However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
TO PONDER
A reminder to all who have received grace and eternal life from God that are free from condemnation of sin. It reminded us that God has a task for each of us to complete. We are overseers of the flock of God. That is not a duty we may have chosen for ourselves but a duty for which we have been chosen by God. The servants of the good shepherd must also be shepherds of the sheep. It is a tsk that is ours until God calls us to be with him.
The temptation and distraction of the world is never far away. Where truth is, falsehood ever attacks. There is a constant warfare ahead to keep the faith and finish the race. Remember, you have good news!
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, sometimes the task of proclaiming your word seems to big for me, too difficult to achieve. Help me to remember that I am safest when I walk where you lead me – even if at times that path feels dangerous and risky. Help me to overcome anything that prevents me from proclaiming your gospel message to the world.
Today's devotion written by Francis Leung, LifeWay Epping
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us
TO PONDER
Life isn't going to be easy because you don’t belong to this world. When you walk with Jesus Christ you are out of step with the world. The world doesn't like you because you cause them to feel shame and guilt. They are offended. Their response is that of striking out, of persecuting. Christ is our example and look what they did to Him.
In running the race, the prize of winning is the incentive, the glory that comes to the victor, the joy of victory. In Christ's case, it was the joy of being able to bring to us victory over sin, the joy of being able to redeem us from our lost condition. For us, the joy is knowing I'm doing what God wants me to do. My life is in harmony with the eternal plan of God.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, please help me to put aside those things that pull me off course and distract me from following you. Help me to endure the hardship and worry of this life, knowing the reward that awaits me in eternity with you.
Today's devotion written by Francis Leung, LifeWay Epping
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
TO PONDER
Unity is the ideal among the body of Christ, a state of harmony, because it is his will for us. The purpose of such unity is that the praise and glorification of God should be uncorrupted by strife and division. "One mouth" and "one accord" are expressions forbidding that strife and contradictions should mar the praise of God by his children and that absolute unity should be the sign of their loving service. Most have experienced the joy that comes from being part of a unified and happy group. This same joy can exist in the Lord’s body, so God wants the church to be unified under Jesus’ name.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help us, your church, as we minister to each other in your love and through your Word. May all we do bring glory to you as we live this life of love, unity and patience with one another.
Today's devotion written by Francis Leung, LifeWay Epping.
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands...
TO PONDER:
Some of the most inspirational moments I have experienced in life have been in worship - both formal and informal worship. A few years ago I was in a conference, and the speaker played a certain song with a certain rhythm and a whole group at the conference stood up, started dancing and singing and broke out in spontaneous worship. It was awesome, majestic and a privilege to participate in. It was so infectious that everyone in the room joined in, people of all nations and ethnicities gathered around the throne of God's grace. The following Sunday we worshiped at an African American Church and the energy was breathtaking as the diverse people of God gathered together to worship God. I've experienced it in Thailand and Cambodia as the worship of God's people wraps us up, draws us in, makes us one and involves us in a celebration of who God is. There is nothing like it. It's a glimpse of heaven on earth, a foretaste of what we will experience forever in heaven. What a gift and privilege to be part of a community like this. What a joy to celebrate the oneness we have in Christ. What a victory we share...even now...every time we gather together as the family of God! Immerse yourself in it!
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank you for the victory you have won for me. Thank you for the community you have created me to be a part of. Together may we glorify you. Amen.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,
TO PONDER
Have you ever felt like you just don't fit in? That no matter what you do, no matter how much you try to break into a group, to form deeper friendships, that deep down there is this overwhelming feeling you get that you just don't belong. If you have ever moved from a city into a small community, you may have felt it. If you have ever moved from one church to another, you may have experienced it. If your kids have changed schools, you may be acutely aware of it. But the inherent need to belong, to be a part of something greater than yourself lies within each of us. When it comes to your walk with Jesus, are you living like an insider or outsider? Are you living as one with full access and privilege to God and his abundant blessings or are you still trying to prove to God that you belong or fit in?
Paul tells us today that we do belong. We have been brought into a family where we are included, loved, and embraced by God. We are not just tolerated, put up with, or treated with politeness. We are welcomed and given access to everything that God has. He has moved us from being outsiders to insiders. He has made us privileged people. Earlier in the chapter, Paul tells us that once we were outsiders, once we didn't fit in, once the reality is that we didn't belong to God. But Christ has changed that. Christ has gone out of his way to come to us, die for us, and make us a part of his family forever. Always included. Always embraced. Always welcome. Always loved. You belong forever. May that be the reality in which you go about your day today.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank you that by your grace, I always belong to you and with you. Work through me to help those I meet today experience a love and belonging that only you can give. Amen.
If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
TO PONDER:
Droughts, floods, fires, cyclones, pandemics. We have seen it all over the last few years especially. One disaster after another. Now we are seeing inflation and the rising cost of living increase like we haven't seen in decades. Families are under pressure. Businesses are under pressure. Churches are under pressure. Things need to change. In the midst of this, these words from 2 Chronicles 7 re-centre us and remind us that God who calls us into relationship with him, desires to see restoration for our lives and our land. He is in control when the world is out of control. He is Lord over all creation, even when the created world doesn't acknowledge it. These words call us as a community of faith to return to God who has called us to him. Hear the desire of God's heart....my people are to call on my name and seek my face...and I will hear...and I will forgive...and I will heal.
As you step out into today...remember who you are before God...remember he is in control. The change we need in our lives...and in this world...begins and ends with God who so loved this world, who so loved you, that he gave his one and only Son. Let him do his work of revival and reformation in this world through you, his people.
PRAYER:
Lord God, in the midst of a stressful and broken world, you are faithful and true. Help me never forget that you are in control and help me to live in prayerful hope and trust as you use me to be a part of the healing that this world so desperately needs. Amen.
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.