Walk With Me - Devotionals

Does Your Heart Ache Like This?

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 10th July 2022

Passage: Romans 9:2

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Paul had an aching heart. He was a Jew who had come to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Master, recognising Jesus as the promised Messiah from God. But, apart from a small number, the Jewish people rejected Jesus and handed him over to be crucified. Paul longed for his fellow Jews to repent and to believe in the Lord Jesus; he was even willing to be cast off from the Lord himself if it might mean that the Jewish people would come to Christ. "They're my family; I grew up with them" he said. His heart ached because they stubbornly rejected Jesus.

I'm sure we all have relatives, people dear to us, who have not yet come to the Lord Jesus in repentance and faith. Does this matter to us? Do we really, really care that these people we love so much are on the road to everlasting lostness away from God? Is your heart aching because of their unbelief? I speak to myself as I write these words and am challenged by them.

It mattered deeply to Paul as he thought about so many of his fellow Jews who were lost — lost in spite of all the spiritual advantages they had. Maybe your friends have also had many spiritual advantages but they still reject the Saviour.

Pray for them now and speak to them about this when you can.

Dear Lord, I do plead for those I love so much, that they may come to know your salvation. Amen.

Opposition

Reader: Tom Muir

Date: 9th July 2022

Passage: Ezra 4:4

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Almost every day we get messages on the internet telling of bad things happening to Christians in so many countries throughout our troubled world. Churches are burned down, homes destroyed, Christians put in prisons, others lose their jobs. It seems the world hates the followers of Jesus.

Two of the Old Testament books Ezra and Nehemiah tell about the situation in Jerusalem when God's people began returning from their many years as prisoners in Babylon. One of the first things they wanted to do when they got back was to rebuild the temple which had been destroyed years before. But we are told that the people who had been settled in Jerusalem when the Jews had been banished tried to stop the temple being rebuilt. They tried to 'discourage and frighten' the people. How do you deal with situations like that?

How do we deal with opposition as we try to live as Christians in a non-Christian world? The people who opposed the rebuilding of the temple were called 'adversaries' - a word from which the word Satan comes. This means we must at all times pray for God's help. The rebuilding work went ahead in fits and starts. Patience was needed and also perseverance. Opposition will come but God's work will ultimately prevail. The temple was rebuilt.

Almighty God, we pray that your Kingdom will be established throughout the world in spite of the opposition from Satan. Amen.

Count Your Blessings

Reader: Angus Macdonald

Date: 8th July 2022

Passage: Psalm 21:3

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When we pray our prayers are so often filled with requests. We keep asking God for his help his guidance our 'daily bread' and so on.

Psalm 21, a psalm of David shows us a good corrective to our always asking God to give us things. David takes stock of where he is and begins to sing a song of thanksgiving to God. He began to count his blessings which God had given him — he says "You meet him with rich blessings".

David had become a king and there were certain things he needed to be a successful king and God supplied all of them. We of course will have different needs but have you taken some time just to look at what God has given to you; how he has answered your prayers and have you thanked him?

One has said, "A thankful heart has a continual feast". That is very true because thankfulness really spreads happiness and contentment into our lives. The apostle Paul (when in prison) said "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). Paul was a great believer in giving thanks and what a difference that made to his life in spite of all the trials he endured! In Psalm 21 King David showed that same spirit of thankfulness.

Dear Lord, help me to have a heart spilling over with gratitude for the many blessings I receive from you day by day. Amen.

A Tough Call

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 7th July 2022

Passage: Luke 6:27-28

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Our Lord Jesus Christ himself showed us how this command should be put into action. Jesus wept over the refusal of the people of Jerusalem to believe his message just as they had refused to believe God's messengers the prophets in the past. Indeed they killed several of them just as they were going to do to Christ himself. Yet he loved them and prayed for them, even on the cross.

The followers of Jesus had to learn just how hard it was to love their enemies as they went out to preach the Gospel. Many of the apostles were killed. Paul suffered beatings, stoning and ultimately a cruel death. This has been a pattern throughout history. It is no different today for many of God's people. The world hates them and abuses them.

Jesus did have harsh word for those who blasphemed against God but he did not let hatred eat into his own heart. That is a very important thing to remember. Hatred destroys us if we give way to it. When people despise you for being a Christian and living in a Christian way pray for them love them in spite of what they think of you "This is the kind of life you've been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived." 1 Peter 2:21 (The Message)

Dear Lord Jesus, I confess that I find it hard to love those who despise you and despise me as your follower. Give me the grace to love and pray for them. Amen.

Fellowship

Reader: Tom Muir

Date: 6th July 2022

Passage: Acts 2:42

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Fellowship is one of the great words in the Christian vocabulary. Think for a moment of a building going up and the bricklayer puts one brick on another and so on but suppose he didn't use cement. Very quickly the whole building would become unstable. The cement was vital to holding the building together. Fellowship is the cement that binds Christians together. If there is no real Christian fellowship in a congregation then that congregation is in deep trouble — it will collapse.

The Christians in the early church 'lived in a wonderful harmony' Acts 2:42 (The Message) and that is what we must want to have in our congregations too. There are many things that can prevent 'wonderful harmony' among Christians - for example, trying to bring ungodly things into the church or Christians taking part in ungodly practices with unbelievers.

But true fellowship can be seen when Christians love one another, help one another, pray for one another and with joy join with one another in the worship of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ. There is also a bond of faith with Christians who may worship in other churches different from our own. True fellowship is grounded in our love and obedience to Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord, help me to love the fellowship of your people. Amen.

