And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might forever and ever!”
TO PONDER:
There is something magnificent about standing at the base of a waterfall and hearing the power and noise of a torrent of water unleashing off the edge and falling below. There is also something so calming and comforting about that overflow that simultaenously fills you with a sense of peace and harmony. When confronted with the power and majesty of God, when we witness the overflowing of his grace on our lives, when we join together with other's in giving praise to the God who has poured out his blessings on our lives, it is an overwhelming and awesome experience that is life-giving and life-affirming. It brings healing, it fills with strength and hope. It reminds us of what is true in midst of challenges and difficulties that confront us daily. If you need to be reminded of that truth...jump in the shower...get dressed and join with God's people of all time and all places in declaring the faithfulness of a God who is alive, with us and for us.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, may our worship today be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear. Amen,
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
TO PONDER:
"You will never look into the eyes of someone God does not love". I don't know who first wrote that, but it has become a meme that has popped up on several social media platforms in recent months. It often includes a tag line of "Always be kind." It's about adopting a different posture towards those that we interact with each day. It's about recognising that there are things going on in other's lives that we are unaware of that drive their response, their behaviour, their reactions to things. Paul reminds the Church to stop putting labels on people or making distinctions between people because what Christ has done on the cross is for everyone. The door of heaven is open to all who would receive Jesus and respond to his invitation. How might your attitude, your posture change today if every set of eyes you looked into today, you say a person God loves and died for? How might the love and light of Jesus be reflected back to them? How might the love and acceptance of Christ through you, transform their world and reveal a new reality to them? Worth thinking about. Even better...worth trying!
PRAYER:
Holy Spirit, let the resurrected life I have received in Christ help me see others today with a new heart, a new perspective, a new love. Amen.
But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
TO PONDER:
I love the curiosity of young kids. To open everything. To look at everything. To explore everything. We found one of our children sitting on an egg in the middle of the kitchen floor one day, trying to hatch an egg after seeing a program of a brooding hen! Needless to say, it did not end well! Then there are the questions? Why do Zebras have stripes? Why is the sky blue? Where do babies come from? Or the sheer willingness to love. What parent has not had their heart bursting with love when coming home they are greeted by the exuberance of a child running full speed yelling "Mummy", "Daddy!"
It is this childlike curiosity, receptivity, trust, dependence and wonder that God desires all of us to have when it comes to him. To come with a posture of curiosity and wonder; to run to him with open hands and heart to embrace and love him fully. Is that you? Is that something you wish for, long for? Maybe today, it is just time to stop and rest in God's provision. Stop being uptight about life thinking that it all depends on you. Maybe today, you could open your eyes again to the wonder of life around you and embrace the simple pleasures of life, the colours of the leaves, the song of a bird, the warmth of a smile, the love in an embrace. Maybe today you need to look at your own heart and then jump with a sense of abandon into the arms of a God who will not let you fall. Let the children come...
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, help me come to you today and live with childlike trust and wonder. Amen.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
TO PONDER:
Driving back from the other side of Nowra last Sunday night, I was forced to dodge more kangaroos than I have seen in a while, In one small stretch of road, I encountered over 15 jumpers! But there was actually a greater danger. On the side of the road I saw more cars parked and more tow trucks with orange flashing lights than I have seen in a long time. The recent rains had undermined the roads and there were deep potholes everywhere. Many small cars and expensive cars with low profile tyres had obviously hit these potholes at speed and caused damage that had halted the journey of the occupants. The warning sides were there. Mobile signs had been erected alerting motorists to the danger, warning people to slow down. But many obviously didn't read the signs. Many thought they knew better.
On the highway of life, there are many mobile signs warning us of danger ahead, advising us to proceed with caution, inviting us to go an alternative route in order to get home safely. It may be the counsel of a friend that puts up caution tape to prevent us doing damage on the unstable edge of a relationship. It may be a heart attack that sends the dashboard flashing red with warning, telling us that we are pushing our body beyond the limits it was designed for. It may be the eulogy of a loved one or friend that we are listening to that jolts us awake from the microsleep that makes us wonder how on earth we got where we are. All of these are warning signs God gives so that we don't perish but enjoy life with him eternally.
