Category Archives: Devotion

HE IS SOMEBODY

Posted on

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—He will testify about Me.”                  John 15:26 NIV

 

In the early years of my life as a disciple of Jesus, I never had a clear grasp of the Holy Spirit. He was often spoken of as an “it”. He is not an “it.” The Holy Spirit is a “Somebody.” God’s Spirit possesses three defining characteristics of personhood: intelligence, will, and emotion. To prove these points, let us look at some New Testament verses. 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 explains that the Holy Spirit knows God’s thoughts and illuminates the truth for us. Later in the same book, He is identified as the One who determines the spiritual gift(s) of each believer (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). Finally, the Holy Spirit’s feelings are revealed in verses like Romans 15:30, which tells of His love, and Ephesians 4:30, which warns against grieving Him. Consider also that Jesus spoke of a Helper who would come after Him (John 14:16, 26). Aiding and assuring others are the acts of a person, as is teaching which is the Holy Spirit’s primary work. Perhaps you misunderstand the Holy Spirit as I once did. He is not an “it” any more than God the Father or Jesus Christ is. The Holy Spirit is a part of the Trinity, and if you are a believer, He is with you now. God has given us His Spirit as a special Helper. One who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). Praise the Lord!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for sticking closer than a brother.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank You, Father, for giving us the Holy Spirit as our special Helper. One who sticks closer than a brother. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Mark 14:32-42

 

LISTEN TO TODAY’S DEVOTION

If you received our daily emails, please listen to today’s devotion on our website www.ffdl.co.za
On Facebook follow this link to start listening.

OUR MOTIVATOR

Posted on

“Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.”             Acts 2:43 NIV

 

As the disciples proclaimed the Gospel, Jesus was ever confirming His Word with demonstrations of divine power, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is still doing so today. He also confirms His Word by touching a lost sinner’s heart. As the Holy Spirit draws them to Jesus and saves them when they come in faith. He changes that life and confirms His Word through making them a “new creation”, 2 Corinthians 5:17. He confirmed His Word by keeping His promises not only in the lives of the early disciples, but also in our lives today. Jesus promised that through the power and ministry of the Holy Spirit, He came through for the disciples, and He did. This is confirmed in the book of Acts, which can be known as either the Acts of the Apostles, or the Acts of the Holy Spirit. This was not the end. Many of us have benefited from this kind of confirmation. For Jesus continues to fulfil His Word by speaking to us through His Written Words today. It is like water to a thirsty soul. It is like food to a starving person. It is healing to a wounded spirit. Praise the Lord, that our Saviour and Lord Jesus continues to confirm His Word in a demonstration of power through the Holy Spirit for His glory, in the lives of all those who put their faith in Him. That has been my experience many times down through the years, and I am sure that it has been your experience as well. May we continue to rejoice in our great Motivator, our Lord Jesus Christ, through the power and ministry of His Holy Spirit in our lives.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You for confirming Your Word through the Holy Spirit.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, our Saviour and Lord, we rejoice in You being a great Motivator, by confirming Your Word, through the power and ministry of Your Holy Spirit in our lives. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

John 18:15-18, 25-27

 

LISTEN TO TODAY’S DEVOTION

If you received our daily emails, please listen to today’s devotion on our website www.ffdl.co.za
On Facebook follow this link to start listening.

OUR MASTER

Posted on

“And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”         Matthew 28:20 NIV

 

