"Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
TO PONDER
Did you ever pretend it was "Opposite Day" when you were a kid? I remember my brother and I thinking it was the funniest thing ever to say the opposite of what we meant especially when we got a reaction from our parents.
One of the things we often fail to realise is that in this world we often do the opposite of what we were created to do. God created us in His image so that we could live in fulness of life in relationship with himself. However, it seems that at almost the first opportunity, humanity chose to do things their own way. And now some number of thousands of years later we have convinced ourselves that we know best and that doing things 'our way' is how it has to be.
This is why God's way often seems backwards to us.
He's not impressed with demonstrations of power, after all he has all power and authority. God says in His Word that he prefers to see justice and mercy, qualities that our world tends not to value in others. Likewise, God did not come into this world in the person of Jesus as a powerful political leader or a military genius, he came as a servant and planned to save and redeem all creation by his own death at the hands of the Roman authorities, the very ones who most of Israel hoped he would overthrow.
Next time things in your life don't seem to be going the way you hoped or things seem a little backwards, perhaps take a minute to try and see things from God's perspective. Maybe then you might see how God is turning things right way up in your life?!
PRAYER
Gracious Heavenly Father, I thank you that your ways are not my ways. Please help me to see when it is my way that is backwards and to have the courage to walk in your way even if it puts me in the opposite direction to those around me so that others might see you at work in my life. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
TO PONDER
This is a very challenging mindset to hold in the world today. I guess it has never really been a popular mindset, come to think of it. In fact, I think it is one of the kind of unique characteristics of Christianity, the directive to use you life in service to others.
Don't get me wrong, there are people who do it regularly. Many have even made careers or professions out of it. Teachers, Nurses, Emergency service workers, Defence force personnel, I mean there are a lot of jobs in which the main priority is to serve others to nurture or protect them, but how often do you see people going out of their way to just help someone they don't even know when they are not paid to do it?
Our world keeps promoting the idea that the world exists to serve us and our every whim and fancy. That any obstacle to your own happiness should be dealt with in whatever means necessary. It's how we get to the situation we have seen unfold in the USA with the shooting of Charlie Kirk. Whether you agree with everything, some of the things, or disagreed with everything he said, he was someone made in the image of God, just like you and me. He was someone who Christ was willing to die on the cross for, just like you and me. Unfortunately though, when our own comfort and security demand that we take the life of another human being so that our needs can be met, or our own ideas, beliefs and choices can go uncriticised then we have failed to have the mindset of Christ.
Our first thought, in every situation, should always be 'how can I serve the person or people in front of me with the love of Jesus?' Anything less than that, simply isn't the mindset of Christ.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, there are times when it is hard to follow in your footsteps. I want to have the same mindset as you and to serve others and to love like you do, but sometimes it is so hard. Please soften my heart towards those who are difficult to love and serve and give me the courage and boldness to live a life of service to you and to others. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. (The Message)
TO PONDER
In today’s verse we are shown that God is reconciling broken relationships, between himself and humanity, also extending this to relationships between people, through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross being God's way of making amends for our sins and bridging the gap between Himself and humanity.
Reconciliation always involves forgiveness. Forgiveness is an act, while reconciliation is a process of restoring and working on a relationship. It’s a journey to restore a relationship to its original state of peace and harmony, from enmity to unity and fellowship. This has to be a mutual effort in restoring harmony and fellowship.
Forgiveness is an act, it’s the process of forgiving or being forgiven, its an intentional decision to let go of resentment and anger. What ever has offended or hurt you might always be with you, but working on forgiveness can lessen the grip that it holds on you. Don’t let bitterness and hatred rule your life because you feel you can’t forgive. Let go and let God.
I’m still working on my friend that I mentioned yesterday. I’ve learnt to just shrug it off when she cancels an arrangement and to say, "God she is in your hands!" It took a while to get to this point, I might not like how she thinks it’s ok to cancel all the time, but I can forgive her.
As I was writing todays devotion, a song 'Holy Forever' came into my thoughts, just a couple of lines from it says: “If you’ve been forgiven and if you’ve been redeemed, sing a song forever to the Lamb.” I encourage you to think about these words today as you go about your daily life. Have you been forgiven? Have you been redeemed? Maybe, its time to share, some of that grace given to you, with someone else!
PRAYER:Heavenly Father once again I want to thank you that you first forgave me so that I could learn how to forgive others. Help others to see this also and Lord, I pray that those words, “if you’ve been forgiven, and if you’ve been redeemed, sing a song of forever to the Lamb” would touch others and be an encouragement to let go and let God. AMEN
Today's devotions written by Noeline Brock, Danny's mum.
So, if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.
TO PONDER
I grew up with the Lord’s prayer and these words stand out when we are talking of forgiveness
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.”
