1. Judges 6:12
Verse:
“When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’”
To Ponder:
I wonder what it would have been like to be Gideon in this reading. It strikes me that he didn’t see himself as a mighty warrior. In fact, it was the opposite he felt weak, afraid, and unqualified, in other words not the right person for the job. Yet God spoke to him based on who he could become, not who he thought he was.
What if God sees more in us than we see in ourselves? What if doubts, limitations, or things we have done are not things that get in the way, but the very places where God wants to work?
God often chooses ordinary people with normal everyday struggles. Like Gideon, we may feel unworthy or hesitant, but God works us you not because of our strength, but because of his presence with us.
The real question is not whether we are capable, but whether we are willing to trust that God can use us right where we are.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you that you see more in me than I see in myself. Help me to believe that you can use me, even with my doubts and weaknesses. Give me courage to step forward in faith and trust your working in my life. Remind me that I am not alone, because you are with me. Shape me into who you have called me to be. Amen.
Written by Pr Nich, LifeWay Epping
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
TO PONDER
When I reflected on today’s verse, I found myself thinking about the total blackness of night without any trace of light whatsoever? The type of scenario where you hold your hand up in front of your face and cannot see your hand in the darkness. I often find myself getting up from bed in the darkness of the dead of night, to visit the lavatory or to have a sip of water, or ironically even both. I don’t put a light on so not to disturb others sleeping in the household. It is generally pitch-black and hence my vision, is of little to no use to me at all. I know my house design well enough and the placement of our furniture around the home to be able to reasonably, and most times competently but slowly, make my way to the toilet or wander out to the kitchen. However, the walk (or perhaps shuffle) to fulfil my dead-of-night objective is always slow and cautious and on an extremely dark night, I will find myself tentatively shuffling to my destination with my arms and hands out-in-front of me searching for walls and corners I know are there in the darkness somewhere, but I need to make sure I do not walk into them!
Contemplating these dead-of-night expeditions of mine, I wouldn’t know how long it takes me to carefully and cautiously shuffle to the bathroom or blindly navigate my way to the kitchen but I know it is a slow trip and in fact one that would be accomplished in probably half the time (or even quicker) if I had light for the journey.
I see a real parallel with our reading today and my cautious night-time shuffles in the dark. With a light on in the bedroom to lead me to the ensuite or kitchen where the further use of the next light switch, would instantly overcome the darkness, I would achieve the objective with confidence and no trepidation.
This is exactly the life and the way our Lord wants us to live. Confidently and with no trepidation. That is, with the light on! His light in our lives, leading and guiding us. He has rescued us from the evil of Satan’s darkness. The freedom that He has won for us enables us to take every step confidently in His light. We do not need to shuffle, take cautious steps or blindly extend our arms out in front of us to hopefully anticipate what’s ahead of us. We are free from the dominion of darkness, knowing that we can take each step forward in full confidence and in His full light on our journey, as He walks beside us. We are free!
PRAYER: Merciful Saviour. Thank You for rescuing me from the inhibiting life of darkness, evil and sin and for freeing me to a life of light where I can live as Your disciple with confidence and no trepidation. Thank You also for the everlasting life that awaits me in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping
I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
TO PONDER
My corporate role at present is in a learning and development capacity focused on the technical risk management aspect of Life and Disability insurance. Part of this risk management process requires a structured internal audit process to measure that the risks being accepted globally, have been undertaken within the businesses set risk framework and tolerance levels. This ensures that accepted risks are charged commensurate premiums. From my experience, the internal audit process in a corporate environment often brings with it a negative perception. That is, the common view is that the process is in place primarily to pedantically highlight instances where individuals have not followed rules and guidelines, and where this is detected, ramifications are brought-down on the respective individual(s). The feeling seems to be that internal audit programs are restrictive in nature and impede an otherwise competent individual with delegated authority, to be able to demonstrate their personal knowledge, experience and to make and own their decisions.
I (and the colleagues I work with) take the totally opposite view. The corporate risk frame-work and tolerance levels are in place to provide guard-rails for individuals. They provide an individual with the scope to freely use their experience and knowledge in their decision making. These mechanisms are in place to provide individual and corporate protection and ensure decisions are centred on underlying evidence-based research and within regulatory guidelines and law.
I see great similarities with today’s verse from Psalm 119. Having true freedom for us as Christians does not mean we do whatever we want. Those not of the Christian faith, will likely take the position and even argue that doing what you want means you have worldly freedom.
But today’s scripture wisely points us in the direction of obedience to God and His word as the absolute pathway to freedom. Following God and His teachings, and trying to emulate Him in the way we live our lives should not be viewed as restrictive. Obedience to Him should not be an enemy, a hindrance or a barrier. It should not hamper us or retard our momentum. In fact, it is the doorway to liberty. It is through this freedom that we are released to walk in the life He intended for us. As Christian’s, our obedience as disciples keeps us on the right path, the pathway to our freedom that we have through Him.
