Walk With Me - Devotionals

It's All About Me!

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 29th August 2022

Passage: Genesis 11:4

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"It's all about me!" That is a good way to sum up just how many people feel in the day we live in. People are encouraged to project a positive image of themselves and so they come to be very self-centred and selfish as a result.

The story we read in Genesis chapter 11:1-9 is a story about people who wanted to be independent and self-sufficient, and they felt no need for God. The Tower of Babel has come to be a symbol of people's desire to do things their way without any reference to God.

The words 'us' and 'ourselves' tell us a lot. "Let us make a name for ourselves" is at the heart of the story and it has a very modern ring to it. People have not really changed with the passing of the years. So many people see no need for God in their lives or in society today.

But the irony is that all human efforts to get rid of God always end in failure. Life is not 'all about me'. Rather our first duty is to acknowledge God.

As the New City Catechism asks: "What is our only hope in life and death?" And the answer: "That we are not our own, but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Saviour Jesus Christ. Only as we live in the light of that truth will our lives be truly what God meant them to be — the good life!

Dear Lord, please help me to put your first in my thoughts and actions. Amen.

God's Children... Children Of The Resurrection

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 28th August 2022

Passage: Luke 20:36

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Resurrection! Jesus Christ often had people arguing against his teaching. One of the groups of people who were opposed to his teaching were called the Sadducees. They were a powerful group of people in Jerusalem and they did not believe in life after death. As far as they were concerned there was no such thing as resurrection.

Sometimes they tried to make fun of Jesus and his teaching about heaven and the teaching about believers in God who go to heaven. This was even more surprising since several of the High Priests were from the Sadducees.

We don't hear anything about the Sadducees after the resurrection of Jesus. I don't know what they would have made of it. However the resurrection of Jesus was the proof of the deity of Jesus — it proved he was God. It was proof also of the reality of everlasting life.

The poor Sadducees who thought themselves to be so clever and powerful were soon almost forgotten by the Jewish people, while the teaching of Jesus and the resurrection has gone throughout the world to bring salvation, comfort and great hope to all who put their trust in Jesus.

They are God's children — the children of the resurrection.

Dear Lord Jesus, help me to know the glorious hope of the resurrection to everlasting life in heaven. Amen.

Do You Believe In Angels?

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 27th August 2022

Passage: Psalm 34:7

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Do you believe in angels? The Bible certainly does — they are mentioned nearly 300 times in the Bible.

But what do angels do and how do we know they are doing it? Angels are spirit-beings — they don't have bodies and we normally cannot see them. They were created by God. There are good angels and bad angels.

Satan and other angels who followed him are the bad angels, expelled from heave for their rebellion against God. Satan continues to try to destroy the kingdom and the people of Jesus, but he and his devilish followers will never succeed.

The good angels enjoy serving God as they praise him in the holy atmosphere of heaven. Angels serve God in many ways. For example they were present at the creation of the world (Job 38:7), they help and they defend Christians (Psalm 91:11-12), and they announce special messages from God, such as the birth of the Lord Jesus (Luke 2:8-15).

Two particularly important angels, Michael and Gabriel, conveyed special messages from God and are the only two whose names are mentioned (1 Thessalonians 1:16 and Luke 1:18). We read that an angel helped Jesus as he prayed in Gethsemane before his crucifixion (Luke 22:43) and angels announced that Jesus had risen from the dead (Luke 24:4-7).

Angels do not die but we know that Satan and his crew will be destroyed for ever at the last Judgement (Matthew 25:41). Many of God's people today experience help in trying circumstances which have proven to them God's protection by his ministering angels.

Dear Lord, thank you for the help of your angels. Amen.

God's Holy People

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 26th August 2022

Passage: Colossians 1:1-2

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It would be a very bold person who would describe himself or herself as a holy person. But that is exactly what a Christian is called to be; indeed that is what a Christian is in one sense, because the word' holy' means being set apart for God.

But we usually think of the word when we are describing the kind of person a Christian 'looks like'; the way he or she lives out the Christian life day by day. You may not be conscious of it as you go about your daily living, whether it be at home, work, school or wherever but it is very important what you 'look like'! What other people gather from the way you speak, the way you do your work, the way you react to those around you, is going to tell people what kind of person you really are.

When Paul was writing to the Ephesian Christians, he said "You used to live just like the rest of the world..." (Ephesians 2:2). But when we become Christians things change — we change. The 'things of the world' no longer occupy the place they once did for us — indeed many of these 'things' have no place in a Christian's life at all.

But the Christian's life is full of very positive and beautiful characteristics as Paul tells us in Galatians 5:22-23: ...affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart and much more. Being a holy person means we reflect the likeness of Jesus.

Dear Lord, sometimes I feel very unholy. Help me to become more like the Lord Jesus and to show this by the way I live. Amen.

Are We Really Serious About Following Jesus?

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 25th August 2022

Passage: Matthew 10:38

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In a very famous speech in the House of Commons in 1940, at the height of World War 2, Winston Churchill said "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." That saying has gone down in history to describe a really serious situation a person may get into — the only way out is through "blood, toil, tears and sweat."

That is what our Lord Jesus is telling us the cost of following him may very well bring to us. "Taking up the cross" must have sent shivers through the hearts of those to whom Jesus first said these words — they were like a death sentence. So many of those early Christians and so many since then paid that extreme cost as they faithfully followed Christ.

Putting Jesus first in our lives leaves us open to all sorts of opposition and possible rejection even by our own relatives and friends. But that is the reality if we are seriously following Jesus faithfully. It also means we should be very clear about that cost if we are to become a Christian. It isn't just case of being "nice" to people; it is an honest handing over of our life to Jesus and being prepared for anything that might follow.