In yesterday’s devotional I mentioned a friend who continually cancels out on a commitment or arrangement she had made, and in the earlier part of our friendship, I had often been hurt and put out by the continual promises and cancellations.
The journey is not easy when you feel continually let down and hurt, but I have learnt over the years that it is not worth the frustration of fretting over what has happened. There is no doubt God has forgiven me on many occasions, and this was shown to all humanity when He hung on the cross for our sins.
We are told in these verses that when we find ourselves faced with troubles or conflict with our friends or enemies; it is part of the privilege to do our best to make things right. Peace and harmony with others may not always be achievable, yet as followers of Jesus we should not be the ones responsible for the break down of a relationship or peace. We are told to try to bring peace, love, and forgiveness into all relationships, despite our differences. This is part of dying to self. It is not about us. It reminds us that forgiveness is for both the forgiven and the forgiver. It breathes life into our souls.
I was reading the other day and this statement by Hannah More jumped out “Forgiveness saves us the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.”
PRAYER: Jesus thank you for taking that giant step of standing in for us all, by hanging on the cross for our sins. We take most things for granted in our daily life and think we are a privileged people, but Lord my prayer today is that we all learn the gift of forgiveness in this troubled world. Show me Lord how we are all equal in value, the rich, the poor, the hungry, the persecuted. Send your Holy Spirit to work in our lives, to remind us daily to hand it all over to you and to forgive and not hold grudges.
Today's devotion written by Noeline Brock, Danny's mum.
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. (NLT)
TO PONDER
In these verses, Paul encourages us to put on new spiritual clothes in the light of the new identity we have in Jesus Christ. These new “clothes” consist of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another and forgiveness.
I have this friend who will make arrangements to do this or that, meet up for coffee, etc, but at the very last minute she will cancel out with some lame excuse saying, "I will ring later" – which very rarely happens. This has now gone on for a few years and sometimes it gets a bit ‘old hat’ and hard to deal with … which I guess is normal in this non-normal world of today. I would be so frustrated in the earlier days of our friendship as sometimes I had cancelled other arrangements to fit in with her.
These verses have been a God send making it easier to hand it over to God, and asking the Holy Spirit to do this journey with me, helping me to walk in those new ‘clothes’ being able to show her continual forgiveness, no matter how many times she cancels, and still letting her know that I am still there if needed.
All these ‘new clothes’ are things we desperately need in life to be able to work and grow together with the help of the Holy Spirit. Lean on the Lord.
PRAYER: Lord God thank you that you are always there for me to lean on. Thank you, Lord, that you first forgave us so that we could learn to forgive others. I pray Lord for the patience to always seek you first in every situation. AMEN
Today's devotion written by Noeline Brock, Danny's mum.
Do not pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. (NLT)
TO PONDER
A few things that stand out in these verses for me, that we all need to take to heart: We need to learn to overcome evil with good. And not curse our enemies. We should not put ourselves in the place of God, its not up to us to fix wrongs or pay people back for how they have treated us. We need to work on staying humble. When we judge others, we establish a standard by which God will judge us {Matt 7:1-2}
We can only control what we do, not what others do. We have been given the choice/freewill, to not retaliate. So, we need to search for a new way of thinking, change our attitudes. Let God be God!
This is not a simple or easy thing to do, because of our human nature we tend to think of retaliation as the first and only way to right the wrongs done to us. I encourage you to try to respond to evil, not with retaliation, but with humbleness and acts of kindness and by seeking peace.
PRAYER: Precious Father, I praise you that you have continually walked beside me over the years, and are still even now, guiding me with that still small voice to do the right thing. Thank you Lord that, even though you give us a choice, we can learn to change our attitude to do the right thing, with humbleness, kindness and love, and let You be God. AMEN
Today's devotion written by Noeline Brock, Danny's mum.
Do not say I will get even for this wrong! Wait for the Lord to handle the matter. (NLT)
TO PONDER
I found on reading this verse, that there was an overwhelming encouragement here for me to “Let go and let God” deal with my adversaries and be assured and know that God will settle all accounts.
In today’s world, it sometimes feels like everyone has the “get even type of thinking.” A lot has gone by the wayside over the years, with all the things happening around us now, people taking revenge over supposed wrongs and greed raising its ugly head. I guess it is typical of some to take on the opinion that it is the only way to go!
We’ve all been through situations where maybe we have been put down so many times – either physically or mentally - that our thoughts have turned to revenge. And yes, of course, I've also wanted revenge.
But! Back in the day, I went through a period where I lost everything; house, self-esteem, confidence, trust, friends, and the list goes on - and I felt worthless, totally ruined, lonely and isolated. I questioned God as to why … the word I received and that which really struck home was … BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD{Psalm 46:10} The Lord is the avenger {Psalm 94:1}
I took that on – Be still and know (remembering that He is active) - I had to wait for God's intervention, which required patiently waiting to see what the outcome would be … not at all easy when you are going through something … but a definite MUST do.
