Walk With Me - Devotionals

Lost In Wonder, Love And Praise

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 31st May 2022

Passage: Hebrews 12:2

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If you have ever used a microscope you will know how it helps you to concentrate on something that may be very small, leaving out other things that don't concern you at the time.

In the same way if you use binoculars to look at something far away, you ignore all that is near in order to get the focus on something far away, perhaps a special castle or a wild animal or whatever. When that object comes into view you look at it intently.

When the writer of the book of Hebrews wrote to encourage the Christians of his day, many of whom had had a hard time as they followed Christ he wanted them to have one object in view. He advised them to look to Jesus. His words are very emphatic — gaze upon Christ, cut out all the things that can distract us and discourage us — just keep looking to Christ The writer gives good reason for us to look to Jesus — he is the foundation of our faith, he is the "completer" of our faith he is the one who died for us and endured all the shame and suffering that involved; and it was all for us.

So when we feel discouraged or tempted by things that are not pleasing to God, let us focus our attention on the Lord Jesus and, as the hymn puts it, 'the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace'.

Dear Lord Jesus, I am surely 'lost in wonder, love and praise' as I look to you. Amen.

Precious Words

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 30th May 2022

Passage: Psalm 12:6

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For some years in Edinburgh there was a jeweller's shop which was called 'Fabulous Fakes'. Jewellery that looked a if it was studded with diamonds or rubies was in reality just studded with clever look-alikes of little real value.

In Psalm 12 the writer David felt surrounded by people who claimed great thing for themselves and made great boasts of what they could do and they seemed to pour contempt on godly people. But these people were like the 'fabulous fakes'; their words were of little value. Indeed David says, 'Everyone utters lies to his neighbour'.

But in the middle of all this evil there were words which David could trust - genuine, precious words. These were the words of God. They were precious like the purest silver because they were true and David could trust them and be encouraged by them.

God has given us his precious words in the Bible. He says, "Every part of Scripture (the Bible) is God-breathed and useful one way or another — showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 The Message)

Dear Lord, thank you that your words are genuinely precious, true words. Amen.

Are You Listening?

Reader: Una Davis

Date: 29th May 2022

Passage: Revelation 2:7

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Do you find that very often when you are speaking to someone you realise that they are not really listening to you? Preachers can get that feeling as they look at their congregation! If only one could read the people's thoughts, no doubt some would be thinking of their Sunday lunch or what shopping they need to do on Monday morning, or even what the person in the seat in front of them is wearing! They may be hearing the preacher, but they are not listening. As we might say to children when we want them to take on board what we are saying, 'Focus!' many a preacher would like to say that too!

When Jesus sent messages to the churches we read about in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 he had very serious message for them — some of praise, some of warning, some of sharp criticism. To every one of the churches he said 'are you listening to me?' "He who has an ear, let him hear".

This message applies to us as well. When we read our Bible we can very easily forget all about what we have just been reading. We were not really listening to what God was saying to us. If we become good listeners of God's word then we will become good doers of God's word and that is pleasing to God. The Bible says we are blessed when we listen to God's wisdom, so pay attention.

Dear Lord Jesus, you know all about us and you know that our thoughts often wander when we read the Bible or hear your Word preached. Help us to listen attentively. Amen.

Are You At The Best School?

Reader: Mairi MacPherson

Date: 28th May 2022

Passage: Proverbs 1:7

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Are you at the best school? And I should also ask are you an attentive pupil? The best school is one that each of us can attend and it has the best teacher anyone could have. In this school there is an emphasis on knowledge, wisdom and guidance. Of course the best time to start in this school is when we are very young but one of the great things about it is that we can we can even start attending it when we are very old and we can keep attending it all the days of our life — life-long learning.

There is one main textbook and that is the Bible.

The knowledge we learn is the knowledge of God, not just to know about him but to come to know him in a personal way by trusting him and obeying him.

The wisdom that is taught shows us the greatness and the holiness of God. To get this wisdom we have to be humble before God and be willing to have our minds turned to what God's word, the Bible, teaches us. It points us to the Lord Jesus Chris for salvation and forgiveness.

The guidance we receive is how to live each day in a way that is pleasing to God. The Lord Jesus Christ is our great example in this.

Thankyou Lord Jesus for being the Way, the Truth and the Life that I should follow. Amen.

The Mighty Hands Of Jesus

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 27th May 2022

Passage: Hebrews 1:3

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When we visited Israel many years ago one of the things that struck me most was the fact that Jesus Christ actually lived and walked and worked in the very places we were able to visit — Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth, Galilee. Jesus was a real person and, we are told, he went about doing good.

Among the many good things Jesus did was to heal sick people and blind people and he even brought dead people back to life again. And one stormy night on the Sea of Galilee Jesus even calmed the strong wind and the angry waves with a word. Jesus was a real man but he was also really divine — God the Son.

It may be easy to think of Jesus as a man, even as the divine man who can do miraculous things. But our picture of Jesus must never confine him to being just a very special man. The words at the top of our page tell us the utterly amazing truth that Jesus actually holds up, sustains, the whole vast universe by his powerful word. Remember how he calmed the wind and the waves on Galilee with a word — that was the word of his power. The old spiritual song says, "He's got the whole world in his hands". That's true. And those same' hands' can hold you and direct you when you need his help. He is powerful and he is good.

Dear Lord Jesus, help me to trust you and your powerful word. Amen.

The Pain Of Knowing I Am A Sinner

Reader: Una Davis

Date: 26th May 2022

Passage: Psalm 38:18

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Psalm 38 is a sad psalm and tells of the pain that David the author was suffering. It seems that his whole body was aching and that his friends just didn't understand the reason for his distress. But David himself tells us just why he was in such agony. It was not really because of severe physical illness but it was because of the sense of his sin in the sight of God who is holy and who hates all sin and iniquity.

David was not an ungodly man. He trusted God and knew that salvation comes from God alone. It was because David knew God so well because he knew the holy character of God and how God hates and judges sin that he felt this awful pain when he disobeyed God. He felt he had failed an let down the best friend he ever had.

If we are Christians then we too should take any sin in our lives very seriously. Remember God does hate our sin. If we think seriously about who God is then we will feel the pain of sinning against him. We cannot think lightly of sin if we think rightly of who God is.

But God has given us this wonderful promise: "If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong" (1 John 1:9 NLT)

Dear Lord, forgive and cleanse me from all my sin, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

Good News In Tough Times

Reader: Mairi MacPherson

Date: 25th May 2022

Passage: Acts 8:4

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There is a well — known saying "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"! That is exactly what happened to the Christians in the days of the early church after Jesus had gone to heaven after the resurrection. We read of this in Acts 8 The believers in Jesus were shocked when the godly man Stephen was murdered. This sparked a period of bitter persecution in Jerusalem and the areas round about. The persecution was led by a young man called Saul of Tarsus and many Christians fled from Jerusalem.

However instead of bringing about the collapse of the young church it actually led to the Gospel spreading far and wide. How did that happen? Because wherever Christians went as they were scattered from Jerusalem they preached the Good News of the word of God. No doubt people would ask these strangers why they had come to settle in places where they were not known. We are told that they then passed on the Gospel and God in his goodness added new converts to the church. Tough times — but the Good News spread.

That is a real challenge for us wherever God has placed us. Do we too spread the Good News? We don't need to be preachers or theologians. What we do need to do is what these early Christians did. They just spread the Good News of God's word wherever they went.

Dear Lord, help me to tell others about Jesus and his love. Amen.

I've Found It!

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 24th May 2022

Passage: Luke 15:10

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I'm quite sure we have all lost something at one time or another and searched everywhere trying to find it. If it is something really important and valuable then we look very carefully and what a relief when it eventually turns up!

Luke chapter 15 is one of the happiest chapters in the Bible because while Jesus tells us of things and people who were lost he also tells us how they were found and how even the angels sang with joy when the lost were found.

Jesus loved teaching through stories — what we call the parables. Here he tells about a sheep that was lost and then its shepherd found it; a coin a woman lost and searched for and found, and a son who was lost and then found. The point of these parables is to show us, among other things, how God longs to find and save those who have not yet believed in him and trusted him. The shepherd searched for his lost sheep the woman searched for her lost coin, the father waited longingly for the return of his lost son. What joy and relief there was when all three were found! Jesus himself tells us that he came "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:1).

That surely lets us see that God knows our need of salvation is so important and urgent. He even sent his Son to look for us and even to die for us. And it shows us also how God rejoices when sinners like ourselves are saved — heaven sings!

Dear Lord, Thank you for sending Jesus to find me and to save me. Amen.

The Bruised Reed

Reader: Una Davis

Date: 23rd May 2022

Passage: Isaiah 42:1-3

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When you are walking through a field or pushing through long grass and reeds going down to a river's edge you don't pay much attention to whether or not you trample on the grass or squash some of the reeds beside the stream. We may not think the grass and the reeds are important — we just plod on!

In the book of Isaiah chapter 42 is very important because it gives us the first of four 'Songs' about the Servant of the Lord — the Old Testament's portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ. The final Song in Isaiah 53 describes in amazing detail the sufferings and death the Lord Jesus would undergo hundreds of years later. In this first Song we are told some really encouraging details of the character of our Lord Jesus and one of these is his empathy with those Christians who find life hard and whose faith may be very fragile at times. The picture of the grass and the reeds comes in here. Jesus is someone who will care for and restore a reed someone has trampled on and bruised. He will comfort and encourage every Christian who is in need of his help. Jesus said those who mourn will be comforted. He went to the home of Martha and Mary to comfort them over the death of their brother. On another occasion he said "come to me... for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29).

Dear Lord, when my faith is weak, help me to remember that you always care for me. Amen.

When God Smiles On My Soul

Reader: Mairi MacPherson

Date: 22nd May 2022

Passage: Romans 5:1

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Peace with God is a very precious gift. Just how precious it is can be seen from the whole of Romans 5:1 from which I have quoted just three words above. One translation of the whole verse goes like this: Therefore since we have been made right in God's sight by faith we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has don for us. (New Living Translation)

Peace with God is a life of spiritual freedom — freedom from the power the punishment the guilt of our sin — all because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. We receive this gift of peace through faith — that is by accepting the fact that it is Jesus who makes us right in God's sight and not our own efforts to try to make ourselves presentable to God.

One Bible scholar William Hendriksen has said that this peace with God is "The smile of God reflected in the soul of the believer. That is beautiful; when God smiles on my soul!" This everlasting peace, as certain as His (God's) name, is sure as God's eternal throne: unchangeably the same." (Horatius Bonar). And all because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

Dear Lord, I thank you for that smile of yours on my soul. It is a precious gift to know that my soul is safe because of what Jesus has done for me. Amen.