Devotional 15 March 2020

Devotional 15 March 2020

Our Approach To Ministry

Paul’s motivation was to build up the Colossians’ confidence in Christ and to encourage and equip them, he wanted the church to know what Christian ministry looks like; he didn’t want to leave the church thinking that serving Christ was anything less than giving their whole selves to Jesus, and that comes at a cost.

What does it mean to be a minister?
Paul was not talking about a title but about the function of his ministry. Paul was a common minister/servant. When we look at 2 Corinthians 4:7, he saw himself as a jar of clay, breakable, disposable, but useful in the hands of God, referring even to himself as a slave. (Romans 1:1)

Ministry is what we as Christians are all called to. We are ministers/servants of Christ, we are lowly, humbled, submissive, we are doing a common service. When we understand ministry in this way it cuts across any glory-seeking for self, any promotion of ourselves, any right I feel I have for certain positions, any thinking that suggests ministry is not for me. We are not our own, yielded to him for him, for his service.

Christ Is Proclaimed In Our Ministry
“Christ in you the hope of glory” is open to the public, anyone, irrespective of race, class, gender, intellect, past, or age. Anyone. As far as Paul was concerned Christians were not to be picky about who could respond to God’s grace and were not to exclude anyone who repented and confessed Jesus as Lord: Christ accepts all who will bow the knee to him. Who then should we proclaim Jesus to, and accept?

Spirit of Joy in Ministry
When we’re faithful to Spirit-filled, Biblical ministry, there will be suffering. Paul says it is a result of committed ministry. In fact, it would be taking Paul’s approach out of context to separate rejoicing from suffering, because he rejoices in the suffering…he said what?
How was Paul able to do this? Because the cause of the gospel was worth it, he KNEW suffering comes with the territory of being a Christian, that the suffering was temporal and until his physical death or Jesus returned, his grace, literally, was sufficient for him. I think of Paul looking in the mirror and seeing a body full of scars from all the treatment/beatings he received, and I imagine him with a huge smile on his face as he recounts his stories and the testimonies of all those whose lives were changed by Jesus. (see Philippians 1:20-21)

Who doesn’t want the Jesus who makes life easy, where we’re never sick, never persecuted, have a trouble-free marriage, have plenty of money and who always gives us the perfect car park? But that’s not the Jesus of the Bible. God wants you to die to self to live for him and that that might bring you joy. We cannot comprehend suffering and trial in human terms but only on God’s terms.

Devotional 15 March 2020

Devotional 8 March 2020

 

God’s Enemies, Reconciled and Steadfast.

Colossians 1: 21-23

There is a huge depth of meaning in our reading. It contains 3 steps for Christian living. 1) Once we were enemies of God. 2) Now we’ve been reconciled. 3) We must remain steadfast in our faith.

Paul using strong terms, reminded the Colossians that before Christ did his redeeming work ‘they were alienated from God and enemies in their minds. What applied to the Colossians applies to us. Many may find it hard to take that those who don’t know Christ as saviour are God’s enemies.

However, Mary Evans from the Ethiopian School of Theology wrote in 2012 that earlier generations were well aware of that fact. As an example, we can look at Jonathan Edwards, an 18th Century New England pastor who in July 1741 preached a sermon entitled ‘Sinners in the hands of an angry God.’

There he boldly pointed out the desperate state of those outside of Christ and warned that they were destined for hell. Then he went on to say ‘But now Christ has opened the door of mercy wide and is calling and pleading with sinners to come to him.’ Jonathan pointed out how awful it was to be left behind. But many had recently entered and were now in a happy state and washed from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.

Step 2 is reconciliation. Reconciliation means doing away with enmity, the bridging over of a quarrel. After the end of the American civil war Abraham Lincoln was criticised for befriending his former enemies. He replied to his critic, asking him “Aren’t I destroying my enemies by making them my friends?” In fact, it is exactly what God has done for us and reconciled us, his former enemies to himself. So if we have a quarrel with someone we should follow his example and do all we can to be reconciled with them.

For us to be reconciled to God there is only one bridge, only one way. And the bridge Christ has built is more than adequate to take the weight of our sin. Satan would tell us otherwise. Which is why we need to stay steadfast in our faith.

Step 3 is staying steadfast. The Colossians and Galatians both came under fire from false teachers who tried to turn them away from faith in Christ and Christ alone. Paul knew that if they turned away from Christ they would lose all the blessing that they had received when through faith in Christ the Holy Spirit had entered their lives empowering them to live lives pleasing to God. So they needed to stay steadfast as we also need to do.

Jesus promised that “Whoever drinks of the water I shall give them will never thirst. The water I shall give them will become in them a fountain of water (continually) springing up to eternal life.”(John 4:14) Christians who remain steadfast will enjoy the ongoing refreshment the Holy Spirit gives.

Devotional 15 March 2020

Devotional 1 March 2020

 

FOCUS ON THE SAVIOUR – NOT THE STORM!

When we go through the storms of life, whether self-inflicted or otherwise we wonder how can any good come out of this. This true story shows how it can happen, if we face our difficulties with an attitude of trust in God and perseverance.

In 1809, Simon Renee Braille and his wife Monique welcomed their fourth child into the world– a lively boy named Louis. They lived in a small stone house near Paris where Braille was the local harness maker. Leather working tools are dangerous, so the toddler had been instructed not to go into his father’s shop alone.

But when Louis was still small, he slipped into the shop, and with curiosity started to handle all the fascinating tools. As Louis was inspecting an awl, the sharp tool used to punch holes in leather, he slipped and punctured a part of his eye with the tool. The injured eye became infected. The little boy could not keep his hands from rubbing and scratching the wound, and soon the infection spread to his other eye as well. When Louis was only 4, he became completely blind.

Louis was fortunate enough to study at the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris. He excelled as an organist, and at twelve years old began asking the question “How can the blind read?” Over his summer break at home, Louis was determined to find the answer. As He moved and groped around his father’s shop in search of the right tool for his task, the awl presented itself as perfect for the job. The awl would make the raised dots he had seen in the French military system of “night writing.”

And with the very instrument that had blinded him, Louis worked and worked until he had created a system of dots whereby the blind could read and write, work out maths problems and compose music.

What is your awl? The thing that has crippled you, either by your own doing like young Louis, or someone else’s? Is it a divorce, the death of someone you love, a lost career? Let God take it, and use it in your life for good—to reshape you or comfort others.

Devotional 15 March 2020

Devotional 16 February 2020

 

LIVING TO PLEASE GOD

Have you ever thought about what spiritual growth looks like as God’s children? At its heart spiritual growth is learning how God wants us to live, and then for us to please him by living that way.

Growing in God is Knowing How He Wants Us To Live (v.9)
Paul’s prayer for the church was unceasing, intensive and focussed and, is the engine room of any church. There’s an important lesson: as well as things appear to be going our prayer life as a church must continue to ramp up! Pray regularly, pray with praise, pray for others and pray for growth. Prayer behind us and prayer in front of us. Prayer!

How he wants us to live is full of the knowledge of his will.
We can easily fill our minds with ‘stuff’ that distracts and subtracts from Jesus, preventing the filling of the knowledge of God. Behind the reason for Paul’s prayer is the danger that Christians not grounded in the word will unknowingly and unconsciously allow the values and practices of our culture to dilute faith. And that is precisely why we pray for knowledge of God’s will, then God gives us the knowledge we need, to convict, change and conform us to a closer more meaningful relationship with himself.

 

Knowing how God wants us to live leads to four areas where we’re able to please God in all things…

Bearing Fruit in every good work
True spirit-filled faith doesn’t decide which areas of life I will be faithful and God-honouring in, and then build walls on others. We’re all in, or not. Choose you this day! True spirit-filled faith changes the way we think, live and act toward others; “pleasing God in every way”. Only true Christian existence can produce fruit. And fruit is something that God expects from every Christian.

Growing in the knowledge of God
Knowledge of God is like a ship’s ballast. We set ourselves up for shipwreck and spiritual crises in the absence of growing in the knowledge of God in the word of God. For Christians to grow in the knowledge of God, our homes, children’s church, church, home groups must be a rigorous biblical training ground. We must fill up in our tank of love for God, love for his word, filling of his Spirit…that’s our ballast!

Being strengthened with all power
In Paul’s prayer this power is connected to endurance and patience. Two qualities we need to navigate this world in which we live. Every Christian will meet with adversity of some kind, it is only by God’s power we can work effectively through any suffering and trial. These will require endurance and patience, clinging to Christ in tough times.

Joyfully giving thanks
Until we are assured and utterly convinced that God’s grace in Jesus is enough and fully sufficient, we’ll find it difficult to be thankful. A spirit full of thankfulness of Jesus makes no space for ingratitude. Time spent in God’s word and prayer equips us to recognise discontent and ingratitude, and turn it around. A thankful and grateful heart keeps us mindful that our lives depend entirely on God, not on ourselves. The main reason we cannot be thankful or have gratitude, is because we’re not free. Sin cripples; God’s grace in Christ frees.

When we look at what Christ has done, how can we can do less than worship him, give him thanks, and live to please him?

Devotional 15 March 2020

Devotional 9 February 2020

 

THANKFUL TO GOD FOR YOU

One of the greatest dangers we Christians face today is the thinking that Christ, his truth and the word are irrelevant. For many, God’s truths are dumbed down, altered, scripture is conveniently interpreted to fit a certain way of living, as if it’s God’s responsibility to accommodate how we’ve chosen to live. We must be convinced that there is one truth and his name is Jesus. He is truth, he defines truth. To know what truth is we look to him and what he says.

It seems hardly a week goes by without a significant national or global calamity of some kind. We need to never be in doubt who is in control, who is supreme and sovereign. Nothing that happens in this world happens without Christ’s knowledge, and we have this assurance.

So with these two motivations in mind, we look to Paul’s purpose for writing this letter, which was/is to encourage Christians to keep looking to Christ, trust Christ, look to him as the only true Saviour (truth), because he alone is all-sufficient and he alone is supreme (assurance).

 

The Colossian church was:

Known For Their Faith
Christians do succumb to doubts and criticism and disappointment from unmet expectations. Faith doesn’t rise and fall dependent on our circumstances, because the object of our faith is Christ and the gospel. Is this faith that ignores hard times, sin and sickness and being so heavenly-minded that we are outside of reality? No! This is faith knowing that in all things Christ is! Being over heavenly-minded is not our challenge, being worldly-minded is! Faith is not intellectual belief; faith is I’m giving my whole self to trusting God.

Known For Their Love
Their faith was expressed in their love for others. The world assesses our born again-ness by our love for each other. That’s a high calling isn’t it!? Their love for others said they had faith in Christ. This was their public reputation. To love is a reflection of our salvation. To love is not optional. I love because to not love is to not obey a basic command, and to not love is to ignore Christ’s work of the cross.

Known For Bearing Fruit
Hope motivates our faith and our love, because the word hope refers to the goal of our hope which is Christ and the reality of life eternal with Christ. This is what makes the gospel glorious, and is why Paul is so thankful to God for the Colossian Christians. Their hope motivated them to a deeper faith and a deeper love.

Devotional 15 March 2020

Devotional 2 February 2020

LOOKING LIKE OUR FATHER

‘Until Christ is formed in you.’ Galatians 4:19

When you become a Christian you discover that part of you wants to walk ‘in newness of life’ (Romans 6:4), while another part wants to walk ‘according to the flesh’ (Romans 8:5). And you would, if it weren’t for God’s Spirit who lives in your divided house and ‘groans’ when you do certain things, challenging you with God’s Word (see John 16:7-14). Your heart is still living in your old body.

One author writes: ‘When I first came to Christ I thought others had mastered a level of holiness that always eluded me. So I attacked my carnality with passion! I didn’t realise that everything that’s born needs time to grow. I was expecting an immediate, all-inclusive metamorphosis that would make me the person God could really love. I now realise his love isn’t doled out on a merit system: if you do well, he loves you and if you don’t, he doesn’t.’

God doesn’t want do-it-yourself righteousness. The Bible says, ‘He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ’ (Philippians 1:6). Paul writes, My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you’ (Galatians 4:19). God alone knows the process it will take for the Christ who saved you to be formed in you! We each travel our own paths at our own pace, but our goal is the same: to bear a greater resemblance to our heavenly Father. And getting us there is God’s job – so let him do it. Your job is to keep walking with him day by day as he does it.

– Excerpt from ‘The Word for Today’