God had a plan and he fulfilled that plan 2 years later, enabling me to have the great privilege of studying, pass the exams and begin working and teaching overseas. A long-time dream had finally come true.
PRAYER: I want to thank you Lord that you have shown me through these verses what I should do when others hurt me. Lord help me to quiet that voice in me that seeks revenge and to be still and know you are in control. Thank you for the people in my life who have lifted me up and encouraged me when I have gone through hard times. Today I also lift up those that may not know you, but maybe going through similar circumstances, that your guidance can flow through them and that they come out the other side believing, knowing and praising you. Amen
Today's devotion written by Noeline Brock, Danny's mum.
Then Joseph said to his brothers: “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because, it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
TO PONDER
This is a story full of heartbreak and sorrow and eventually reconciliation and love. In this scripture, Jospeh was not telling his brothers who he was to cause grief or to make them feel guilty. He faced them with patience, kindness, and a heart full of gratefulness for how his journey had progressed. He was a man full of integrity, honesty and had solid work and life ethics … This is wonderful to know, that God can use anyone. Joseph was a shepherd and he faced many hardships, from his brothers turning against him, being sold into slavery, accused of attempting to rape Potiphar’s wife, spending time in prison, he was eventually given a position of power in Egypt, and finally meeting his brothers during a famine.
How often have we thought, we or someone else “sold us” into slavery of some sort? How did you feel and how did you deal with it?
We’ve all been through situations where maybe we were continually being put down by the one we loved, being treated poorly, either physically or mentally, till we come to a time when enough is enough and we start to feel like we want revenge. We may even feel like we’ve been ‘sold out.’
Those times are so hard to deal with when we are waiting for God to intervene. His plans for us seems so far away that we tend to doubt anything is going to come out of our sorrows. We need to hang in there and be patient.
Jesus encourages us to come close to Him. How far down must we be before we come close to Him? Even in my younger years when I did not “know” Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, but I knew he was there, I knew that he had me in the palm of his hand, I knew I was loved by Him … I always knew He would never leave me, but I did not know that I could call on Him, or how to depend on Him.
We need to step up and come close to God, and find the meaning in our sorrows and then learn to work through them and forgive others. What is holding you back? Joseph never let go, he knew that God would never leave or forsake him and had him there for a purpose.
PRAYER: Heavenly father, I want to thank you for always being there even when I did not know how to call on you. I thank you that you always let me know you are there, that you held me in the palm of your hands from the word go, and letting me know that you loved me unconditionally. I thank you Lord that you took me on the journey and you showed me how to forgive. I pray Lord that others “Come Close” to you, and see who you are, that they can click in and walk the walk and can find forgiveness in their hearts for misdeeds done to them. AMEN
Today's devotion written by Noeline Brock, Danny's Mum
Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack along with the silver for his grain. And he did as Joseph said.
TO PONDER
Why has Joseph done this, not only returning the men’s silver, but this time adding the silver cup?
How must they have felt when they discovered once again that the silver was in the mouth of their sacks, and to make it even worse, there was the silver cup inside the youngest’s sack? We all know that the brothers were innocent of stealing the cup, but guilty of far worse.
It is like us; we may take pride because we are innocent of some sin or another. And yet, we are probably guilty of far greater sins that have not been exposed.
As I was reading this verse, it reminded me of a long-lost memory of being dared at high school by my so called “friends,” to steal something off the tuck shop counter while the workers were not watching. They encouraged me, saying they had all done it and got away with it! So, wanting desperately to be accepted by these girls, I took on that dare. As soon as I had it in my hands, one of the girls took it from me, but to my shock and horror, one of the workers commented “who took that bar? It was here a minute ago!” I was overwhelmed with the guilt and told that group that I was going to own up to it, and their response was to threaten me. I never made the grade with those girls, and from that date on after not being accepted, I realised that I didn’t need those type of friends and I didn’t need to be part of a “gang.” I did not sell my friends out, but I almost sold myself out. A lesson learned.
Josephs brothers were learning a lesson, especially after finding the silver in their sacks a second time, and even now the silver cup? They knew they were innocent of steeling the silver and the cup, but the guilt of their first sin was surely playing on their minds. Have you gone through a similar situation to the brothers? Have you felt ‘sold out’? How did you handle it?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I thank you that you are with me when I am tempted to make . I pray Lord that you continue to work in me, leading me on the right track, and that I never doubt that you will always be walking beside me, uplifting, and encouraging me to keep you foremost in my journey through life.
AMEN
Today's devotion written by Noeline Brock, Danny's Mum