Devotionals

Psalm 107:1-2, NIV
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this – those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.

I recently saw a most amazing piece of video, taken in one of the game parks of South Africa. A young buffalo was attacked by a pride of lions on the edge of a watering hole. The lions were about to drag the baby buffalo away for a good meal when suddenly, out of the water, sprung a huge crocodile, which grabbed the other end of the baby buffalo! At this point the traumatised baby was being pulled in two directions – by a lion that had it by the head and by a crocodile which had its rear end! It looked an impossible situation for the young buffalo. It was either going to be food for a crocodile or food for the lions.

But suddenly a whole herd of buffalo appeared on the edge of the watering hole. The emergency signal had gone out and the whole herd came at a gallop to rescue one of their own. To see a large lion being tossed into the air on the horns of a buffalo was an amazing sight. The crocodile lost its grip and slid back into the water and the young buffalo gave itself a shake and went off shielded on all sides by the herd. It was a totally extraordinary rescue act in what seemed an impossible situation!

As I watched that video I suddenly saw myself as that young buffalo, being targeted by all the powers of darkness who were wanting to pull me in all sorts of directions and rob me of my destiny, even my very life. Then over the horizon I saw my Redeemer, surrounded by the hosts of Heaven come to my rescue. He tossed the enemy (the roaring lion of 1 Peter 5:8) aside as if it was powerless, and all the powers of darkness fled before Him and I found myself being comforted by the angels as I walked away from the scene. I had been redeemed!

And I sure wanted to tell everyone what my Redeemer had done for me. I wanted to shout it out that the roaring lion had been defeated by the Lion of Judah and that ‘Leviathan, the gliding serpent, the monster of the sea (the crocodile)’ (Isaiah 27:1) had been defeated by my God. And that He had redeemed me out of the jaws of death. Yes, ‘let the redeemed of the Lord say so’ – let’s not be shy about celebrating the most amazing deliverance in the history of the world, when the Lord rose in triumph, victorious over death and all the powers of darkness.

Prayer: Thank You so much, Jesus, that You are my Redeemer – the one who rescued me from all the powers of darkness, from the roaring lions and from the leviathans that would want to attack me. I am SO grateful and want to tell the world what You have done for me. Amen.

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

Healing Through Deliverance – Book by Peter Horrobin

Deuteronomy 1:6 and 8, NIV
The Lord your God said to us at Horeb, You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites” … See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession.’

I was once given some wise advice – stay where you are until the Lord moves you on. But when He pushes, get moving! The fact is, if we stay put when the Lord has said Move, we will always miss out on God’s best for us.

The time had come for Moses to move on in his extraordinary pilgrimage through the desert with two million Israelites – God had a purpose, great blessing and a destination for them. Sadly, they all missed the blessing by refusing to do what God had said. As a result they spent forty years wandering through the desert wilderness before they reached their destination.

I will never forget talking with an elderly man, who told me all the times that God had spoken to him about leaving his business job and responding to the call on his life to be a missionary. It was a very sad tale. For as he told me the story I was thinking about all the things he could have done for the Lord, had he been obedient – and all the eternal rewards he had missed out on, by staying put when God had said move. His ‘desert pilgrimage’ had also been forty years, and a bit more.

I often think about that man and I pray now, that as you read this short devotional today, you will take the opportunity to make sure you are in the place of God’s calling and appointing, or whether this might be a time when God is saying to you ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain . . .’ It’s great to stay put if God has said this is your place. It’s just as great to move on when he says “move”. If God is encouraging you to move, pray for the wisdom of God so that you will be sure to end up at the right destination – in God’s timing and not yours.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you love me enough to give me a push when I need to move on. Help me to always be listening for your gentle voice so that I can know from you what it is you want me to do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

Healing Through Deliverance – Book by Peter Horrobin

Psalm 34:18, NIV
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

I once knew a man who always had eyes for those who were hurting. He would look out for people who were the ‘underdogs’ of life. People who had little going for them in life and who had few natural advantages. He would come alongside them and make friends.

God had shown him that his mission in life was to be a friend to the people who had no friends, especially young people with their lives before them. The Lord showed him how to be generous to those who had very little of their own resources and to understand that these young people were just as precious to the Lord as the high achievers, who had got it all together and knew where they were going.

Many of those young people were rescued from a life of rejection and inner pain, by a man who believed in them and simply loved them into life. Where did he get such love from?

There is only one possible source – the God who inspired the Psalmist to write the words of our text, was also at the centre of this man’s life. Jesus may not at this time be walking this Earth physically, but He is, in and through the lives of those who truly love Him. For if we really do love the Lord, then we will also really love those who, for whatever reason, are disadvantaged. Annie Flint’s poem sums this up so well:

Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today

He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

So when you read in the Word of God passages like this, about God being close to the brokenhearted, you can certainly rejoice, but don’t forget that God may be asking you to be God with flesh on and show the world what God is really like!

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, that You care about every single human being, and that all are equally precious to You. Forgive me for not being ‘God with skin on’ for some of the people I’ve met. Open my eyes to see people with your eyes and Your understanding and respond to them with Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

Support the work of Ellel Ministries by buying your Christmas Cards from Just Cards Direct

Proverbs 15:31-32, NIV
He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.

Some of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned came through making mistakes. I had parents who loved me enough to rebuke and correct me when I got things wrong – especially when I had done something deliberately, knowing it was wrong! I never felt as though I was being punished unfairly when I was ‘told off’ in love. While I didn’t like the experience, I knew it was just and fair and for my own good.

Once, however, at school, I was punished for something I hadn’t done and I felt the deep pain of injustice on the inside. There was nothing I could do to prove my innocence and I had to take my punishment – a compulsory cross-country run, followed by a prefect on a bicycle! But even today, although the person who punished me unfairly has long been forgiven, I can still sense the feelings of injustice I had at the time.

Correct and fair discipline is good for us. We can learn so much through the experience of being rightly corrected. I fear that in our very liberal society, we are growing a generation of children who will not have the privilege of becoming wise through loving rebuke. We are sowing a wind, and in time we will reap a whirlwind of consequence.

God is the very best of fathers. He knows when we need encouragement and also when we need the rebuke of love. He doesn’t want us to miss out on learning the vital lessons of life – and even when He rebukes us, it is a form of encouragement! There may be times when He uses the events of life to bring His discipline into our circumstances. When that happens, let’s not rebel against His love, but thank Him that He really cares for us and carefully note the lesson He has been teaching us, so that the discipline will contribute to our growing in maturity.

Prayer: Thank you Father God, that You love me enough to bring correction into my life when I need it. Help me always to remember the lessons You teach me in love, so that I may grow up into the maturity of really knowing and serving You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Arise and Build – Teaching DVD by Peter Horrobin

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

James 3:3-4, NIV
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

James is using these two powerful illustrations about a horse and a ship, as a parable to speak to us about how potentially dangerous a very small member of the body – the tongue – can actually be. On the rare occasions that I have ridden a horse, I found that I could, indeed, direct the horse with just a gentle pull on the reins. And on the even rarer occasions when I’ve visited the bridge of a ship, I have been amazed at just how easily someone could turn the wheel, which controlled the rudder, and which then changed the direction of a huge vessel.

James tells us that the tongue has the potential to be like a spark starting a forest fire, or to corrupt the way of life of a person so badly, that it is like hell fire, or full of deadly poison. What a reputation the tongue had in James’ estimation. I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of saying the wrong things on occasions and wishing we could take back the words we have said. But that’s one thing we can never do.

Was James over-reacting? For surely the tongue can be a source of great blessing as well? Of course it can and if I were to stop and think for a moment I could remember many wonderful moments when people spoke things into my life or teachings that I had heard, or words of encouragement and love, such as from my Mum or my Dad. But I can also think of times when people said very cruel and uncalled for things and caused much damage and pain.

But let’s not blame the tongue for what the mouth speaks. In reality the tongue is a neutral, physical part of the body! All the tongue does is express the thoughts that we have in our mind. The mouth speaks what the heart is full. So it’s what’s in the heart that really matters – if we guard the mind from thinking evil thoughts, then the tongue won’t speak evil things.

Perhaps we would all do well to speak less and listen more – so that, when we do speak, the tongue will not be in danger of letting us down by saying ungodly or untruthful or unkind things. Perhaps, also, we should consciously be praying that the Holy Spirit will fill our mouth with good things so that the words we speak will always be a blessing and an encouragement to others. We do not want to be guilty of starting fires with wrong words or of steering the ship of our lives onto ‘the rocks’, so that our vessel will be wrecked.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the power of speech and for the wonderful way you gave us to be able to communicate with each other. But Lord, I want to confess, there are times when I’ve said wrong things and hurt people. Please forgive me and freshly anoint me with your Holy Spirit that my tongue will always be a blessing and never be a curse on anyone else’s life or cause damage to my own. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

Living the Life – Book by Peter Horrobin

1 Timothy 6:6-7, NIV
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

“I made £29,000 from £400 in four months!” So screamed the bright red letters on an envelope which came in the mail this week. Inside were details of a great new betting programme which was ‘guaranteed’ to make money for the enthusiastic gambler! I didn’t waste much time reading it, but it did make me think about the vast number of people there are in this world whose contentment is only measured in how much money they are making and how they’re making it.

The love of money, says Paul, is the root of all evil – not money itself, but the love of it (1 Timothy 6:10). For the love of money is the beginning of idolatry. And idols will always demand their allegiance – and they never bring contentment. If you make money your goal, it will become your god, and you will never be satisfied with what you’ve got (when and if you get it), as it’s the process of making money that is the real idol. So, once you’ve got what you wanted, you have to try and get more to satisfy that inner addiction to your false identity as a money-maker.

On the other hand, godliness is something we cannot achieve by our efforts, it is only achieved through submission of our wills to the will of God and allowing Him to change us from the inside out. You will never see a mailing advertising £10,000 worth of godliness at a bargain price! It cannot be bought.

To be content with godliness is an extraordinary blessing, for therein lies the key not only to life on earth, but life in Heaven. For as our Scripture reminds us, no matter how much money we have we cannot take it with us – any of it! But godliness goes with us. It is the currency of Heaven and we can’t leave it behind. So a godly person has every reason to be content. They have treasure in Heaven that the gamblers on earth could never gain – even if they broke the bank of Monte Carlo a thousand times over!

Let’s fix our eyes on gaining treasure in Heaven and be content with whatever material goods we have here on Earth.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for reminding me that godliness is the real treasure of life. Help me not to focus on things I cannot take with me when I die, and be content with your provision for my needs here on Earth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

Healing Through Deliverance – Book by Peter Horrobin

Proverbs 25:28, NIV
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.

Not long ago my wife and I visited Hadrian’s Wall – that huge stone wall which crosses from the west to the east of northern England. It was built by the Romans to protect this furthermost border of the Roman Empire from the wild and dangerous Scots, who lived in the hill country beyond the wall! As I looked at this amazing structure, much of which still stands strong and wide today, after nearly two thousand years, I imagined how difficult it would be for invaders to cross the wall in the face of the constant patrols of Roman soldiers, who paraded up and down the wall, twenty four hours a day.

There are many ancient cities in the world also, which are surrounded by high strong walls as a defence against invading armies. It was news of the broken down walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:3) which moved Nehemiah’s heart, as he prayed for his home city and his people. The news that the walls were still broken down and the gates burnt brought him to grief. He knew God was calling him to do something about it. Nehemiah’s book covers the whole story from beginning to end, of how God used him to take on and complete the task and thus restore the safety of the city. Without complete walls, the city was defenceless.

Our Scripture today likens the broken down walls of a city to the broken down walls of a person’s life. Control of our conduct and behaviour is a vital protection against the invasion of the enemy into our lives. Paul explained very carefully in Galatians 6:7-8 how there are consequences for not living a life which is self-controlled and in godly order. The fact is, that a city with broken down walls is undefendable – and equally, a person’s life which is out of control, is also undefendable.

Without the Holy Spirit none of us will have the strength to resist the attacks of the enemy – we all need that spirit of self-control that the Lord will give us if we ask Him. The problem is that many people enjoy too much the things that come in through the gap in our defences, and the Lord can’t help us win a battle which we actually want to lose! Let’s first pray that God will give us the desire for all the gaps in our defences to be filled in and then ask Him to show us how to do it. Then our lives will be strong and effective for Him – and what’s more, we will be more blessed than we ever dreamed possible!

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to identify those areas of my life where there are gaps in the defences of my soul. I choose now to want to have defendable walls, so that the enemy will no longer have access to the centre of my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

Living the Life – Book by Peter Horrobin

3 John 1 and 2, NIV
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

I’ve just been to watch a football match. My home town team, Blackburn Rovers, were playing Aston Villa in the Premier League. They were not expected to win, but, amazingly, our team came out on top, over a team that are much higher up the league than they are. It was a great win. Before the game, I’d seen the jubilant Aston Villa supporters almost dancing towards the Rovers ground at Ewood Park. They were expecting to win and at that time were feeling great.

But when the match was over the Villa supporters were stunned into silence. Their physical behaviour reflected how they were feeling about their surprise defeat. The Rovers supporters were, of course, jubilant. They were on top of the world. Their team had won and they were going home happy. And so was I. But the Aston Villa supporters were as sick as the proverbial parrot!

This was only a football match, but as I looked at the demeanour of the two groups of supporters I was reminded that how we feel physically, is often directly related to the condition of our soul – to how we are feeling about other things. John totally understood this truth when he wrote to his friend Gaius. He was concerned for Gaius’ health, and so he prayed that Gaius’ body would be as healthy as his soul.

I’ve often had to pray for people who have been ill for a long time. Sometimes with conditions which don’t seem to be responding to any form of medical treatment. At times like this I remember John’s comment about Gaius and start asking a few leading questions about the condition of their soul. Time and again I have quickly discovered that the person has been very unhappy for a whole variety of reasons. Sometimes because of rejection, at other times abuse, occasionally because of betrayal or some form of damaging relationship breakdown. Often there has been bitterness and unforgiveness in the heart against other people. Truth exposed opens the door of healing for the heart.

It never ceases to surprise me how often people get physically healed, when the inner conditions of the soul are brought to the light and have been properly dealt with before the Lord, according to the ways of the Lord revealed in His word. If only our souls could always be kept in good health, I suspect that many of the conditions that people struggle with might also get healed!

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for showing us that there is sometimes a relationship between how I am feeling on the inside and my physical health. Help me to always be sensitive to the inner voice of your Spirit so that I may not allow situations to develop in my soul, that might make me ill. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

Living the Life – Book by Peter Horrobin

Psalm 40:1-3, NIV
‘I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in God.

This morning I watched as a drama unfolded before my very eyes! I was out walking our dog, Harris, when I noticed a cow stuck in the mud on the other side of the canal. It was deeply embedded in the mire, totally unable to move. Immediately, I set off to tell the farmer, but my desire to help was like a prayer to God when he says, ‘Before they call I will answer’ (Isaiah 65:24). For I then saw that the farmer was already on his way!

A tractor was coming across the field, headed straight for the stranded cow. No human effort alone could have got this large and heavy cow out of the mess she was in. So the farmer put a strong rope round the cow’s neck and attached the other end to the front of his tractor. Then, reversing gently away, he pulled the cow out of the mire and dragged her to safe ground. It was rough treatment, but for the cow it was salvation! The cow was very muddy and obviously exhausted, but could now recover from her ordeal in safety.

As I watched the scene unfold, I was reminded of our scripture for today. The whole of the human race was sinking deep in the mire of sin. No human effort could lift humanity out of the mess. Because of the weight of its own sin, mankind was sinking deeper and deeper into the mire. It needed a Farmer with a ‘divine tractor’ to come and take charge.

But instead of the Farmer putting the rope round our necks, it was Jesus who endured the ‘rough treatment’ for us, so that our feet may once again be placed on a rock of certainty. When He rescued us the mud of the world covered us. The cleansing flow of the blood of Jesus is all we need to be cleaned up and released into living a new life with and for Him.

As I watched, the rescued cow struggled to its feet again, to carry on grazing in the field. I realised that the muddy hole was still there and the cow would now have to be careful not to fall back in. The enemy of souls hates it when God’s children are rescued and, like the cow, we must constantly be on our guard not to fall back into the enemy’s mud. Let’s resolve now to stay on the rock and build our lives on the security of His love. And may there be many who will be amazed at what God has done in our lives and as a result choose to put their trust in Him.

Prayer: Thank you for the lessons you show us from our experiences in life. Thank you for rescuing me from the miry clay and for putting my feet on the rock. Help me to stay there, anchored by the security of Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Arise and Build – Teaching DVD by Peter Horrobin

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

Proverbs 9:10-11, NIV
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.

Everyone would like to live longer! Here in this scr…