Category Archives: Random Devotional Thoughts

Random Devotional Thoughts

Why Problems?

ManKeith came in for lunch one day with a very sore back. He had been working on fixing our back deck which needed a large board to replace one with rot in it, and had twisted his back in man-handling this board. As it turned out, it was quite a while before he could get back and finish the job, taking several days of lying flat on his back and then being very careful walking around until it came right.

We all experience times of trials and problems as we go along in life and wonder why. Even worse, we wonder “Why me?” The Bible deals with this same question, and quite clearly tells us why. In  book of Hebrews chapter twelve we read….

“For the Lord disciplines the ones  He loves and chastises every son He accepts.

Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those trained by it.”

So we see that it is for our own good, and that we will benefit from it if we take it the right way. Sometimes we need to take time out for meditation and reflection and if we are always too busy we miss out on these times. We can either choose to be resentful and grumpy in our pain, or we can take the attitude that it will soon pass and things will get better. It is all up to us!

Random Devotional Thoughts, Uncategorized

How Do You Stack Up?

BAPTIZ_FWe 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. Yet so many people do this without even thinking what they are saying. Let’s hope you aren’t one of these!

The speaker after the baptismal service, made it quite clear to the congregation that what these young people had done was not to gain favour with God to get them to heaven, but were going through this rite in obedience to what God had asked them to do. It is something that Jesus Christ told His disciples to do before He left this earth….”Go and teach all nations,  baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and see, I will be with you always”.

What a wonderful promise this is, that He gives to all who do as He asks!

Random Devotional Thoughts

Helmet of Hope

Helmet

David, the Psalmist in the Bible, could say… “For You are my hope, O Lord GOD: You are my trust from my youth” (Psalm 71:5).

I was listening to a preacher the other day who was talking about hope. Not hope with the thought of it may or may not happen, but hope as a confidence and certainty. There is another verse in the Bible where it says to put on the helmet of the hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8). Once we have this helmet firmly on our head, no matter how many darts of doubt and fear Satan fires at us, we can overcome them.

The law in New Zealand says that it is compulsory for every cyclist to wear a helmet while riding their bike on the road. It is no use carrying it on the handlebars of the bike, because that won’t keep us safe if we have an accident. We have to have it on our head  to be safe. Every time we have an impact, we have to adjust it and wear it properly again.

So it is when troubles hit us on our ride through life, we have to adjust our helmet of hope and get on our bike and go on again. Every negative thought that Satan gives us, we have to counteract with our helmet of hope, and count our many blessings.

It is no use counting our blessings on our fingers and our troubles on the calculator, we are to do it the other way around. Every new morning we are to put on our helmet of hope and count our blessings; we are to firmly fasten it with thanksgiving to God, and to resist negative thoughts which come from the Evil One. We will then be able to face the new day with a positive and confident “hope” as we go to work.

Random Devotional Thoughts

What is Life?

Quinn Joy aI  was watching a young Mum with her newborn baby the other day, and got to thinking how this little life is there for ever. Everything that the child will grow into is already in place except its attitudes, and these are up to the parents to teach and show as the child develops. What an awesome responsibility, and one that so many people take so lightly!

Life has a beginning at conception and then grows as the child is born and takes its first breath. This life does not end at death, it just begins! What we have been on earth lays the foundation for what we will be in the next life…just as Jesus said, “What we bind on earth will be bound in heaven.”

This life is just the beginning of eternity. Every baby that takes a breath exists for ever, for eternity….life on earth is just a dot, and what we do with it is up to us!

Jesus said….”I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly!”  and…

“This is life eternal…that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ  Who You sent.”

Random Devotional Thoughts

What Do You See?

 Black Spot  Someone sent an email the other day telling the story of a professor who was setting his students an exam. He handed the papers all out upside down, and then told them to turn the page over. They found it was just a blank piece of paper with a large black dot in the middle of it. He told them to have a good look at it, and then write down what they were seeing.

Without exception, they all wrote about the black spot, where it was on the page and the effect it had on the paper. The professor told them that not one had commented on the whiteness of the paper or the size of it in comparison to the black spot, and then pointed out the moral of the story….how much we concentrate on the wrong things around us instead of on the good things we see. That reminded me that I’m like that too, and it ought not to be !

So whenever things annoy or grate, just remember to overlook the black spot in  the middle of the page and focus on the white of the paper!!

Random Devotional Thoughts, Uncategorized

That Temptation in Your Pocket! (Part Two)

Phone 1      If you idolize popularity, if it is being admired and having lots  of followers that makes you feel good about yourself, then you  will be tempted to use your smart-phone to pursue that idol. You may use the camera to take inappropriate photographs of  yourself in Instagram, or you may use the Facebook app to say harsh words about other people. That phone that can be used  to do so much good and to bring so much encouragement will now be used to cause harm.

There are not many people who buy a phone intending to use it to harm others or to look at pornography. But where your heart is, there your technology will be also. The way you use your technology reveals your heart.  It shows whether your heart is oriented toward God and toward finding true joy and satisfaction in Him, or whether you are  attempting to find counterfeit joy and satisfaction in the things He forbids. At any moment, your heart has a purpose for your  phone. Yes, thank God for your smart-phone, but plead with Him for wisdom to use it well, and guard your heart.

Use It to the Glory of God!

And now it is time to take that phone out of the box and to turn it on for the first time. As you hold it in your hand, why don’t you take a moment to pray? Ask God to help you to use that phone well. Commit before Him right now that, to the best of your abilities, you will only ever use it to serve His purposes. Ask a believing friend or two to be your accountability and check in regularly. Then go and glorify Him with and through it.

Random Devotional Thoughts

The Storms of Life.

NSNWA015      We attended a Bible conference recently that was being held in the small chapel where we grew up as children and young people. We try to make a point of attending this conference each year, partly for old times’ sake, and partly for fellowship to catch up with old friends from years before.

There were two speakers this year, and the two talks during the afternoon sessions really made an impact as they seemed to dovetail together beautifully. The first speaker talked about the Storms of Life, and this was a topic he spoke of from the heart. It had only been four years since his wife died with cancer. He broke his talk into three parts, showing how the Lord speaks to us in these three aspects of the storms of life that we all experience at different times.

When the disciples experienced the worst storm of their life, they had been sent across the lake by Jesus Christ. The disciples were experienced fishermen who could read the weather signs and knew how to handle these sudden storms that whipped up the lake surface into a frenzy. Jesus knew all this, and He knew a storm was coming up that would test them to the maximum. They hadn’t made a mistake that brought this upon them, they were there for a purpose.

Remember this….Jesus Christ knows the storm we are in at any given time. He could have stopped the storm coming to the disciples, but He wanted to show them His power. He knows the storm that I may be in right now, but He wants me to go through it so He can show me His power and refine the dross out of my life and strengthen the faith I have in Him.

The Lord speaks to us in these three ways ….

In the storm….He comes to us through the storm, walking on the water…”I will never leave you”, He says.

Through the storm… He reminds us that He is there with us…”don’t be afraid”, He says, “trust Me”.

The storm within you….often when these storms come, they attack us from the inside. We are all in a turmoil because of circumstances beyond our control, and wonder where we are going to turn next.

Don’t be afraid of being afraid….storms always have an end. There will be a period of calm when it is over and then another one may come but because we have proved our Lord’s help with the first one, we have confidence within the next one.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

We cannot build our house during the storm, we must have it built before it comes!

Remember….He is the Lord of all our storms.

Transitions….

The next speaker spoke about transitions and how the peace after the storm usually precedes a transition….and transitions are never peaceful, they are a time of turmoil. Take the birth of a child….a time of labour for the mother and time of turmoil for the child leaving the womb to enter this world, and then turmoil for the rest of their lives! So many things in our lives are a transition….a new baby brings a whole new way of life to a couple; a move to a new area is a period of turmoil until settled in; children reaching the teenage years bring a transition for both themselves and their parents.

Then again there is the transition into the empty nest syndrome and finally into retirement. But that is not the end….what about the transition into the retirement village and then the rest home? What about the transition of the loss of a spouse? It seems that the whole of life is a series of transitions. We need the Lord’s help in each of these transitions in life. Nothing remains static…change is the essence of life. Let’s make sure that we approach each of these transitions with the peace of God in our heart and mind.

   Be anxious about nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

We had a lot to think about as we made our way back home.

Random Devotional Thoughts

How Much is your Soul Worth?

100_3589a   Every now and then we get a pamphlet in the mail asking if we are thinking of selling our house. They say that they have clients wanting to buy in our area! They will come and give us a free appraisal of our property, they say, hoping we will take them up on it.

They say that it is every young married couple’s dream to own their own home, but we all have something that worth much more than any house. How much is your house worth? Only as much as someone will pay for it! How much is your soul valued at? What is it worth?

We say we own this or that. But whatever we own, really owns us! If we have a car we have to service it regularly. If we own a house we have to keep it maintained or it loses its value. If we buy a lawn mower, we have to use it or the place soon looks untidy.

Maybe we only own something small like a mobile phone. It has to used responsibly or else it controls us! How many people do we see walking down the street not watching where they are going because their fingers are busily going on their gadget. They feel lost without having it in their pocket or hand. We don’t own these things, they own us!

The Bible asks the question….”What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” Nothing in this world, whether it be a house or a car; a mower or a phone is to be compared with a person’s soul. These “things” only last a short while….they either break down or become out-dated, but our soul will last forever! Let’s make sure that we take the time to think these things through and make the right decision about what we put first in our life.