Category Archives: Random Devotional Thoughts

Random Devotional Thoughts

What Does Your Past Show?

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    Our past often has a way of catching up with us, often when we least expect it! We see this at the moment as a well known politician in a certain country in standing for his seat again, has to face a court-case, of something that he did thirty years ago. Another scenario is that of hearing a certain person’s name that we knew years ago, and the memories that that name brings up. Often not good memories either. Why is it that we remember more vividly, the wrongs that were done in the past, more than the good deeds?

We do well to remember the verses in the Old Testament of the Bible, that tell us that a good name is better than riches (Proverbs chapter 22.verse 1).

   It brings to mind how our past has a way of catching up with us, sometimes when we least want it to. Another case of this was when a young adopted woman traced her birth father, and knocked on his door one day announcing she was his daughter! His wife and family had no idea of this young woman’s existence, and the shock was great. We can only imagine how they must have all felt!

   But this is nothing to how we will feel when faced with all our past unforgiven  sins. The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death, while the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)”

  For a gift to be enjoyed, it must be taken and opened….it is a two way thing. God has done His part in providing and presenting this gift; the least we can do is to take it and thank Him for it.

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…Five “R”s to Think About…

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     Our preacher this morning was talking about Daniel in the Bible, and he had five “R”s to hang his talk on.

     Daniel was a young teenager who had been taken captive by the enemy and found himself along with three friends, in a strange country with a language they didn’t understand. Not only that, but there were strange customs to get used to, on top of being homesick for where they had come from.      These four teenagers were part of a group that had been specially chosen to become part of the king’s  court, and were to be trained up in the ways of the land. So they found themselves back in school to learn this new language and new ways so they could stand before the king.       But these were four young fellows who had strong convictions of what was right and what was wrong, and  we can learn many lessons from them.

     These four boys Resolved that they would not follow the heathen ways of this new land….after all, they knew the One True God, and believed that He would look after them.      They found that the food they were given to eat was of the very best, but Daniel was suspicious about where it had come from. When he found out it had been offered to the foreign idols first, he was horrified! He Resisted eating this food that he was being given  and went to the official in charge of their group and asked if it couldn’t be Removed from his diet. He asked that he be given just vegetables to eat and water to drink, instead of the rich food and wine that they were now being given.

    Then it was the official’s reaction to be horrified! If they didn’t look as healthy as their companions the next time they went before the king, he could lose his job or worse still, his head! But he agreed to do it for a week and then check them out.     His mates saw what he was doing and asked about it. So Daniel was able to Recruit them to do as he was doing, and when the four of them finally came before the king, the Result was that the king found that they were ten times better than all the rest of the group still eating the king’s food. They were more alert, fitter and trimmer of figure than any of the others, so they were allowed to stay on their diet.

    So this story from the Bible shows us many lessons that we can learn…. first of all we must RESOLVE to do what is right, then RESIST what is holding us back, and REMOVE ourselves from temptation. We can then RECRUIT others to follow our way, and the RESULT will be an eternal one for God’s glory.

     True, there may be bumps along the way, and times of testing, but it will all be worth it in the end . So never give up, and keep looking up!!

Random Devotional Thoughts

What is Holiness?

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       Holiness? What is that? It’s a word that has just about disappeared from our vocabulary these days, and certainly its concept has gone from man’s ideas when every person does what is right in his own eyes! 

    Holiness is everything that is right and just and good. God is a Holy God, and expects His people to be the same. We can never reach the heights of God’s perfection, but with His help, we can all do better than we do. There is no higher commendation than the one that God gave to His servant Job (pronounced Jobe) when He announced to Satan that Job was perfect and upright, and one who abhorred evil in any shape or form (Job 1:verse 8) . Yet when Job saw himself in God’s presence at the end of the story, he realised how far short he was of God’s standard, and said he repented in the face of God’s holiness and greatness. (Job 42: verses 5-6).

      As we go forwards into the year of 2024, let us each one strive to do better  with God’s help, than we did last year. Yes, we might be a good person, and yes, we may feel no need of changing our ways or thoughts, but let’s remember that we don’t see ourselves as God sees us. He says, “For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3 verse 23) and as such we are under His judgment unless we come before Him and confess that we are worthless in our own selves, and that His way is the only way. Jesus Christ said when He was here….”I am the way, the truth and the life….no one comes to the Father (God) except by Me”.  This statement is found in the book of John, chapter 14, verse 6.

    Just remember that if this is wrong, we have nothing to lose, but if it is right, we have everything to gain. 

Random Devotional Thoughts

Who is Your Boss?

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        I came across an article the other day that I thought was worth passing on. It certainly had some challenging thoughts in it! The writer made the statement that our work for the Lord should not be the most important thing in our life! Whoa! That can’t be right, you might be thinking. What could be more  important in our life than working for the Lord?

    The article goes like this (with abbreviations)……      

“Separate unto Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:2b).

There is a great need among Christians to discern the difference between the Lord of the Work and the work of the Lord. How easy it is to confuse these two things and treat them as one and the same! Yet the difference before God is quite vast.

      The writer was visiting a ministerial luncheon once, consisting of local pastors. He was introduced and asked to say a few words. He wondered what he could say to these pastors? But the Lord had already prepared his heart with a special word just for them. He said, “Brothers, I have come this day to remind you of one thing: the work of the Lord is NOT to be the most important thing in your life.”

He allowed his words to sink in for a moment and the silence was deafening. He could sense their thoughts as these pastors silently wondered what could possibly be more important than the work of the Lord. “Brothers, the Lord of the Work is more important than the work of the Lord,” he said, and then sat down.

He continued in this article by saying that he was still growing in this revelation. He had to be constantly reminded by the Lord, “Look, I am more important than your ministry. I am your priority. This is My work, not yours. I reserve the right to separate you for service or place you on the shelf. I reserve the right to send you forth or keep you at home. The Lord of the Work is more important than the work of the Lord. You keep saying this, but you do not always practice it.”

He had to come to realise that he had to be governed by the Lord of the Work, not the work of the Lord.       The Lord of the Work does not change, but the work of the Lord is constantly changing. The Lord of the Work governs the time, the place, the people, the provision, and the assignment. All these things may change as the Lord of the Work sees fit. He sets one up and brings another down. He opens doors and closes them. He leads us to speak or bids us to remain silent. We want to go out and the Lord tells us to stay home. We want to stay home and the Lord tells us to go. He is the Lord of the Work.

     We cannot understand everything that God does. In humility we need to bow down and say, “You are the Lord of the Work, and I am only a worker. You are the Master, and I am the servant. You know what You want and what You need far more than I do. I only see a portion, but you see all things. So I submit myself and what I do to You!”

    This is the only safe way. Can we submit ourselves to the Lord of the Work? Can we offer Him our gifts, our talents, and our abilities on the altar and let Him direct things? I believe that almost every apostle, prophet, or pastor that has gotten off track has done so because of this very thing – making the work of the Lord preeminent over the Lord of the Work. God gives them a gift, or a calling, or a ministry, and they begin working at it until they no longer need to be governed by the Holy Spirit. People can get blasé about what they are doing for the Lord….they are almost too gifted. We need a little less gifting,  and a lot more brokenness, learning to lean on the Lord instead of our own capabilities!

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God’s Mercy and Peace.

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Galatians  1: 3-5                                

    Paul  is still in his introduction to the Galatian Christians here.  He was in a position to pass on a blessing from God to others…. The challenge to us is, do we know God well enough to do this as well?

Paul knew God’s grace and peace and he knew where it came from.… it was the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.     Note that he uses Christ’s full title here…. none of this plain “Jesus” as we hear so much in Christian circles today. The world uses the name “Jesus Christ” in blasphemy and expletives, but only a genuine believer uses His full title. Let us see that we make full use of it!

     We sometimes wonder if non-Christian people we associate with, notice that we don’t talk as they do….I remember once when I was having my weekly game of golf (and I played golf very badly!) and had made a particularly bad shot. One of the ladies I was playing with, said, “I don’t know how you can have a shot like that, and not be swearing!” So people DO notice how we act and talk! Let us not let the Lord Jesus Christ down in our speech and actions!

     In the next verse, Paul says why He is our Lord Jesus Christ….. it is because He gave Himself for our sins and delivered us from this present evil world. This is God’s will for each human being. Let us see that we live in the enjoyment of this blessing and not go back into the scum of what this world has to offer!      Paul finishes off his introduction by acknowledging God’s glory which is everlasting….. this is the eternal praise of heaven (Revelation 5:12-14). If we don’t want to do this on earth now, we certainly won’t want to do it for eternity!

The blessings of God are mercy and peace, We can thank Him now that they’ll never cease; Through the work that was done,   By His well loved Son, ‘Twill last well beyond our decease.

Random Devotional Thoughts

How Do You Stack up?

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     We had a baptismal service at our church this morning when four young people were baptised. Each of them gave very clear testimonies as to why they wanted to be baptised, and how they had come to know the Lord for themselves. To them God was not just a force “up there”, but He was personally their Father in Heaven.

    How many people say the Lord’s prayer today starting with “Our Father which art in Heaven”, and they don’t know God as their Father at all! We wouldn’t dream of approaching just any man out there, and calling him “Father”  and asking Him to supply our daily food. Not only that, but how many people think, or want, to go to heaven when they die without even thinking what they will find when they get there! Heaven is God’s home, and as such is holy and pure, without a single jarring note, and full of the praise of God. How could anyone who can’t praise God here on earth, think they are going to be able to do this in heaven? Yet so many people think this without even realising what the implication of being in heaven is! Let’s hope you aren’t one of these, and that you make sure that God is indeed, your Father! You might be wondering how you can do this….it is very simple, just ask Him and tell Him you are sorry for the things that you have done wrong ! When He sees that you really mean what you say, He will become your Heavenly Father, and you will have the right to call Him this….”Our Father!”

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Hiding God’s Word.

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    Our grandchildren have grown and are now having problems which we can’t help taking on our own shoulders as we watch them flounder along making the same mistakes that we once made. Now we are brought up with a round turn by health problems which we didn’t foresee, and we find that we have new needs. We have to downsize; things we once did with ease, now take all day. Then when we come to the next big-0 birthday, we realise that there is very little time left, and maybe no quality time at that. Our minds are not as clear as they used to be, and it is an effort to think of the future and spiritual things.

   For those of us who have endeavoured to follow the Lord during our life time, we have a foundation of knowing the Scriptures and can draw on these from our memory bank for the times of weakness. Our Lord says that His Holy Spirit will bring these things to our remembrance in our times of need, but there has to be something there in the first place for Him to work with.

    So while we have the energy, let’s make sure we store up God’s Word in our hearts against the time that we may not be able to get “fresh manna” due to illness and bodily weakness. Let’s remember that He has promised He will be always with us, and as we go through the door, He is the only One who can go through with us. Let’s get to know Him better and seek to live for Him in every way, and we will come to that door with full confidence and anticipation of what lies beyond!

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Random Devotional Thoughts

More Snippets from Ezekiel

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      I wrote last time about a vision Ezekiel had seen, and  continued reading through his writings. I was intrigued by the following thoughts from the first part of verse seven of chapter forty-three which says… And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever.”     It is amazing to think that God’s desire has always been to live among His people. There are many pictures in this vision that are applicable to us as believers. We are told that we are the temple of the Living God as a body of believers on earth at this time…..

     God’s one great desire is that people follow him with all their heart, and mind and soul (Matthew 22:36-38). Since we see that the sacrifice for our sin has been met by Jesus Christ and that the Holy Spirit of God is now living within us, does this then let us off the hook of having to offer any further sacrifices? Can we just take this free salvation and then live our lives how we want to? No, most definitely not! What then are we expected to do?

    The first offering to give to God is to give our own selves to Him and to live for Him in a way that is honouring to Him. We are not to give way to things like bad temper, immoral living of any sort, dishonesty in  business deals or in private life, or in using bad language.. (Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)    We are to have a humble attitude before God, and not demand things just because He has promised them….it may not be right for us at this time! (Psalm 51:17)    Then we are to give Him the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. It is so easy to complain about people and things….it just comes naturally right from childhood to say, “Not my fault, I didn’t do it!” It is a real sacrifice to have to put these complaining thoughts to one side and find something positive to say instead!  ( Psalm 107:22; Hebrews 13:15)    We are to be helpful and kind, to do good to others, and not try to be the top dog, but take the lower place. But on the other hand, we must also be ready to step forward and do our bit….it’s just as bad to say we aren’t good enough when something needs doing !  (Hebrews 13:16, and Philippians 4:18)  

    Believers are part of a holy priesthood to God by reason of our salvation, and as such, we are obligated to do the sacrifices of giving praise, living a holy life and sharing what we have with others.  (1 Peter 2:5)

God has given His only Son, We must take the work that’s done, Giving back the praise He’s due, Is what He wants us to do.

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