Devotionals

Ephesians 6:12, NIV
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

I hate cold sores. These can come up from time to time on my mouth and it starts with a tingle and then progresses to a blister, which then bleeds and scabs, and usually lasts for about two weeks. It’s quite a horrible experience.

One morning I was cleaning my teeth, and there, to my horror, I felt that first tingle and the swelling on my upper lip and I thought “Oh no I am going to get a horrible cold sore there”. Then something absolutely broke inside me and I spoke out, “I come in Jesus’ name and speak to the spirit behind this cold sore and tell it to get off my face now. Go now! I refuse to have you on my mouth in Jesus’ name!” I continued with this for a couple of minutes and then got dressed and went into the day.

That evening, as I was getting ready for bed, I went to clean my teeth, and felt my upper lip. There was no sign of a cold sore. The symptoms had never come to anything. This was a couple of years ago now and I’ve not ever had a cold sore since.

I sensed God was saying to me, “You have a choice. You can either passively accept that this is your lot, which is like coming to an agreement with the powers of darkness that they can visit whatever it is upon you, or you can rise up (as our scripture today tells us), and warfare with the authority of the name of Jesus, and see it off”. This is our choice.

Next time the flu, or a bug, is going round, if you say “well I suppose I’ll get it then”, then you probably will. But if you rise up and say “No way in Jesus’ name am I going to succumb to this bug!”, then you can warfare against it. We have the authority. We can only use the authority of the name of Jesus if we live in the name of Jesus.

Jesus makes it clear that we’ve been given His authority over ALL Satan’s power as disciples. Hebrews 1:3 says that all things are upheld by the word of His power. As believers we have to know who we are, and know that we have the authority to cast out demons in Jesus’ name. Therefore, when we sense an attack from the evil one on our body, our home, our relationships or our finances, we have the right to exercise our authority in Jesus’ name.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your word teaches us that the devil prowls around seeking whom he can devour. Keep us alert and watchful today to any attack from the evil one. Help us to rise up with the power and authority of the name of Jesus, that You have given to each one of us as believers. And help us to be overcomers in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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“Then Job replied to the Lord, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.””Job 42:1-2, NIVIt’s easy sometimes to look at all that’s going on in the world and wonder if God has noticed how desperate things are! Can’t you see, …

Job 42:1-2, NIV
“Then Job replied to the Lord, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.””

It’s easy sometimes to look at all that’s going on in the world and wonder if God has noticed how desperate things are! Can’t you see, Lord, how man is continually violating Your Word and perverting Your laws? Can’t you see, Lord, how people who do not know you are using their power and authority to do terrible things all over the earth? Don’t you know, Lord, that people are calling good, evil and evil, good? Haven’t you noticed, Lord that Your enemies are gaining ground?

But as with all things in God, there is another side to the story and a timing in history that is critical to the plans of God. We saw that with the birth of Jesus there was a right time for Him to come and fulfil the prophecies of Isaiah. And, as the Psalmist expresses it, “The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming” (Psalm 37:12-13).

And so it is today – the world may have chosen to reject the authority of God’s Word and become their own authority, but just as the law of gravity is unchangeable, so are God’s laws. And one day, again when the time is right, God has made it very clear that there is a time coming when the wicked will regret their scoffing at the authority of God. While there may be many things yet to unfold as the stone of history rolls down the hills of time, world events are happening at a frightening speed. The earth is groaning with pain and those who love the Lord are desperate for the joy that will come in the morning, when our Saviour bursts through the clouds at the right time. Let us never forget that God has had a plan from the very beginning – 2000 years ago Part 1 of His redemptive plan was fulfilled. Part 2 cannot be very far away!

No matter what Satan and all the powers of darkness might do to pervert and control the world through rebellion and evil – God laughs! His plan cannot be thwarted. Let those who know and love Him be like the wise virgins – ready to welcome Him as the sands of time reach their conclusion and Jesus returns to Earth as King of His Kingdom. No wonder both John the Baptist and Jesus began their public ministries by saying “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). For, as the foolish virgins discovered, when He comes it is already too late. God’s plans will not be thwarted.

Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, that You will one day fulfil Part 2 of the plans of God and this time the whole world will see your coming. Thank You that God’s plans cannot be thwarted and that nothing which Satan can do will ever frustrate His ultimate plans. Help me to remain faithful to You, until You either take me to yourself or come again! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”Romans 1:20, NIVFor the past few days my eyeballs h…

Romans 1:20, NIV
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

For the past few days my eyeballs have been glued to the TV screen! No, I have not become addicted to one of the TV soaps or been totally gripped by the golf, football or any other sporting programme. Instead I have been watching, close up and personal, a family of blue-tits emerging from their tiny eggs and being diligently looked after by their doting, very affectionate and very hard-working parents.

I was given a special bird-box with a built in camera for my birthday and what a brilliant success it’s been. First Mum and Dad built the nest, then Mum laid seven eggs and then for nearly two weeks she sat tightly on those eggs until suddenly one morning, when we turned the TV on, five of them had hatched and we were watching their first hours of independent life – tiny, squirming pink things which would need to have a lot of growing and changing to do before you would be able to identify them as real birds. As Fi and I sat transfixed by what we were seeing, it was the most natural thing in the world to start worshipping God, the God who had created the world and everything in it and who had gifted this blue-tit Mum and Dad with all they would need to know in order to produce a family. I sat there shaking my head in amazement saying “God, you ARE clever!” God IS the Creator – there is no such thing as an accidental blue-tit family!

Then the next stage of the baby blue-tits’ journey through life was about to begin. Into the box came Dad, with a squiggling caterpillar across its beak. Mum took it from him and carefully placed it in the open beak of one of her chicks – an event that will take place thousands of times during the next few weeks. And at every stage those tiny chicks will swallow the caterpillar and use it as the raw material for their internal processors, which will miraculously convert the caterpillar into flesh, eyeballs, all the bodily organs and feathers.

Now, I was trained as a chemist and I know for a fact that there is absolutely no chemical factory in the world that could do what each one of those tiny chicks is doing, without even having to think about it! Caterpillar processing is an incredibly complicated chemical operation, but each one of those chicks is fully equipped with all the ingredients for the process and before very long each one of those little chicks will leave the nest and fly into the air – caterpillar powered!

Paul made it very clear in our Scripture for today that God’s invisible qualities are clear for all to see in His creation. I one hundred per cent agree with him. Having watched this emergent blue-tit family, I don’t know how anyone can deny the existence of God. But, sadly, those who do so, will be without excuse when they meet their Maker face to face. May I encourage you today to take time out to look carefully and close up at something that God has made – and spend a few minutes worshipping our amazing and wonderful Creator God.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for Your amazing creation. You are the most amazing artist and the most fantastic designer. I am so grateful that Your signature is on everything you have made. I ask that You will open the eyes of your children today to see the truth about Yourself, that is so clearly portrayed through the things You have made. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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“Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.”Psalm 25:4-5, NIVI recently visited the bridge of a ship and listened to the captain explaining the int…

Psalm 25:4-5, NIV
“Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.”

I recently visited the bridge of a ship and listened to the captain explaining the intricacies of navigation. Ultimately, however, the safe passage of the ship did not only depend on the navigators who plotted the course of the ship through the seas, but also on the crew who were responsible for acting on the information supplied by the navigators. Obedience to the instructions was the absolute key to the safety of the vessel and to reaching the ship’s expected destination.

In our Scripture for today we are encouraged to come to the Lord for his navigational instructions – we want to know what path He has set out before us for the next season of our lives. Without His guidance we will always finish up a long way away from His best plan for the direction of our lives.

But, and this is a big BUT, we may know exactly what the Lord would have us do, but if we choose not to follow His navigational instructions, then we will soon be in trouble and make a shipwreck of our lives. After making an amazing cross-Atlantic voyage in his ship Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus and his key crew members were exhausted and in need of sleep. They left the ship in charge of a young boy, but he did not follow his instructions and, as a result, the ship foundered on a sandbank and was lost!

We cannot afford to allow anyone other than the Lord to be the navigator who shows us the direction we need to go. And we cannot allow anyone else to take control of our lives and take us to places God never intended for us. Learning to always trust Him and to always be obedient to His directions is the ultimate key to having the blessing of God on each and every area of our lives.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, that you rejoice to be the navigator of our lives. Help me, Lord, to not only listen to Your voice but to obey Your instructions. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Philippians 3:13-14, NIV
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

How do we remain single-minded towards Him in order to fulfil His vision for our lives? You can be sure there’ll be things in our journey which will try to stop us in our tracks and prevent us fulfilling the calling God’s placed on our lives. Maybe the biggest temptation we’ll have isn’t demonic power or the difficulty of our assignment – it’s distraction.

