Devotionals

Deuteronomy 25:15-16, NIV
You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.

The Bible contains some very surprising things. Here’s one of them! In these instructions to His people, God makes a direct correlation between honesty (or lack of it!) and how long people might live. Superficially, what possible connection can there be between selling someone short and the length of time your body is able to live?

Such things make no sense at all if you only think in terms of the body as existing in isolation and independence from the person whose body it is. But from Genesis to Revelation there is a message that runs right through the whole of the Bible – sin has its consequences, and those consequences can be worked out through the flesh. Paul described it as a law of sowing and reaping in Galatians. Our spirit, soul and body are all different dimensions of the same created order. What happens to one, affects the others.

When a trader gives short measure through using false weights, it is a form of stealing. The trader is making a conscious choice to ignore the voice of God within (the conscience) and then to involve the whole being in the deception. There is another divine law which says that how we treat others is the way we ourselves will be treated. So, if a trader sells his customer short, it makes total sense that his life might as a result be shortened! What happens in reality is that when we choose to act deceitfully like this, we are turning our back on the protection of God (remember it was Daniel’s innocence before God which kept the lions’ mouths closed – Daniel 6:21).

Deceiving others for our own selfish gain gives the enemy greater access to our lives and he is a thief and a robber. It’s better to always deal honestly in all our relationships and never to cheat anyone out of what is their right. Satan will just use the rights we give him to steal from us. Zaccheus got the message loud and clear. When Jesus challenged him over collecting more taxes than he should have done, he undertook to repay people four-fold (Luke 19:8). Jesus considered stealing from others a very serious issue. So should we.

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to remember any times when I have not been fair and honest in any of my dealings. And then give me the courage to put things right before You and with whoever it is that I’ve wronged. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Living the Life – Book by Peter Horrobin

Healing through Deliverance – Book by Peter Horrobin

Acts 19:19-20, NIV
A number who had practised sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas (pieces of silver). In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

Becoming a Christian is not just a case of looking forward to Heaven when we die, but it’s also choosing to separate ourselves from former things in our lives here on Earth which were ungodly. If we try and live for God without separating ourselves from the things of the enemy, then they will become a curse on our lives which may, even, drag us back into the ungodliness of our former lives.

These converts to the faith owned some very valuable things – the books which gave them the knowledge to practise sorcery. It was these that gave them the ability to earn money through what they did. Knowledge is power and can be converted into wealth when others want what we’ve got! These books were valuable, but they were also evil – they made no attempt to sell them, not even to give the money to the poor, for whoever had got hold of and used these books would be trapped into the enemy’s control. Radical action was needed – a good bonfire!

It’s vital that we are just as radical with ungodly things in our own home. Leave them there and they are a source of spiritual danger. But if we choose to follow the same path as these new Christians in Ephesus, and destroy any of the works of the evil one that might still be in our possession, then we will not only be freed from their power, but also know God’s blessing on our lives.

In Ephesus, it was this that witnessed so powerfully to the surrounding people – and as a result the word of the Lord spread through the region. Many times I have watched as people destroyed such things and then entered into the joy of the Lord as a result. God always honours those who honour Him by being obedient to His Word.

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to identify anything in my home which should have been got rid of. I do not want to give houseroom to any of the works of the enemy. I choose to cleanse my home of all the works of darkness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Healing through Deliverance – The Foundation and Practice of Deliverance Ministry

Claiming the Ground – Teaching CD

Philippians 3:13-14, NIV
Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.

I have been challenged recently to consider the difference in meaning between the two words “react” and “respond”. They are totally different.

A reaction can be a knee-jerk reflex, an immediate action, often without thought or preparation – I am often an instant reactor! And I know we can spend much of our time reacting rather than responding!

Response however is very different – it’s hitting a pause button and taking a minute to allow God by the Holy Spirit to gather together all the factors, and to evaluate them in such a way that the right action is taken. Responding is allowing God into the situation. It allows for spiritual wisdom and insight and even intuition. It’s important for us to learn how to respond rather than to react in order that we can be fruitful in our lives and live God’s way.

Reacting is acting from immediate feelings (out of our soul), whereas responding is letting God in and, then, responding in God’s way to a stimulus (that is Spirit led action).

Perhaps, as suggested by our scripture, we need to forget the ways we used to react, and look forward in the future to responding carefully, with the wisdom of God, so that when the prize of God’s high calling does come, there won’t be a trail of wrong reactions we will have to give an account for!

Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive me for times when I have reacted hastily, and wrongly, and help me in my life to respond in a godly way rather than to be an instant reactor from my soul. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

NETS School

Arise! and Fight – Teaching by Jill Southern from the Arise! Conference

Habakkuk 2:2-3, NIV
‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets, so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation waits an appointed time . . .’

I have often been so amazed at the way God uses Scripture to confirm the guidance and visions that He puts into your heart. Just over a year ago, I had a very clear vision that God wanted Ellel Ministries to publish an online training school, so that the foundational teaching, which has been so instrumental in blessing people wherever the work has been established, could be available to people anywhere in the world at the click of their computer mouse!

When God speaks like that you begin to look for confirmation that this really was from God, for you don’t want to be spending a lot of time and energy in developing something that was only a good idea, and not God’s idea. In September last year, when I was visiting Ellel USA, one of the team handed me a piece of paper with the above Scripture written on it. She said the Lord had given it to her for me personally.

I was totally amazed when I looked it up. ‘ Make the revelation plain . . write it down on tablets.’ The revelation of an online training school certainly had to be written down, otherwise there would be nothing to communicate. In Habakkuk’s day a tablet meant a wax covered piece of wood on which a message could be scratched. Today’s tablets are computer files. ‘So that a herald may run with it’. The herald is no longer a man with legs, but the internet which can send the messages on computer files to every country of the world in seconds.

I was stunned as I read this message from the Lord to me, delivered by a person who had no idea what I was thinking about at the time. This was God’s very clear confirmation to me that the vision for what was to become Ellel 365 really was from the Lord. Just over a year later Ellel 365 has become a reality and as of this week you can now go to www.em365.org and be part of the vision’s fulfilment.

God is amazing. He really does use His Word to speak to us in the twenty-first century!

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you continue to speak to your people through your Word. Help me to read it with the understanding that comes from Your Spirit, so that I can hear Your voice speaking into my heart to confirm those things that are of You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

Living the Life – Book by Peter Horrobin

Philippians 1:9-10, NIV
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.

How do we approach change? I often wonder what it was really like for the people of God in the Old Testament when the pillar of cloud moved. I imagine Moses’ wife Zipporah saying, “Just when I have my tent finally sorted and my kitchen set up and my children’s beds in a neat row – off we all go again following that cloud!”

We need to be open to the changes that God leads us into – for if they are His changes, they are always God’s best for us. The pace of modern life is so fast these days, people are far more mobile and move house more often than they used to.

If we respond to change in the right way it’s good for us. It keeps us interested and motivated and stops us from becoming stale and boring. Life becomes fuller and richer when new challenges are welcomed. We can sometimes respond to change in a wrong way with frantic activity and deep anxiety, which is damaging to our health and can overwhelm us. We shouldn’t just change for the sake of change. To do so would simply be disruptive for no reason.

We need to develop the right spiritual attitude towards the movements of God and not be threatened by them – then we will be refreshing people to be around! We should be tough, strong, and spiritually mature enough to be able to stand for God in the changing and challenging scenes of life.

We shouldn’t be put off by a change of plan, a change of job, a change in the programme or a change of leader. Change is something each of us needs to grasp a hold of. Change shouldn’t rock our security, because God has provided and will continue to provide all the stability we need, even through the change.

We need to trust Him with our changed circumstances and then we need to rest in Him, and to be content in Him and embrace His change in our lives.

Prayer: Father, help me in the changing circumstances of my life to stand complete in You. Help me to trust You and to move when You move. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

NETS School

Sex…God’s Truth

Psalm 146:3-4, NIV
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground on that very day their plans come to nothing.

It’s a sad but true fact, that all plans that have their origin in man come to an end when the life of the planner comes to an end. So the psalmist encourages us not to put our trust in men who cannot save us.

So, if even princes can’t be trusted, who can we trust? Well, when you look at the plans of God that unfolded throughout the Old Testament and then into the New, we see that God’s plans were continued from one generation to the next. Prophecies spoken about Jesus were fulfilled. Those visions that had their origin in God and not man did not die, but were taken up in a sort of spiritual relay race down the centuries. One person after another took up the baton of faith and continued to fulfil the purposes of God. Take a look at Hebrews chapter 11.

There is an important lesson for us here at a personal level. If we are following our own plans for our lives, then their potential will be limited. But if we are following God’s plans and walking forward in the vision that comes from Him, then we can be absolutely sure that nothing of what we do for the Kingdom in this way will ever be wasted. What we achieve for Him will build on what others have done and in time others will build on what we do.

So, be encouraged, listen carefully to the heart of God and measure His heartbeats against your own – are they in tune with each other? If they are, never fear, you are building for eternity and not just for time and one day the treasure you have laid down will be waiting for you.

