Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.
TO PONDER
It was the famous boxer Muhammed Ali, who made the claim, that he was the greatest. And when he was alive, he would confidently tell you that he was the greatest – you’d only have to ask him!
Well, sorry Mr Ali. There is someone greater. Chances are you’ve just knocked him out…which doesn’t make sense. Because in our society, the underdog is never the greatest. The loser is never great. We find it hard to remember those who didn’t win. But thank God for Jesus. Because Jesus’ way is against all the odds. His way doesn’t make sense. Jesus brings love from below. He’s the enemy of apathy. His love is never done.
This week, as we wind our way to the cross, and more importantly the other side of the cross, we are reassured that those who feel lousy, that those who don’t feel welcome, that those who feel defeated, and in fact the greatest.
PRAYER
Humble king, thank you for showing us the way. Thank you for being welcoming and respectful to all. In this Holy week, help us to walk a mile in your shoes, and show a relational heart to all. Amen
Today's devotion by Mark Simpfendorfer, LifeWay Epping
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
TO PONDER
Isaiah gives us a few names of Jesus. The reading gives us the gift of a baby who becomes a saviour, and then a gift of some terrific names we can refer to Jesus by.
And there’s a bunch more – fifty or so, including King of Kings, Lord of Lords, The Great I am, The Way, The Truth, The Life, The Door, The Bread of Life, The Saviour of the World, The Babe of Bethlehem, The Bright and Morning Star, Mighty God, The Well of Living free water, the Great Physician, The Lily Pure and White, The Rose of Sharon Fair, Shepherd…and that’s just a start.
That’s nice. So what? What do you call him, and more importantly, what do you call him to others? How do you refer to Jesus to those who only know him as a swear word? Why not find a title that you’re comfortable with and use it this Holy week leading up to Easter. The public holidays we get are put aside for this religious festival, so we have an excuse a tell people the Easter story. Will you give it go this year?
PRAYER
Father, thank you for knowing our names. Forgive us when we don’t use your name in the right context. Help us to be bold in using your name in our conversations this week. In Jesus name, Amen
Today's devotion written by Mark Simpfendorfer, LifeWay Epping
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
TO PONDER
What does blessed mean? How are we blest? Our verse tells us that those who come in the name of the Lord, will be blessed. The dictionary on Google uses the Oxford definition of blessed which is ‘made holy’, or ‘consecrated’. That’s us, isn’t it? That’s something, that you and me, children of God, followers of Jesus, baptised into his kingdom, can claim, can’t we? Aren’t we made Holy each time we share the Lord’s Supper?
Today’s daily verse is speaking about Jesus, as he’s trudging into the city on a donkey. If he came on a horse, it would have been as a majestic triumphant victor. But this King came on a donkey, and he was, and is, holy, and wants us to strive for that holiness too. Disciples of Jesus won’t achieve holiness…not in this life anyway, but we can give it a good crack with our words and actions.
PRAYER
Triumphant Jesus, as we enter this most Holy of weeks, remind us of what you went through for us…what you experienced…so we can ultimately spend eternity with you. Thank you for your sacrifice. Continue to bless us in all we do. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mark Simpfendorfer, LifeWay Epping
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.
TO PONDER
I find Bible verses like this one intimidating. One the one hand, there is something about doing the kinds of things Jesus did - like healing the sick, casting out demons, turning water into wine, and walking on water that appeals to me. I get a sense that being a follower of Jesus should have something of that level of excitement and anticipation about it, just waiting to see what cool and unexpected thing God wants to do next.
But at the same time there is fear and apprehension. What if the works God has set out for me to do draw unwanted attention? What if I think I have heard from God about this but maybe I haven't? What happens if I got it wrong? What if, like Jesus, the things God want's me to say or do will lead some people to dislike me? These and many other questions are what whizz through my mind when I contemplate the idea of doing the kinds of things Jesus did.
The I remember that Jesus wasn't just about miraculous signs and wonders. Jesus loved people, Jesus cared for and showed compassion for others. Jesus forgave sins and ate with and talked with people. Those things I can do. I can do those ordinary every day things and God can use them to make the miraculous happen.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that you send me your Holy Spirit to guide and empower me in this life. Help me to remember that 'doing the things you did' is not just about performing miracles, but is about being obedient to the Father and letting Him cause my efforts to have miraculous outcomes. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.
TO PONDER
We have been thinking and talking about expectant obedience this week. So far we've talked a lot about obedience but not so much about expectation or expectancy. It was probably Plato who first articulated clearly the idea of cause and effect, and the concept has taken root deep within the shared human psyche, largely because in this world, it accurately reflects our experience. Nothing happens without a cause and to a large extent, the same cause tends to produce similar effects.
We can tend to transfer this kind of thinking to God, assuming that if we do things that please Him, He will be more likely to answer our prayers or to want to bless us in some way.
