Walk With Me - Devotionals

We Are Building Day By Day

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 30th June 2022

Passage: Nehemiah 2:17

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On my desk there is a magazine, and on the front page is a picture of a large castle. The castle is surrounded by a deep moat and there are high walls and towers all round it. It must have been a safe place to take refuge from invading enemies. The city of Jerusalem once had high walls surrounding it but these walls were not good enough to stand up to the mighty armies that attacked the city more than 2500 years ago. The walls were all broken down.

When Nehemiah was appointed governor of the city he set about repairing much of the city that had been in ruins for a long time, especially the walls. "Come," he said, "Let's build the wall of Jerusalem." And that is what happened, and it gave the people a great sense of joy and security to see the city with good walls again.

The New Testament is full of references to building and builders, all of them telling us about either the church of Jesus Christ as a 'building' or else as each of us as builders, building our lives day by day. If we are wise builders we will have Jesus Christ as the very foundation of our lives. Then day by day we can build up our life of faith and trust in him by learning more of the Bible and applying it to the way we speak to people and act towards them. Our lives will become stronger as Christians so that we can stand up to the attacks of the devil.

Lord Jesus, give me the courage of Nehemiah to build a strong Christian life. Amen.

Blowing My Trumpet!

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 29th June 2022

Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:31

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We don't need to learn how to boast — it comes naturally. We boast about our favourite football teams, or about our skill at doing this or that. The truth is we really like to boast about something — we like to blow our own trumpet!

Paul the Apostle was often given to boasting or glorying, as it is often translated in some Bibles. The words mean the same thing. When Paul boasted about himself it was to make fun of himself - "boasting like a fool," as he writes in 2 Corinthians 11. But Paul loved to boast in Jesus Christ. In Galatians 6:14 Paul wrote, "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ..." The Lord Jesus was Paul's hero and he loved boasting about him and about all that he had done for him.

Many centuries ago a man named Ambrose was the leader of the church in the city of Milan. He was a fine Christian teacher. One of his good sayings was this: "I will glory (boast), not because I am righteous, but because I am redeemed. I will glory, not because I am free from sins but because my sins are forgiven me." Paul would have agreed wholeheartedly with Ambrose. So are we going to boast? Certainly not about ourselves. Of course we can cheer on our sporting heroes. But let us boast in the Lord Jesus for who he is and for what he has done for us.

Dear Lord Jesus, may I never tire of boasting in you. Amen.

The Glory Of God

Reader: Calum Cameron

Date: 28th June 2022

Passage: Psalm 19:1

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The glory of God! It is good for us to remember just who God is and the majestic glory that belongs to him. We too often seem to take him for granted and just because we cannot see him with our eyes we tend to have a rather 'hazy' feeling about him. This psalm reminds us of two great truths about God which should always be kept in our minds.

First of all we should acknowledge the fact that God is the Creator of our world. "The heavens declare his glory" - the immensity and beauty of the sky should lift our eyes, our minds, our hearts upward in adoration and praise. The word 'glory' is a weighty word helping us to understand the power, the holiness and the sheer almightiness of God. He is gloriously unique.

The second great truth the Psalm teaches us is that the glorious God made himself known to us in a way we can understand — he has given us his law. This is not something to frighten us but to teach us — it is perfect and good, and for those who acknowledge God as their God, his law is a sheer delight and a sure pathway to live life well. It even makes the simple among us wise!

"May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." Amen. (Psalm 19:14)

As A Christian Should I Give Away Everything I Own?

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 27th June 2022

Passage: Acts 2:45

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This verse has caused quite a lot of worry to Christians over the years! Does it mean that, if I am a Christian, I should sell everything I own and give the proceeds to the poor? Is that what the Bible is telling me to do ?The answer is 'no', but to look carefully at your attitude to what you possess.

Poverty, real poverty, was very common in Israel at the time of the New Testament. This was especially true in Galilee. So the Christians sold what they could in order to help the poor people among them. Those who had houses obviously did not sell them because we read that the Christians gathered in each others' homes for fellowship, food and the Lord's Supper.

Christians today have to consider very carefully their attitude to possessions and the temptation to live in such a way that we do not think of the poor in our own country or in other lands. It is easy for us to become possessed by our possessions and to buy things that in all honesty we don't need and could easily do without. Prosperity must never become an end in itself but rather something to be use for the good of others. When our minds are set on things in this world we tend to forget to make a priority of heavenly things.

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank you that through you we become rich in every spiritual blessing. Amen.

Jesus' First Miracle

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 26th June 2022

Passage: John 2:11

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John always calls Jesus' miracles 'signs'. They all point to some important aspect of his work in salvation which brings glory to God. It may seem strange to us that this miracle was Jesus' first and that he was so quiet about it. But then, Jesus was Jesus; he acted according to his own ways and always with a deep purpose in view.

Jesus and his disciples were at a wedding when the supply of wine ran out. The miracle which Jesus did at this time was to turn the water in six big stone jars into wine. This wine was obviously much better than the wine the wedding guests had had earlier. This was a lot of wine but wedding feasts in those days often went on for a whole week.

The miracle had three effects:

Firstly it saved the host of the wedding feast a great embarrassment.

Secondly the miracle confirmed to Jesus' disciples that Jesus really was who he said he was, the Son of Man, which was a way of saying he was the Son of God.

And the third thing — always what the signs or miracles pointed to — was the glory of heaven that truly belonged to Jesus.

Dear Lord Jesus, I pray that I may rejoice in the glory of who you are. Amen.

The Lord Is My Rock

Reader: Calum Cameron

Date: 25th June 2022

Passage: Psalm 18:2

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Years ago in Israel we took a cable-car to the top of Masada. Masada is a huge flat-topped hill rising abruptly from the desert floor near the Dead Sea. We can't tell if David actually hid on this rocky mountain but the word he uses in Psalm 18, when he called God his rock, literally says "God is my Masada!" So whether David ever did go to the large rock in the desert we will probably never know. But what we do know is that David found God to be the safest 'place' he could go — his precious rock, Masada, to which he could run when his enemies chased and hated him.

The great thing is that we too can run to God in our times of trouble and distress. God is our "Masada" just as he was to David. When we are Christians we are encouraged to cast all our cares or worries on the Lord because he cares so much for us. Later on, in Psalm 55:22, David says, "Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you." In the New Testament the message is the same, when Peter says: "Casting all your anxieties on him (God), because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

Isn't it such a wonderful thing to have our own great Masada — God our Rock - to which we can come in all the hard times of our life and find comfort, encouragement, love and mercy? No wonder David could say: "I love you, O Lord, my strength... my rock." (Psalm 18:1)

Dear Lord, help me to find my safety in you during the hard times. Amen.

I Saw The Lord

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 24th June 2022

Passage: Isaiah 6:1

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What an amazing vision Isaiah the prophet received when he saw the Lord God on his throne in the heavens. It was such an awesome sight that I am quite sure it remained with Isaiah for the rest of his life, and most certainly would have impressed him with the glory and majesty of God.

You know, it is really worth our time to spend some moments every day just thinking about who God is and what he is like. It is easy for us to forget just how glorious God is, just how powerful God, is just how holy God is. And it is worth remembering too that God knows us personally, just as he knew Isaiah.

Notice what Isaiah felt like when he saw God: "Woe is me," he said, "For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips... for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts." (Isaiah 6:5) How would you feel coming face to face with the holy God? I'm sure we would (and should) feel unclean, and as we remembered all the bad things we have said and done, we would feel ashamed. But Isaiah found that God was able to make him clean. In mercy his guilt was taken away and he became useful to God to tell people all that God wanted them to know.

Lord, in your mercy, make me clean and remind me of your holiness. Amen.

Hold Your Tongue

Reader: Kathryn Martin

Date: 23rd June 2022

Passage: James 3:6

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"Hold your tongue!" Sometimes that was said as a rebuke by a parent to a cheeky child but it is also a good piece of advice for all of us. James, who wrote the letter from which the verse above is taken, has some really sound advice about what we speak. He knows very well how our words can hurt people or can tell things that should be kept private. As Christians we have to be especially careful about the words we speak. One reason for this is that our words show the kind of people we are. The Apostle Paul said, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23) Do our words always show that kind of character? It makes you think, doesn't it?

James, in his letter, shows us very clearly just what a real mess can be caused by a 'loose' tongue; words that don't reflect the fruit of the Spirit. These words can be boastful, they can spread like a fire and cause much hurt and damage.

The book of Proverbs is full of advice for us to listen and hear what wise people are saying to us — listen before we speak! James says, "Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger..." (James 1:19) So, let us hold our tongue until we are sure that what we are saying is true.

Dear Lord, help me to watch my tongue so that what I speak will be truly like Jesus. Amen.

Having Good Success Wherever You Go

Reader: Calum Cameron

Date: 22nd June 2022

Passage: Joshua 1:7

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Wouldn't it be great if everything we tried to do turned out really well? If you are a baker you would have no more flat cakes; if you are a student you would have an A+ every time; if you are a footballer you would never miss a goal - 'good success wherever you go'. Joshua could say at the end of his life: "Not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord has promised concerning you." (Joshua 23:14)

But along the way he experienced failures — not because God was not able to make things turn out all right, but because the people disobeyed God's instructions, or Joshua himself didn't ask God for his help and advice before he acted. Yet God was faithful and he did what he promised, and at the last Joshua and his people were secure and happy in their own land.

We too may find that things don't turn out the way we wanted. This may be due to our own disobedience to God, or to other people's opposition to our Christian beliefs, or just because God has something big to teach us through our troubles. God knows all about it, and he cares for us. So even those bad times of disappointment or sorrow may be turned to good as we learn to lean and trust on the Lord every moment of the day.

Heavenly Father, help me to lean on you for your help and advice for every thing I do in my day. Amen.

The Apple Of God's Eye

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 21st June 2022

Passage: Psalm 17:8

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When David, who wrote many of the psalms, asked God to keep him as the 'apple of his eye' it shows just what a close and homely relationship he had with God. He knew that although there were many difficult problems in his life, yet he could trust God to help him to deal with them. God would keep an eye on him and protect him.

The 'apple of the eye' refers to the pupil of the eye, the most sensitive part of the eye, indeed of the whole body. When someone calls you the apple of their eye it means you are really special to that person. Early on in the Bible, in Deuteronomy 32:10, God says that his people Israel were kept as 'the apple of his eye', and David wants that special and secure relationship with God to be his too.

It is a really great thing to know God in such a way that we can speak to him as David did and be sure that God loves and cares for us because we are special to him. And of course every follower of the Lord Jesus is special to God — He loves us, cares about us, keeps his eye upon us and he will never let us go. That means we should enjoy speaking to God in prayer, sharing our thoughts with him, speaking to him as David did about all the things we don't understand and which cause us problems. God answers our prayers. He speaks to us in the Bible and through his people.

Dear Lord, keep me as the apple of your eye, for Jesus' sake. Amen.