To His Struggling Friends

June 3, 2026 AdminLeave a comment

Philippians 3:4-10

Recently I heard a couple of Christians reminiscing about their strict religious up-bringing; they felt deprived of youthful pleasures that might have been negotiable. Brought up under the same religious principles I wondered why my life in contrast, had been so rich and full of meaning. Perhaps as we train up a child in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6) more is taught by our attitude and tone than from the actual words. If we weigh heavily on criticism and disapproval we deny the power of God’s love. How important is it for us to teach the privileges of a relationship with Jesus rather than self-denial according to a set of rules? What lasting damage may be done by such a negative approach to our precious faith in Jesus Christ?

The Apostle Paul had it all, in worldly terms. He had dual citizenship with Rome and Israel. He was well educated and belonged to the highest religious sect among Jews; his authority as a Pharisee gave him the responsibility of protecting their faith from blasphemers. But! All of this was nothing to him once he knew Jesus Christ personally. He refers to this knowledge as “surpassing greatness” of anything he had known before (:8). Everything else he had spent his life studying – religion, philosophy, relationships, science, was considered “rubbish” by comparison. He had obviously bought into Christianity lock, stock and barrel. Why?

Paul’s desires had changed. He wanted to be found “in Him [Christ]” (:9). Prompted by the recognition that his own righteousness, seasoned by deep commitment to Torah law, was not enough to make him righteous in the eyes of God, Paul needed the righteousness that comes from God by faith.

His passion was aflame! “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection”. Don’t we all want to be raised to go to heaven? But even that was not enough. Now Paul goes on to tell us he longed for “the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death” (:10). Why would Paul want, need to know the suffering of Christ? I’m reminded that Jesus left us with the mandate to remember His death when we take the elements in communion. Jesus does not want us to forget to identify with His sufferings. (Luke 22:19). How do we do that? Do we bind people with a set of rules, or is the freedom Christ died to give us going to really set us free? (Galatians 5:1).

Reflection:

What do we fear God will restrict in our lives of faith? Are we afraid that Jesus meant what He said “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”? (John 15:13). What might this require of me? But Jesus went on to say “You are My friends if you do what I command” (14). His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We are simply commanded by Jesus to love God with everything we have, and to love our neighbour as much as we love ourselves (Matthew 19:19). Let us be friends!

Devotional

Motherhood

May 26, 2026 AdminLeave a comment

1 Samuel 1-3

In scripture we read of several women who were childless over long periods of time – Sarah, Rachel, Elizabeth. One woman in particular, stands out to me as a woman of prayer. Hannah and her husband Elkanah worshiped at the temple in Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:3). Here Eli had a long ministry but his sons did not follow in his steps as a man of God.

Eli found a woman in passionate prayer; overcome with tears, she just mouthed what was on her heart and Eli thought she was drunk. Her husband’s second wife ridiculed her childlessness and life was miserable. She vowed to “give him to the Lord for all the days of his life” if God would only give her a son.

God heard Hannah’s prayer and gave her the son she asked for. She did not forget her promise, and gave little Samuel to the Lord when he was weaned, probably around the age of five. We know nothing of the details of his childhood. What did Hannah have to teach him about faith, about God? Her example as a woman of prayer is recorded in scripture.

What does prayer mean to a little child? I remember when we thought my baby sister was dying and our family prayed for her recovery. That experience left an undying impression on my mind of two things. God hears and answers prayer, for yes – she did recover. The second thing is that families can build one another up in their faith as they pray together.

When Hannah turned her little child over to God it was without regret. Her prayer for a child had been answered and so it was repeated, as she learned to love the subsequent children God gave to her. What were the songs she sang to her babies, the things she whispered in their ears about the great God they worshiped?

Hannah named the baby Samuel which means “name of God”. For Hannah it served as a continual reminder of God’s mercy towards those who call upon His name. I’m sure she told Samuel about the miracle of his conception and birth. She rejoiced in the Lord, in a prayer which has been recorded for posterity. She saw Him as her “Rock” the “holy One” (1 Samuel 2:2) who truly cares. The Lord humbles and He exalts. This great Creator God will “guard the feet of His saints” (2:8-9). On this she built her trust.

This is the woman the Lord entrusted to be the mother of one of His greatest prophets. She kept her vow. “So now I give him to the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:28) she told Eli, when she brought him to the temple to live. He worshiped the Lord there, we read (1:28). What does a little child know about worship? Jesus said something about this. Jesus taught that to enter the kingdom of heaven, one must turn and become humble, trusting, and dependent, like a little child (Matthew 18:3-4). He emphasized that greatness in His kingdom comes from having this lowly, receptive, and teachable posture rather than seeking status.

Reflection:

“The boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest” (1 Samuel 2:11) and he continued to grow in stature and in favour with the Lord and with men (1 Samuel 2:26). Hannah visited him once a year. What did they talk about? Did she continue to build into her son the faith which meant so much to her? We know that “the Lord was with Samuel as he grew up” and all Israel recognized him as a prophet of God! (1 Samuel 3:19-20). Motherhood was a holy responsibility to Hannah. She was a model pure faith .

Devotional

Why Are You Cast Down?

May 18, 2026 AdminLeave a comment

Psalm 42 – 45

A series of psalms was written by the Sons of Korah. Who were these men? Descendants of the Korahites served as doorkeepers and soldiers with King David, explains this ‘Got Questions’ article. Three descendants of the line of Korah go on to become great musical masters and pen some of the Psalms: Heman, Asaph, and Ethan. Heman, a grandson of Samuel, penned Psalm 88, and was known for his wisdom.

In Psalms 42 to 45 we find the Sons of Korah creating Maskils, contemplative or didactic poems, used for teaching. The writers, possibly in exile, yearn to return to Jerusalem because it is the revered place of God. They remember going with the multitude with shouts of joy and thanksgiving (42:4). Have you ever been in a worship service where the Spirit of God is glorified by the joy of God’s people? It is an unforgettable experience!

How do we deal with disappointment and longing? The maskil teaches us to do a little self-talk. “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” Notice this is repeated twice in verses 5 and 11 and again in Psalm 43:5. We need to repent of our sins in order to enjoy the forgiveness that restores a right relationship with God. Then they go directly to God. “Why have You forgotten me” (42:9). Have you ever felt like that? Then go straight to the Lord with your pain and sorrow.

The answer comes back in a simple statement “Put your hope in God”. What did they know about God that heathen nations did not? “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (42:2). This living God has been their stronghold (43:2), making their fathers flourish by His right hand and the light and love of His character (44:3). He knows the secrets of the heart (44:21). Even though they were humbled by God because of their sin, the nation Israel even being scattered, (44:9, 11) they knew God’s love was unfailing (44:26). Do you know that God’s love is eternal? Everlasting! Faithful and true?

Throughout this series of songs, they were remembering what had happened down through their nation’s history. True to His nature, when they sinned, God brought judgment on them, but He remained their “refuge, an ever-present help in trouble” (46:1). They trusted the words of God. “Be still and know that I am God…..I will be exalted in the earth” (46:10).

Reflection:

“In Your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness”. These are the qualities that God is looking to plant in your life and mine. As long as we pursue Him, He will gain the victory over evil in our lives, because He loves righteousness and longs to fill our lives with joy (45:4,7). After all, Jesus died that we might be called children of God. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1). “Why are you cast down, O my soul”?

Devotional

Pleasing God

May 12, 2026 AdminLeave a comment

Psalm 147:10-11

Recently I heard a pastor preaching about love. He reminded us that love is primarily a state of mind governed by the determination of the heart to do what is for another person’s good. Agape love certainly is not a feeling, although feeling may follow doing what is necessary to help another person grow in their faith, and comfort them while surviving overwhelming obstacles, etc.

Erotic love may be governed by the heart, but when we are commanded to love everyone on earth it takes determination to overcome dislike, or to seek out those in another strata of society. Wasn’t this what prompted our heavenly Father to reach down to mankind to sacrifice the Son He so loved? (John 3:16). This agape love determined before the foundation of the world that plan which saves us in the 21^st century!

God’s love is unconditional. First of all, the object of His love (you and me) is dead in sin….spiritually dead; unable to respond to His amazing grace. How often do we try to impose that grace and mercy on someone else before the Spirit of God has worked a miracle, reviving their hearts? If our spirit, linked with God’s Spirit yearns over a person enough to pray for them until we discern signs of interest in spiritual things, we will work together with the Father. How often do we go it alone?

God’s love perseveres while we discover His strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). If our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) compared to His holiness we might feel we are untouchable, because that is how we often look at others who are ragged and dirty. Reversing the process – can we look at that person through the eyes of God? Just think – when we know God our perception changes. He gives us the ability to love as Jesus loved. Sacrificially! Easing us out of our comfort zone God gently allows us the privilege of loving others for Jesus’ sake.

Feelings come and go. Circumstances, discouragement, poverty of income or relationships and any number of other things factor into how we feel at any given time. We may not feel like worshiping God, but Jesus said to love Him with all our heart and soul (Matthew 22:37). We don’t always understand why we feel the way we do, so how is it possible for us to understand how other people feel or what makes them act on those feelings? If our love is conditioned by feelings alone we are indeed on a slippery slope!

Often we make the mistake of thinking we must feel love before we can minister to others. That feeling might be what blesses our spirits as we obey the Holy Spirit, as we love with our wills those who may seem to be undeserving. However, feeling must never be the basis of good works but rather those good works are a calling from God to do His will. To this end He has saved us.

“You have made known to me the path of life;

You will fill me with joy in Your presence,

With eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (Psalm 16:11)

Reflection:

Why do we want others to clean up their lives, emotionally, physically, socially? Did/do we ever deserve God’s love?

What signifies that we truly understand the meaning of love?

Must we like someone if we love them?

“The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love”

Do we seek, first and foremost, to bring pleasure to the heart of God?

Devotional

God’s Glory

May 5, 2026 AdminLeave a comment

Ezekiel 38

In scripture we read a lot about the glory of God, and yet, if asked to describe it, sometimes we find ourselves without words. Whether we can bring honour and glory to His holy name, or not, God will do so Himself. He told Moses that He would gain glory for Himself through Pharaoh. Who would have supposed such an unlikely thing, yet God is the God of the impossible.

“Here’s the plan Moses” – God would harden Pharoah’s heart so that he would not let the Israelites go. Then when finally Pharaoh caved, the army and all his people would recognize the power of the God of Israel! “This” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has appeared to you” Exodus 14:5. Notice God was not in a hurry to accomplish His purpose.

Hundreds of years later God’s purpose hasn’t changed. Ezekiel writes that in the last days God will gain the victory over Gog. “Then they will know that I am the Lord” (38:23). For years God had prophesied through his prophets details of the nations gathering together against the tiny nation of Israel; why is it still a mystery. Someone has described Israel as “the navel of the earth”. Surely its location isn’t what makes it such a target for the nations.

No – it is the eternal battle of evil against good, Satan against God in his final attempt to be like God. Jesus spoke about the coming battle, recorded in the gospels – Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Revelation 16:16. This is interesting since Ezekiel, hundreds of years before, prophesied clearly about that final battle.

Having been patient with mankind through millennia of time, God described His zeal and fiery wrath through His prophet. There will be a great earthquake; mountains will crumble, every man’s sword will be against his brother. God’s judgment will bring plague and bloodshed, hailstones and burning sulphur upon the troops of the nations gathered against Israel. News stations will scramble to place the blame!

The promise is consistent with His character: “I will show My greatness and My holiness”. There is no other god to compare with the terrible glory of God’s wrath. Have we a correct picture of the God we worship? Have we forgotten the miracles which Jesus Christ performed when He was here on earth?…raising the dead, Himself raised from the dead! Have we given any thought to the restrained anger of God because it would take the death of His “only beloved Son” to show His glorious power?

Reflection:

We sing “Our God is an awesome God, He reigns in heav’n supreme” but does He reign in our hearts supreme over every earthly temptation? Each day God wants to show the world His glory through the lives we live, as we follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Imagine the joy of being His image-bearers! “Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:23) All glory goes to our God!

Devotional

Cornered Crippled and Crowned

April 28, 2026 AdminLeave a comment

Genesis 32?

Did you know that man should not live alone because if and when he does he is peculiarly vulnerable? (Genesis 2:18). So God provided the means for Adam to live in a harmonious relationship with his wife and subsequent family. However, as mankind multiplied on the earth it became increasingly difficult to find moments when one could be alone.

I borrowed this title from a sermon a friend preached about a significant event in the life of Jacob. Jacob, travelling to meet his estranged brother Esau put his family ahead of him, possibly so he could prepare himself mentally for this significant meeting. The family would not be recognized by a brother he hadn’t seen since he was a single man. He had tricked his brother out of his birthright. Would his brother now be his friend, or would he view Jacob as an enemy. Heavy things to ponder, when returning home!

God, seizing the opportunity to speak with Jacob in his solitude, interrupted his soliloquy. He had Jacob cornered! Now began a unique contest. Was Jacob wrestling with God or was it the other way around? The Lord God knew what the outcome would be.

Jacob had lost his vision and needed to understand the sovereignty of the Almighty. Eventually, in the wrestling match Jacob’s hip was put out of joint, causing him to limp. But he continued to fight for the blessing he knew he needed in order to meet his brother with the confidence that God had blessed him.

After a life-time of deception, knowing he had tricked his father into giving him the blessings belonging to the first-born son, Jacob realized at last that he was accountable to God. Finally he would admit God had a plan for his life – after all, look at what He had done for Jacob’s forefathers.

Leading Abram out of Persia, God had promised him land and a family that would eventually become a nation – the nation of God; His chosen people! God gave Abraham a new name to seal his covenant. Now as a further proof of His blessing upon Jacob a new name was given to him. Jacob meant deceiver. Now that he was on the up and up with God, he was called Israel, referring to his “struggle with God”(Genesis 32:28).

Crowned with this new name, Jacob/ Israel became the father of nations with a quiver full of 12 sons. Cornered and crippled, his crowning joy was a personal encounter with God whom he had seen face to face (Genesis 22:30).

Jesus gives us a promise, today in Revelation 3:12: “Him who overcomes, I will make a pillar in the temple of my God…..I will write on him the name of my God ….and I will also write on him my new name!” “Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown” (:11).

Reflection:

Will you need to be cornered and crippled before you receive your crown?

What did Jacob’s encounter with God cost him?

Are you willing to pay a price to gain God’s perspective and in order to be blessed?

What might that cost you?

Devotional

A Simple Truth

April 23, 2026 AdminLeave a comment

Romans 11:25-27 Matthew 12:15-21

The truth is we complicate theology when we fail to take scripture at face value. Reading the verses above, what do they tell us? The truth is there is salvation for everyone, regardless of tribe or nation. That salvation brings hope, prophesied thousands of years ago by the prophet Isaiah. If you believe the Bible is God’s inspired Word, holy and true, then the words of the prophet mean a great deal to Gentiles of today. I am a Gentile and very grateful for what the Bible teaches me about the mercy and grace of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I recently listened to an extensive explanation of two theological view points on the nation of Israel. Are they still the apple of God’s eye? Some say “yes”. Some say “No”. If there is any debate, we must at least be forever grateful that our salvation comes through the man of Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth who as a Jewish male was circumcised on the 8^th day (Luke 2:21). Throughout His life Jesus followed the religious laws, celebrating feasts in the temple along with all the other Jewish nationals.

Jesus lived and died within the context of Jewish practices. A Gentile woman coming to Him for help recognized the difference and reverenced Him for it. (Luke 15:21-28). The gospels portray Jesus as regularly participating in Jewish worship, teaching from Jewish texts, celebrating Jewish festivals, and making pilgrimages to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, all consistent with Jewish identity.

What is the point? Are we to recognize the State of Israel as God’s chosen nation? (Exodus 19:5-6)* Why is it difficult to see that they were first called the children of God, that when God promised Abraham He would bless the nations through him (Genesis 12:3), Gentiles were grafted into the family of God? Nothing matters more than that those who believe and receive Jesus as Lord of their lives, will be called the children of God (John 1:12-13).

Questions remain. Should we be helping Jews to maintain the land? The Bible teaches that this is God’s land, intimately special to Him as the dwelling place of His chosen people (Leviticus 25:23). They were to purge it of all idol-worshiping nations. The Israelites didn’t complete the job and have suffered for it until now. “Did God say….?” This was the question with which Satan tempted Eve in the beginning. It has been asked down through history until this very hour.

The simple truth is that as a humanitarian gesture, at the very least, our attitude should bless the Jews, as much as any nation at war. Why then is there any question about our support? Isn’t this feeding into the very prophecy of end times when all nations will turn against the land of Israel (Zechariah 14), even those professing to be Christian?

Reflection:

If indeed this little patch of ground along the southern Mediterranean belongs to God in a special way, I must think seriously about protecting it. If the people living there have really been brought back to their land by God in fulfillment of prophecy, then I must seriously consider my attitude towards them as a nation belonging to God. It is the simple truths, with profound meaning, which make us a blessing to the heart of our great God when we submit to them, is it not?

Devotional

How Long O Lord?

April 14, 2026 AdminLeave a comment

Habakkuk 1

Habakkuk was weary of asking why God would allow wicked practices to continue. Does that sound familiar? In our world today many believers are bewildered that God doesn’t intervene to deal with some of the evils of our day.

Thousands of years ago, Habakkuk lived in a confusing world. How could a God who is holy allow His people, the Jews, to get away with increasing apostasy without punishing them (1:2-4) and the second question is – how could God use the Babylonians, a people more wicked than the Jews, to punish the Jews (1:12-2:1)?

Jesus asked “How long shall I stay with you? How long will I put up with you?” Calling the crowd “unbelieving and perverse” (Matthew 17:17), He was exasperated; His disciples were given the opportunity to heal a boy of seizures, but their faith wasn’t strong enough and they failed. Why? They didn’t even recognize this was demonic activity in the boy, so if they had rebuked the devil the child would have been healed.

These evils all exist today….lack of recognition in the church of demonic activity, preventing spiritual health and healing, and, as Habakkuk experienced, rejection of the one true God, with Jews (and others) continuing idol worship. How many idols are worshiped in our world today while men rely upon their own strength and ingenuity?

And so, Habakkuk feared that God was not listening. Their once fearless leader, King Jehoiakim was described by the prophet Jeremiah this way: “Your eyes and your heart are intent only upon your dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing oppression and extortion” (Jeremiah 22:17). Habakkuk had prayed for years. Prophesying just before Nebuchadnezzar first invaded Judah and took Daniel and other princes captive to Babylon, Habakkuk was commissioned to announce the Lord’s intention to punish Judah by this coming deportation to Babylon.

Having asked some honest questions, Habakkuk becomes a theodicy, a defence of God’s goodness and power in view of the existence of evil. The best known verse is chapter 2, verse 4, a verse quoted 3 times by the Apostle Paul “The righteous will live by his faith” (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38). “Not only does this reveal the heart of God, but it is the New Testament truth central to the doctrine of justification by faith” (Ryrie Study Bible).

Habakkuk prays “I stand in awe of Your deeds O Lord. Renew them in our day….in wrath remember mercy” (3:2). He knows “The Lord is in His holy temple [heaven Psalm 11:4]; let all the earth be silent before Him” (Habakkuk 2:20) Silence – a very strong command Hush! Be Quiet! “When He opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1). Listen to the noise of wailing around us. “Why?”

Reflection:

Perhaps when all hope seems gone, we need to be silent to sense the salvation of the Lord coming in power and glory. No more asking “Why”, but rather let us conquer by exercising faith in our amazing God! “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Do we believe that?

Devotional

And He Will Make it Again!

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 AdminLeave a comment

Jeremiah 18:1-10

When something we treasure is broken we will go to any lengths to fix it, won’t we? My mother had a dainty needle-point chair with a fragile back that broke every time a heavy man sat on it and tilted back. When I inherited it, the same thing happened. Although it is mended, one can still see the line in the wood where it was repaired. It would be impossible to make it new again.

However, there is an account in scripture that tells us when the clay pot broke, the potter threw the clay back on the wheel and made it again – new! This is used as an illustration of what God wants to do with our lives. He tells us through the Apostle Paul that in Christ we are made into new creatures – that the old has passed away and we have been remade (2 Corinthians 5:17) – “born again” if we use Jesus’ words! (John 3:3).

Think of all the people in this world who want another go at life. Feeling inadequate or like utter failures, feeling broken – how many long for a second chance? Here in God’s Word is the offer of a life-time. Just imagine, offered by Almighty God, the One who so many fear will judge us for all the wrong choices we have made, or the mess we have made out of circumstances.

However, there are some people who don’t know that their lives are cracked, who won’t admit it anyway. We cannot be healed if we don’t face the fact that our wounds need treatment. Perhaps some are hairline fractures in the clay of our lives – those secret sins we have been able to hide from everyone (but God). The Potter needs/wants to fix these. He isn’t asking us to fix ourselves, but rather to let Him do it, as Lord of our lives.

What a glorious hope! I do not have to renew my own spirit, but it is done by the Master. Only the power of God is adequate to renew a right spirit according to the Psalmist (51:10). He is petitioned by many to renew their strength. This renewal is absolutely transforming! (Romans 12:2) Broken minds, broken hearts – nothing is beyond the scope of God Almighty to make new. What a mighty God we serve!

“The pot was marred, so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him”.

Jeremiah 18:4

Reflection:

The Lord Jesus came to earth as a baby with the specific purpose of sacrificing Himself as the Lamb of God, once for all our sins (Hebrews 10:14, 18).

Did you ever experience failure feelings? Have you ever wanted a fresh start?

Devotional

Awake O Zion!

March 30, 2026 AdminLeave a comment

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Pexels.com

Isaiah 52

At Easter time we often think of Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the One who was despised and rejected of men, oppressed and afflicted without opening His mouth and attribute it, rightly so, to Jesus the Messiah. However, it is important to read chapter 52 as an introduction to the message of chapter 53.

Writing to encourage the remnant after pages of dire prophecy pronounced for both their immediate and the distant future, Isaiah is given a salvation message of hope, beginning in chapter 49. “The Lord comforts His people and will have compassion….I will not forget you [says God]….see I have engraved you on the palms of My hands!…..those who hope in Me will not be disappointed.” (49:13,16,23)

Pursuit of the Lord’s righteousness is taught throughout chapter 50 “My righteousness draws near speedily, My salvation is on the way….My righteousness will last forever, My salvation will never fail!” Happy thoughts! (50:1, 5, 6,8)

Then the lyrics change. “Awake! Awake!” (51:9) As the arm of the Lord takes action on behalf of His people, the nation itself must also awake! (:17) Even those who have been under the wrath of God are being called to awake, to clothe themselves with strength. At this time “The redeemed of the Lord will return”(11-12) What joy and celebration as the Lord comforts His people!

In the midst of hopeless circumstances we cannot see the way out of our distress, but clearly here the Lord lays out His eternal plan. Throughout Chapter 52 we see the joy of renewal. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news! who bring glad tidings, and proclaim peace”….because once again they will know their God reigns! (:7)

Reflection:

How much we need this message today – a message of great joy and amazing hope that will draw us to the feet of our God where, despite the politics of our world, we will worship the One who still reigns! Awake!

by Marilyn Daniels