So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
TO PONDER:
We all have one. A routine we perform on a daily basis. What's yours? Grab your phone? Grab your Bible? Go to the toilet? Head for the shower? Drink a few glasses of water? Make Coffee? Let the dogs out/in? Read the Newspaper? Have breakfast? Do you set your clothes out the night before or decide on the day what to wear? Make the bed? What order do you do things in? What is so instinctual for you, that you even had to stop and think about what you do habitually?
Paul outlines a routine that is worth exploring today for ourselves in the Word. Each day when you get up, remind yourself who you are...someone who has been chosen by God. Someone who is holy, made right with God. Someone who is incredibly loved by God. Paul starts the day affirming his identity, his status in relationship to God as something of first importance. The moment you get up, it's a new day, a fresh start, a blank page for writing/recording the acts of the Holy Spirit in your life. Then it's time to get dressed in the clothes God has chosen you to wear for the adventure he is calling you to live....to put on his compassion, his kindness, his humility, his gentleness, his patience. These layers of love will dress you for whatever conditions you encounter in the day, giving your confidence, boldness and allowing you to move with grace in every situation. How would your day change if you tweaked your routine to claim your identity in Christ as something of first importance, and get dressed in what Christ lays out for you?
PRAYER
Good morning Lord, remind me in this moment that I am your beloved and chosen child, incredibly loved by you. Help me to walk tall in the clothes you have set out for me that in every moment people may be so aware of your grace at work through me. Let's go Lord, we have an adventure to live today together! Amen.
...and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
TO PONDER:
How different these verses sound in a post pandemic era! Before the pandemic, it was easy to read these verses about not neglecting to meet together in public worship face to face so that we can mutually encourage one another. But during the pandemic, which we are still trying to navigate, these verses sound different. It's still about connecting with other Christians so that we don't grow cold in our faith or slip into a lifestyle that doesn't reflect our calling as God's people. But maybe the means by which we encourage and spur one another on is different. These days we have FaceTime and Zoom and Teams and Skype. We have phones to keep in contact with those who are still isolating because of health concerns. We have livestream to keep feeding, encouraging and nurturing people in the faith through the hearing of the Word. We have online classes to grow people deeper in discipleship. Some are meeting weekly as Bible Buddies, to read the Word together! Maybe God is asking us to rethink the ways we connect with one another. We have the means...the technology at our disposal...to do this in a different way. Maybe there are other creative, ingenious ways can we find to meet together, to encourage one another and build each other up. Let your imaginations be inspired by the Spirit to spur on those around you to love and good deeds. What can you come up with today. Act on it. Or maybe today, the question you need to reflect on is "how have I allowed my life to become disconnected from my family of faith." Give us a call, reach out to us and let's together find a way that works to give you the encouragement you need to remain firm in the faith, full of Christ's love and filled with the joy of doing life together!
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, you have created me to live in relationship with others. Fill me with your Spirit that I may find creative ways to encourage others around me in their walk with you, and experience the joy of fellowship that connection with others around your Word also brings to me. Amen.
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
TO PONDER:
You are a powerful person. There is no limit to what God can do through his Spirit at work in you today! That's essentially what Joel is telling us in the reading today. Joel was writing to a people whose land had been devastated by locusts. Their livelihood and indeed their very lives had been stripped away and the future was bleak. But the promise of God through the prophet Joel was that their greater need, to be restored to a relationship with God, would be met. God would give his Spirit to all people, a promise fulfilled at Pentecost. In the Old Testament, the Spirit had only empowered certain individuals and sometimes only for a specific period of time. At Pentecost, the power and the abiding presence of the Spirit were given to all who received the good news of the Gospel. God was deploying his people, his Church, to go out into the world to be his hands and feet, his voice in the world. You are his mobile base of operation in the world. Every resource you need today is at your disposal to continue his Operation Gospel in the world. You are a powerful person. There is no limit to what God can do through his Spirit at work in you today! Believe it and live it.
PRAYER:
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. Fill me with your presence and power and use me today to draw others into your saving presence. Amen.
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honour;
TO PONDER:
It's become an art form in modern football. Faking contact for a free kick. Players throw their head back, exaggerate contact, or lower their shoulders to try and force high contact in order to to win a free from the umpire. It's seen every weekend on the screen, as players fake contact, throwing their heads back as if they have been hit high. When the crowds see the incident replayed on the big screen and they see the lack of genuine contact, when they see the player fake contact, they let the umpires and the player who faked it through loud booing of the decision.
'Let love be genuine or without hypocrisy', Paul urges us. The life transformed by Christ is a life that is genuinely lived for others. A life renewed by Jesus is not focussed or concerned about trying to look good in the eyes of others, or doing things that get noticed by others. Rather it has genuine or sincere concern for others. The external act or behaviour is congruent with the inside intention, motivation, or desire. Hypocrisy is all about falsehood, deceit, misleading, hiding or covering up the real thing. As people who have received the genuine and true love of God in Jesus Christ, our transformed hearts and lives are to reflect that deep genuine love that wants the best, the love of Christ, for others. Let love be without hypocrisy. Maybe today, it is a good opportunity to spend some time to reflect on the things you do for others and why you do them.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank you for your genuine love which was willing to give up everything you had so I could have it. Let your love inspire my living so that each day my life may reflect the same self-giving love you have shown to me. Amen.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
TO PONDER
God has called you according to his purpose not despite of who and where you are but because of it.
I made a commitment at the beginning of the week to help you overcome your fear of the stranger and now I realise I haven’t, today’s verse is perfect in allowing me to rectify my negligence.
Now, the secret in overcoming the fear of the stranger is to smile and say ‘hello/hey/hi/’Sup/Hola’ or whatever your chosen greeting is. Every relationship begins with that first uncomfortable greeting and awkward first conversation, it doesn’t get easier, but it does have the potential of future glory.
Last year I took my own advice and walked up to someone who was little more than a stranger and invited him and his wife to our house for BBQ Church and that led to them inviting us to their house to return our hospitality, which led to a friendship, which led to ‘we like you but don’t like your religion.’ A few months ago the wife had received the news that her cousin had days to live due to cancer, she was shattered, what is the gospel message in this situation especially knowing she didn’t want to talk about it? After praying about it, I went to Coles and bought a nice bunch of flowers and nondescript card with the drawing of a rainbow on the front with no words inside. I wrote a simple message inside to the effect of we just wanted to bring a bit of joy into her life today, said we were praying for her and signed it from our whole family.
‘Called according to his purpose’ means only you can share the gospel life to those that only you can share the gospel life with, only you can be the tangible presence of Jesus to those around you because only you know when flowers and a simple card is the perfect gospel message.
We never know where those uncomfortable greetings will lead, that awkward first conversation has the potential to be the gospel to someone.
PRAYER:
Loving Jesus, I give you praise for the gospel, your good news message of grace and love and thank you for allowing me to partner with you in sharing it with others. Amen
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
TO PONDER
When was the last time you drove out impure spirits or healed every disease? I know most of us would probably answer, “well never!’. Now, if you answered ‘never’ you may have answered too quickly.
How about what Jesus says in John 14:12; ‘Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.’ (NIV)? Again, don’t answer too quickly.
In Luke 4:16-21 we have a record of what Jesus said was his mission on earth, to proclaim the good news (gospel) to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of Lord’s favour. These are all things He was talking about in John 14…
Are you depressed yet? Do you feel inadequate as a follower of Jesus? Well stop it!
Paul plainly addresses these feelings of inadequacy in his letter to the Ephesians when he tells us that we are empowered by grace to do these greater things by living inspirational gospel lives (my paraphrase of Ephesians 2:8-10)
Every time we participate in declaring/demonstrating/living-out the grace empowered good news (gospel) to those around us we are partnering with God to set people free.
PRAYER
Mighty saviour, I give you praise for setting me free from my captivity and for the recovery of my sight so I can fully see who you are. I ask that I realise that through grace you have indeed empowered me to live out daily your good news, the good news of freedom and healing. Amen
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
TO PONDER
Tough question: What have you been called to, what have you been set aside for?
Maybe you haven’t asked this question before, or maybe the question is just too hard so you gave up on it, but we have all been called, we have all been set aside for something only you can do.
Today’s verse is obviously about Barnabas and Saul’s official ‘Installation’ (setting apart) into the calling they were already doing but don’t use that ‘obviously’ as an excuse for not walking out your calling. See Barnabas and Saul were already walking out their calling even before they were made ‘official’ because the calling came from God, they were already living out the gospel daily, they had found their ‘Holy Discontent’ (see yesterday’s Verse of the Day).
Today’s verse should remind us that we have all been called to live out the gospel to those we encounter daily because we have been set aside and empowered by God’s grace.
PRAYER
Amazing God, even though I don’t feel worthy I thank you that you have called me to be an ambassador of your gospel and have been set aside to walk out you love, empowered by grace, daily. Amen
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
TO PONDER
Have you ever been in a situation where you have thought, ‘I can’t because…’ when you have been asked to do something?
Maybe you thought you didn’t know enough, you were too young/old, you weren’t qualified, or even you were just scared. Your ‘because’ might even have been valid, true, a fact but was it still just an excuse?
Yesterday I introduced the idea of ‘Holy Discontent’ with minimum explanation, so today let me try to clarify the term. Most of us would remember the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 when David was sent to deliver lunch to his older brothers and stumbled upon a major ‘I can’t because…’ moment.
David’s brothers along with the rest of the Israelite army were facing off against the Philistine army ready to fight when the giant Goliath would come out to personally challenge King Saul and the rest of the Israelite army to fight him ‘mano a mano’, one on one. The Bible tells us that King Saul and his army were terrified, without hope but full of ‘because’. When David asked why nobody was going to fight Goliath the answers were ‘We can’t because…’
King Saul and his army were frustrated, they saw the need, they saw what had to be done but their frustration never became a Holy Discontent and remained a frustration because they really couldn’t because…
David was frustrated as well asking again & again why no one was doing anything until his frustration became a Holy Discontent when he admitted he couldn’t do it but God would.
Today’s verse tells us that God has given us everything we need to face our reasons why we can’t answer His call and overcome them.
PRAYER
Almighty God, You have called me by name, you have given me everything I need to walk in that calling through grace. Today I answer you call and say I can empowered by your grace. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
TO PONDER
Do you have an ‘origin story’? You know a story about how you received your calling, the story where you discovered your holy discontent. Holy discontent being the burning discontent within your heart which inspired you to make a change, to answer God’s call.
I was thinking about mine recently and it has to do with today’s verse (no I was never in prison) but rather the calling Paul is talking about here, the calling to be family, to be one body.
I was frustrated that what I experienced in church wasn’t the self-sacrificing, grace filled, community we are called to be by Jesus (John 13:34-35). The church community whereby ‘everyone will know that you are my (Jesus) disciples’ because of how we love each other within the church. What began as frustration became a discontent, a desire to become that type of church, so I began planting churches.
In the LifeWay universe right now we are looking at ‘Operation Gospel’ and what that means, so please bear with me as I tell you a brief gospel story;
I have friends (married couple) who I take every opportunity I can to invite them to our house whenever we have other followers of Jesus over for a meal. I take great delight in introducing these friends to my LifeWay family. After about the third or fourth time this happened, this couple went out of their way to communicate how amazed they were at how loving and real these ‘church people’ were!
This is our gospel calling Paul is talking about in today’s verse, as a church our calling is to love each other, to simply be the church and love each other as Christ loves us.
PRAYER
Loving Jesus, I thank you for calling me into a relationship with you and your body, into a community of sacrificial love and grace. I pray that others will see your gospel message in my love for my brothers and sisters in the faith. Amen
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside