Daily Devotionals

Thoughts from the Gospel of John….

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                                The Word.

John, chapter 1: verses 1-3

   John begins his Gospel with a statement that cannot be argued with….In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God!    

    What was this Word that John is referring to? From reading the next few verses, we discover that the Word that he is referring to is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ (His full title)  Who is the Son of God. He then goes on to show what the Word did…”All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made”……     We read later in the Bible that it was God’s Son Who made the  universe, making the earth within it to be the home of human beings who would be able to fellowship with Him. This One is the brightness of God’s glory and the exact mage of His Person, because He is part of the Godhead (Hebrews 1:2-3).

We are told so many things about the Word of God….there is the Living Word who is our Lord Jesus Christ, and there is the written Word which we have as the Bible.    God’s Word, both living and written, is powerful, even today, and pierces into our very being, speaking things that do not leave us alone until we act on them . Everything that we say and do is open before God and His Word, and we cannot escape it (Hebrews 4:12-13) . Just as Jesus Christ the Living Word, obeyed God the Father implicitly, so the written Word of God accomplishes what God intends…,.it never returns to Him empty.

     There is a story about a man who was hearing the Gospel story for the first time and was very sceptical about it all. The preacher was going home the same way as this man and offered him a lift. All the way along the road, the sceptical one kept asking impossible questions about the sermon and each time the preacher would reply, “I don’t know anything about that, but I DO know that the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son cleanses us from all sin!” The trip lasted about half an hour, and each time the preacher answered the man’s questions with the same Bible verse. They arrived at the place they were going and said goodnight to each other, and went their different ways.     A couple of days later, there was a knock at the preacher’s door. The man he had given the lift to was standing there looking rather pale and haggard. The preacher  asked the man inside, and then before he even sat down, he said, “I’ve come to ask you to tell me more….ever since the other night, I haven’t been able to get that verse out of my mind…it’s even kept me awake at night. Tell me what it means!”

    So this is a classic case of God’s Word accomplishing His work in this man’s heart and mind. He gave his life to the Lord that night, and went home a different man!

Jesus Christ, God’s Living Word, Came forth from God to those who erred, The Word is full of power indeed, And is written there for us to heed.

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

I Can’t See You; You Can’t See Me !!

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    Uncle Jeff laughed as he watched the little girl hiding her face against her father’s legs. “Haha”, he laughed, “she thinks we can’t see her if she can’t see us! That reminds me of something I saw the other day while taking the train down to the city”. “Oh, do tell us, Uncle Jeff”, Bobby said. “Yes, please”, said Betty as she climbed up beside him. Sarah crept in behind him pretending she wasn’t really listening, but she like Uncle Jeff’s stories as much as the others did.

“Well”, said Uncle Jeff, “We often see this sheep and goat in a paddock near the train line as we go past. We call them Sheepley and Goatley. But last week, they were through the fence right beside the line. We could see them as we came round the corner, but there’s no way we can stop the train when it’s going full speed. So we blew the whistle as loudly as it would go. Both Sheepley and Goatley looked up and saw the train coming, so they ran to the fence where they had got through. But they couldn’t find the hole they had crawled through, so they each stuck their head through the fence and thought they were safe. They looked so funny!! Haha!” and  Uncle Jeff started laughing again as he remembered it.

“What silly things!” Betty said, “I wouldn’t do that!” “I’m not so sure about that”, Uncle Jeff said, “How many times do you pretend you haven’t done something wrong when you have? That is just as silly because God has seen what you did!” Betty squirmed and said, “I s’pose so. But look at baby Lizzie over there. She thought we couldn’t see her because she couldn’t see us”.

“Shhh Betty!” Bobby said, “Did you see them any more Uncle Jeff?” “When we came back later that day, there they were again feeding right beside the danger on the line once more”, he said, “And they did the same thing again….they ran to the fence and poked their heads through it thinking they were safe”. “I guess that’s a bit like people who won’t face what God tells them in the Bible”, Sarah said thoughtfully from behind them.

“That’s quite right Sarah,” said Uncle Jeff, “We’ve got to remember that one day we are going face Him and tell Him why we didn’t listen and do something about it. Well, off you go outside, that’s all the stories for today”. “Thanks, Uncle Jeff”, said Bobby, “Race you to the gate, Betty!”

Life Lessons

More Frustrations!

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     My frustrations didn’t finish with the computer, as then the printer began to play up. The trouble was that the printer was the problem in the first place, and I didn’t want to face the facts. So I went through all the frustrations of having the printer work sometimes and then not working other times. Not being 100% computer savvy didn’t help matters either, and I bumbled along on my own until in desperation I went to the shop and bought another printer.  This time the technician came with it and got it all going as it should.

     This all reminded me of how life can be for us at times. When things seem to be going all wrong, it pays to go to the real expert, the technician that knows all about how things work. Yes, it may cost more than we want to pay, but at least the problems get solved . So it is in life.       When things go wrong, it pays to go to the expert, in this case, the Maker…and our maker is the God of heaven. He has all the answers written in His Handbook… in His handbook the Bible.  Yes, we may not like to read what He says the problem is, but no amount of bumbling around on our own can fix it. We have to humble ourselves and do  what He advises.

     I didn’t like what the man at the shop told me, but I could see that it was no use buying a new machine if it wasn’t set up properly by someone who knew what they were doing, even if it cost me extra. It may cost us the price of apologising to someone, or making reparation for some wrong we have done.      Most of all, we have to recognise that the source of all our problems is SIN, and confess this to God.  The Bible also says that if we confess our sin, He will forgive us and cleanse us from all the cause of the problems we are experiencing . (1 John 1:9)  Until we do this, the problem will never get fixed. The man who wrote the Book of Psalms, had a big problem in his life, and he cried out to God…. “Create in me a new heart O God” and “Give me the joy of Your salvation again” (Psalm 51: verses 10, 12).

    In the same way I had to humble myself to admit I needed to get rid of the troublesome printer, even though I didn’t like doing it. Then with the new one that had been properly set up, I was able to enjoy the work I was doing on the computer knowing that I would be able to print it out without any hold ups at the end.

Life Lessons, Uncategorized

Frustrations!

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      My computer has been playing up and causing me much frustration. One day it would behave itself, and I would give a sigh of relief….”Ah, it’s come right”, I would think and then the next day it would be back to its old tricks again. Even my fix-it man didn’t seem to be able to get anywhere with it. So I bit the bullet and replaced it with a new one. 

     It reminded me of how frustrating we must be to God (if indeed He could ever feel that way!) when we don’t operate as He wants us to. Yet He doesn’t get rid of us, He just works patiently with us until we wake up and realise that the troubles we are in, are all of our own making. How thankful we can be that the Lord is always there to forgive when we come to Him in contrition and confession! He will never throw us out, although we may have to pay in this life for our foolish actions, We should always remember that our choices have consequences  which we may not like, and which we often have to live with for the rest of our lives.

     My old computer probably didn’t like being thrown into the dump out in the weather, but that was the end result of it. Just remember the next time you are being tempted by something that seems exciting and desirable, that the end result is only likely to bring tears and regrets. It is better to be safe than sorry about some of these choices that face us as we travel down life’s highway!

Life Lessons

Why Aren’t our Prayers Answered?

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    Why do we assume that when we don’t get the answer that we want for our prayers, that God hasn’t answered?  Do we always give our children what they want, when they want it? So it is with our Heavenly Father. We don’t always get what we want, when we want it!     But God HAS answered….. He answered it with a “NO!”  Another time it might be a  “Wait a while” answer. But it is still an answer!

Let’s look at some of the reasons our prayers aren’t always granted immediately. The psalmist tells in Psalm  66 verse 18 that if I “regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me”. So if we are harbouring resentment against a person or hugging some sin in our life, our prayers don’t get any higher than the ceiling. We have to get ourselves right before God first, and then make our request.    There is another verse that says in a modern translation…. “Don’t worry about ANYTHING; instead, pray about EVERYTHING, and don’t forget to give God thanks for the answer” (Philippians 4:6). We are to give God thanks, even if we don’t get what we have asked for. We are to remember that He knows what is best for us.

    Then an example of this, is what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10… “a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me….concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me, And He said, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’. So Paul could see that there was a reason for his problem, and that he could overcome it with the Lord’s help. As a result he was able to give God thanks for it, and even glory in his weakness.

   Another reason is that we ask in the wrong spirit….we beg, we plead, we use other verses to show why our prayer should be answered how and when we want it. But we should always ask that it be in the Lord’s will, not ours. And then ask for  the patience to wait and see.     Then again, the Lord might be using us to prove a point to someone else. Remember how Job was the most upright man on the face of the earth in his time. But Satan kept on at God… “You just give him some trouble and see what happens, he’ll curse You then!” So God allowed Satan to take away all Job’s possessions, and even his children. But Job remained faithful to God, and said, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”  In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.     Even when worse came on him and his health was taken away from him, being covered with putrid boils, and his friends telling him it was all his fault, that he must have been sinning secretly, Job was still able to say, “Though He slays me, yet will I trust Him!” (Job 13:15). What an example he is to us today, after all these years!

    So let’s remember these things when it seems the next time that God hasn’t answered our prayer. He HAS answered….with a “No” or a “Wait a while”, and don’t forget to thank Him for His answer!

Life Lessons

Blessings in Disguise.

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     To carry on from last week’s thoughts, I remember one year we were all set to go on our annual holiday trek further north from where we live. I was driving the car that was towing our runabout boat, behind my husband in the towing vehicle in front of the caravan. We had been wondering about this caravan as it was the first time we had done a big trip in it, and it seemed to have some irregularities in the way it towed, but we just put it down to not being used to it as it was new to us.

    We set off and about half an hour into our trip, I could see the caravan begin to sway as it went along ahead of me. Going down a slight slope the swaying got worse, and after going over a small bridge, it gave one wide swing right across the road and back again before tipping over onto its roof right there in the middle of the road! The towing vehicle had been pushed right up on top of the roadside barrier and sat there, half tilted over.     I pulled over onto the verge as quickly as I could and then saw  my husband crawling  out of the window, so I guessed he wasn’t hurt.  What to do? Ring the AA I guessed, and did this on my mobile phone. It seemed no time before the police and ambulance turned up, as well as other helpful people. All we had to do was sit and watch as they tried to clean the mess up!

    What were our feelings at seeing all this? All we could say, was “There goes our holiday”! It had happened and all we could do was to accept the fact. Both of us had a strange feeling of peace (or maybe it was some sort of delayed shock!) A couple of  hours  later, we were heading back home in the car. Our holiday was over before it had started, but we still had the feeling of peace about it all….we knew that God had been looking after us through it all.     We had so much to be thankful for. It wasn’t raining; there were people helping dispose of the wreck; we weren’t hurt at all, and no-one else was involved. On top of that list, was the fact we were going home to our own bed that night, and not to a hospital bed with injuries!

    It was established that one of the tyres on the caravan had had a blow out which caused it to sway so badly, and then flip over. Both vehicles were classed as write-offs and insurance covered it all. We ended up buying another caravan with dual wheels which was safer, and couldn’t help thinking of the verse in the Bible that says “All things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28).

    This was just one of the many blessings that we have experienced in our life, and we were able to give God the thanks for it all. Without Him, we would just class it as bad luck, and be complaining about our lost holiday!

Life Lessons

What is a Blessing?

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   We were at a home group recently and the leader asked “What is a blessing?” Now that is quite a question to be asked out of the blue! One person said that it was the good things that we have or get. Another said that it is what we give back to God, just as David said in the psalms, “Bless the Lord, O my soul”. Yet another pointed out, that if we receive a blessing, we are not to keep it to ourselves, but are to pass it on to someone else.

    That reminded me of an old hymn that we used to sing…. Is your life a channel of blessing? Is the love of God flowing through you?
Are you telling the lost of the Savior?
Are you ready His service to do? And the chorus…. Make me a channel of blessing today,
Make me a channel of blessing, I pray;
My life possessing, my service blessing,
  Make me a channel of blessing today.

The last verse says…. We cannot be channels of blessing
If our lives are not free from all sin;
We will barriers be and a hindrance
To those we are trying to win.

    So we see that as we receive, so we must pass it on. Especially in the matter of having a blessing from something we have read in the Bible. If we don’t know it, we cannot pass anything on from it!     When we stop and think of it, everything we have on earth is a blessing from God, even the very air we breathe! What a blessing good health is too! How thankful we have to be for all the blessings that God bestows upon us! We are to overlook the annoying things we encounter from day to day, and concentrate on the positive side of things!

   The book of Psalms has many thoughts about blessings….listen to these ones from Psalm 34 :1-6…this is how we can bless the Lord, thanking Him for what He has done for us!  This is how it starts….“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be continually in my mouth”  That on its own is a challenge to us….how much do we praise God for what we have ? Let’s think about these things and put them into practice!!

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Fellowship IS Important!

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   We had a good weekend away in our motorhome recently, meeting with other members of the Good News Vanners Club. These gatherings are held every few weeks, in different venues around our area, and it is a great time of fellowship for us all. Coming as we do from various churches, we don’t get a chance to meet with these folk anywhere else.

     We have great times of singing the good old favourite hymns which we grew up with (as you might guess, we are all in the older age bracket!), and share testimonies of what the Lord has done for us, both recently, and in times past. In this way we can encourage each other and build each other up as well as enjoy each other’s company.

      It is not for nothing that we are told to “not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as some do, but to exhort and encourage one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)” After all, we are all in the family of God, and just as it grieves us as parents to see our children at odds with each other, so it must grieve the heart of God to see His children not able to get along with each other…surely we can agree to disagree amicably on points we don’t see eye to eye about!  So we are the ones who miss out in the long run, if we absent ourselves from others in the family of God.     Just as a coal gets cold on its own away from the fire, so those who stay away from fellowshipping with others will gradually grow cold, especially if it is because of some resentment of others on our part!

     So the moral of the story is…keep fellowshipping with others, read the Word daily and grow in the Lord!

See what God has to say to YOU.