Jesus has already ascended back into Heaven, but we are told that He was “working with them”. The phrase means that He was “a partner in their labour.” How is that possible? He is in Heaven, and they are upon the earth. How did Jesus work with His disciples? First, He did it through His intercession. As He prayed for them in Heaven at the right hand of God, all the power they needed to accomplish their mission was given to them. As He is praying for us, now! Second, He did it through the power of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit of God came, He did what Jesus was unable to do. While Jesus was here in a human body, He was limited to one geographic location at a time. If He was with you, He could not be with me. When the Spirit of God came, He entered every single one of the Lord’s followers. He came into the disciples on the Day of Pentecost. He has entered every person when they declared Him to be their Saviour and Lord. As we serve our Lord in this day, we can be assured that He will ever be with us. We can also be certain that He will stand with us to empower us and use us for His glory. Praise the Lord that we do not have to do what He has called us to do alone! We are Holy Spirit empowered witnesses for Him!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, thank You for empowering us with Your Holy Spirit.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank You Lord Jesus, that we can be certain that You stand with us to empower us and use us for Your glory. We do not have to do what You have called us to do alone! We are Holy Spirit empowered witnesses for You. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Mark 4:35-41

 

LISTEN TO TODAY’S DEVOTION

If you received our daily emails, please listen to today’s devotion on our website www.ffdl.co.za
On Facebook follow this link to start listening.

HIS COMMAND OUR MISSION

Posted on

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”              Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

 

Ten days after Jesus ascended back into Heaven, an amazing event took place, which we celebrate on the 24 of May – Pentecost. We read about it in Acts 1-2. The disciples, which numbered about 120 at the time, were praying, in one perfect agreement, in a room in Jerusalem. While they prayed, the Spirit that Jesus had promised to send to them fell on them and they were given His power to preach His message to a lost world. On that day, they preached the Gospel in Jerusalem and 3,000 people from all over the known world were saved. The disciples and their new converts took the Gospel message far and wide. Everywhere they went they told everyone they met that “Jesus died for our sins according to the Scripture; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” Many thousands of people heard this good news and came to faith in Jesus, and the Gospel continued to spread. So much so that the disciples were accused of “turning the world upside down”, Acts 17:6. What they were doing was just what the Lord told them. They were simply sharing the Gospel. The Gospel message has not changed in over 2,000 years. We have the privilege of taking the same message the disciples preached to our world today. That is His command, and that is our mission!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You for the privilege of sharing Your message with others.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, Your Gospel message has not changed in over 2,000 years. Thank You for the privilege of taking the same message the disciples preached to our world today. This is Your command, and our mission! AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Exodus 14:10-14

 

LISTEN TO TODAY’S DEVOTION

If you received our daily emails, please listen to today’s devotion on our website www.ffdl.co.za
On Facebook follow this link to start listening.

THE COMPLETING ONE

Posted on

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”          John 14:2 NIV

 

When Jesus Christ ascended back to Heaven, He ascended as the risen Lord of Glory. He ascended as One Who is to be worshiped, served and loved. His sacrifice and His death on the cross are reason enough for Him to demand worship from those He has saved by His grace. For He is our one and only Commander in Chief. Yet He is more! He Is our Completing One. Jesus left us the promise that He was going to prepare a place for us in Heaven so that we could be there with Him throughout eternity. Just as a bridegroom prepares a place for His bride, Jesus has committed Himself to providing a place for us. And, what a place it is? Take some time and read Revelation chapters 21-22. One great and glorious day, we will join Him in that place He is making ready for us! There is more. Jesus is the Coming One. While Jesus was here, He told His disciples that He would be going away. He also promised them that He would come again in John 14:1-3. This promise was confirmed by the angels who attended the Lord’s ascension in Acts 1:11. One day soon our Saviour will appear in the clouds above the earth, and He will call His people up to meet Him in the clouds. On that day, our frail and sinful bodies will be changed into His image, and we will be with Him in all His glory, and we will be like Him. What a great future we have!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, what a joy it is to know You have prepared a place for us.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, thank You for being our Completing One. Having prepared a place for us and will be returning to take us home, to be with You for ever. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Genesis 32:3-21

 

LISTEN TO TODAY’S DEVOTION

If you received our daily emails, please listen to today’s devotion on our website www.ffdl.co.za
On Facebook follow this link to start listening.

