Walk With Me - Devotionals

A Man Sent From God

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 2nd March 2022

Passage: John 1:6

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What a great honour — and a great responsibility! This man whom we usually call John the Baptist had a very special job to do . God sent him to prepare the way for Jesus. He was to be a witness telling people who Jesus was and what Jesus was coming to do. He himself was a popular preacher; many people went out to the desert to hear him preach but his whole job was really to point people to Jesus. John said "He (Jesus) must increase but I must decrease" (John 3:30). And so it was. John carried out God's work of pointing people to the Lord Jesus. That was what God sent him to do .

God wants us to do the same thing. If we have come to know Jesus as our Saviour and Lord then we too have the honour and responsibility of telling others about our Saviour. We shouldn't be afraid to do that. We have good news to tell and we can tell it with confidence as we know and have experienced just what a wonderful thing Jesus has done for us.

You don't need to be a great preacher to tell the good news; you don't need to tell it to a crowd of people. Just tell your friends, your relatives, your work-mates. And you can use the most simple words. The Apostle Paul gave us a great example when he said about Jesus "He loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). You can tell that story too!

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

'Tell Me The Old, Old Story'

Reader: Louise Macmillan

Date: 1st March 2022

Passage: Acts 6:6

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Some people love history, others think it is' bunk'! Stephen, like many of his Jewish people did love history. The Jews would tell the old, old story of what God had done for them in past years over and over again. But if we read Acts 6 and 7 we see that telling God's story got Stephen into great trouble and he was eventually put to death. Why?

There were many Jews who were jealous of Stephen and of the godly life and powerful works he was able to do in the name of Jesus. When Stephen was telling the Jewish leaders about parts of their own history he said these leaders were just like the hardhearted leaders of past times who killed godly prophets — these leaders in front of Stephen had indeed killed the Righteous One, Jesus.

You can imagine how full of anger and hatred Stephen's audience became. Stephen said they were "stiff-necked people, ... always resisting the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51). You don't win friends that way! So they took Stephen out and stoned him to death. Was Stephen a failure then? Did he tell the old, old story in vain? No!

You can read in Acts 7:55-59 how Jesus himself welcomed him home to heaven when he died. And from verse 58 we see that Stephen's story and Jesus's place in it obviously troubled one young man who later became one of Christ's great ambassadors. He was the Apostle Paul. So thank Go for Stephen's godly history stories!

Remember

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 28th February 2022

Passage: Luke 22:19

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The thief on the cross said, "Jesus remember me..." Luke 23:42

As you get older you begin to forget certain things — the dates of birthdays, dentist appointments, where you left the car... ! I find I would be lost without my diary in which I try always to note things down. It is easy to forget.

I am sure that is why we find the Bible is full of words telling us to remember many important events or sayings which God wants us to think about and do something about. The Bible is full of wonderful things which God has done for us and he wants us to remember these things. Here are some examples.

First of all God wants us to remember what Jesus has done for us by his perfect life, his death and his resurrection. Just before his crucifixion Jesus celebrated the Lord's Supper with his disciples and said "Do this in remembrance of me..." There is no salvation apart from what Jesus has done for us. That is why the thief on the cross beside Jesus said "Jesus remember me..." We must all pray that prayer.

Then we have to remember how God wants us to live. The Bible is full of words telling us to remember and most of them have to do with the way we live as Christians. We need to keep reading the Bible to remind ourselves how the Lord wants us to live — lives that are Christlike, sincere, gracious and good.

Remember too where we are travelling to as Christians — our heavenly home. This world is not our home, heaven is. What a great prospect is before us as Christians! Remember that!

Miracles, Signs And Wonders

Reader: Tom Muir

Date: 27th February 2022

Passage: John 6:1-15

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The Bible uses three words which are translated in English as miracles, signs and wonders. These words describe different acts and happenings which, as far as the New Testament is concerned, centred on the ministry of Jesus Christ and his apostles. The greatest miracle was the resurrection of Jesus. Other spectacular events, like the feeding of five thousand people were seen as special signs telling us something of the nature and character of God. For example, after feeding all these people Jesus said "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35) and he went on to explain what that means.

Some people deny that miracles ever existed. Their view of the world is such that they say "You cannot alter the laws of nature to allow such things as miracles, signs and wonders to happen". They forget, or won't believe, that we live in the world God has made — the laws of nature are there because that is the way God made the world. And the God who made the world is alive and well and is altogether free to act in ways which please him. Miracles, signs and wonders can be seen as actions of God's mercy and grace as well as his power. We see this as the Gospels tell us about the works of the Lord Jesus. Never feel ashamed or embarrassed to say you believe in miracles.

Lord, I do thank you that you are the God of miracles who is lovingly active in the world you have made, Amen.

God's Story In Coloured Pictures

Reader: Calum Cameron

Date: 26th February 2022

Passage: 2 Corinthians 4:6

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We all love pictures and the stories they tell. Maybe it's a photo of when you were a little child, or a picture of a family wedding and we can look at these pictures over and over again. Nowadays we are used to having our photos in full colour and we enjoy that better than the very old ones in black and white. God loves colour. Think of a sunset or sunrise, or the colours of fish that live at the bottom of the sea, or flowers and butterflies.

And have you noticed how often the Bible uses stories to tell us God's truth? Many of these stories are full of colour to show us the beauty of all that God has done for us. One of these pictures in the Bible is the text at the top of this page. It is full of light and colour — God shining out of the heavenly light to brighten our lives with the light of his glory as seen in the person of Jesus Christ his Son and our Saviour.

No wonder then that the hymn writer G W Robinson could sing of the Saviour in these words:

Heaven above is softer blue, Earth around is sweeter green Something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen; Birds with gladder songs o'erflow, Flowers with deeper beauties shine, Since I know, as now I know, I am His, and He is mine.

A Life That Is Full Of The Fullness Of God

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 25th February 2022

Passage: Ephesians 3:19

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Paul the Apostle was very fond of the word 'fullness'. He tells us that the fullness of Deity ("Godness") dwelt in Jesus Christ. (Colossians 2:9 and 1:19) He tells us also that the fullness of Christ dwells in the Church. And here in Ephesians, Paul prays that believers in Jesus will become mature in their faith so that they will be filled with the 'fullness of God'.

That is mind-boggling! The word fullness means completeness, you don't add anything more to it. So how can a Christian be filled with ALL the fullness of God? It is easy for us to think of Jesus being filled with God's fullness, but me, an ordinary Christian?

Well, here are some things to note. First of all, this 'fullness' is given to us (see Colossians 2:10) It is God's gift — complete salvation. Then Paul wants us to enjoy this fullness more and more. The Christian life is a full life — as Jesus himself says "I came that they (believers) may have life and have it to the full." (John 10:10) It is in John's Gospel that we have another reference to this word fullness (otherwise we only find it i Paul's writings in the Bible). It is in John 1:18 where we read "And from (Jesus') fullness we have all received grace upon grace".

The Christian life is a complete, abundant life, the gift of a loving gracious Saviour. No wonder Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 3:21:"to him be glory in the Church and in Chris Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen!"

Forgiveness

Reader: Tom Muir

Date: 24th February 2022

Passage: Colossians 3:13

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Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa once wrote a book called "No Future without forgiveness". It was part of an effort to heal the deep wounds which people had experienced in the years of apartheid in that country.

The title of the book has an ongoing importance for us because it is telling us a really Biblical message. We have no future unless we confess our sin to God and receive his forgiveness. Without that we are lost. The word 'forgiveness' itself, and the other Bible words which refer to forgiveness, teach us a lot. For example, there are words which mean to cover, to lift away, to send away or to let go — to loose away.

However, forgiveness is a 'two-sided coin'. "As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive". We may forfeit the blessing of forgiveness if we keep an unforgiving spirit stored up in our hearts and minds. In Ephesians 4:32 Paul writes: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you".

Dear Lord, help me to remember that the cross of Jesus is the cost of my forgiveness and help me also to forgive others as I have been forgiven. Amen.

The Cross In My Daily Life

Reader: Calum Cameron

Date: 23rd February 2022

Passage: Luke 14:27

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These words seem very hard, don't you think? The Apostle Paul tells us what people thought about the cross of Christ in his day — it was an object of contempt, associated with scandal, and an object of foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23) So if we are each to follow Christ we know what to expect! There is a cost in following Christ.

Part of the cost in following Jesus is death to all our pride — as we carry our cross we are reminded that we owe all our salvation to Jesus who died on the cross for us.

Another part of the cross is that it forces us to order our life's priorities in a God-honouring way. This world is not our (real) home so we have to have a right attitude to money, success and 'stuff'.

Our relationships and life-style are also to reflect our cross-bearing — we must live and behave every day as a Christian should. A well-known Christian of past years, Thomas à Kempis, speaking about God, wrote: "Set me where you will, and deal with me in all things just as you will... Where you are, there is heaven; and where you are not, there is hell and death." When you daily carry your cross you find Jesus walking alongside you. There is a cost, but there is also a life of blessing.

Dear Lord, help me to daily take up my cross and follow you. Amen.

The Humiliation Of Jesus

Reader: Miriam Montgomery

Date: 22nd February 2022

Passage: Isaiah 53:3

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Humility is one thing — it is a virtue that should truly be found in each of us — but humiliation is quite another thing. It is something to which we are subjected — it is something that happens to us. We would feel terrible if we were humiliated.

But as we read the story of our Lord Jesus Christ, we see that he was, from the moment of his birth, being subjected to humiliation. Remember who Jesus is - he is the Lord of Glory, the great eternal Son of God, the One through whom the world was made. Yet we read that he humbled himself by becoming a person like us, except that he had no sin. He lived a perfect life, yet he was despised and rejected by men and then crucified between two criminals. But why?

Man of sorrows! What a name! For the Son of God who came Ruined sinners to reclaim: Hallelujah! What a Saviour! Mocked by insults harsh and crude, in my place condemned he stood; sealed my pardon with his blood: Hallelujah! What a Saviour! Guilty vile and helpless, we: spotless Lamb of God was he : Full atonement - can it be? Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

The amazing Lord who became the Saviour of helpless and hopeless sinners did it all because he loved us. How humble we should be!

Blessed Lord Jesus, as you gave yourself for me, help me to give myself to you. Amen.

Trusting In Sorrow

Reader: Tom Muir

Date: 21st February 2022

Passage: Job 1:21

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Bad things do happen to good people. Bad things happen to God's people and they may wonder, 'what is the purpose of my suffering?' How we cope with the bad things which may come to us is often a real test of our faith and our Christian character.

The book of Job shows us how a good man who experienced great sorrow and great suffering came, in the end, to a quiet acceptance that the Almighty God can be trusted even when Job could not understand the reason for his many problems.

In the beginning of the book of Job we learn that Job lost his great wealth and he suffered the loss of his family. Yet in the face of these calamities, and in the midst of his grief, he said "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" Job 1:21. What a testimony to Job's trust in God that he could sing in his sorrow words of praise to the Lord! But God knew Job — knew he was a man willing to sing to God out of the depths of sorrow because he knew his God would hold him up even when everything seemed against him. Job says in chapter 13:15 "Though he slay me, I will hope in him."

Dear Lord God, there are times in my life when I don't understand your ways with me and I confess I find it hard to trust you. Forgive my unbelief and strengthen my trust, as I know that you will never desert me. Amen.