Walk With Me - Devotionals

Our Perfect Example

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 20th December 2022

Passage: 1 Peter 2:21

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Yesterday we were thinking about slates or papyrus which were used in former years to write things in school or, in the case of those who used papyrus, to write letters or documents. Today we go back to the school-room, to Primary 1 in fact! When I was in Primary 1 we were given books with letters which we had to copy. Gradually we became able to write the letters without the copy-book, but to begin with we needed the example letters and we had to be careful or else the teacher would become upset! In the verse at the top of today's page we find the word example - it was the very word use for helping children to learn to write at the time the New Testament was written. The Apostle Peter used this word (the only time it is used in the New Testament) to teach us about suffering. Christians expected suffering in those far-off times just as very many Christians endure suffering in our time. In this, as in every way, the Lord Jesus is our perfect example and we should follow in his steps. The old hymn states "Some will hate thee, some will love thee; Some will flatter, some will slight; Cease from man and look above thee: Trust in God and do the right." (Norman Macleod)

We look above to Jesus — he is our Example and we need to follow in his steps.

Dear Lord, you knew suffering and rejection. Please help me when I have to endure rejection and mockery for your sake. Give me courage, Amen.

A Clean Slate

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 19th December 2022

Passage: Colossians 2:14

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If you were as old as I am you would remember, as I do, learning to write on a slate tablet in school. One of the advantages of a slate was that it could be wiped clean and then used again and again. I don't think the Apostle Paul used a slate when he went to school but we do know that many people in his time wrote letters and even books using papyrus. One of the advantages of papyrus was that you could wipe it clean and use it again — if it was washed carefully there would be no trace of what had been written there.

Paul, in this verse in Colossians, tells us an amazing fact about what Jesus has done for us if we are Christians. He writes about an "arrest warrant" or a written statement of a debt we owed. But that warrant or statement of debt has been wiped clean — like the slate or papyrus, there is no trace of it any more. The debt was our sin, all of it, and Jesus has wiped it clean so that God does not see it anymore — it is gone for ever. I find that absolutely wonderful, don't you? It is even more wonderful, if that is possible, because of what it cost Jesus to do all of that for us — it is by his death on the cross. He paid our debt so that we are now debt-free. What a Saviour we have!

"Jesus paid it all, All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow." (Elvina Hall)

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for your wonderful love and grace to us who don't deserve it. Amen

Patience

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 18th December 2022

Passage: 1 Corinthians 13:4

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I'm quite sure that by this time, in families where there are young children, the question will be asked "How many sleeps till Christmas?" Patience is not one of the virtues enjoyed by young children. But we adults may find patience is not something that comes easily to us either. When Paul says that "love is patient", he is telling us about something that is really beautiful and is also quite counter-cultural in today's world.

Patience is a great characteristic of the Lord himself. In Romans 2:4, Paul speaks of the patience of God and here in 1 Corinthians 13:4, the Apostle tells us that this kind of patience is so unlike what you find among worldly people. In the world in which Paul lived, patience was not a virtue. People would refuse to tolerate any insult or injury. But Christian patience did not react with anger in such circumstances. Christian patience is 'wedded' to love and love to patience — they are a great couple! When we read "love is patient" it means "it never gives up" (The Message) . There is an optimism in it that is going to seek the best for someone even if it takes a long time.

"Love is patient" - it is in that spirit that God himself has dealt with us. Not many people rush to follow Jesus the very first time they hear the Gospel. But in patient love God allows us to hear the Gospel over and over again until we come to believe in Jesus. Thank God for such patience!

How we thank you, O Lord, for your love which has brought us to trust in Jesus, Amen.

Is God Just An 'Add-On' In Your Life?

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 17th December 2022

Passage: Matthew 6:24

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I speak to myself when I think about these words of Jesus. He is talking about people trying to serve two masters at the same time. On the one hand we who are Christians do want to serve God. We follow him, we thank him for all he has done for us through the Lord Jesus, and we genuinely place great value on heavenly things. So far so good! But — and it is a big but — we also, if we are honest with ourselves, love what is here called money. The word really means more than just money. It means that in which we trust. That raises a big question: do we really trust in money/wealth/property/the things that we buy?

When Jesus speaks about serving, he is using the kind of service a slave gave to a master — the slave had to do the master's will. We wouldn't like to think that we served the material things in life like that would we? Yet I think that very often we treat God as an 'add-on' in our lives and just get on with living in much the same way as the rest of folk around us, just as secular in most of our ways — except that we go to church!

So we must give ourselves a check-up every now and then to take seriously how we are serving God. An 'add-on' attitude must never be true of our Christian walk as we think of what Jesus has done for us. He and only he must be our Master served in love.

Lord, I don't trust my sinful heart. Please help me to reject the things I so often put before you in my life. Amen.

Big Bullies!

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 16th December 2022

Passage: Proverbs 21:24

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Bullying is a problem, a serious problem, whether at school, work or even at home. In recent times, with the advent of the social media, bullying can become very frightening and has even led to some young people committing suicide. Sometimes Christians suffer bullying because of their beliefs and may be rejected by peers at school or by work-mates. This can be very hurtful indeed.

As a Christian, you may suffer bullying because your lifestyle may be very different from those around you, your language may be different — no swearing or telling lies or listening to dirty stories. You may also find that your lifestyle is actually 'showing up' the shallowness and unhappiness of those around you, so that they want to hurt you for making them ashamed.

How then do you deal with the bullying? First of all, don't be afraid to speak about it at home or with a trusted Christian friend or, if appropriate, to a staff member. Don't bottle it up in yourself. Secondly pray about it. Pray for the bully or bullies. They may be very unhappy people although they are "mockers and proud and haughty people acting with boundless arrogance". Often that is a mask over their own insecurity. Cut off social media if that is threatening you. Seek out Christian friends.

I need your help to be a courageous Christian, O Lord, when faced with the hurtful behaviour of others. Amen.

The Marks Of A Christian's Life

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 15th December 2022

Passage: 2 Peter 3:11

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There is an old saying that "We are the sinners' Bible, we are the scoffers' creed". In our day, when so many people do not go to church, that saying is really very important. The only contact many people may have with Christianity is you! Someone has said that a 'saint' is someone who makes it easy to believe in God. A life that has certain 'marks', a certain character and personality that mark him or her out as special is the kind of person God wants us to be. Peter mentions two special words in writing about the Christians he had in mind. They should be holy and godly. The word 'holy' sums up the kind of life we should be living — clean and pure in mind thoughts and words. The word 'godly' refers to the attitude we have to God — an attitude of humility and reverence that shows just how great and how good God is.

In one of his poems, Robert Burns wrote: "O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us, To see oursels as others see us!" So if you are a Christian, how do you think others see you? Can others see Christ in you? Can they see holiness and godliness in you? These are very challenging and personal words. I speak to myself as well. We must be signposts pointing people to Jesus. God bless you as you do that!

Lord, I know I can't be a good and true Christian without your help. Please live in me so that your life will shine through me. Amen.

Does It Really Matter What I Believe?

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 14th December 2022

Passage: John 14:6

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I was reading today about a Presbyterian church in America where about 10% of those who attend may be Jewish, atheists or agnostics. They are admitted into membership as "Associate Members of the Church" and even those who are full members don't need to believe the fundamentals of the Christian faith.

While we must, and do, always welcome all who come to church, it is quite another thing to admit people to membership in the church if they do not believe in the authority of the Bible and the whole teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. It does matter what you believe and the church would be doing a bad thing if it said to anybody that you can believe what you like and still be considered a member of the church.

You see, Jesus makes very serious claims in the Gospels such as the verse at the top of the page. There Jesus says he, and only he, is the way by which we can come to God and find the truth and the life that is acceptable to God. No doubt there are many people who enjoy the warmth and companionship that they can find in church, but church is more than a social club — it is a gathering of people to worship God; and to worship him acceptably, we need to believe and follow the teaching of Jesus.

O Lord, it is vital that I believe your word — help me to put it into practice too. Amen

Christian Trials

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 13th December 2022

Passage: Psalm 49:5

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Almost every day we get news of terrible things happening to Christian people within countries like India, China, in Africa and several Middle Eastern lands. There seems to be no end to suffering that is inflicted upon innocent people simply because they love and serve their Lord, and are different from those in power. For too many people this world must seem a horrible place.

When we think of that it may seem a bit trite to say with the writer of Psalm 49, "Why should I be afraid of bad days?" Very many people are afraid of bad days because they suffer so much. So, was that writer wrong to say what he did? I don't think so — and I will tell you why.

God knows the wrongs and the suffering that people have to put up with and he cares for all his people who are caught up in the conflicts going on in the world. And God has a day when all who practise evil and inflict suffering on others will die, no matter how powerful and rich they may be in this life, and God will then hold them to account. "But God will save my life and will take me from the grave" (v15). That is the assurance of ultimate salvation given to every believer in Jesus. The memory of the pain rejection and persecution will be forever wiped away and God will give the joy and the glory of heaven to those who endured so much on earth in his name.

O Lord I pray now for all those who are suffering because they are Christians. Please keep them strong in their faith and help them. Amen.

Cheating

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 12th December 2022

Passage: Genesis 31:6-7

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The words written by Sir Walter Scott in his poem Marmion are very, very true: "O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive".

The story in the book of Genesis involving Jacob shows a whole web of deceitfulness, cheating and being cheated. You can read the story if you have time in Genesis chapters 27 and onward. Jacob became a practised cheat and he found himself cheated. How true the New Testament words are: "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience" (Ephesians 5:6).

You see, God is the God of truth, he hates lies, he hates cheating, whether it has to do with sexual wrongdoing, family relationships, or religious worship, God hates the sins of cheating and deceitfulness. One result of cheating is that a person has to go on covering up (or trying to cover up) the results of the first time they cheated. It usually gets worse and worse. It becomes like a soiled dirty rag. Telling the truth is always clean, even when it is not always easy. You can be sure God is on your side when you tell the truth and act truthfully and that is a bonus every time. "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord." (Proverbs 12:22)

Make me to act truthfully at all times, O Lord.

Lydia, Whose Heart The Lord Opened

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 11th December 2022

Passage: Acts 16:14

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Women today are in all sorts of top jobs, with a real push for women to take their place at the 'top table' in all kinds of business and professions. Lydia, the woman Paul and Silas met when they went to a Jewish prayer meeting on the banks of the river in Philippi, was a business woman selling top of the range goods and her customers would have been top of the range people. Lydia was from the city of Thyatira which was famous for its luxurious purple cloth.

As Paul and Silas told the Gospel to the few people at the prayer meeting, Lydia's heart warmed to the message about Jesus and we read that "The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul" (v14). Lydia was converted. Her life was changed and her home soon became the meeting place for the Christians in Philippi.

I think it must have been a real encouragement for Paul and Silas as they met with that small group of people to find that the message they brought became such a blessing to Lydia and maybe to the others as well. We are told that Lydia's household — maybe her family and others who worked for her — were baptised as believers. We find God was at work there and he worked through Paul to bring people to faith in Jesus. That's still how it is today.

Pray that as you go to church on Sunday God will open the hearts of people to respond to the Gospel as the minister preaches.