In a world that was taking no notice of the repeated warning signs on the highway of life, God in his love, took one last drastic measure to ensure that people could experience the fullness of life they were designed for, and reach the destination for which he intended. He sent his Son Jesus to hop into our car and show us an alternative route via the cross that will get us home safely. He's waving at you to slow down and stop. He's offering to jump in and travel with you today. He knows the dangers ahead. He also knows the only way through the potholes and landslides of life that will get you to the destination you were intended to reach and will lead to joy forever - heaven. Will you stop the car and listen to his Word? Will you trust that Word and invite him to journey with you? For God so loved you that he sent Jesus...to get you home safely.
PRAYER:
God, thank you for loving me so much that you sent Jesus to journey with me and lead me home. Help me to listen to his voice and trust the directions he gives me today. Amen.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
TO PONDER:
There are times in our life that it takes something dramatic for us to sit up and take notice. Perhaps it readily pops into your mind right now...a moment that shook you to the very core. A moment that you were not expecting and unprepared for. A moment that was surprising. A moment that changes your present and your future. When Matthew reports the events of Good Friday and the death of Jesus, they are more dramatic than any other Gospel, there is earthquakes and split rocks and opened tombs. The whole natural order of things is disrupted and turned on its head. Something that is not normal is occurring. This moment is significant. The curtain of the temple which kept the holy God separate from ordinary people is ripped in two. God's presence is unleashed into all the world giving all people complete and open access to his mercy and grace. The death of Jesus means there is nothing that is ever able to separate us from the love of God, as Paul writes in Romans 8:39. This moment is life-transforming...it shakes up everything in your relationship with God. It opens up earth-shaking possibilities for your life that have cosmic implications. Spend some time today thinking about how God can unleash you today to give others access to his presence, his mercy and his grace.
PRAYER:
Lord, it is so easy to forget the earth-shaking and cosmic implications of your death for the world and my own life. Shake me up today that I may experience again that beauty of your presence and reflect it in every interaction I have. Amen.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
TO PONDER:
"I do it myself!" I don't think there is a parent around that has not heard that phrase from a child who thinks they can do it all on their own! There is a part of each one of us that loves to be self-sufficient. To think we can manage on our own. These words were written to the Church in Laodicea - not unbelievers - but the people of God who were living in a resource rich area and who were living comfortable lives. Sound familiar? The people thought they could provide for themselves. When an earthquake destroyed their city in 60AD, they refused to receive help from the Roman Empire, and insisted that they fund the rebuild themselves! That attitude of self-sufficiency had also spilled over into the Church setting. They thought they could do everything themselves and so had no need for Jesus in their lives. In effect, they had shut the door on Jesus and left him outside and were living their lives apart from him. Jesus doesn't force his way into our lives...he could...he is all powerful. But from the very beginning, God wants intimacy with his creation, with you. He wants a relationship of mutual choosing that is built on love. So Jesus today is asking you to think about where you are living from an attitude of self-sufficiency; where you are saying, "I do it myself!"
Will you invite Jesus in? Will you invite him into your life, your day, your decisions, your finances to allow him to do work in your life? Will you allow him to transform you to be more like him? That might be painful. There may be parts of your life that he asks you to let go of? There may be certain areas where you need to admit that you have shut him out or not given him access to that part. Opening the door to Jesus is inviting him in and giving him permission to dig around in your life, to find what is broken, dead and ugly so that he can redeem it and make it new; so you can experience fullness of life with him! Will you answer his knock and allow him in today?
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, forgive me when I have shut you out of my life. I admit that as much as I would like to think I can, that I can't do life by myself. I know you love me Jesus, so I give you permission to do whatever you need to do, to make me more like you. Amen.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
TO PONDER:
Ask, Seek, Knock. Three invitation to pray. Three invitation to be bold. Three invitations to come to the Father whom we have complete and open access to. Jesus wants you to be so certain that you have the Father's help, he wants you so much to have the Father's help as you navigate your way through this day, this week, that he repeats the invitations. Ask, Seek, Knock. Ask, and it will be given to you....For everyone who asks receives. Seek, and you will find...and the one who seeks finds. Knock, and it will be opened to you...and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Ask, Seek, Knock. Pray. Pray. Pray. No-one is excluded. You have 24/7 access to a Father in heaven who loves you. A Father who longs to give good things to those who ask him, as verse 11 of this same chapter tells us. Jesus can't encourage you in any greater way to make use of the unrestricted access you have to the God who is at the centre of all of life, and the one from whom all blessings flow. So how is your prayer life? How often are you asking, seeking, knocking? And in case you think God is too important and mighty to be interested in what is happening in your life, Luther once wrote on these words: "He knows that we are timid and shy, that we feel unworthy and unfit to present our needs to God...We think that God is so great and we are so tiny that we do not dare to pray...Christ wants to lure us away from such timid thoughts, to remove our doubts, and to have us go ahead confidently and boldly" (LW, Volume 21, 234). Pray boldly today!
PRAYER:
Holy Spirit, fill me with your boldness that I may daily ask, daily seek, daily knock and discover the joy of the Father's help and love. Amen.
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” Revelation 4:1
TO PONDER:
Many of you will have seen "Lego Masters', currently showing on television. It's a wonderful show and I am always struck by the response of the contestants when they are given access to the "lego" room. Confronted with the kaleidoscope of colour before them and seeing every lego piece available to them, their eyes widen and their mouths open with a voiced or unvoiced 'wow'. This unlimited access to the lego pieces opens up a world of excitement and opportunity for them. Dial that up a billion fold and we have some idea of what John experienced when he responded to Jesus' invitation to come up to the throne room of heaven. The beauty of light radiating out from the centred of the throne. A rainbow of promise circling it. It was too much to take in. He sees not a sea of chaos but a glassy see of calm and peace that gives a clear way through to the throne where John sees true reality; that God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is at the centre of all of life. It a vision of beauty that gives hope. It's a vision of light that sustains and shows a way through when darkness and suffering and pain close in. It's a vision of promise that gives strength and courage to live because we access to everything God is, everything God has done, and everything God will do. That takes my breath away. What about you? Will you let that reality be the centre from which all of your life flows? Jesus says, "Come up here and I will show you..."
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, through the cross and the empty tomb you have given us open and unlimited access to the throne room of heaven. Fill us with your Holy Spirit that every part of our life may be centred in, flow from, revolve around and point back to you, the one who alone is worthy of our worship and praise. Amen.
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
TO PONDER
On the 26th of April 2022, a few days before this will be posted I have been married to my amazing wife for 15 years, I know that because I have a signed legal document from the Government of the Province of Manitoba, Canada, making our union legal.
Upon the signing of that marriage licence in front of a registered clergy, having it witnessed by someone who attended the ceremony and having the clergy to then mail the document to the branch of Vital Statistics our union is official, legal, with all rights and privileges of a legally married couple.
Yep, all very romantic, it brings a tear to my eyes, a lump in my throat… Yeah, not really.
On the other hand, the memories of 15 years together as husband and wife, the birth of our 2 incredible boys, the holidays together, the celebrations, the travels, the incredible amazing times and the hard times where we barely like each other let along love each other is what brings a tear to my eye and reminds me of how much I love this person who agreed to journey with me through life, not the contract I signed.
Today’s verse reminds us of the new covenant we are now under, a covenant of relationship over rules, of principles over precepts of love over law, a covenant signed in blood. A covenant I didn’t earn nor deserve, a covenant the creator of everything gave his life for the chance of an eternal relationship with me.
PRAYER
Almighty God, I thank you that you paid the ransom so that I can be set free, that in your unconditional love you pour out your grace upon me daily and call me son, friend. I give you all praise and honour. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside