2022-03-26
Revelation 21:5 NIV
In the book of Revelation, John wrote: ‘I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is… among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true”‘ (v.2-5 NIV).
As redeemed children of God, we’re assured of having an eternal home in heaven and the promise of being citizens of ‘the new Jerusalem’. John continues, ‘The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city’ (v.15 NIV). The city is a square of about fourteen hundred miles (see v.16 NIV). As a rough idea of its size, imagine a square stretching from London all the way across Europe to Russia’s western border, down to the Egyptian and Libyan coasts, then back up to London. It’s approximately twenty-one times the size of the UK, or ten times the size of France. And that’s just the ground floor! It’s as tall as it is wide; six hundred thousand storeys high. That means there’s more than enough room for billions of people.
We may not know all the details of what heaven’s like, but we can be sure that if we believe in Him, God has a place there for us.
Job 29-31; Luke 20:1-8; Ps 38:13-22; Pro 8:24-26
2022-03-25
1 John 1:9 KJV
The story of David and Bathsheba sounds like the plot of a film or the script of a TV soap – lust, adultery, premarital pregnancy, murder, and cover-up. And it looked like David would get away with it – except for one important detail: ‘The thing that David had done displeased the LORD’ (2 Samuel 11:27 NKJV).
In the Bible, God calls David ‘a man after his own heart’ (1 Samuel 13:14 NLT), but the same Bible says, ‘Be sure your sin will find you out’ (Numbers 32:23 KJV). So God sent the prophet Nathan to tell David, ‘I made you king… So why have you treated the word of God with… contempt?’ (2 Samuel 12:7, 9 MSG). Then God passed sentence: ‘Because you despised me… I am going to bring calamity on you… before all Israel’ (2 Samuel 12:10-12 NIV). From that day on, tragedy and turmoil plagued David’s family.
The Bible says, ‘those who can’t be trusted are on the road to ruin’ (Proverbs 13:15 GNB). Sometimes God takes away our peace so that we’ll acknowledge our sin. It took a whole catalogue of disappointments, difficulties, mistakes, and the conviction of the Holy Spirit before David’s heart softened and he admitted, ‘I have sinned against the Lord’ (2 Samuel 12:13 NIV). And when he prayed those words, God treated David’s sin the same way He treats ours: ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9 KJV).
As long as we carry on excusing, defending, and rationalising our sins, we can’t move past them or begin to grow in our relationship with God. But as soon as we confess our sins to Him, in His grace He’ll forgive us.
Job 24-28; Luke 19:41-48; Ps 38:1-12; Pro 8:22-23
2022-03-24
Isaiah 30:21 NIV
Ever felt something inside you urging you to do a certain thing, but instead you allowed your head to overrule the voice in your spirit? That inner voice is our spiritual intuition, the part of us God speaks to. The Bible says, ‘Your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”‘ John the apostle put it this way: ‘You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things’ (1 John 2:20 NKJV). We need to learn to trust that ‘anointing’ because it will tell us what we need to do, when we need to act, what direction we need to take, and what changes we need to make.
Often we don’t act on our spiritual intuition because we feel like we need to think it through, to analyse whether it’s really the right thing to do. Thinking about it is definitely wise, as is checking whether it lines up with what the Bible says.
But the trouble comes when we procrastinate and never act on it, until we become paralysed and afraid to do anything. We have to learn to recognise and trust our spiritual intuition. It’s our connection to the greatest source of wisdom in the universe – God’s wisdom. Our spiritual intuition can be summed up by these words in the Bible: ‘For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose’ (Philippians 2:13 NIVUK).
So the next time our spiritual intuition tells us something and it lines up with Scripture, let’s do our best to act on it.
Job 21-23; Luke 19:28-40; Ps 55:12-23; Pro 8:19-21
2022-03-23
Philippians 1:6 CEV
Paul wrote, ‘God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain… he won’t stop before it is complete’ (v.6 CEV). Jesus regularly took time out of His busy schedule to pray. In fact, He sometimes prayed all night. And He tells us why: ‘The Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing’ (John 5:19-20 NLT).
Under the weight of our sins, He cried from the cross, ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46 NIV). And His words teach us three important things: 1) We can be following God’s plan and still feel overwhelmed and alone at times. 2) When God doesn’t answer, we should stand on the promises He gave us in His Word. 3) The pain we’re feeling will eventually give way to the joy that awaits us on the other side of it.
So stick with God’s plan; as long as we do that, there’s nothing the enemy can do to destroy us. The Bible says, ‘No weapon turned against you will succeed… These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD’ (Isaiah 54:17 NLT). When you feel like you’ve reached your limit, do what Jesus did and pray, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’ (Luke 23:46 NIV). In other words, turn it all over to God. Trust Him to do what you can’t do and to bring you through in victory.
Job 18-20; Luke 19:11-27; Ps 55:1-11; Pro 8:17-18
2022-03-22
Ephesians 1:11 CEV
God said, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end’ (Revelation 22:13 CEV). God determines the end result He wants, then starts at the beginning and works towards it. He ‘always does what he plans’. Joseph discovered that even when your family turns against you, God’s plan is still in effect. Looking back, he said, ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good’ (Genesis 50:20 NIV). But don’t confuse ‘good’ with ‘comfortable’. When God corrects or redirects you, it doesn’t always feel good. But it is good! David said, ‘When you corrected me, it did me good because it taught me’ (Psalm 119:71 CEV).
If you’re not sure of God’s plan, seek Him until He shows it to you. Other things may seem more urgent, but nothing is more important. And if you already know God’s plan, be assured that no human action can cancel it. The psalmist wrote, ‘The LORD will vindicate me; your love… endures forever’ (Psalm 138:8 NIV).
God has already made ‘the way of escape’ (1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV) for every situation that Satan can come up with to push us off course. Paul reassures us: ‘God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it’ (v.13 NKJV). It’s in the times of testing that we discover ‘God is faithful’. He’ll stretch us, but never beyond our breaking point. His plan is for us to come out of the experience stronger and ready for what’s next in His plan.
Job 15-17; Luke 19:1-10; Ps 13; Pro 8:14-16
2022-03-21
Luke 9:62 NIV
Whatever has happened in our past, it doesn’t automatically determine our future. Here are some things to remember to help us keep moving forward: 1) Focus on what’s ahead. We can use what we’ve learned from our past experiences, good and bad, to help us as we move forward. But if we keep looking back at the past, we’ll miss all the amazing things that God’s putting in our future. Our past isn’t where we’re heading; we need to stay focused on what’s ahead.
2) Stop looking for easy answers. Life is hard, and being a Christian certainly doesn’t promise us a trouble-free life. In fact, when we’re following God’s plan, the devil might try even harder to stop us. But what we are promised is a God who is bigger than any problem we’ll ever have to face, and who will not leave us to face things alone.
3) Stay on your path – not everybody will go with you. We shouldn’t let anyone hold us back from following the plan that God has for us. Following God’s path might mean leaving friends behind, but even though that’s hard, we can be sure that God’s plans are the best, and He has amazing things lined up for us if we choose to trust Him and follow His guidance.
4) Believe in yourself – God does! People might try to criticise us and put us down, but God knows our potential, and if we’re willing to trust Him and work hard, He’ll help us fulfil it. He gave each of us a specific purpose, and He doesn’t make mistakes. If He’s called us, He’ll give us everything we need to achieve that calling.
Job 11-14; Luke 18:31-43; Ps 116:12-19; Pro 8:10-13
