Category Archives: Devotion

THREE ANSWERS

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“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”      Matthew 7:7-8 NIV

 

Too often, we can view the Lord as a great cosmic Santa Claus in the sky: we think of our prayers not as petitions, but as demands. If He does not grant our request, we’re thrown into a faith crisis, believing He no longer answers us. The real problem, however, is that we misunderstand the Lord’s three answers to prayer. Yes. We love this response! There’s nothing more exhilarating or faith-inspiring than watching the Lord move mountains to provide what we once saw as impossible. No. Here is where the problems begin for us. But we must accept the fact that God says “no” to some of our requests. This is certainly not because He’s uncaring, on the contrary, He is generous, loving, and concerned about us. No, means that He doesn’t agree to things He knows are wrong for us. Wait. This answer can be even harder than a flat-out “no.” Yet some things that are good and right and godly may still be wrong for us today. Remember, He is eternal; He sees all time at the same time. If He regards tomorrow’s blessing as a curse today, He’ll withhold it for a season until we’re ready to receive it. Let us not be misled if His response is not what we expected. Let us praise the Lord for answering our requests the way He knows they should be answered!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, we praise You for answering our requests in the best way You know.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, we choose not to be misled if Your response to our requests is not what we expected. Lord, we praise You for answering our requests the way You know they should be answered! AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 15:14-21

 

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CLAIMING HIS PROMISES

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“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”         Hebrews 6:12 NIV

 

Sarah was 90 years old when the Lord told her husband, “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her” (Genesis 17:16). Abraham considered this so unlikely that he laughed! But God was faithful to His word. Yet some people become discouraged because they fail to see results after asking for His assurance. We can avoid frustration by understanding how Scripture teaches us to claim His promises. First, be aware that some promises are limited to a certain situation. The Lord told Abraham he would have a son. Genesis 17:16 is not a promise we can claim for ourselves, as it was meant specifically for the Jewish patriarch. Second, many promises are intended for all believers, such as God’s assurance that He’ll never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). Third, some promises are conditional. For example, the guarantee of Psalm 37:4 requires obedience: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” When evaluating a biblical promise, we should ask ourselves: Am I asking for this promise with a spirit of submission to the will of the Lord? Might an answer to my petition harm another person or interfere with His will for their life? Does the Holy Spirit bear witness to my spirit that the Lord is pleased by my request? Does it contradict the Word of God? Will my desire further my spiritual growth if we claim the Lord’s promises with a right spirit and pure motives, we will honour Him, receive what we ask, and grow in intimacy with our loving Father.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Holy Spirit, guide us as we claim the promises of our Lord.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Holy Spirit, bear witness to our spirit that the Lord is pleased with our request, as we claim His promises found in His Word, as we honour Him in every way. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 15:1-13

 

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HIS PROMISES

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“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.”       Hebrews 10:23 NIV

 

It’s sad to say, the world we live in frequently places little value on words. We’ve seen politicians retract campaign commitments once they take office. People swear to tell the truth in court, but nonetheless, some resort to falsehoods for self-preservation. It’s difficult to know whom we can trust. Thankfully, there is One who keeps His word and never changes. As today’s verse tells us, “HE who promised is faithful.” Since we can be confident that the Lord will do what He says, we should familiarize ourselves with His promises. Scripture is filled with them. For instance, Jesus gave His disciples this assurance: “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). Hebrews 13:5 guarantees, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” Why does the Lord make promises? One reason is that they reveal His character. For example, His assurance to stay with us shows His love. And He carries out every commitment He makes, His power and sovereignty become evident. Second, His fulfilled promises bring Him glory by letting others see His goodness and dependability. Finally, His clear promises offer us hope and comfort during hardship. In a changing world where vows are often broken, it’s reassuring that we serve a Living Lord who keeps His word. Think about the hope His promises provide and praise Him for the way they reveal His character.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, we thank You for Your promises that provide us with Hope.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, in a changing world where vows are often broken, it’s reassuring that we serve You, the One who keeps His word. We praise You for the way Your promises reveal Your character. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 14:13-23

 

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EQUIPPED TO SERVE

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“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”         1 Peter 4:10 NIV

 

Our Lord has given an amazing responsibility to those whom He has saved. He has called us to be His servants and accomplish His work here on earth. Just think about how remarkable this is: Almighty God, who needs nothing and can do all things, invites us to share in all that He is doing to draw people to Himself, to bring His children to spiritual maturity, and to care for those in need. Being a servant of the Lord requires that we put ourselves under His authority, listen to His instructions, and carry out His commands. In our own strength, this task is beyond our abilities, but when we are walking obediently with Him, He supplies all that we need. The Father never gives assignments for which He will not equip His children. He begins by developing Christlike character within us. Then, as we cooperate with His Spirit, God transforms a self-centred heart into the heart of a servant who delights in meeting the needs of others. To further enable us to do His work, He gives us spiritual gifts which are to be used for the benefit of others. The Holy Spirit gives each of us the exact gift needed for serving in the specific work our Lord has appointed for us. The invitation is issued; the strength and ability are provided. All that is needed are willing servants to participate in the most exciting adventure on earth. Join with the Lord in His work, use your spiritual gifts, and make an impact for Christ in this world.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, we accept Your invitation in touching the world.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, thank You that as we accept Your invitation, all the strength and ability we need is provided. We join with You in Your work, use our spiritual gifts, to make an impact for You in this world. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 14:1-12