Of course along with the cost there is the "crown", whether in this life or the life to come. Jesus himself will be with us each step of the way.

Dear Lord, help me to be a faithful follower of yours, come what may. Amen.

Living To Please God

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 24th August 2022

Passage: 1 Thessalonians 4:1

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One of the prayers I pray to God every morning is this: "Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more." It is both a challenge and a privilege to live to please God. We are so keen to live to please ourselves; we are very selfish at times and get upset if things don't go our way.

But the Christian's life is characterised by some really tough decisions resulting in us becoming more and more like Jesus Christ — and that will be pleasing to God. Here are some examples: "Keep your mind and your heart clean and pure. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing." 1 Peter 1:14 (The Message).

Remember God is holy and he wants you to be holy (set apart for him). Again we should consciously be asking 'What would Jesus do?' When we are faced with difficult choices like drinking, clubbing, friends and so on. Always ask yourself "Can I take Jesus with me if I do such and such a thing?" "What would please God?"

Another thing is to watch your tongue. We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way. "Don't brag about the good you do" "If you are wise and understand God's ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth." (James 3:2-13, NLT)

My dear Lord, help me to live a life that pleases you more and more. Amen.

Wages Or Gift?

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 23rd August 2022

Passage: Romans 6:23

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Roman soldiers could be seen everywhere in the time the New Testament was written and the Apostle Paul would have seen many of them in his many travels. Paul often refers to the soldiers, to their training and their equipment. Here in Romans 6:23, Paul mentions two types of money which the troops received. He does this in order to teach us a very serious and important lesson.

Paul writes about the wages of sin. The word for wages he uses was the word for the ordinary pay a Roman soldier received — it was his due, that what he had earned. If we choose to keep on sinning as an unbeliever then we get our due, which Paul says is death.

But there is this other word — the gift. When a Roman Emperor had a birthday or some other great celebration he gave his soldiers a free gift — he gave it out of the goodness of his heart. Paul says this is what we receive from God when we believe — his (free) gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Isn't that really wonderful?

We get our due wage if we remain sinners but we are given the amazing gift of God when we come to trust in Jesus. Surely, surely it is so much better to accept God's gift of life with him for ever than to work away at a life that will only earn you death for ever ?

Dear Lord, I thank you for the gift of life with you for ever through what Jesus has done for me. Amen.

Something Both Bitter And Sweet

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 22nd August 2022

Passage: Revelation 10:9

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When we were children, one of our favourite sweets was 'soor plums'. They were hard sweets (boilings) that were both sweet and sour at the same time.

There are places in the Old Testament and here in the New Testament where we read that God's Word can be bitter and sweet at the same time. In Revelation chapter 10, John the Apostle has a vision of a great and obviously special angel who was sent to John for him to take and eat a small scroll. The scroll obviously contained the word of God and by 'eating' it John was to really take it upon himself to live by this word and also to tell other people what God wanted them to know.

When we come to believe God's word and tell others about Christ this can be sweet indeed. The word is true it is food to our souls and it gives us real joy. However the bitterness can come in two ways. One way is when we disobey that word ourselves and go away from God even for a little time. We become bitter in our spirit.

But we feel bitterness of soul also when we tell people about Jesus and they reject the message and go on in their sin. This makes us truly sad. It is a sadness that Jesus himself felt when people turned away from him.

Dear Lord, thank you for how sweet the name of Jesus is to my soul. I pray that you will keep me near to you and faithful in telling others about you even if I suffer the bitterness of rejection. Amen.

If

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 21st August 2022

Passage: 2 Chronicles 7:14

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Sometimes very small words are really important. The little word 'if' is one of these. In 2 Chronicles chapter 6, King Solomon used the word six or seven times in his prayer to God. But now in chapter 7, God uses the word as he answers Solomon's prayer. There are times when it is wrong for us to say to God "I will do such and such a thing for you if you will do this for me". We don't lay down conditions to God. It is God's place to lay down conditions to us.

In this chapter 7 of 2 Chronicles God said to Solomon that when the land would suffer from drought or was attacked by a swarm of locusts or there was a plague among the people (and all of this was because they had sinned) then if the people prayed God would hear.

This is a very important lesson for us to learn. We all sin in one way or another. This is true personally but also true at a national level. But if we repent and turn from our sin and pray, then God will hear from heaven forgive our sin and heal our land. How desperately we need to take that to heart at the present time!

Our broken society needs to come to God, confess our sin, repent of it, and leave it. Only then can we expect God to forgive us and bless us.

Dear Lord, give us a repentant heart and forgive our sin we pray. Amen.

Quartus

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 20th August 2022

Passage: Romans 16:23

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I really feel sorry for Quartus! When you look at the different translations of the words at the end of Paul's letter to the Romans it looks as if the translators tried their best for Quartus. My Study Bible says 'of Quartus nothing is known'. One of the older versions of the Bible simply says 'Quartus a brother'. But the ' a 'should really be 'the' - Quartus the brother. Some even suggest Quartus may have been a brother of Erastus but that is unclear. Some versions translate the words as 'a Christian brother' or 'our good friend Quartus'. At any rate he was sending his greetings to his fellow Christians in Rome. Judging from his name he was probably a slave maybe employed by Erastus. We just don't know.

But the point is this: Quartus was a Christian. Whether he was prominent or not in the congregation where Paul was at the time (Ephesus) is not important. He belonged to Christ; he was a brother in Christ to all the other members of the church and that made him as special as all the other members.

Usually our congregations have quite a variety of people in them and we may be tempted to think some are more important than others. That would be wrong. In one sense God has no favourites he loves every one of his people and he knows everything about them.

Dear Lord, please help me to treat every Christian as special. Amen.