When David was at the point of crisis concerning the battle with Goliath he was tempted to be distracted by a giant of inferiority which came in the shape of his brothers’ accusations. “We know you David, we were raised with you. You’re the family RUNT. You’re the sheep keeper”. Actually the verbal tirade which came out of Eliab’s mouth illustrated what Jesus taught us: ‘out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.’ It was Eliab’s heart which was sinful, not David’s. Don’t allow yourself to be moved by what people think or say. Don’t listen to those who’re trying to make you feel inferior. Rejoice because of what God knows and says to you.

Saul was threatened by David’s courage and vision. Today insecure leaders are threatened, embarrassed and intimidated by passionate, radical, sold out followers of Jesus Christ, especially if they’re willing to risk their very lives. Jealousy destroys ministries, and destroys relationship with God. Don’t bow to the giant of tradition. “David, you can’t go out dressed like that! You need to fight Goliath the traditional way”. Saul’s armour wasn’t going to work for David. He resisted the pressure to conform. Instead he used the gifts, talents and experience that were uniquely his.

Finally the giant of general consensus can try to stop us in our calling. This was the last giant David refused to give in to. The majority aren’t always right. It takes a lot of courage to stand against the crowd mentality. Fear not. Go in God’s name. Why hadn’t the Philistines over-run Saul and his army? They were afraid of the Israelites and their God! The only thing they could do is what most bullies do, and that is: taunt and belittle their opponents (which they did for forty days).

However David knew who he was and whom he served. David’s crowd didn’t believe he could do it. Saul didn’t believe, neither did Goliath. Let your faith fight for you and bring into reality what God has called you to do. Don’t let the giant of fear of failure or ‘God won’t do it for me’ stand in your way.

What is the giant that would hold you back from the purposes of God in your life? David had patience, faith, wisdom and confidence. He was incredibly confident in his God. He chose for himself – stones.

Your life is too precious to leave in the hands of someone else. Let God deal directly with you. Do what He says and stay focussed. Go into the holy of holies on a regular basis. Hear from God for yourself. God spends a lot of time preparing us for greatness. Work with Him and don’t let the giants overcome you.

Prayer: Father God, I want to repent for giving into the giants of distraction in my life. Please help me grasp the truth that I can completely trust Jesus and know You’ll equip me with everything good for doing Your will. Thank You, Lord, that You’ll work in us what’s pleasing to You, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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“He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”Isaiah 33:6, NIVThe UK is currently in the middle of an election campaign. The Government has been dis…

Isaiah 33:6, NIV
“He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”

The UK is currently in the middle of an election campaign. The Government has been dissolved and in a few weeks time the will of the people will determine which party will form the next Government and who will be Prime Minister. Right now everyone is being besieged with claims from all the parties as to why people will be much better off if they vote for them. The primary issue all the parties are focussing on is how they can give you the keys to a better, more successful and richer way of life.

Unfortunately, I haven’t yet heard any of the parties telling the electorate what the real key is to being in possession of the richest of treasure stores. And, to be honest, in these days, I don’t expect any of them to be telling people that the fear of the Lord is the key that will open the treasure houses of Heaven!

Our nation, and the whole world, has fallen a very long way from his ideal for the United Nations, publicly expressed by President Truman in 1945, when he said, “I humbly pray, Almighty God, in the words of King Solomon, ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart.’” When he addressed the very first meeting of delegates to the embryonic United Nations, he prayed, “We beseech our Almighty God to guide us.” In 1950 President Hoover proposed that the United Nations should be “a moral and spiritual cooperation of God-fearing free nations, rejecting an atheistic other world.”

Today we are living in a broken world that is suffering the increasing consequences of our leaders having dismissed the fear of the Lord as having any relevance to their political campaigns or to real God-inspired prosperity. In turning their backs on God’s Word, they are denying the people access to the “rich store of salvation, wisdom and knowledge” that is available at the turn of a key – the key of the fear of the Lord.

But that does not prevent God’s people from individually turning that very special key in their own lives, and living a life which is inspired by Holy fear of a Holy God. There is a wealth of hidden treasure waiting to be discovered – and we don’t need a metal detector, just a humble and submissive heart. When real treasure seekers turn that very special key they will discover immeasurable, eternal riches!

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the amazing treasure You have provided for all those who choose to love and serve You with a humble heart. Help me, Lord, to deal with my self-seeking pride, enthrone You as King of my life and value the real treasures that you offer Your people more highly than anything else this world as to offer. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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