 

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CALLED TO SERVE

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“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—.”        Matthew 20:26,27 NIV

 

As Christians, we are identified by a variety of names in the Bible, such as believers, and saints, but one title we seldom call ourselves is “servants of Christ.” However, that is exactly what the Lord tells us to be. After His disciples wrestled about who was the greatest, Jesus turned their worldly thinking upside down with a call to become great in the kingdom by being a servant of all. Jesus is not just our Saviour but also our Lord and Master, and we have a responsibility to follow His example. Just as He served His Father by caring for people, so we serve our Lord by lovingly meeting the temporal and spiritual needs of those around us. Service is essential for spiritual growth. Our Lord is continually at work in our lives, transforming our characters into the image of Jesus. A major hindrance in this process is self-centeredness. Serving others is one of the tools that the Lord uses to set us free from the slavery of selfishness. Service is required to achieve His purpose for our lives. He has designed specific works for each of us to accomplish in our lifetime (Ephesians 2:10). If we only take in and never give out, we will miss much of what He has planned for us. Let us never forget that we have a high calling which is realized only by lowering ourselves to the level of a servant. Let us look for the opportunities that our Lord will give us today to serve someone. Let us take our place alongside Jesus, who was the ultimate servant of all.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, we take our place alongside You, the ultimate Servant.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Holy Spirit, help us look for the opportunities that our Lord will give us today to serve someone. So that we can take our place alongside Jesus, who was the ultimate servant of all. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 13:8-14

 

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MATURITY ISN’T AUTOMATIC

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“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”       Isaiah 48:10 NIV

 

The world’s way is to choose the strongest, most talented individuals to accomplish tasks. In contrast, the Lord often selects the weakest, who have nothing to offer except total reliance upon Him. And this dependency is what characterizes the mature in faith. Such maturity isn’t automatic. Our Father patiently meets us where we are but lovingly refuses to let us stagnate. Instead, He helps us to grow more like His Son (2 Corinthians 3:18). As followers of Christ, we must let go of old ways, ideas, and motivations. The Holy Spirit illuminates our understanding and lets us see from God’s perspective. Then, the Lord can build in us a dependence on Himself and a submission to His Spirit. Transformation is often gradual, but God sometimes will allow difficulty and pain to develop our reliance upon Him. We have studied Sarah and Abraham, who dealt with infertility for many years prior to receiving the promised child (Genesis 21:1-2). Joseph was sold into slavery and wrongly imprisoned before he spared his nation from the effects of famine (Genesis 45:5). In her new role as Jesus’ mother, Mary, who had been falsely regarded as an adulteress, followed the Lord’s inconvenient command to flee areas of danger (Matthew 2:13, 22). These people all faced hardship and brokenness, which allowed them to recognize both their own inability and God’s ability. What’s standing in your way of full submission to the Lord? His desire is to grow us into maturity so that in our weakness, He will be strong.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank you for Your desire for us to grow into maturity.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, many in the pages of Scripture faced hardship and brokenness, which allowed them to recognize both their own inability and Your ability. Your desire is to grow us into maturity so that in our weakness, You will be strong. Help us to submit to this journey. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 13:1-7

 

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GROWING IN STAGES

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“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”         Colossians 3:1 NIV

 

Just as Abraham went through stages of spiritual growth, so do we. The Holy Spirit will lead us through stages that promote Christian maturity. Beginning with salvation, leading to service, dependence, and the exchanged life. While spiritual growth takes place at different rates and in different ways, all of us are on the same journey with one goal, transformation into Christ’s image. Dependence on the Lord, is an important part of spiritual maturity, is learned as we serve Him. As we serve our Lord, our own inadequacies will frustrate us, and we will be tempted to give up. Or we may find ourselves falling back into ungodly habits, even though we don’t want that to happen (Romans 7:19). A key lesson in this stage is to relinquish control and allow the Holy Spirit to direct and help us, in other words, to live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Whenever we struggle, we’re to turn toward the Lord in dependence upon Him. At the same time, when we study His Word, our minds will be redirected to think biblically. Then we can accept God’s truth and leave behind messages we’ve taken in from our upbringing and culture that do not match His perspective. The final stage is what’s known as the exchanged life. We embrace the truth that the only way to live the Christian life is to let the Holy Spirit live Christ’s life through us. Spiritual growth requires our cooperation. How willing are we to grow?

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Holy Spirit, work within us a willing spirit to grow in Christ.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Holy Spirit, as You led Abraham on through stages of spiritual growth, lead us to have a willing spirit to mature into the likeness of Jesus. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 12:9-31

 

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GROWING IN SPIRITUAL MATURITY

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“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.”       Ephesians 4:15 NIV

 

Our pilgrimage with Abraham has reminded us that our Christian life is a journey, in which we can identify several milestones, or stages of growth we need to reach on route to spiritual maturity. The first two are salvation and service. We all begin our journey in the same place, spiritually dead and uninterested in what matters to the Lord. There’s only one way to receive spiritual life and that’s through faith in Jesus Christ. He took our place and bore God’s judgment for our sins. He died so that we might become spiritually alive. At salvation, we receive the Holy Spirit, who creates in us a desire to know the Father and His Son Jesus. As we learn more about Him, our faith will deepen and our hearts will swell with thanksgiving. Gratitude will lead us to the next step on our journey, serving Him. We’ll desire to give something back to our Lord in appreciation for His generosity. We now ask the Lord what His plans are, as did Abraham’s servant. How we can join Him. As His children, we’re to listen attentively for His call and focus our minds and hearts on obeying. Growth is a key principle in our lives. Today’s verse speaks of growth. Spiritual maturity begins with salvation and followed by a lifelong commitment to being God’s servant, as with the life of Abraham. Have you dedicated yourself to serving Him?

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, we dedicate ourselves in growing in spiritual maturity.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as with Abraham, we dedicate ourselves to a life-long journey of commitment, as Abraham committed himself to You, and as You fulfilled Your promises to him, we thank You for Your promises to us. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 12:1-8

 

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THE END OF A PILGRIMAGE

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“Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.”            Genesis 25:7,8 NIV

 

Genesis 25:1-18, deals with the end of Abraham’s life. Abraham’s pilgrimage has come to an end. Death comes to us all. We all end our pilgrimage upon this earth. When that day comes only one thing matters, the same thing that mattered to Abraham: What kind of life have we lived? A life that believed the Lord? Or a life that ignored Him? A life that trusted in God’s promise, the promise of the promised seed, the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ? Or a life that rejected the promised Seed and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ? A life that followed after the promised land, for Abraham, and for us the hope of heaven. Or a life that followed the world and its possessions, bright lights, and pleasures? A life that obeyed the Lord’s Word? Or a life that disobeyed His Word? Abraham’s life was a difficult and hard life. Abraham had faced trial after trial. He sometimes stood tall and conquered the trials, bearing a strong testimony for the Lord and His promises. However, Abraham sometimes crumbled under the weight of some terrible trial and failed the Lord. But he always confessed his failure and repented. He always turned back to the Lord, following Him more diligently and closely than ever. He had a long and difficult pilgrimage to travel throughout life, but he believed the Lord and followed Him, and the Lord blessed him for it. This filled Abraham with a deep sense of fulfilment and satisfaction in life. May it be true of us.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord let our lives be lived with a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as we come to the end of our pilgrimage, may our lives be lived in obedience to Your call, leading to fulfilment and satisfaction and to the glory of Your name. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 11:25-36

 

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WILLINGNESS AND OBEDIENCE

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So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”  “I will go,” she said.        Genesis 24:58 NIV

 

Rebekah’s willingness to marry Isaac is a significant aspect of the story. After hearing the servant’s explanation of his mission and the divine guidance he received, Rebekah and her family agree that this is the Lord’s will: “Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.’” (Genesis 24:50-51). Rebekah’s readiness to leave her home and travel to a distant land reflects her faith and obedience to the Lord’s plan. Like Abraham, she steps out in faith, trusting that the Lord’s will is best. This willingness to obey the Lord’s leading, even when it involves sacrifice or uncertainty, is a powerful example of faith in action. Rebekah’s example calls us to be open to our Lord’s leading, willing to step out in faith when He calls us to new places or roles. We are called to trust in the Lord’s plan, even when it involves sacrifice or uncertainty. The Lord’s orchestration of events in Genesis 24 reminds us that He is in control of all circumstances. We are called to trust in God’s providence and recognize His hand at work in our lives, especially in moments of uncertainty or challenge. We are reminded again and again of our Lord’s love and care for His people, as He provides for our needs and directs our paths. Ultimately, His love is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ, the descendant of Isaac and Rebekah, who brings salvation to the world.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Holy Spirit, give us willing and obedient hearts to trust our Lord.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, we follow the example of Abraham and Rebekah, in having willing and obedient hearts to trust You in times of uncertainty, knowing Your plans are good, pleasing and perfect. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 11:13-24

 

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