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to walk in your ways and to listen to your voice. I want my life to be lived in the plans that have their origin in you and not to waste my life doing things with no future! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ellel 365 – New Online Training School

The Parables of Harris – Book by Peter and Fiona Horrobin

Matthew 23:11, NIV
The greatest among you will be your servant.

One day, a few years ago, I was rushing along as usual in my Volvo, when the engine cut out and the car stopped. It was pouring with rain and I didn’t have a coat. I saw a red telephone box some way ahead. There was nothing for it but to grab my handbag, lock the car and run to the phone box.

By the time I arrived, I was absolutely soaked. I looked in my purse for a 20p to make a call and found, to my great dismay that I only had a £5 note.

What could I do now? As complete frustration overwhelmed me, the Lord spoke, “You have a £5 note and you need a 20p piece”. “Yes, Lord, I know that!” And the Lord said, “Sometimes, I need you to be a 20p piece because there are times when a £5 note is useless. Are you willing to be a 20p piece when I need you to be, or are you always wanting to be a £5 note?”

I wasn’t expecting the Lord to speak to me and I was profoundly affected. As I considered this challenge, I started to cry (as if I wasn’t wet enough already!) and said, “O Lord, I humble myself afresh before you and agree. I’m willing to be a 20p piece for You whenever You need me to be one.”

Through my tears, I looked down to get a tissue from my bag and my eyes caught sight of a 20p piece in the returned coin slot. How remarkable of God! I was able to use it to make the call and get the help I needed.

I’ve never forgotten that moment. He’s the Master, I’m the servant. It’s so important that I’m willing to serve and learn to be servant-hearted as Jesus Himself was.

Prayer: Lord, teach me today to be wholly available to You, to serve in whatever way You choose. I’m willing to be a 20p piece whenever You need me to be one. Help me to learn to be servant hearted. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Arise and Fight – Teaching by Jill Southern from Arise!” Conference

NETS School

Colossians 4:17, NIV
Tell Archippus: ‘See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord’.

There are many interesting spiritual lessons in the little greetings that Paul includes at the end of his letters. Here is one. He is adding a personal message for an individual, who is described in Paul’s letter to Philemon as a fellow-soldier.

We have no idea why Paul felt this personal message was necessary, but the most likely thing is that Archippus was a person who was good at starting things, but not so good at carrying them through to completion. If that’s the case, then he is typical of many people, even in the body of Christ, who get really excited about something new, but show little enthusiasm for persevering with what’s already on the go!

It’s exciting when God calls us into something, but it’s not so exciting when we discover that there is a considerable amount of work to be done in order to realise the potential God has opened up for us. The fruit of our calling does not appear out of the sky, delivered by an angel, like a bit of Hollywood magic! It has to be worked for through loving obedience to the One who called us into His service.

I love reading the biographies of those who did persevere in missionary service. Recently I read about Charles Cowman who founded the Oriental Missionary Society; and Wilfred Grenfell who transformed the spiritual environment of Labrador as a missionary doctor. Get hold of their stories and read them and be amazed at how much they achieved through perseverance. Our instant-fix society doesn’t like the idea of 40 years of service – that’s what it took Wilfred Grenfell to fulfil his destiny. But it’s through determined perseverance that the Kingdom of God is built.

If Paul was writing a letter to you – what would he say? Would he have a message for you like he had for Archippus?

Prayer: Lord, help me to persevere with the things that you ask me to do. I don’t want my life to be marked by many new starts but with nothing ever finished. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ellel 365 – Online Training School

Living the Life – Book by Peter Horrobin

1 Corinthians 13:1, NIV
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

I really like what the Apostle Paul says. Love is the most important quality in God’s Kingdom. Knowing all, moving mountains, giving all we have to the poor, even dying for our faith means nothing if we don’t have love! Knowledge and the Holy Spirit’s gifts are important too, but in the end, all will be revealed and these other things are less important than love.

If we base all our lives and ministries on these things, we will end up with nothing, because they will fade away and be lost. We need to grow up and mature in all that will make us productive and fruitful. We need faith, hope and love, but love is the biggest characteristic for us to develop, because love never fails. Perhaps ‘Charismatic Christians’ find it easier to concentrate on the gifts of the Holy Spirit than on love. But without love, power is dangerous.

Holy Spirit power should only be a way for me to enable and express love. My love for God and others should be the motivating force behind all my work for God.

Do I know the love of God shed abroad in my heart? Have I allowed the love of God to transform me and fill me so that I have His love to give to others?

Prayer: Father God, I thank You for Your unconditional love for me today. Fill me afresh with Your love so that I can love what You love. May Your love be expressed through my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Healing and the Love of God – Teaching CD

1 Corinthians 16:13, NIV
‘Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
Do everything in love.’

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