The Glory Of The Lord

Reader: Angus Macdonald

Date: 5th July 2022

Passage: Exodus 40:34

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In the city where we live we are used to fireworks displays flood lit buildings and spectacular structures giving beautiful and bright displays of light.

The book of Exodus tells us that God made his presence known to his people by a special cloud by day and a fire by night and by a very special light which filled the place of worship into which the people would come to meet with God. This special light is described as the' glory of the Lord'. It must have been an awesome experience to have this spectacular light in the very centre of the place where the people of Israel camped on their journey to the Promised Land.

Many years after this this divine light shone in a different way. We read in 2 Corinthians 4:6 of 'the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ' (NLT). So God has come to us in the very person of the Lord Jesus. Glorious!

But we also read that the Holy Spirit — the Spirit of the glorious presence of Jesus Christ lives in us if we are Christians (2 Timothy 1:14). Now we not only read about the glory of God, but something of that glory has come to direct our lives and light up the way that we should live. That indeed is glorious!

Dear Lord, May the light of your glory be seen in my life today. Amen.

The Authority Of Jesus

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 4th July 2022

Passage: Matthew 7:28

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Authority! The very idea of authority can make some people react against it. We don't like being told what to do!

Jesus was often challenged about the things he did or said. People in the time of Jesus, just as in our time had a very negative view of authority.

However, wherever Jesus went people just had to recognise that there was an aura of authority about him. When Jesus taught the people they listened to his words because he spoke as one who had authority(Luke 4:32)

Jesus showed by his miraculous power that he had authority to forgive sin (Matthew 9:6). We find that with his authority even the winds and the waves on Galilee obeyed him (Mark 4:39 - 41). And he gave his twelve apostles power over unclean spirits to cast them out and heal people (Matthew 10:1). After his resurrection he said that all authority belonged to him and that he sent his church to take the gospel to all the world.

Now all of this is of real importance for us. Because Jesus Christ has such authority we must take his words seriously — they are for us. Remember he has the authority and power to forgive our sins. He also sends us out to tell others that he can do that for them too. Thank God for the authority of Jesus.

Dear Lord, I bow before your authority. Help me to obey you. Amen.

Pray For Your Leaders

Reader: Tom Muir

Date: 3rd July 2022

Passage: Psalm 20:4

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We all love to grumble at our politicians — even if we voted for them at election times! Of course they are just ordinary people like ourselves. Like us they make mistakes, they have to make decisions about important matters and like us too they need to listen to what other people are saying. Above all our leaders need God's help and we have a duty to pray for them.

Psalm 20 is a great example of people praying for their leader — in their case they were praying for their king as he was setting off to go to war. In the New Testament the Apostle Paul tells us that we should pray for our leaders - rulers and all who are in high positions. Many of those people may not trust God for themselves they may even be quite anti — Christian(as they were in Paul's day) but then we need to pray for them all the more! When leaders are good leaders and exercise their authority wisely then we will be able to live a "peaceable and godly life, dignified in every way" (1 Timothy 2:2-3)

In our own country we are thankful that we have freedom to worship God and to tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that our leaders will always allow this to be the case . Let us remember the many Christians living in countries where there is persecution and suffering and very little freedom to worship God.

Dear Lord, help me to be faithful in praying for the leaders of our land. Amen.

It Comes With A Guarantee

Reader: Angus Macdonald

Date: 2nd July 2022

Passage: 2 Corinthians 1:22

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When you buy anything of value it nearly always comes with a guarantee. The maker's guarantee is his pledge that what you have bought works if not it will be replaced.

When we come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we find that our salvation is a great work of God's grace and mercy. It is not something we have deserved - after all he only saves sinners! And when God saves us this comes with a guarantee. Indeed he gives us a double guarantee. First of all he puts his seal on us — that declares that we belong to him. Then he gives us his pledge or guarantee that what he promises will truly be ours. God does this by giving us the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts to help us day by day to live in a Christian way and to keep us looking forward to the life in God's nearer presence when we die. That life will be the wonderful fullness or completion of what life here as a Christian will be like.

Now this should be of great comfort and encouragement to us when we are facing difficulties — perhaps physical pain or the sadness of a loved one's death. The grace and the love of God never changes. The hard times don't mean we don't belong to him any more or that he is not pleased with us. His seal and his guarantee remain. We are his for keeps!

Lord, help me always to keep in step with the Spirit you have given to me. Amen.

A Hard Place To Live In

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 1st July 2022

Passage: Revelation 2:12-13

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Pergamum must have been a difficult place for a Christian to live in . It was a city of idols being home to four of the most important pagan cults in the ancient Roman world with all the influence and all the common immorality that went along with these pagan rituals. Pergamum was also the first city to build a temple for the worship of the Roman Emperor in 29 BC. From that time Roman Emperors claimed to be divine and had to be worshipped. Failure to do this often lead to the death of those who refused and many Christians were put to death for that reason. That is the reason we read in Jesus' letter to Pergamum: "I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is". This was a reference to the blasphemous claims of the Emperor to be divine. In Jesus' letter to Pergamum there is a mention of one Christian who was martyred there and in later years history tells us there were several more Christians put to death in that city. Truly Satan's influence was very strong and you had to be brave to stand up and be counted as a follower of King Jesus. This presents a real challenge to us today. Are we prepared to stand up for Jesus against the evil things that happen around us? To keep silent when we should speak out for the Lord is betraying the memory of brave men and women of the past(and present) who gave their lives rather than worship anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord, give me courage to be a true witness for you. Amen.