Walk With Me - Devotionals

The Everlasting Word

Reader: Angus Macdonald

Date: 11th April 2022

Passage: Psalm 90:2

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Isn't it difficult to think about what is everlasting? There never was a "time" when God wasn't there. So that means that the Bible word for everlasting, or eternal, (they mean the same) belong in the first place to God himself. Our Catechism tells us just what the Bible says: "God is a spirit — infinite eternal and unchangeable."

The Bible also tells us that God is pleased to share with us many of the great and good things which, because they come from him, are also everlasting. They come to us in and through God's own eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

For example, God promises eternal life to all who believe in Jesus. This life comes to us because Jesus carried our sins to his cross and died in our place. God made an eternal (everlasting) covenant of salvation through the blood Jesus shed — a covenant that God will never break with all who trust in Jesus for their salvation. It is everlasting. This means that Christians look forward to everlasting life in heaven — a life that begins here and now as we trust in Jesus — but in heaven the good things will keep getting better and better as we live there with Christ. However there are also everlasting bad thing for those who reject Jesus, and these bad things too will get worse and worse.

Lord, please help me to trust you and enjoy you for ever. Amen

God Loves Rainbows!

Reader: Calum Macdonald

Date: 10th April 2022

Passage: Genesis 9:13

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The people of South Africa were once described as a "rainbow nation." This was a brilliant way to speak of the people there who have many different languages, cultures, traditions and colours. God must love rainbows, as they are mentioned at three very important times in the Bible.

The first time was just after the great flood which had destroyed so much of the earth and the evil people who were living at that time. When the flood subsided God made a solemn promise that he would never destroy the earth by such a flood again. And God set a rainbow in the sky as the sign of that promise.

We read of a rainbow again when the prophet Ezekiel had a really wonderful vision when he was in the land of Babylon, where God's people were in captivity, and they thought God could not be with them there. But the sign that He had given him to show that God was there, all around him and in all his power and glory, was a beautiful rainbow — another sign of the promise not to forget his people.

The third time we read of a rainbow, a truly magnificent and beautiful one, is in the last book of the Bible. Again the rainbow was around the throne of God, this time in heaven. It was another sign of the greatness and glory of God, reminding us of his promises, his power and his everlasting faithfulnes for all who love and follow him.

The Wrath Of God

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 9th April 2022

Passage: Romans 1:18

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There is a saying among Scottish people about someone who loses his temper: "He lost his heid!" God never "loses his heid" even when people say horrible things about him or do the very opposite of what God wants them to do. But God does have a strong and settled opposition to all that is evil (including our sin) — that is the wrath of God.

We remember that God is our Creator. He is also our Judge. Because God is perfectly holy his judgments are perfectly fair. This means that when men and women give up God and go away from him, he gives them up. The Letter to Romans tells us that when that happens the result is even more sinfulness, unhappiness and ugliness. God's judgment is a fearful thing when people choose to go away from him, and each person receives precisely what he/she deserves. God is always fair.

But God is also the God of grace. He does not wish that anyone should perish under his judgment. He has sent his Son Jesus Christ to be the great Saviour of all who as for his forgiveness from sin. For all who do this Jesus stood in their place to take the wrath of God so that they can be forgiven free from the judgment and the wrath of God. They will come to know the love and tender care of God for his family.

Almighty God, help me to grasp the reality of your angry displeasure at all that is sinful, and help me to stay close to Christ for ever. Amen

The Lord Is Light And Salvation For Me

Reader: Angus Macdonald

Date: 8th April 2022

Passage: Psalm 27:1

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Psalm 27 is one of my favourite psalms. It was written by David, who started life as a shepherd boy and grew up to become a warrior king. This psalm was probably written when David was older and he had many experiences behind him which gave him great confidence in God as he remembered the help he had received from God. But he also tells us that even after all of God's help and goodness, after saying that with God at his side "I'm fearless, afraid of no one or nothing," yet there still were times when troubles mounted up against him and he had to pray that God would hide him in his shelter and protect him from all his enemies.

Our own lives can often be difficult at times. Even if we have trusted God for his salvation and have found him to be the light of our life, yet we may come up against problems or people who can make us test our faith and make us wonder if God really is helping us at these times. David's answer to that question is that we should remember that God is always with us, and we must keep waiting for him to help us. "Stay with God! Take heart, don't quit. I'll say it again; stay with God" (v. 14, The Message) That should help us to sing: "God is my music, my delight and joy, my praise, my prayer." (Verse 6 - Christopher Idle)

Almighty God, thank you that you are indeed my Light and my Salvation at all times. Amen

A Guiding Light

Reader: Calum Macdonald

Date: 7th April 2022

Passage: Matthew 5:14

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Several years ago I preached in the old Parish Church of Corstorphine, Edinburgh, on behalf of the Bible Society. The church building is very old in parts and has a little window in the eastern wall that has an interesting history. Before the city grew to its present size Corstorphine was a village, and on its east side there was a loch and a well-used pathway near the loch that wound its way through very marshy ground. To help people find their way the church always had a light in its little east window so that people would be guided by the light and find their way safely to the village.

Jesus tells those of us who are Christians that we are the light of the world. That means we have to be guides to people who are not Christians. Jesus also said "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:17). Even when we may not be able to speak to people about the Christian faith the way we live will be a guide to them as to what is right and good.

Remember, Jesus himself is our great example. He is the Light of the world, so as we follow him our lives will also be lights guiding people towards the Lord himself.

Dear Lord Jesus, help me to be a guiding light to those who are still in the darkness of unbelief, for your name's sake. Amen

Does He Know Something We Don't Know?

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 6th April 2022

Passage: Genesis 6:14

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We had a neighbour who bought an old boat, parked it in his driveway and set about repairing it to make it sea-worthy again. It took him a long time. Indeed, the boat was parked in view of every passer-by, and because we don't live very near the sea sometimes people would say jokingly, "Does he know something we don't know? Is there a flood coming?"

I'm sure people must have said the same thing about Noah when he started to build a boat. It took him a long time (you can read the whole story in Genesis 6-8). Noah did know something that the people of his day did not want to listen to or to take seriously, though Noah preached to them. We read that "the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth" (Genesis 6:5), and God made up his mind to come with a terrible judgement upon them, and to do it by means of an enormous flood.

Noah was a godly man who "walked with God," so God warned Noah about the coming flood and how God wanted to save Noah his family and many of the animals. So that's why he commanded him to build a great ship — the ark. And it all worked out as God said. Noah and his family alone were saved along with the animals in the ark while all the unbelieving crowds were lost. God's judgment for sin is a very real, very terrible thing. And God has promised that there will still be a judgment on sin unless people repent and turn to Chris for salvation and then live godly lives.

This Is Eternal Life

Reader: Angus Macdonald

Date: 5th April 2022

Passage: John 17:3

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The words "eternal" and "everlasting" both mean the same thing. But for us to understand them can be quite difficult. We think of something that is everlasting as going on and on for ever. In a sense that is quite true. But in Psalm 90 we read that God is described as being "from everlasting to everlasting." That means that there never was a time when God did not exist — he is the eternal God, the Creator who brought all things into being, including time itself. So God is not affected by time; he is always present. Eternal (or everlasting) is a word that uniquely belongs to God.

When Jesus Christ said "this is life eternal, that they (those believing in him as Saviour) may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent," the eternal life he referred to was a special kind of life.

Not only does this special life last for ever and ever, it starts here and now when a person comes to trust in Jesus as his/her Saviour. And not only so but it has a special quality — it has something of the very life of God himself in it so that when a believer in Jesus dies, he/she will immediately go into the very presence of God to enjoy this eternal life in a fuller way that will be pure joy, holiness and perfect praising — fitted for the presence of God himself.

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for the gift of everlasting life. Amen.

Looking Up At An Empty Sky

Reader: Calum Macdonald

Date: 4th April 2022

Passage: Acts 1:9

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The Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps we don't take as much notice of the ascension of Jesus as we should. We all love the story of the birth of Jesus, and so we should; we thank God for the perfect life of Jesus, and so we should. We are humbled by the sufferings and death of Jesus, and so we should be; and the wonder of the resurrection of Jesus makes us shout, "He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!" Pentecost is the start of glorious things for the Church of Christ and we bless God for that. But all of these wonderful happenings were confined to a small corner of the world, and to one nation of people in particular.

The ascension of the Lord Jesus to heaven and to the very throne of God signals the start of the great worldwide mission of the church of Jesus Christ. Why? Because from heaven Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to give power to the messengers of the Good News of Jesus as they went with his authority to make disciples of all the nations. This work will continue until the Lord Jesus returns in glory to "judge the living and the dead" and to establish all his people in their everlasting heavenly home.

The apostles of Jesus saw him lifted up from them and at first no doubt wondered how they could get on without him. They kept looking at the empty sky until the heavenly messengers assured them that Jesus would return. In the meantime they had plenty of work to do!

The Death Of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Reader: Kathryn Martin

Date: 3rd April 2022

Passage: John 19:18

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All the Gospels tell us about the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each Gospel mentions different details about the crucifixion but all of them want us to know very definitely that Jesus was put to death — the terrible, agonising death of crucifixion which followed a fearsome beating before he even got to the place of execution.

Why were the Gospel writers so determined that we should know that Jesus Christ was crucified and died? The real death of Jesus was necessary if there was to be a real resurrection of Jesus. The death of Jesus was the final act of his great work as the Saviour of sinful people. "God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Mocked by insults harsh and crude,

And when the Lord Jesus was lifted up on the cross his final words were "It is finished" — the great work of salvation which he had come to do was complete as Jesus died.

But that was not the end of the story. Three days later Jesus rose from the grave, and so it is that now we worship and adore a living Saviour. What joy this gives us!

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

Reader: Angus Macdonald

Date: 2nd April 2022

Passage: Genesis 4:9

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God's question to Cain put him in a sticky spot. Cain had just murdered his brother Abel, probably in a fit of jealousy and bitterness. God had accepted an offering from Abel but had rejected Cain's offering, most likely because Cain's heart did not really love God anyway. God always looks at our heart and sees why we do the things we do.

So Cain's reply to God was first of all untruthful. He said "I don't know." But then he added an insulting response: "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain and Abel — two brothers torn apart by Cain's hatred. It makes such sad reading. And the other Bible verses which refer to Cain tell us how his hatred of his brother became a byword for wickedness right through the history of God's people. We read that among the Jewish people Cain was thought of as an example of sinfulness and one who instructed others to do the same. What a terrible legacy! And it could have been so very different.

He said "Am I my brother's keeper?" Of course he was. Each of us has a great responsibility to love and care for our own brothers, sisters and family members, and a responsibility towards other people as well. We need especially to look after those who are vulnerable and who cannot care for themselves.

Lord Jesus Christ, help me to be a true brother or sister both to my family and the wider family of God and all who need a brother's care and love.