THE CONFESSING ONE

Posted on

“Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven.”           Matthew 10:32 NIV

 

One of the most vital ministries the Lord provides for us is His ministry of intercession. According to the Bible, Jesus confesses us before the throne of God, as our text reveals. He is our one and only Mediator, as we read in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” As our Mediator, He expresses our hearts and our needs before the throne of grace. May we hear the words of Hebrews 7:25 afresh, “Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.” What an encouraging reality! Our Lord Jesus is praying for us! Even when we are not on praying ground, He always is! Because He perfectly fulfilled God’s plan of redemption, He sits in the presence of the Father as the guarantee of all the promises of the new covenant of grace! Jesus is not only our Confessing One. He is also our Confirming One. His presence in Heaven is the guarantee of our presence in Heaven someday. Ephesians 2:6 reminds us, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Why? Because, when we were saved, we were placed in Him, and He was placed within us. His presence in us is God’s guarantee that He will finish His perfect work in us. Our presence in Him means that even though we live on this earth, as far as God is concerned, we are already home!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your indwelling presence in our lives.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, when You saved us, You placed us in Your Son, Jesus Christ, and He was placed in us, through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Your presence in us is Your guarantee that You will finish Your perfect work in us. Our presence in You means that even though we live on this earth, as far as You are concerned, we are already home! AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Genesis 12:10-20

 

LISTEN TO TODAY’S DEVOTION

If you received our daily emails, please listen to today’s devotion on our website www.ffdl.co.za
On Facebook follow this link to start listening.

THE CONSOLING ONE

Posted on

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”              John 16:7 NIV

 

When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He did not leave the disciples, or us, alone. He sent His Spirit, the Holy Spirit into the world to indwell, fill, guide and comfort His disciples, that includes us. The Amplified Translation of John 16:7, reads “Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counsellor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you].” Take note of the various descriptions of the Holy Spirit. He is the One who comes along side us, to strengthen us, to give us the help we need. He is the One Who will give us words to pray when we do not know how to pray. He will give us words to utter, when we are called to witness about Jesus. In the widest sense, He is our amazing assistant. The Holy Spirit brings gifts for us, as disciples of Jesus. We can read about these gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. His gifts make our service to Him possible! The transformation in Peter between the night he denied Jesus 3 times to the Day of Pentecost when he preached in the power of the Holy Spirit and 3,000 people were saved can be traced to the power of the Holy Spirit on his life. This same Holy Spirit is present in everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. The question is: Are we drawing on the power of the Holy Spirit, each and every day of our lives?

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, we celebrate the empowering of Your Holy Spirit in our lives.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that the same Holy Spirit who was present in the lives of the early disciples, is present in everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord, empowering us to live for You. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

James 1:1-7

 

LISTEN TO TODAY’S DEVOTION

If you received our daily emails, please listen to today’s devotion on our website www.ffdl.co.za
On Facebook follow this link to start listening.

JESUS’ CONTINUING MINISTRY

Posted on

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”           Colossians 2: 15 NIV

 

When Jesus ascended and took up His place at His Father’s right hand, He went there to continue His ministry on behalf of His people. When Jesus returned to Heaven, He returned bearing in His body the marks of the cross, John 20:27. He went back to Heaven as the crucified Lamb of God. He returned having accomplished redemption on the cross for all who will believe in Him by faith. In the midst of our epidemic called sin, Jesus went to the cross and injected himself with our deadly disease. He then committed himself to the Father’s care and returned to Heaven with the cure. Praise God! Death and Hell are no longer our destiny, if we are trusting in Jesus for salvation. If we feel bad for the pain that Jesus bore for us on the cross, let us not forget that three days after He died, He arose from the grave in absolute victory! When He ascended back to Heaven, He ascended as a conquering King who had invaded the territory of the enemy, ransacked his position, disarmed him and returned in victory to His Father’s right hand! This is exactly what our text for today says. Jesus has forever conquered sin and Satan at the cross. He ripped the bars out of death, hell and the grave in His resurrection. Imagine the rejoicing in Heaven as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords returned in total triumph over all the enemies of God and God’s people! He is our conquering King!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, we celebrate You as our conquering King.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, we celebrate that You have forever conquered sin and Satan at the cross. You ripped the bars out of death, hell and the grave in Your resurrection. Hallelujah. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Acts 11:1-18

 

LISTEN TO TODAY’S DEVOTION

If you received our daily emails, please listen to today’s devotion on our website www.ffdl.co.za
On Facebook follow this link to start listening.

THE ASCENSION

Posted on

“After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it.”              Mark 16:19,20 NIV

 

Mark skips over forty days in one statement. He jumps all the way from day of the resurrection to the day Jesus ascended back into Heaven. We might think the ascension of Jesus is a minor event with little importance for us. In truth, the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ is one of the most important components of our faith. Let me share a few reasons why the ascension of Jesus is so important. The Ascension made our Lord’s purposes clear. While Jesus waited with the disciples, they still held to the hope of a temporal, earthly kingdom. When He left and sent the Holy Spirit, they were made to see that Jesus came to save sinners and not sit upon an earthly throne. The Ascension made our Lord’s presence real, not only to the early disciples but to each one who has accepted Him, as Saviour and Lord, through the indwelling power and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Not only could the Holy Spirit be with disciples and in them all at the same time; but He could work through them all at the same time, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus in John 14:12. This is true for us. The Ascension made our Lord’s plan understandable. God’s plan of salvation involves all three members of the Trinity. The Father sent the Son. The Son gave His life and shed His blood on the cross. The Spirit was sent to take that message and apply it to the hearts of all, including yours and mine. Hallelujah.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, we celebrate Your Ascension with great joy.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus for giving Your life and shedding Your blood on the cross. Thank You Holy Spirit for taking the message of the Cross and applying it to our hearts and changing our lives forever. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Acts 9:10-19

 

LISTEN TO TODAY’S DEVOTION

If you received our daily emails, please listen to today’s devotion on our website www.ffdl.co.za
On Facebook follow this link to start listening.

A SOLUTION FOR JEALOUSY

Posted on

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”           Psalm 37:4 NIV

 

A jealous person complains about what God hasn’t provided and objects to another person’s blessings. There are three main causes of jealousy. The first is insecurity. Uncertainty over his position as king led Saul to view David, the giant killer, as competition. A sense of inadequacy can cause jealousy. The second cause of jealousy is selfishness. Saul resented the crowd’s praise of David for his battlefield successes. We fall into the same trap when we compare our situation to someone else’s. Jealousy can surface when we see a person who has a better marriage, family, job, or financial position. Finally, pride is the third cause of jealousy. Saul’s ego wouldn’t let him enjoy David’s accomplishment. Pride will make us highly critical of another’s success. To be free of jealousy, we must do four things. First, we need to confess our emotional state to God and acknowledge His right to bless someone else. Second, we should thank Him for what He’s doing in that person’s life. Third, we need to ask Him to fill our hearts with love for that individual. Finally, we should ask the Lord to bless him or her even more. God will honour our prayer and replace our spirit of jealousy with one of love and thankfulness. To prevent future attacks of envy, we must stay focused on the Lord and what He’s doing through us. All of us battle with jealousy on occasion. When we recognize this negative attitude, let us act quickly to get rid of it. Otherwise, it damages our relationships and our spiritual health.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, as we delight in You, lead us to delight in Your blessings on others.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, we acknowledge that there are times when we battle with jealousy. Help us to recognize this negative attitude, to act quickly to get rid of it. Preventing it from damaging our relationships and our spiritual health. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

John 20:24-29

 

LISTEN TO TODAY’S DEVOTION

If you received our daily emails, please listen to today’s devotion on our website www.ffdl.co.za
On Facebook follow this link to start listening.