Walk With Me - Devotionals

Treasures In Heaven

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 9th October 2022

Passage: Matthew 6:19-20

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Today we had to go to the bank. The staff were very helpful and our business did not take very long. I was wondering how the staff might feel if they were advising people about money — maybe telling them about savings or investments. People become very possessive about their money! On another occasion, I saw that there were big chains attached to the cash machines — people do break into banks and try to steal even these very heavy cash machines.

Of course there were no cash machines when Jesus was on earth, but he knew that people could be very attached to their money in his day just as people are now. So Jesus warns us about this. The really important 'treasures' are not those you can keep in a bank, but treasures of wisdom and knowledge which we find in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:3). These treasures contain within them the 'pearl of great price' (Matthew 13:46), which is finding Jesus as our Saviour and the 'real gold and silver' of the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18 - 19).

When the Apostle Paul was nearing the end of his life, he was able to say (using 'banking' language) "I am convinced that he (Jesus) is able to guard what I have entrusted (my deposit) to him for that day." (2 Timothy 1:12, NIV). By 'that day', Paul means the last judgement.

Dear Lord, I pray that I will always treasure you in my heart and know, with Paul, you will keep me always. Amen.

Words

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 8th October 2022

Passage: Genesis 1:3

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I have been reading the book The Secret Life of Words by Henry Hitchings. It is a fascinating study of how English became English and it is fun to read. I suppose we don't normally give much thought to the words we speak or how many words we use in any given day. But how wonderful it is that we do have words with which to communicate with one another, whether by speaking or writing. Words are wonderful.

And we read that God also used words to communicate with us. Throughout the long history of the Bible's story, God has been communicating with people in order that they might know him and how to react to the words he has given them.

We too must give heed to the Bible's message — it is God's word to us today and it is a word that not only gives us information but it is a word that challenges us to do what God wants us to do.

In the Old Testament when we read that God 'said' something, it always means that God also 'did' something. For example, God said "let there be light" and there was light (Genesis 1:3). Now, when God speaks to us in the Bible, he expects us to act on what he says. One of the greatest messages in the Bible which God gives us is about Jesus. God said: "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." (Matthew 17:5) And when we listen to Jesus he says to us: "Follow me." (Mathew 4:19) Let's act upon that!

Dear Lord Jesus, help me to obey your words and follow you. Amen.

A Timely Reminder

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 7th October 2022

Passage: Psalm 39:4

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When we are young and just starting out on the adventure of life we don't give much thought to the end of life. Recently there was quite a bit of publicity given to a poor man who was suffering from motor neurone disease and he wanted to end his life at the time he chose. You do have great sympathy for him and for his wife, although we know that only God has the right to choose the time of our death. But this terrible illness caused them to think seriously about the fact that his life was fleeing away.

Of course we don't know when our last day will be and it is not right for us when we are young to have morbid thoughts of death. Yet it is right that we should think about how we are living. Have we turned our life over to God and asked him to be our Saviour and our Guide?

You see, when Jesus Christ is our Saviour, he promises to be with us all the time. He gives us the Holy Spirit to live in our heart and to show us the ways that are pleasing to God and that will lead us day by day until our 'brief time on earth' will come to an end. When that day comes we will be prepared and will enter a fuller life that will never end in the presence and company of our God and Saviour.

Dear Lord, help me to think seriously about the life you have given me and help me to trust you to lead me in your good ways. Amen.

Unbelief And Its Consequences

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 6th October 2022

Passage: Matthew 13:57-58

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Upset with Jesus! No doubt most of us would just love to have heard Jesus speaking and teaching and to have seen the miracles that he worked. We would not have become 'upset with Jesus', would we? I wonder. These people who heard Jesus in Nazareth long long ago knew him well; they knew his brothers and sisters and they had known his father. Why were they now upset with him? I think some were jealous - "Who does he think he is?" Some were angry because he had said things which probably pricked their consciences. Some people just closed their minds to what he was teaching — they had no faith. They just refused to believe anything he said.

The consequence of this was that Jesus did not do many miracles there in his home town. What blessings they missed! What good they missed because of their unbelief!

And it is exactly the same today. If we shut our minds to what Jesus is saying to us in the Bible, if we refuse to obey him and just go our own way, we too will miss a great blessing and much good and be left to answer for our unbelief. One day Jesus will ask us : "Why did you not believe me when I could have been so good for you and given you the gift of my salvation?"

Think seriously about that.

Dear Lord, help me to realise that unbelief has serious consequences. Amen.

Wasn't That A Happy Coincidence?

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 5th October 2022

Passage: Acts 8:26

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Life is full of strange coincidences — or is it? The interesting story of Philip and the Ethiopian official is case in point. Philip must have wondered why ever he was being told to go to that particular place - "This is a desert place" (verse 26).

But Philip obviously obeyed this prompting by the Spirit (the angel of God) and found himself walking this lonely road (it was a road seldom used at that time). However, Philip found he was not the only traveller on the road. And it so happened that the other traveller was reading the Bible as he went in his chariot and was finding it difficult to understand what he was reading. Now wasn't that a happy coincidence that Philip caught up with him as he puzzled about the words in his Bible? Philip explained it all to him and by the end of the conversation the man became a Christian. A coincidence? No indeed; this was all by God's appointment.

Philip was a man who was ready to be used by God and so God was ready to use Philip. If we are willing to be used by God, we may find God will lead us to someone who needs spiritual help or who is lonely or in trouble — and we 'just happen' to turn up at the right time. Not really a coincidence, but a willingness to be used by God wherever he needs us. So we may be a blessing to others. Philip went on to other places where God used him again in many ways. (You can read the whole story in Acts 8:26 - 40). Let's ask God to make us ready and willing to hear his voice and to go where he leads us.

He Will Hold Me Fast

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 4th October 2022

Passage: Deuteronomy 33:27

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One of the hymns we sing in church is a good commentary on that verse. The first verse goes like this:

"When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast; When the tempter would prevail He will hold me fast. I could never keep my hold through life's fearful path; For my love is often cold; He will hold me fast."

It is a great encouragement for us as Christians to know the truth in these words because there are times when life can be difficult and we do honestly wonder how we can keep going, keeping trusting that God will help us cope with things.

Verse 2 of the hymn helps to explain the text even more:

"Those he saves are his delight, Christ will hold me fast: Precious in his holy sight, He will hold me fast; He'll not let my soul be lost; His promises shall last, Bought by him at such a cost. He will hold me fast." (Ada Habershon)

Someone has written: "Security is not the absence of danger, but the presence of God, no matter what the danger." The everlasting arms of God under us will indeed hold us fast.

Dear Lord, how good it is to know you are our secure refuge for always. Amen.

Cooking The Books

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 3rd October 2022

Passage: Luke 16:10

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There's a lot of dishonest people around — from multimillionaires to small-time crooks who survive on their wits. In Luke 16 Jesus told a parable about a man who entrusted his whole business to a man who turned out to be a crook. When he was found out, the manager 'cooked the books' in order to make things look better and so that when he was out of a job he would get help from the people whose debts he had cancelled.

Jesus often pointed out the dangers that money can cause, especially when people put money before God. We read that the Pharisees loved money — it would have been better if they had loved God instead. So Jesus told this fact of life: if you are a crook in small things, you' ll be a crook in big things - and no one will trust you. But if you are honest in small things, then you will be trusted with big things.

This is especially true when it comes to serving God and telling people about the true riches of the Gospel. Sometimes people don't tell the whole truth of God's Word — they don't like to tell people about sin and the consequences of sin — God's eternal judgement. There are times when telling the truth about these things can cause offence but God wants us to be faithful to him and his Word. Let's not be crooks!

Dear Lord, help me to be faithful to you and to tell people about the truth of the Gospel even if people take offence. Amen.

I'm Sorry!

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 2nd October 2022

Passage: Psalm 38:18

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"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you all right?" How often we may have said something like that if we bumped into someone, or made them spill their coffee. However we soon move on and forget all about the incident. That word 'sorry' didn't trouble us much. Psalm 38 is all about being sorry and David who wrote the psalm took it very seriously indeed. The psalm is really a conversation between David and God in which David opens his heart to God. He tells God all about the things he had done wrong and the fact that he was genuinely sorry for all the times he had done things God calls sin and iniquity. David felt guilty before God because he knew God was pure and holy and hated anything that was wrong and sinful. God takes sin very seriously indeed.

But David was not the only sinner. You are one and I am one too. Indeed the Bible tells us that we have all sinned and we "fall short of the glory (standards) of God" (Romans 3:23). We need to be truly sorry for our sin because even the littlest of sins is hateful to God and should make us ashamed.

So what are we to do? Well, David gives us an answer in the last verse of the psalm when he calls God his salvation. Yes, we sin against God and only God can forgive us. He does this when we go to him, confess our sin and ask him to forgive us — not because we deserve to be forgiven but because he is a God of mercy and grace.

Dear Lord, in your mercy pardon my sin, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

Sincerity

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 1st October 2022

Passage: 2 Peter 3:1

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Just imagine you are in a rather dingy shop and you like a sweater that you see on a model. It looks good but you as if you can take it to the doorway to see how it looks in the daylight. It looks quite different when you see it clearly.

Or again imagine you are going to bake a cake but the flour has some lumps in it. So you must sieve it until it is all white and smooth again. This is the real meaning of the word 'sincere' which Peter uses. It can be translated as 'pure'. It is not a common word in the Greek language which Peter spoke here but the Apostle Paul also liked this word.

What does this word mean for us as Christians? That is a really challenging question because it has to do with our mind, the thoughts we think, the words we speak, the very people we claim to be as followers of Jesus.

Think again of taking the sweater to the sunlight. Will your mind and thoughts stand the searching light of God and his Word?

Think again of the sieve sifting out the impurities. Will your mind stand that test or is it full of thoughts that shouldn't be there at all?

The sincerity the Bible speaks of is part and parcel of our Christian way of life. Peter said "I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of a reminder..."

Dear Lord, help me to remember to keep my mind clean and pure. Amen.

Devilish Deceptions

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 30th September 2022

Passage: Revelation 12:9

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Satan or the devil is often treated as an almost comical character — someone who really doesn't exist. The devil is quite happy with that — it is one of his 'devilish deceptions'. He is cunning and he is exceedingly cruel.

One of the wise old Puritan writers called Thomas Brooks wrote this about Satan: "Satan promises the best but pays the worst: he promises honour and pays with disgrace; he promises pleasure and pays with pain; he promises profit and pays with loss; he promises life and pays with death."

The book of Revelation shows us how Satan tries his hardest to attack Christ and to attack the church of Christ. Satan really goes to war against Christians trying to destroy them and he does this in many ways. One of the most obvious ways is to use the wholesale persecution of the church in countries like China and Iran. But he also uses more subtle ways to destroy a person's faith as for example tempting Christians to watch porn, to try drink or drugs, to engage in immoral relationships. Satan is also a master of dropping doubts in people's minds about the Bible and its teaching. He is a master — deceiver.

But the book of Revelation shows us emphatically that Satan is a loser and his utter destruction is coming. Christ and he alone is the truth — there is no deception with Jesus. Trust him.

Dear Lord, help me to reject Satan's efforts to undermine my faith in you. Amen.