse 41, ‘So those who received his word were baptised and there were added that day about three thousand souls.’ What a baptismal service it must have been and imagine the rejoicing that must have been taking place in heaven. And why did it happen? Because they were obedient to the command to wait, and as a result of their waiting they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they preached with power and with authority the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 39 we read ‘For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are afar off, everyone whom the Lord calls to himself.’

The ‘for you’ was the crowd that were listening to Peter preaching, the ‘for your children’ was to be the next generation, the ‘for all who are afar off’ includes every succeeding generation, the ‘everyone whom the Lord calls to himself’ includes every man, woman, boy, girl who comes to faith during the period which we call the day of God’s grace. This includes you and me, the promise is for us today. What is the promise? ‘You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ Can I re-echo what I was asked on the edge of Lough Neigh, (Monday 27th) ‘Have you received the Holy Spirit?’

I pray that God will create an inner desire, thirst, hunger within us to want more of God, to know what it truly means to be filled so that in whatever capacity we may function within the Church we seek to do it under the Holy Spirit’s anointing.

O God of burning cleansing flame:

Send the fire!

Your blood-bought gift today we claim:

Send the fire today!

Look down and see this waiting host,

And send the promised Holy Ghost;

We need another Pentecost!

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

God of Elijah, hear our cry:

Send the fire!

And make us fit to live or die:

Send the fire today!

To burn up every trace of sin,

To bring the light and glory in,

The revolution now begin!

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

It’s fire we want, for fire we plead:

Send the fire!

The fire will meet our every need:

Send the fire today!

For strength to always do what’s right,

For grace to conquer in the fight,

For power to walk the world in white:

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

To make our weak hearts strong and brave:

Send the fire!

To live, a dying world to save:

Send the fire today!

Oh, see us on Your altar lay,

We give our lives to you today,

So crown the offering now we pray:

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

William Booth CCLI 788682

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Daily Devotion April 18th

SATURDAY 18th

Psalm 91

We return today to the theme I started yesterday of being covered.

It’s a word that gets used a lot today in reference to insurance. We need insurance to cover our car, our homes, our possessions, even our lives! Thank God we who are the redeemed of the Lord have not only cover, we have full cover!

In this psalm which is a favourite of many we see the word ‘cover’ used in verse 4. ‘He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.’ (NIV)

‘Covered with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.’ This paints a beautiful picture in our minds, I am sure we have all at some time seen a hen with a brood of chicks gathered under her feathers, having been brought up on a farm it was a sight I often saw as we had hens and ducks. If ever we would make our way toward a hen with her chicks, the closer we got the more protective she became until eventually she would make sure that all the brood were safely nestled under her wings and it didn’t matter whether she had just 2 or 3 chicks or a brood of ten, the protection was there for them all.

Now, of course we know God is Spirit, but often the Bible refers to God as if he has particular features, such as his hand that is not shortened that it cannot save, his eyes that are roaming the earth, his feet which use the earth has a footstool, these types are given in a way that we as humans can be enabled to understand about who God is. Not what he looks like, but who he is as God in his character and in his providential and saving care for mankind. We know he doesn’t have literal feathers, but it helps us to understand that he is a God who like the hen wants to protect his children.

Scripture is full of other similes that speak of God as a protector. For example, in Proverbs 18:10 we read ‘The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.’ In other word, his name covers us. But in Psalm 61:3 we read ’for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.’ The first says it is the NAME that is a strong tower, the second says ‘YOU’ that is God himself is a strong tower. We can understand in these examples that not only do we call on the name of the Lord for protection, but we can run into the Lord for protection.

We have just moved to the North East from North Wales and scattered along the coast in North Wales, in around 60 miles there is a string of castles including, Flint, Rhuddlan, Conwy, Caernarvon. These were built to be places of fortitude, refuge and protection. The people would fight from within the safety of the castle walls, and if an attack was impending, they would run to the safety of the castle walls.

We have One who is like a hen, waiting for us to run under his feathers for protection, but he is also like a castle, a fortress, and we can run into him for safety. We don’t have to fight our individual battles alone in our own strength, we can fight them from the safety of our Fortress, our Strong Tower. 

Consider some of these Psalms that remind us that Our God is a strong defence and a strong defender:

Psalm 3:3, Psalm 9:9, Psalm 16:1, Psalm 18:1-3, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 31:3, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 62:5-7, Psalm 71:1-3,

If there is anything we have learned over the past few months it is that anything that we try to build our lives upon and around in this world is very unstable, whatever protections we may have put in place they are but temporal, or maybe even worthless, whatever protection or help the government has put in place is temporal, as time moves on, the goal posts may be moved, the safety nets may break or fail, but not our Protector, not our Safety Net, Not our God. He is Constant, Firm and Dependable.

May we continually run under his feathers, may we continually run into his Name, may we continually run into Him.

We won’t fear the battle, we won’t fear the night

We will walk the valley with You by our side

You will go before us, You will lead the way

We have found a refuge, only You can save

Sing with joy now: our God is for us

The Father’s love is a strong and mighty fortress

Raise your voice now, no love is greater

Who can stand against us if our God is for us

Even when I stumble, even when I fall

Even when I turn back, still Your love is sure

You will not abandon, You will not forsake

You will cheer me onward with never-ending grace

Sing with joy now: our God is for us

The Father’s love is a strong and mighty fortress

Raise your voice now, no love is greater

Who can stand against us if our God is for us

Neither height nor depth can separate us

Hell and death will not defeat us

He who gave His son to free us

Holds me in His love

Neither height nor depth can separate us

Hell and death will not defeat us

He who gave His son to free us

Holds me in His love

Sing with joy now: our God is for us

The Father’s love is a strong and mighty fortress

Raise your voice now, no love is greater

Who can stand against us if our God is for us

Sing with joy now: our God is for us

The Father’s love is a strong and mighty fortress

Raise your voice now, no love is greater

Who can stand against us if our God is for us

City Alight CCLI 788682