But that is not how it works with God. Remember, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). We forget that the cause is God's love for us, not our obedience or righteousness. When we forget that we can become so focussed on trying to 'earn' God's favour that we stop electing him to do anything because we know that we have failed to live up to His exacting standards.
What a blessing that we can wake up each day, regardless of the events of the day before and expect God to show up in our lives throughout the day. In this light, our obedience is not about earning God's favour but rather a response to it that positions us to see and experience God's favour most clearly.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, Help me to remember that you are the cause of God's grace and mercy towards me and not anything that I have done. May the effect of your love and mercy in my life be one that draws others into that same love and mercy. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
TO PONDER
I have been struck lately by the verse in John 20:21 in which Jesus says, "as the Father has sent me, now I am sending you." It does funny things to you when you then read a text like this one from Romans.
If in the obedience of Jesus, who was sent to do the will of the Father, many will be made righteous, what happens when we, who are sent just as Jesus was, are obedient to God? Wouldn't it stand to reason that our obedience to God might also lead many to righteousness?
Now clearly we are talking about a different scale here - Jesus obedience which led him to the cross - opened up the way for us to be made righteous in God's sight. And I am not suggesting that our obedience does anything quite like what Jesus' obedience did. However, If God's mission in sending Jesus was to seek and save the lost, and now we are sent by Jesus on that same mission, wouldn't it stand to reason that our obedience might be one of the tools He uses to draw others to himself?
It's something worth thinking about!
PRAYER: Jesus, thank you that your righteousness can now also be mine because of your obedience to the Father and through your death and resurrection. Please help me to live my life in obedience to the Father's will so that I also may help others to see an encounter your love and mercy for themselves. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
TO PONDER
Being a parent is a wonderful experience. Sure, everything doesn't always go the way you want, but it has certain given me more insight into my own relationship with God as my Heavenly Father and me as one of His children.
Recently I had one of my children come and give me a great big hug, seemingly out of nowhere, and say, "I love you dad". Needless to say, my heart melted. However, the beautiful moment lasted only seconds before the outrageous request for more screen time smacked me in the face and brought me out of my affection induced euphoria.
I often wonder how often I play the same game with God. I know there are times when I will busy myself with a bunch of things I think God wants me to be doing, but fail to do the one thing he is actually asking me to do. I'm sure God enjoys being told that we love him, but I suspect, that like my experience with my own children, sometimes the love that is expressed with words doesn't always match the love that is expressed by trusting obedience.
Jesus summed up all the laws of Moses in the following way, "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself." Part of loving God is obediently responding to his command to love. So let's get busy sharing the Love of God in our communities.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, no one has shown greater love than you did when you lay down your life for all our sakes. Please help me to always respond to your love and grace by faithfully and obediently loving others the way you have loved me. Amen
Today's devotion by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
"...observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go."
TO PONDER
Have you ever purchased a new device, maybe a phone or a computer, maybe even some kind of new kitchen appliance or new Smart TV and wondered how to make it work? Sure, you might be able to plug it in and turn it on, but I mean really get it to work, to use all its inbuilt functions and get it working to the best of it's abilities. If you have, you might have done one of two things. Some of us like to see if we can figure out these kinds of problems with intuition. We mash buttons and explore the menu options and hope that in all out 'trying' we might stumble upon the solution. Others understand the wisdom in turning to the manufacturers instructions. Surely the instructions, written by those who built the device should be able to point you in the rights direction.
I often think we approach life in a similar way. Many of us simply try to figure it out ourselves, fumbling and bumbling along, sometimes getting things right but more often messing things up terribly. Others turn to God the author and giver of life, to see how he says it is supposed to work. Funnily enough, when we do life according to the creator's instructions it tends to go much more smoothly. You might even say we prosper. God's rules and laws are there to bring fulness of life not to limit it. If you have been avoiding God's commands, why not give them a try and see if life begins to make more sense?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I'm sorry for the times I think I know better than you and try to figure life out on my own rather that doing things according to your instructions. Help me to always recognise that you created me and know what is best for me and my life. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness
TO PONDER
I'm pretty sure nobody likes training. Nobody joins a sporting team in order to go to training, you join a team to play games, beat your opponents and win the grand final or premiership game and take home the trophy.
Sometimes I think Christians can be guilty of joining God's team with a similar mindset, made worse by the fact that we know that in Christ we have already joined the winning team. When you know victory is assured, what motivation is there for training?
Yet Paul's second letter to Timothy reminds us that God has given us his Word to 'train us in righteousness'. Training in righteousness is not about assuring our victory, Jesus has already done that, but training in righteousness is about winning others to the kingdom of God. When we learn to listen to God, to follow His word and His instructions, He can use us more easily to reflect His love and grace to the world and draw others to Himself through our training in righteousness.
Do you have someone you have been praying for to come to faith in Jesus? If so then get training! You might be just the instrument God wants to use to make that happen!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I'm sorry when I don't take my spiritual life and righteousness training seriously. Please renew me with your Spirit and help me to see the places where you have work for me to do so that others might see you more easily in me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle