The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
TO PONDER
Not long after being rescued and set free from Egypt, God’s people soon found themselves out in the desert without food and water. And here the people defaulted to complaining.
God endured their grumbling and graciously rained down food upon them. When there is no way, God makes a way. When we come to the Lord’s table, we receive the miraculous gift of grace in the bread and wine. This simple practice can actually train us in the discipline of trusting God. Put this in our heart that God takes care of his people.
PRAYER: Lord, trusting you does not come naturally. Thank you for enduring my grumbling and impatience and for showing me, again and again, that you will take care of me. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Francis Leung, LifeWay Epping
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
TO PONDER
This is another story of God’s provision and testing. Running out of water, standing before a pool of bitter water, the people of Israel begin to grumble and complain. Don’t forget that only a few days earlier God had parted the Red Sea and saved them from Pharaoh’s army! God delivers his people and makes the water fit to drink. We should learn that God expects us to trust him in all things, and to be holy, as He is holy. We should remember that Jesus is the LORD who suffers to heal us and to forgive our sins. By his wounds we are healed.
PRAYER: O God, you are the one who heals. Through your Son, Jesus, we have been healed and forgiven. Help me to live fully with this assurance. May your peace be with me today, knowing that all all my sins have been forgiven. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Francis Leung, LifeWay Epping
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
TO PONDER
Do you live by the Spirit? That's a confronting question for many Christians if we are to take it seriously. Because it is not just asking, as many pentecostal or charismatic movements do, "have you been born again in the Spirit?" or "Have you received the gift of tongues?" and it's not just asking, as we might in the Lutheran church, "have you been baptised". All of these kinds of questions refer to one-off events, a particular ceremony or prayer or act, carried out at a particular point in time.
What we are being confronted with here is the question, "who is living and directing your life? Is it you, or is it the Holy Spirit of God?" This is a question of the present and the future, not the past. What drives the decisions and choices you will make today? Is it the Holy Spirit or the selfish desires of your heart?
This reading from Galatians makes it pretty clear that receiving the Spirit and 'staying in step' with the Spirit are not the same thing. We live by the Spirit - this is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus and not something that we do ourselves and involves no choice on our part. However, remaining in step with the new life we have in the Spirit, now that's a daily choice and one even Martin Luther recognised that we have to make every day - the choice to 'live daily in our baptism'.
So what step is the Holy Spirit calling you to take next?
PRAYER: Loving Heavenly Father, you are the giver of all good things among which is the gift of Holy Spirit. Forgive me for the times I refuse to acknowledge Holy Spirit's prompting or leading and I fail to stay 'in step'. You are the Lord of the Dance, teach me the steps that you want me to take and help me to confidently stay in step with you. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
TO PONDER
The "light of life" is an interesting idea. While thinking about this passage of scripture I was reminded that the first act of God in creation was to create light. Before He created any living things, plants, animals, or humans, He created light.
It then made me think further, that we have all these multiple sources of light these days - ultimately most of our light comes from the sun in one way or another because the energy that the sun's rays give to the earth are used by plants to grow (we all learned about photosynthesis in high school), those plants - over time - become wood for fires, or coal and fossil fuels which we then use for our electric lighting.
Yet the source of all light in the universe - if we hold to the account of scripture - is not the sun, or any other star or astronomical phenomenon, it is the life giving Word of our creator God who became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the embodiment of God's words "let there be light". He is the Light of the world and His light is not something like a house light or torch which we might flick on and off. His light is the ever-burning light of life.
Maybe next time you turn on (or off) a light switch, you might take a moment to remember this promise of Jesus - when you follow Him you will never walk in darkness and you will have the light of life.
PRAYER: Jesus Christ, Light of the World, Help me to remember that only in you will I find the light of life. Help me to lay aside the things of this world that claim to give life, hope, and fulfilment, and help me only cling to you, the one who gives life in all its fulness. Amen
Today's devotion written Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognising him.
TO PONDER
Have you ever had one of those experience where it wasn’t until afterwards that you realised it was a God moment, a divine encounter?
Today’s verse is the epitome of a divine encounter, a God moment where two of Jesus’ disciples were walking down a road debriefing the events of the past few days, trying to make sense of the crucifixion and the empty tomb when ‘it’ happened.
In the middle of their confusion, disappointment, and, I’m sure, heartbreak a stranger walks up to them and injects himself into their moment. The stranger even insults them, says they are being foolish and slow because they were missing what should have been obvious to them.
Sometimes we sit in ‘church’, hear the scriptures, learn about life and being a disciple and we still miss a divine encounter. Because it's often not until we walk down the road, returning to the real world, back in the mundane of the everyday that the God moments can take place because they usually happen in a context, not a classroom. If you are reading this, chances are you read scripture regularly, and probably even go to church often. If that's you, you have been taught well. Stop waiting around for the penny to drop because it may not happen until you start walking and living the things you have learned.
PRAYER: Forgiving Saviour, I repent of my hard heart, for every time I have known what to do but failed to do it, for every encounter I have missed or overlooked because I was too busy doing other things.Open my eyes so that I might see more clearly the places where you invite me to encounter you and also the places where you want others to encounter you through me. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Dany Brock, LifeWay Westside.
Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.
TO PONDER
Most of us will have prepared for a journey at some point. Maybe it was an overseas trip or perhaps just a weekend camping trip or getaway. Regardless, a journey away from home takes planning and preparation; especially if you have children to take with you!
Of course each trip requires its own specific equipment. At this time of year many people will holiday in the snowfields and take a skiing vacation. They'll want warm, waterproof clothing, and skiing or snowboarding gear. Other people like to avoid the winter cold and head north to Queensland or the Northern Territory where you will still be comfortable packing only shorts, thongs, and t-shirts.
Jesus asks his disciples to go on a journey. He also tells them what they need to pack. It's not a long list, just take a friend, the clothes on your back, and a walking stick. No food, no money to buy food, no accomodation plans or pre-booked lodging, not even a tent or caravan. Just go, hit the road.
Jesus is telling his disciples to go and to trust that God will provide all they need for the journey and for the tasks he is sending them to do. Are you one of Jesus' disciples who is ready to go and serve Him now, trusting that he will give you the right words to speak to your friends, or that he might use you to bring healing or release to someone's life if you would only trust and obey him completely; or are you one of the disciples who feels like they need more training, more equipping, more tools in the toolkit, before you could ever go on a journey like that? Jesus says - just go with what you have and trust that I'll give you what you need.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, Thank you that you are always with me. Help me to recognise that You have promised to provide all my needs, especially the things that I need when I go out to serve others with your grace and love. Make me bold in sharing your word, trusting that you will use what I have and give me the words to speak when the time comes. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
TO PONDER
As a teen growing up in the 1990's I remember a lot of Christian music that had the theme "walking in the light". DC Talk had a song called "I wanna be in the Light", and I think it was the orange "All Together" songbook taught us all the 'Walking in the Light" song. As a teen, I didn't find the 90's such a dark time but there was obviously something about that time for a lot of people that made this idea of walking in the light a very comforting thought.
If you asked me to choose between the 90's or our current times and pick which were the darkest, I'd have to say these days seem far more dark in many ways. Many people seem to have let go of reality and truth and are walking around in darkness, convincing many others to join them. More than ever we need the light of Jesus Christ to illuminate us and light the path ahead for us.
We find that light in the truth of God's word, the Bible. Each day, darkness waits at our door. We can either step out into the darkness, or begin each day by reaching for the light of God's word and the love and light of Jesus alive in us and take that as we step out so that the darkness is dispelled by the light God has given us.
In the words (lyrics) of DC Talk - ll I want is to be in the light!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, give me a desire to know the truth of your word more deeply. Please help me to understand and embody your truth so that in the darkness of this world, others may be drawn to your light shining in me and through me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
TO PONDER
This verse strikes me as a little strange. In verse 15 Immediately after Moses has told everyone to be still, God seems to tell Moses off, almost as if to say, "What have you stopped for and why are you panicking? Get moving. So what if there's sea in the way, I'll take care of it - just keep moving."
Maybe I'm paraphrasing and imagining too much from the reading but I think often I am guilty of standing still and waiting to see the deliverance of the Lord when God might actually be asking me to be the instrument of His deliverance.
Moses wasn't completely wrong, God did fight for and delivered them safely to the opposite shore of the Sea, but he also required them to walk the path he had set before them. Even when the path ahead was not clear God asked them to walk forward into the sea and trust the path he made for them. I think we often fall short of seeing the fulness of what God might want to show us because we imagine that something is impossible. How often do we let God lead us to the shore of whatever sea He wants us to cross and then camp out at the edge, refusing to take the next step for fear of getting our feet wet.
So yes, be still, rest in the Lord - but don't stay camped on the shore. God promises to restore and equip you, not so that you can continue to rest, but so that you might get on with living in the fulness of life that comes as you follow Him.
PRAYER: God, the life you invite me to live in following you is often uncertain and can at times seem scary and dangerous. Yet you promise to walk through the fire and the water with your people. Help me to walk in your promises, knowing and trusting that wherever your path leads me I will never be far from you. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
TO PONDER
Can you imagine? Would you ever get used to the sight? You wake up from your tent and step outside and there, at the front of the camp is a column of white cloud (or perhaps it was grey stormy clouds complete with lightning and thunder). Or as you gather around your own measly camp fire to eat your evening meal you realise that the warmth you feel is not coming from your own fire but from the pillar of fire which reaches up into the sky and put out enough light and heat to allow you and your roughly 2 million travelling companions to continue travelling through the night.
What an incredible and miraculous sign of God's presence. Surely, faced with that kind of experience you would have no trouble trusting that God was leading you!? But just stop for a moment and think. What are the ways you have seen God at work in your life or the lives of your friends and family. What disasters has God averted, what healing has he brought, what insights has he given that have led you out of the places you have been stuck, and into His light and life.
We might not have a pillar of cloud or fire, but God shows us every day the things that He is doing. He gives us His word, He gives us His Son, His Spirit and His Church, to help us see the path He is laying out before us. All he asks us to do is follow.
PRAYER: Lord God, help me to see the ways you are leading and guiding me. Give me a hunger for your word and receptivity to your Holy Spirit so that I might boldly and confidently follow where you lead. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle