Tag: love

Devotion February 14th

Post author By emmanuelpcgateshead
Post date February 14, 2023

TUESDAY 14^th

1 Corinthians 13

‘If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.’

Happy Valentine’s day and there is no better place to turn to on this day than to the great chapter on love! After looking at what John said about hate in our previous devotion, we will deviate from his epistle, to the chapter today, but at the same time it is a good place to turn to as it fits in well with the devotional theme.

Of course the greatest demonstration of love is not that which is between a man and a woman, which is what Valentine’s day is all about, although that is special, but more importantly of that which God has shown to mankind. In the epistle of John which we are going through at this moment in our devotions, John writes ‘ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins’ 1 John 4:10. In his earlier gospel he wrote ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’ John 3:16.

Yes the love that can and is expressed between a man and a woman is special, but God’s love is even more special, more wonderful and more precious because he loved us even when we didn’t love him, and he loved us enough to send his only Son into this world to die for us. His love is beyond comparison and yet we can know it and receive it.

Today with the sentimentality that will be expressed between individuals, is a good day to just pause and to think of the wonder of the love of God, it beats all other expressions of love, it is eternal, strong and true. I will share a couple of verses of Scripture that you can think of as being the little note that God sends to you this Valentine’s day to remind you that he loves you to the heavens and back and then I will end the devotion with the words of a well-known song.

‘But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us’ Ephesians 2:4.

‘ . . . and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us’ Romans 5:5.

‘See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God . . .’ 1 John 3:1

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell;

It goes beyond the highest star,

And reaches to the lowest hell;

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled,

And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure

The saints’ and angels’ song.

When years of time shall pass away,

And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,

When men, who here refuse to pray,

On rocks and hills and mountains call,

God’s love so sure, shall still endure,

All measureless and strong;

Redeeming grace to Adam’s race

The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above,

Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

For those who listen to the audio devotion the song will be included.

Tags devotion, Emmanuel Pentecostal Church, Gateshead, haydn greenow, John 3:16, love, valentine’s

Devotions

Daily Devotion May 17th

SUNDAY 17^th – Ephesians 2:1-10

‘No ifs, no buts’

I wonder how many of us know of this little phrase, ‘no ifs, no buts’ and if so, in what context? For me it takes me back to growing up on the farm and either my mum or dad would give an instruction, usually in regard to a job that needed doing or maybe homework that need completing and one of us would start with our objections as to why we thought we couldn’t do what was being asked and out it would come, ‘no ifs, no buts’ just get on with it.

I was out walking and contemplating the devotions for this week and this phrase dropped into my mind, and the thought I had was this, thank God that there are some ifs and buts in Scripture. For example, in 2 Chronicles 7:13 the Lord says ‘When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land or send my pestilence among my people . . .’ This isn’t good news, that God would do these things, but it is followed by an ‘if’ in verse 14, ‘IF my people who are called by name . . . I will hear . . . I will forgive . . . I will heal their land.’

In the New Testament we have as an example, Ephesians 2:12 ‘remember that you were at that time separated from Christ . . .’ then verse 13 continues, ‘BUT now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.’

To start this week we will look at two of the ‘buts’ If you have already read the verses for our reading and maybe continued in the chapter, you may have noticed it contains two ‘buts’, the first is in verse 4, ‘But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us’ the second is in verse 13 as quoted above.

In this chapter the ‘but’ defines a change, a change in what we were to what we have become, a change in our situation and in our position and the changes have come about because of Gods abundant mercy, his great love, and his amazing grace.

A brief summary of the first few verses in this chapter tells us that we were spiritually dead because of our trespasses and sins, we walked as the unbelieving world walked, we lived selfish and sinful lives and we were under the wrath of God. In other words we were depraved sinners and deserving eternal punishment yet because of the ‘but’ in verse 4, we have instead come to know Gods mercy, love and grace and we have been made spiritually alive, the wrath of God has been turned away from us, we are in Christ, and we are already knowing and will continue to know his unmeasurable riches of grace in our lives, and we have become his workmanship. (Philippians 2:13 ‘for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure’) We no longer live according to the flesh but we are living out good works which he prepared for us to do. What a transformation, what a change, an incredible change in our character, in our position and in our lifestyle.

Thank God that we have come to know this wonderful change in our lives, and it is because of a ‘but’, because of Gods abundant mercy, great love, and amazing grace.

Let us ponder on these three things today.

Abundant mercy – Our text says that God is rich in mercy, this means that despite the depth of our sin or the depravity of our human nature, God’s mercy is far greater. One hymn writer puts it this way, ‘Come, ye sinners, lost and hopeless, Jesus’ blood can make you free; For He saved the worst among you, When He saved a wretch like me. And I know, yes, I know, Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean, And I know, yes, I know Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean.’

In Psalm 51:1 the Psalmist cries out ‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.’ Imagine where we would be if God were not a God of mercy! We may not think that we should be called the vilest sinner, but the truth of the matter is that whatever our sin we were all lost, hopeless, deserving of hell, but because of his mercy, he came to seek and to save the lost. He found you and he found me. Titus puts it this way, Titus 3:5 ‘he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.’

Gods mercy is linked with his love, Psalm 103, verse 11 is translated in the KJV as ‘For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.’ The modern versions translate ‘great is his mercy’ as ‘great is his love’ (ESV, NIV) Our text v4 says that God is rich in mercy because of his great love. They are both (mercy and love) eternally entwined in the character and nature of God and in his dealings toward mankind. Sadly, many still choose to reject both his love and his mercy. Our testimony is this, ‘Mercy there was great, and grace was free’

Great love – We have already seen how the mercy of God is extended towards mankind because of his great love. I almost should not need to expound on the greatness of his love, for we who believe have all come to be recipients of it because of Calvary. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved, (that is he was bursting with so much love for) the world (lost and sinful humanity) that he gave his one and only Son (to be a sacrifice for the sinner at Calvary) so that if we believe on him we will not perish (go to Hell) but will have eternal life. (italics mine) The immensity of the love of God should never cease to amaze us and should always win a positive response from us. ‘Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. The song writer expresses it this way, ‘The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.’

1 John 4:10 ‘In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’

Romans 5:8 ‘but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’

Amazing grace – It was John Newton who penned the words of the famous song ‘Amazing grace, how sweet the sound’ he was a man who knew what he deserved as a wretched sinner and yet had become a recipient of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And such were we, wretched, lost, and helpless until Gods amazing grace got hold of us and saved us.

Someone has said that GRACE can be described acronymically as ‘Great Riches At Christs Expense’. In other words, we get what we do not deserve because somebody else, in our case, Christ, does whatever is necessary for us to be able to receive it, (salvation) he died in our place as our substitute. We get what we could not earn, (redemption) we get what we could not achieve, (righteousness) we get status which we could never ever attain to, (seated with Christ in heavenly places) and all because of his grace which is given to us through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s letter to the Church at Rome is a great book of grace, the word grace appears around thirty times, I will end this devotion with some verses from that letter. Notice it is a ‘but’, Romans 3:21-25 ‘But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.’

Years I spent in vanity and pride,

Caring not my Lord was crucified,

Knowing not it was for me He died

On Calvary.

Mercy there was great, and grace was free;

Pardon there was multiplied to me;

There my burdened soul found liberty,

At Calvary.

By God’s Word at last my sin I learned;

Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned,

Till my guilty soul imploring turned

To Calvary.

Now I’ve giv’n to Jesus everything,

Now I gladly own Him as my King,

Now my raptured soul can only sing

Of Calvary.

Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan!

Oh, the grace that brought it down to man,

Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span

At Calvary!

^{William Reed Newell CCLI 788682}

Tags emmanuelpentecostalchurchgateshead, Ephesians 2, Grace, haydn greenow, love, mercy, no ifs no buts, Oh the love that drew salvations plan

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.