PRAYER: God of liberty. Help me to continue to mature in my faith and my relationship with You, so to fully appreciate Your grace and the gifts that You have given me. Teach and guide me so I am obedient to You, and can progress forward totally unencumbered on the pathway to absolute freedom. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
TO PONDER
Do the names Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker and Clarke Kent ring a bell for you? Why might you remember them?
Bruce Wayne was the civilian identity for Batman. Clarke Kent was a journalist who would slip off his suit jacket and trousers in a phone booth and be transformed into Superman, and Peter Parker was a very ordinary individual who became Spiderman. All three individuals were superheroes and possessed superpowers. They freed people from danger and saved citizens from evil. Oh, if only they weren’t fictitious!
In today’s text, Paul highlights the relationship between the Lord and the Holy Spirit. The Lord is the Holy Spirit. This underscores the Christian belief in the Trinity where God exists as three persons (God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit). Each separate member of the Trinity is the one person. Each one carries a level of power that surpasses the limits of human belief.
Paul asserts and provides surety to the Corinthians and to us, that the presence of the Holy Spirit brings freedom. Freedom to the church of Corinth of the day from the Old Covenant which was characterised by religious rules and laws of the time. In total contrast to the New Covenant of grace through faith in Christ, where believers are molded and shaped through the Holy Spirit into Christ-like people. We are set free to live in a way that reflects the glory of God, shining His light to those around us.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, (that is, living in our hearts) there is (i.e., we have) freedom.
PRAYER:Lord of all. We do not need fictitious superheroes when we know, love and have You. You, (our Father), sent Your one and only son (Jesus), to win our freedom from the chains of sin and slavery. You remain living with us through the Holy Spirit and mold us into Your likeness. Thank You for the surety and freedom that being your child provides for me. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
TO PONDER
I find it interesting when I talk to people with a pet dog how many of them reveal rather frustratingly, a story about their dog’s bad habit, that can’t seem to be rectified, even after the most dedicated and pin-pointed training.
Chewing furniture or the shoes left at the back door. Digging holes in the back lawn whenever someone is not home. Or deciding that the bed sheets blowing (and drying) in the wind are just too good to refuse and that they deserve to be played with, tackled, dragged, and most often literally ripped off the clothes-line!
No matter how devoted the training, being shown a better way and freed from the old pattern, our four-legged friends think they know better and for any one of a number of reasons (instinct, excitement, simple forgetfulness or even revenge) they revert to the old habit.
If I think honestly about this, we (well at least I), are not much different.
Today’s text highlights this for us and instructs us to ‘stand-firm!’ Being Christ’s disciples does not insulate us from the works of the evil one. Like the pets that we have just discussed, we can, and will continue to be tempted and revert to our sinful ways and bondage to sin. Paul’s message to the Galatian’s is as valid today as it was at the time of his writing to them. We should resist any temptations to drift back or return to the hole that Christ has dragged us from - to freedom.
We are not bound to sin like we once were. Christ has set us free and we need to walk forward in a disciplined manner. Standing firm in every second of every day, for each step we take, and each decision we make.
PRAYER: Awesome God. I know that just because I am Your child, doesn’t mean that I am insulated from the works and temptations of the evil one. I know though, that You are with me, walking by my side as I journey on. Thank You for the freedom You have given me. Help me not to revert back to my old sinful habits, but to stand firm, resist the many worldly temptations that are tactfully laid before me, and live in the freedom that You have provided me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping
because anyone who has died has been set free from sin
TO PONDER
Have you ever been awestruck while contemplating the incredible transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly? This process magnifies the journey of a plain, some would say ugly, wriggly caterpillar (often called a “grub”) to a splendid, graceful and beautiful butterfly. This transformation without a doubt, is one of nature’s most magical makeovers.
As Christian’s we are brought to our Heavenly Father via a worldly shepherd (Minister, Pastor or Priest) in Holy Baptism to be marked with the cross on our forehead and become one of God’s family.
It is through our Baptism that we die from our old self. Our sins are nailed to the cross with our crucified Lord and Satan no longer has dominion over us. We are born again with a new life just as Jesus rose from the grave to a new life on Easter Sunday conquering death. We are freed from the enslavement of sin and freed from our final earthly demise (death). We are dead to sin! We are set free!
This transformation for us as Christian’s, by the grace of God, makes the caterpillar‑to‑butterfly journey seem insignificant by comparison.
PRAYER: God of Grace. Thank You for choosing me to be brought to the baptismal font to become a member of Your family. I do not deserve Your grace. Your acts of divine love for me have conquered death and won my freedom from the bondage of sin. Thank You for personally crafting my incomprehensible transformation. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
TO PONDER
GO TO JAIL. Go Directly to Jail. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200. This today, is still the most unenvied of scenarios for anyone playing a game of Monopoly. Unless that is, you have a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card.
The ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card for anyone who is not familiar with this, is exactly what it says. It allows a player to exit jail immediately on their turn, without paying a fine or attempting to roll doubles with the dice. That is, they are free immediately! The threat of jail-time, and the resulting loss of freedom to participate in the game, earn personal income, invest in property, or collect rental returns is completely eliminated with a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card.
Well as Christians, we have so much better than that in the journey of life that we live here on earth daily. Jesus has given this to each one of us already. We have a real ‘You are Free’ card!
Our passage from John’s Gospel refers to those who commit sin as being slaves to sin. Sin in the passage is in a verb tense indicating that it is a habitual continuing action rather than the occasional lapse. Abiding in Jesus’ word and being His disciple, means that our relationship with Him has broken all chains that tied us to sin, and has also defeated the wages of sin, being death (Romans 6: 23). Jesus, has won us our freedom and cleansed us fully through His blood shed for us on the cross and His resurrection which crushed Satan and death forever. Yes indeed, we have a ‘You are Free’ card and not only for this life, but for the life yet to come in our eternal Heavenly home.
We are Free Indeed!
PRAYER:Merciful God. Thank You for freeing me and crushing the chains that once enslaved me to sin as well as defeating the wages of sin so I have the promise of eternal life with You. Continue to walk with me. I pray that Your spirit will work through me so that my Christian light burns brightly for everyone to see the freedom You have won for me and all my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
TO PONDER
Have you ever been accused of, or following self-reflection, found yourself being guilty of “going through the motions”? Whether in a relationship, your place of work, a voluntary role or even in caring or parental responsibilities, it can happen to anyone. “Going through the motions”; performing an action or task without conviction, genuine interest, effort, or emotional engagement. This implies the action(s) are being performed to fulfill an obligation or expectation. To find oneself “going through the motions” may happen for any number of reasons.
In many ways, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day were guilty of this, being fixated on following tradition and religious law rather than living out Jesus’ love and sharing it with others. Their accusations of Jesus eating with the unclean or healing the sick and telling the healed paraplegic to pick up their mat on the Sabbath are real examples. The Pharisees did not hold to Jesus’ teachings, but rather religious rituals.
John 8, verse 31 and 32 challenges all believers not to simply be a hearer of Jesus’ word but a doer! A true disciple doesn’t passively just know and understand the word but rather embraces it, actively lets it take root in their heart allowing the word to transform them inside out. We hold to Jesus’ teachings when we actively participate and commit to fully integrating Him into every thought, word and deed of our daily life. We should not be guilty of “going through the motions!”
As true disciples, being set free is not a distant hope, but a present reality. Jesus has set us free from both sin and death! His actions (for you and me) allow us to live freely here on earth as His active, committed disciples right now, with the promise of life eternal with Him in Heaven to follow.
We are free!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. Thank You for sending Your son Jesus down to us to be crucified, to rise again, and to defeat sin and death once and for all. Keep me ever mindful that being set free is not a distant hope but a present reality thanks to Your love for me. Help me to live a Christ-like life in your name as evidence of my freedom for all to witness. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
TO PONDER
"In Him" is one of Paul's favourite things to say in his letters to the various communities of faith in the early church. And it's no wonder, we see time and time again, individuals and communities looking for, or adding something to, faith in Christ as he only requirement for salvation and belonging to the body.
It's an echo of the word of Jesus throughout the gospels. In John 15, Jesus says "I am the vine and you are the branches. If you remain in me you will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing." In Mathew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18 Jesus says, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
We can just as easily lose sight of the 'in Christ' message today as the people in the early church did. We can find it hard to imagine that there is anything we can't achieve through human ingenuity, scientific and technological advancement, and good old fashioned hard work. And let's be honest, over the years humanity has made huge leaps in its understanding of God's creation and how it works and functions. Yet despite all that, there is perhaps greater levels of poverty throughout the world than there has ever been, there is more global conflict that at any other point in my lifetime even though after WWII the whole world agreed 'never again'. Cases of loneliness, anxiety, depression and various other forms of mental health problems are continually on the rise, social cohesion is breaking down and we want to say "look at what we have achieved!"
However, human endeavour is not the problem. God gave us intellect and curiosity to engage with his creation and understand it. The problem is that we want to use those gifts apart from him. It is only 'In Christ' that we find real and ultimate truth, real and lasting solutions to things like sin and brokenness.
So, before you go off to enjoy your Saturday and whatever weekend plans you might have, ask yourself this question, 'How do I go about my plans for the day "in Christ"?' It's probably not your plans that are the problem, it's whether you planned to achieve them 'in Christ' or in your own strength and will.
PRAYER:Lord Jesus, thank you for reminding me that 'in you' I have life and can bear fruit that will last. I ask that you forgive me for the times when I have tried to do things apart from you and pray that you would help me, by the power of the Holy Spirit to live my life 'in you' each day and that through me others would see that with God, all things are possible. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.