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
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.
TO PONDER
Have you ever travelled to foreign country and felt that sense of not belonging?
I lived in Canada for almost 17 years, with 16 of those years as an resident alien, a foreigner with a special card declaring I didn’t really belong. Now to be fair, I was afforded the majority of rights a Canadian was entitled to except I couldn’t vote and I couldn’t call myself Canadian. Every time the Canadian anthem was sang I was reminded of my non-belonging.
But after paying a significant financial price, proving my eligibility by taking a test, proving I was worthy through police record checks and references from real Canadians, I was invited to swear my allegiance to Canada on April Fool’s Day (1st of April) 2014. I was Canadian, on that day I got to proudly sing the Canadian Anthem as one who belonged.
Two words stood out to me when I read today’s verse they were; ‘chosen’, and ‘called’. God chose us, He called us by name to belong, for a purpose to be proud representatives of His ‘nation’ and what’s more He paid the price, He took the test and, He declared us worthy.
Let that sink in, God specifically selected you and me to be His representative to a world that doesn’t know him, He appointed us to live out His gospel message. As proud members of God’s nation we can proudly sing His gospel anthem of grace and belonging.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I thank you for calling me to be a chosen citizen of your kingdom, for paying the significant price I owed and declaring me worthy. I ask that empowered by your grace I would proudly sing your gospel anthem of grace to everyone. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
TO PONDER
One of my top five most dreaded things to do in life is and has always been to talk to strangers, to actually have a conversation with someone I don’t know fills me with dread, awkwardness and an inability to English…
That’s correct, I am an introvert, not just an ordinary introvert but rather an extreme introvert which is a problem. See, I’m a ‘professional’ Church Planter, I get paid to pretty much talk to strangers, I have officially been ‘sent’ out by you LifeWay to preach to them, to strangers.
Today’s verses are talking to someone like me, a ‘sent’ one, one who apparently has beautiful feet. But I have something to tell you, something that for some requires a warning that it may trigger you, so be warned; You have also been ‘sent’!
As a follower of Jesus He authorises, empowers, calls and yes sends you to have the same beautiful feet as us professionals because you also bring good news to everyone you come in contact with.
So for now just remember you have been sent by Jesus to bring the Gospel where ever you go.
PRAYER
Almighty God, I thank you for the privilege of being sent out as your representative, as one who gets to carry your good news of grace daily to those who need to hear it. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
TO PONDER
The church on earth, that’s us team, is to boast in the hope of the glory of God. What a brilliant job description. We have a job for life, called and appointed by God to daily discover things about God and his glory to boast about to the people we meet as we go about our day.
How has God answered your prayers? Boast about his glory in that, how wonderful! How has God been transforming the way you understand him, yourself and the world around you? How glorious? What are his promises to you and to all people? Do those promises excite you? Are you filled with a sense of hope and joy at those promises?
What joy, what a privilege, what an honour to stand in such grace, such undeserved favour.
PRAYER
Open my senses to your glory Lord. Give me a heart of thanks for the grace that I find myself in. Amen.
Today's devotion written by David Schuppan, LifeWay Illawarra