Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
TO PONDER
Some years ago, there was a regular meeting of church workers in the North West suburbs of Sydney. At that time, suburbs such as Kellyville and Rouse Hill still had market gardens. The schools were very new, and the combined churches in the area supported a chaplain for one of those public high schools. A meeting was called to organise a brochure to give out, to try and attract sponsors, or anyone that could assist in financially supporting the chaplain. We debated about which verse from scripture to put on the front of the brochure. One of the members quickly jumps in and says ‘Easy. The last part of verse 7 above – God loves a cheerful giver’. A couple of us said, ‘no’. Why do you think a few of us were opposed to that part of the verse being on the cover?
It’s true though. God does love a cheerful giver, but he also loves an uncheerful giver, and he even loves the non-giver. It is important to make that clear, especially to those who have no faith background. We changed the front of the brochure to include the whole of verse 7, because giving comes from the heart, which reflects God’s heart.
PRAYER: Loving Father, thank you for loving us. Thank you for that unconditional love you provide. Help us to share that love with those around us. Amen
Today's devotion by Mark Simpfendorfer, LifeWay Epping
“Truly I tell you, “He said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
TO PONDER
She was a member of the local Church. But as a single mum, she would put whatever she could afford each week, into the offering plate, hoping she would have enough left to get through the week, and to put food on her table. This was BC – before Covid - when offering plates were more popular. She was a faithful lady who trusted that God was in charge, and that God would provide. And sure enough, God did. She never went without, she was never short of money, and she never went hungry. And every now and again, there was money left over at the end of the week – and she could treat herself.
The story above in our reading is similar. It’s a great story, because it’s a story of trust. Easy to say, but hard to do – because the expectation of the world tells us that wealth is right. But you can’t take wealth with you, and often wealth will not bring joy, whereas a generous heart does.
PRAYER
Thanks Lord, for providing us with everything we need. In those times when we doubt a little, remind us to put our total trust in you. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mark Simpfendorfer, LifeWay Epping
The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
TO PONDER
A favourite author of mine, Philip Yancey, mentioned in his book ‘The Jesus I Never Knew’, that when Constantine made Christianity compulsory in the year 313, giving to the poor diminished. Sharing with impoverished became less. As there was no more persecution of Christians, they began to sort themselves into an organised religion, which means funding that previously was being given to the needy, was used for meetings, and buildings, and staff.
However, don’t judge the church on its lack of generosity. It’s wrong to reject Christianity out of hand without looking closely at the good it has done in the world. The Church provided care, began hospitals, and started schools, and trained medical staff. The 2nd biggest deliverer of social services in Australia after the government is the Catholic Church. Another large social service provider is the Anglican Church.
And why? Because a core task for Christian churches is social solidarity – simply, the love of people. Our religion teaches that we serve a generous and loving God first, and in response to that, we can be generous and love.
Who can you reach out to this week to show generosity?
PRAYER
Carer of all, continue to watch over all the caregivers in the word. Keep them focussed on their job of helping and healing. Give us generous hearts to continue serving you. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mark Simpfendorfer, LifeWay Epping
Timothy, do everything you can to present yourself to God as a man who is fully genuine, a worker unashamed of your mission, a guide capable of leading others along the correct path defined by the word of truth. (The Voice translation)
TO PONDER
The words of this text were written by the apostle Paul to his protégée, Timothy. Timothy travelled with Paul on some of Paul’s missionary journeys, but then Paul sent Timothy off to encourage the Christians left behind when Paul moved on. Here Paul is giving guidance to Timothy in this role.
We might argue that Paul’s advice does not specifically apply to us since we are not ordained Pastors, Ministers or Teachers. However, the Bible has a different understanding. In 1 Peter 2:9, we read, ”But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” And in Revelation 5:9,10, we read, “with your blood you [Jesus] purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God”. So, I would suggest that Paul’s advice applies to us as well.
We need to remember that God uses ordinary people, doing ordinary things in their homes, businesses, recreation, etc. to reveal His love and concern for people. As we live in that genuine close relationship with God, trusting Him to guide us in what to do and say, we show people what the heart of God is like. But God does not want us to fake it since people will see through our hypocrisy very quickly. The daily living close to God changes us so that we become more like Jesus, revealing his love to others.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the way your Holy Spirit is working in my life to change me to become more like your Son, Jesus, in living out your purpose for me. I don’t want to be resisting the work of you Spirit, but to grow in trusting your promises and letting your Spirit have full access. Amen
Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
TO PONDER
We have a reasonably modern expression that parallels the verse for today: “walk the talk”. If you are older, you may be more familiar with the expression, “practise what you preach”. I suspect that a small part of why the Christian church is losing its relevance in today’s society is that many of us in the church don’t live up to the standards we seem to demand of society.
Even as I write this, I am being challenged with the question, will what I write next be just my advice to you or will it be a sharing of how I actually live my life. Well, to be honest, it will have to be a bit of both. When I write, I pray that God will give me words to write that are His words to my readers. Then often, after I have written something, I find that God has spoken some very pertinent truths to me. Ouch!
So, I will bravely write what I believe God is giving me, knowing that He is speaking to me as much as He might be speaking to you.
If I try hard to live to God’s standards, I find I go through a cycle of trying hard, failing, feeling a failure, getting discouraged and giving up. After some time, when the memory of my failures fades, I might get inspired and start the whole cycle again.
What I find God has been teaching me, is that I cannot change myself, no matter how hard I try. I really need God’s intervention, and that is the work of the Holy Spirit. My role is acknowledging my utter helplessness to change myself and then surrendering my whole life into God’s love and purpose for me. It is not a once off thing but a whole new relationship with a loving Father God. And it takes time, which is not a problem for God, although at times it may be frustrating for us that God doesn’t snap his fingers and change us immediately. And God, in His amazing love, may even let us regularly relapse, just to remind us that we need to daily re‑surrender our lives to Him.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your love for me. And thank you that your love is not a distant positive attitude towards me, but an intimate involvement in every aspect of my life so that I grow into the person you planned for me to be – even before I was born. Amen
Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Eppings
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body.
TO PONDER
How much emotion is attached to your beliefs? Let me explain. When you are having a discussion with someone (either one-on-one or in a group discussion), do you find that some people get defensive over the positions they take on an issue? Maybe you have even become quite animated yourself during a discussion. I have to admit that I have definitely expressed some emotion at times over issues. And I have had to apologise over some of the emotive things I have said and gone into print with.
It is interesting that in some groups, discussion of politics and religion have been banned due to the emotions that are sometimes expressed by people. Being the scientific inquisitive type, I have often wondered why we attach strong emotions to certain issues. I suspect that the reason we get emotional about some issues is because some part of our perceived value as a person is tied to the issue. We perceive that an “attack” on our beliefs or position on an issue is an attack on us personally. Best friends have stopped talking to each other over differences of opinion.
So, my question to myself (and you) is this, can the love of our Heavenly Brother change us so that our differences do not come between us? When I find myself getting emotionally stirred up by what someone else is saying, how do I respond in the love of Jesus? How do I let go of my emotions while continuing to listen attentively to the other person so as to better understand them?
By the way, I am not suggesting that we ignore lies and deliberate falsehoods. But a yelling match either in words or in text is unlikely to change anyone’s opinion.
God has a reasonably standard answer to many situations like this: firstly, to acknowledge when our emotional response is not in accordance with God’s will for us; secondly, we ask God for His forgiveness; and thirdly we surrender ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to change us to be more like Jesus.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we have to admit that we are complicated people with many attributes that we don’t fully understand. I ask for your help to respond to people with your love even when I don’t agree with them on issues I perceive as important. Amen
All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.
TO PONDER
Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible. It is probably also the longest chapter in the Bible too – 176 verses. It is constructed as 22 groups of verses, with each group 8 verses long. Each verse in a group begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet, with each letter of the alphabet successively used in a group. The technical term for this arrangement is an acrostic poem.
The recurring theme in this Psalm is how the psalmist relies on God to rescue His children from the attacks by other people who do not respect God’s rules and directions. God’s children can rely on God because they have made themselves very familiar with both God’s regulations and His promises. The psalmist also acknowledges their own failings to live to God’s standards, but knowledge of God’s love and guidance enables them to come to God for forgiveness and healing. And, although the psalmist is already very familiar with God’s directives for life, there is the realisation that there is so much more to learn.
One of the things that amazes me is that this psalm was written over 2,500 years ago, yet the truths it conveys are as relevant today as back then. God has designed us for a relationship with Him. We have a whole Bible to describe that relationship and how to live in that relationship. The Bible also tells us about the experiences of hundreds of people who tried either to live in that relationship or to deliberately live outside that relationship. And in all those relationships, God was not a distant onlooker or judge, but was intimately working to draw the person closer into that relationship.
PRAYER: Thank you, Heavenly Father that the truths that the psalmist wrote about all those years ago are still valid today. I too want to grow in knowing how to live as you beloved child. Amen
Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
TO PONDER
Today’s verse is part of a discussion between Jesus and His disciples where he is starting to prepare them for His impending departure. Jesus is explaining that after He leaves the disciples, He will be busy preparing their new home and He will come back to get them to join Him for eternity. Jesus suggests to the disciples that they already know how to get to where He will be going. Faithful Thomas, always ready to voice the concerns that the other disciples are afraid to ask, has to admit that he doesn’t know what Jesus suggests that he already knows.
I know this verse quite well, but usually concentrate on the “way” part and the exclusive claim by Jesus that He is the only way. We generally understand the “way” part quite well. We can never live up to God’s highest standards of perfection by our own efforts, but Jesus lived a perfect life and has attributed that perfection to us. We could also not do anything about the huge debt we had accumulated by our failures to live to God’s standards, so Jesus died on the cross in our place to erase the debt. The “way” is accepting these free gifts from Jesus.
We probably also have a good handle on the “life” part. We have been adopted into the heavenly family as brothers and sisters of Jesus, and we have the Holy Spirit to be our guide and teacher. In this life we are learning how to live as God’s children.
But I am not sure that I always have a proper grasp of the “truth” part of Jesus’s claim. We live at a time when “truth” can be somewhat arbitrary. Something can be true for me but not for you. We have to be careful that we are not misled by “Fake News”. A photo used to be able to be used as evidence, but now with Artificial Intelligence (AI), we can no longer be sure. But Jesus claims He is Truth, Absolute Truth. And I don’t have an issue with accepting this intellectually. But when I am honest with myself, I must acknowledge that I often respond to situations as if I don’t believe that all Jesus said is all that true. Let me give you an example. When I feel the nudging of the Spirit to go to someone and talk to them, and I am reminded of Jesus’s promise to be with me and guide me in what to say, I can get all tense and nervous and tentative until the opportunity passes. Deep down I am acting as if I don’t believe Jesus’s promise.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we would like more than just your forgiveness for the times we fail to believe your promises, but your help to change so that we live out our beliefs in your truth and promises. Amen
Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
TO PONDER
Jesus spoke the words of our text in the temple in Jerusalem while having a lively discussion with the Jewish religious leaders. The crux of the discussion was that Jesus was explaining that his teaching was from God himself, Jesus actual father. However, the Jewish religious leaders couldn’t get their heads around the fact that this very human person was claiming to be God’s son. He was either a liar, a fraud, or a madman to be making such claims.
Jesus performed many miracles to demonstrate His love and compassion for people. But all of these miracles were also to prove He was God’s son and that He had been sent by God. So having established His credentials through His miracles and His blameless life, He could now bring to the people a very important message from God.
God’s message was that He was breaking down all the barriers that were stopping us from having an intimate relationship with God. These barriers were in a sense like locking us up in a prison which we couldn’t get ourselves out of. In our prisons, we were free to try to do whatever we liked, even if it hurt others. And others were free to inflict hurt on us too.
When Jesus freed us by His perfect life, His death on the cross and His resurrection, we are invited to now become God’s children, adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus. We now have the Holy Spirit to teach us how to live as God’s children. We have been set free.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, such love and graciousness to us that we are now your children. Please help us to live in the joy and excitement of the new life you have given us. Amen
Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping