2020-04-07
Genesis 19:27 NKJV
It’s really important to spend time praying with others, but it’s also vitally important that we spend time alone with God. Abraham had a special place where he met with God. So did Daniel. When his life was threatened, Daniel went ‘home to his upstairs room…Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before’ (Daniel 6:10 NIV). Jesus also had a special place: ‘Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed’ (Mark 1:35 NIV). It can be a good idea to establish a ‘God place’ in our lives. This doesn’t mean that we can only seek God in one place. He can be found everywhere. But having a specific place to go and meet with Him can help us remove all distractions and focus on Him. It can be a private place where we can take off all the masks we’ve been wearing, and be open and honest before God. Jesus said: ‘When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you’ (Matthew 6:6 NIV). Our ‘God place’ can be anywhere. It’s a place where we can create memories of intimate times with God. When problems and pressures threaten to overwhelm us, we can go to our ‘God place’. When we need guidance, we can go to our ‘God place’. It can become our sanctuary, which simply means ‘a place of refuge and safety.’ It’s a place where we can go and feel safe, no matter what we’re facing.
Lev 5-7; Matt 27:27-32; Ps 25:8-15; Prov 9:18
2020-04-06
Psalm 68:6 NCV
Whatever season of life we’re in, we can all experience loneliness. It can hit us when we leave home, move to a new area, or face rejection. It can make us feel like we don’t belong. But in God’s kingdom we always have a place where we belong. And however many times we face rejection, we’re accepted by God. The Message paraphrase of 1 Peter 2 says: ‘You are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you – from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted’ (vv.9-10). We’re His children and He loves us. The Bible says: ‘The Father has loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are his children’ (1 John 3:1 NCV). Whenever we’re feeling rejected by others, we need to remember that our identity is found in Him. Throughout the Bible, God reminds people that He’s with them. He told Joshua: ‘Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forget you’ (Joshua 1:5 NCV). And Jesus told the disciples: ‘I will not leave you all alone like orphans; I will come back to you’ (John 14:18 NCV). He promises to be with us too. He will never leave us. Even when we’re walking through dark valleys, He’s walking right beside us (take a look at Psalm 23:4). Even when everyone else leaves us, He’s still there. Even when we feel lonely, we’re never actually alone. We belong to God, and we belong in His kingdom.
Lev 1-4; Matt 27:11-26; Ps 25:1-7; Prov 9:17
2020-04-05
Mark 10:27 NIV
Ever been struggling with something, or waiting for something to happen, and someone quotes the verse ‘all things are possible with God’? While it can be a great encouragement to us, it’s important to add some context, otherwise we can end up feeling disappointed and disillusioned if the things we’re hoping and praying for don’t happen. Firstly, we need to remember that it says ‘all things are possible’, not ‘all things will happen’. Just because something is possible, it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for us. While God might be able to change our situation or give us the thing we’re praying for, He might not. That’s not because He’s trying to assert authority over us or because He doesn’t love us. It’s because He knows what’s best for us and can see the bigger picture. Secondly, this verse is found in a conversation about being saved by God. A rich young man came to Jesus and asked Him how he could have eternal life. Jesus taught the people that entering God’s kingdom was challenging. He said, ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God’ (Mark 10:24 NIV). The disciples exclaimed: ‘Who then can be saved?’ (v.26 NIV). That’s when Jesus said that all things are possible with God. We can’t earn our salvation. We will never be good enough to enter God’s kingdom. But because of Jesus, we can have eternal life. He’s made it possible for us to enter the kingdom. So while it’s true that ‘all things are possible with God,’ let’s remember the context around this verse, thank Jesus for what He’s done, and be grateful that God wants the best for us.
Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
2020-04-04
Psalm 31:12 NCV
Ever gone through something that has left you feeling broken? Maybe you feel like you’ve been shattered into tiny pieces. Maybe you’re trying to stop the cracks appearing in your life from getting worse? When we’re feeling broken, we can feel useless, worthless, and ashamed. The psalmist felt like this; he wrote: ‘I am like a piece of a broken pot. I am forgotten as if I were dead.’ Broken pots aren’t very useful. Pots are supposed to hold things, but if they’re broken or cracked then they can’t fulfil their purpose. They become ignored, hidden away at the back of a cupboard, or thrown out and replaced with something new. This broken pot analogy is used a number of times in the book of Jeremiah. He wrote: ‘Jehoiachin is like a broken pot someone threw away; he is like something no one wants’ (Jeremiah 22:28 NCV). We can sometimes feel that we’re broken beyond repair, cast aside, and unwanted. Maybe we even feel that God can’t use us because we’re too broken, and our lives are too much of a mess. But God’s close to those who are broken. The Bible says: ‘The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed’ (Psalm 34:18 NCV). He doesn’t abandon us when we’re broken, He comes close to us. We might feel like hiding our broken pieces, but He wants to come and bring beauty from them. The Japanese have a tradition called kintsugi, where they mend their broken pottery using gold. This not only makes the pottery useable again, but it also increases its worth. When we let God into our brokenness, He reminds us how much we’re worth to Him. And He can turn everything that’s been broken into something beautiful.
2 Thes 1-3; Matt 27:1-10; Ps 32; Prov 9:10-16
2020-04-03
Amos 3:3 MSG
If we’re going to walk somewhere with a friend, it’s a good idea to make sure that we’re agreed on where we’re walking to. Otherwise it’s not going to work. The Bible says: ‘Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place?’ It’s the same in our relationships. If we’re looking for a lasting relationship (and especially if we’re considering getting married), we need to be on the same page as the other person. If we’re not walking the same way, the relationship will struggle and probably won’t last long. It’s natural for us to have differences in personality and have different ideas about how things should be done, but these should be things that we take the time to talk about and work through. We need to be aligned, even though we’re not the same. If we’re trying to get closer to God, and they’re walking the opposite way, we’re not walking together. If we’re prioritising work and they’re prioritising family life, we’ll become frustrated with each other. While it’s important to keep aspects of our individuality in our relationships, we need to be united in our main goals, values, and destinations. Even if we’re currently single, we can still use this principle in our relationships with others in the church. When Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, he said ‘Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel’ (Philippians 1:27 NIV). We need to stand as one with other Christians, united in the love and truth of God.
Est 5-10; Matt 26:65-75; Ps 18:1-29; Prov 26:24-27
2020-04-02
1 Peter 1:6 NLT
When we’re struggling, do we tend to give in and feel defeated by our problems? Or do we keep going, knowing that we’ll overcome? Sometimes our answer to that is dependent on how long we’ve been struggling for. The longer we’re dealing with a problem, without seeing any sign of progress, the harder it can be to keep positive and have faith that we’ll be victorious. But we need to have an overcomer attitude. God has already overcome death, sin, and the world. The Bible says: ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33 NIV). When we have faith in God and ourselves, we can end up doing amazing things. We can find freedom from things which have kept us feeling trapped for years. The problem that seems so big today, can become the very thing that launches us into a great future. ‘We should never forget that ‘we are more than conquerors through him who loved us’ (Romans 8:37 NIV). Through Him, we have the strength we need to overcome everything we’re facing. Sometimes that means we can break free from our problems, other times it means we can continue having joy despite what we’re going through. We need to keep our eyes fixed on God, the One who can help us get through every valley we face. And we need to remember that these times will actually bring good things. The Bible puts it this way: ‘There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine…when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour’ (1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT).
Est 1-4; Matt 26:57-64; Ps 72:12-20; Prov 9:7-9
