Devotionals

Psalm 66 16, NIV
“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.”

Reverence and awe are primary constituents of holy fear. It is only those who revere God and who worship Him in awe and wonder, whose ears are truly open to hear the testimony of a redeemed sinner. To those whose ears are shut to the voice of God and whose eyes are closed to the creation of God, testimonies of salvation are as meaningless as the description of how a nuclear reactor works to an old man who never went to school! What would be meat and drink to the nuclear scientist, would be indigestible nonsense to the old man!

Until a person’s understanding is opened up to a knowledge of God and the reality of sin and its consequences, testimonies of salvation are received with obvious embarrassment and usually fall on deaf ears. But to those who have been saved, the stories of how God moved in a person to give them new life, when they were born again and their soul was saved from death and hell, are the source of intense joy and gladness.

So it is those who already know the fear of the Lord who the psalmist calls to come and hear his story. Throughout the psalms you can read about the goodness of the Lord. We read of how God redeemed David after his catastrophic fall and restored him. We hear how God set his feet again upon a rock and as we read these amazing songs of testimony, we are caught up in the joy and thanksgiving of all that God did for David’s soul.

David couldn’t stop telling God how grateful he was for His love and mercy. Psalm 66 ends with David saying (or singing), “Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!” Praise and thanksgiving build up one’s spirit and bless those who fear the Lord. Why not spend a few minutes now, rejoicing in all that God has done for your souls and then sharing your testimony with great thanksgiving.

And then when unbelievers see the fruit of a changed life, they can be prompted by the Spirit of God to ask the right questions. Then you can tell them that what they now see is a fruit of what God did for your soul. Once people start asking the right questions (like the woman at the well did in John 4) we then have the immense privilege of telling them the Good News.

Prayer: I am so grateful, Lord, for saving my soul and for redeeming my life. Help me to always be thankful for Your goodness. And help me also, Lord, to always be willing to share the good news with those who see the fruit of God’s presence in my life and want to know more about Jesus. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.

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“If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.”Proverbs 28:9, NIVJust as we can turn a ‘blind eye’ to things we don’t want to see, we are all capable of selective hearing – of only listening to those things that we want to lis…

Proverbs 28:9, NIV
“If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.”

Just as we can turn a ‘blind eye’ to things we don’t want to see, we are all capable of selective hearing – of only listening to those things that we want to listen to! Most of the time this is a harmless and sensible way of coping with the myriad sounds that try to invade our personal space and get our attention. But on occasions, we can use this capacity to close our ears and act as if we are deaf in a way that is potentially lethal.

If, for example, you were driving along the motorway and were starting to pull out into the fast lane, and you suddenly heard a loud car horn blasting you from the rear, you would be extremely unwise to ignore it! The sound of the horn was a warning that you were pulling out in front of another faster-moving vehicle and unless you swung back into your own lane there would be a terrible accident. It would not be sensible to turn a deaf ear to the sound of the horn, carry on with your intention to pull out into the fast lane and at the same time pray that the Lord will keep you safe!

The Word of God and the law of God are sometimes like the blast of a horn, warning us of the dangers of what we are thinking of doing. If we turn a deaf ear to what God is saying  and carry on regardless, but still praying for God’s protection and blessing on our lives, it would be as stupid and dangerous as the car driver who ignored the warning blast of a horn from another driver.

Our Scripture for today tells us that when we deliberately turn a deaf ear to the things that God has spoken in His law and carry on regardless, but still praying for God’s blessing on what we are doing, then our prayers become detestable to Him. Why should that be? Well, consider for a moment that you are choosing to give in to a temptation to do something sinful, but at the same time you are daily praying for God to bless all the things you are doing, how can it be anything else but detestable to be asking God to bless those things that Jesus died to save us from?

Our daily prayer should be:

Lord, open my eyes and open my ears to see what you’re doing and to hear your voice. When you speak, Lord, I choose to listen. I want to walk in obedience to you. I choose to love, serve and obey You with a glad heart today and every day. In Jesus’s Name. Amen.

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“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”Psalm 42:5, NIVDavid often talked to himself! No, not in the sense of being a little unbalanced, but when his spiri…

Psalm 42:5, NIV
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”

David often talked to himself! No, not in the sense of being a little unbalanced, but when his spirit knew that his soul was struggling, he regularly spoke to his own soul. Here, he’s asking himself a question. What’s going on inside, what’s happening with me?

We can all go through times when we can’t easily make sense of how we’re feeling on the inside or the effect difficult relationships may be having on us. There are many things that can trip us up and distress us on the inside. It’s at times like this we need to keep on reminding ourselves of the reality of God’s faithfulness in the midst of the fallen world in which we all live. We have an enemy of souls who desires to do with us all what he tried to do with Simon Peter – sift him and throw him off course!

David had proven God over many years – he knew that God was dependable and trustworthy. He will never have forgotten what God did when Goliath the Philistine challenged the men of Israel. And there were many times in battle when God showed him exactly what to do to avoid defeat by the enemies of God’s people. Many times the Lord had shown him the way to go and what to do. Yes, God could be trusted – so, soul, even though you’re feeling down at the moment and circumstances seem to be getting on top of you, lift up your chin, look firmly ahead knowing that however long or dark the valley you’re in may be, God is still with you in it and you will yet praise Him.

There have been many times in my own walk with the Lord when I have been tempted to be depressed by the circumstances, and I have had to speak to my own soul – reminding myself of all that God has done in the past. He has been so utterly faithful! So, while your circumstances may currently be tough, remember that God hasn’t changed! Hope in God for you will yet praise Him, your help and your God!

Prayer: I’m so grateful, Lord, for the memories of times when you have been so very present in my life. Help me Lord not to give in to inner feelings when circumstances are tough. I choose now to trust You Lord afresh – my help and my God. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.

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“May the favour of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands.”Psalm 90:17, NIVI sometimes hear people being so super-spiritual that it seems as though life on earth is of little importa…

Psalm 90:17, NIV
“May the favour of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands.”

I sometimes hear people being so super-spiritual that it seems as though life on earth is of little importance to them, because their ‘real life’ is going to be lived in heaven with God! As with many ways of thinking, this is both very true and very false! Yes, in Heaven we will be able to enjoy living in a way that is unprecedented here on Earth, without any of the consequences of sin marring any aspect of life. But if we think that our life on earth is unimportant then we have completely overlooked a very precious truth that is contained within Ephesians 2:10, where Paul tells us that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

The things that God has prepared for each one of us to do are, indeed, precious – to us and to Him. The work of our hands is important to God. He is keenly interested in every aspect of our lives and He rejoices in them. It is right and proper to be praying that God will bless the work of our hands and establish – make firm and strong – whatever it is that we do.

God rejoiced when He created us and the gifts and abilities with which we are blessed. He, therefore, rejoices in everything we do which is a fulfilment of His plans and purpose for our lives – on Earth – not just when we get to Heaven!

Once we understand that God is interested in us, our work and all the things we enjoy and do, then our attitude towards them changes. They are no longer an earthly drudgery but a divine appointment. They are no longer boring, they are thrilling. And it is in the doing of those things that He has set before us, and in doing them well, that we prepare for ourselves seasons of blessing to come. We can know and be blessed by the favour of God – both here and in eternity.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, that you are interested in the works of my hands. Thank You for all the gifts and abilities you have given me. Help me to always seek to walk in Your ways, doing the things that please You all my days. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

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The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has risen from…

Matthew 28:5-7
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. Now, I have told.”

This is the most wonderful and exciting day of celebration in the whole of the Christian Calendar. The day when, on that first Easter Day, every prophecy and every plan of God found its focus and fulfilment. And it’s the day for the whole of time when believers can look back with massive thanksgiving to the one day in history when the whole world was turned upside down.

What happened on that day was a tsunami of truth which shook the very gates of hell and had all the angelic hosts in awe and celebration of what God had done in raising His Son from the dead. Death had been conquered and a gateway was opened for fallen man to be freed from the curse of sin and death for ever and ever and ever and evermore.

But the day didn’t begin like that for the disciples. The two Marys were on their way to the tomb with the spices they had prepared (Matt 24:1). They were in mourning for the dead and in spite of what Jesus had said, they were completely unprepared for a personal encounter with an angelic messenger. The essence of the angel’s message is encapsulated in the title of today’s Seed – Come, See, Go and tell.

COME and see that His body is no longer there. SEE for yourself that He is risen from the dead. Then GO and finally TELL. The two Marys were commissioned by an angel to be the first evangelists who would be able to declare, first to the disciples, and then to the whole world that JESUS IS ALIVE!

And those four instructions still encapsulate a message from God to His people – you and I – and all the Church. Come and See, then Go and Tell. Believers have COME to the cross and found it empty. They have SEEN that Jesus is no longer in the grave, and we are now commissioned, just like the angels, to GO – into all the world – and TELL the glorious news that Jesus is risen from the dead. Death has been conquered and in Christ we have nothing to fear. For in Him is LIFE – eternal LIFE! This is Good News to be shared. Let us be determined to take every opportunity God gives us to GO and TELL others what He has done!

Prayer: Thank You, Jesus for being obedient – even unto death. And we are so thankful today that God raised You from the dead. Help us to always be ready to GO and TELL others this amazing good news – that YOU ARE ALIVE! Hallelujah! And that in YOU we, also, are alive for evermore! Amen.

Click Here to read Peter Horrobin`s blog

“For man sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their names. Man in his pomp w…