Category: Bible

But when you…

September 1, 2021

Matthew 6:1 says “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven”.

We can see by this verse that we need to be careful of how we do things and check our motives for doing them. The questions to ask is are we doing them because they are the right thing to do or are we doing them to get some sort of recognition from those around us?

Further on in the passage Jesus talks about three things we can do that get us public praise. I can them the “but when you” statements.

Verse 4 says “But when you give to the needy…..”

This can be something we can do privately or we can do publicly and make a big show of it. Jesus said not to let our left hand know what our right hand is doing.

Verse 6 says “But when you pray…..”

Again when we pray we can make a big show of it or we can do most of it privately. Jesus told us not to be like the hypocrites who grandstand with our prayers in the church or on street corners.

Verse 17 says “But when you fast…..”

Fasting is about giving up things for God and pressing in to Him for breakthrough in some area. Jesus tells us to keep it quiet and not seek praise from others for doing it. Fasting is about you and God.

Of course these verses are not saying that we should never let anyone know what we are doing. There are times when we should tell people what we have done because it will encourage them on to greater things in their own life.

But most of the time these things should be done in secret with no show or expecting praise from others. It is about the heart attitude we have and our motives for doing it.

Live in freedom to serve

August 26, 2021

Galatians 5:13-14 NLT – For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. [14] For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Bible tells us that we are called to live in freedom (Galatians 5:13). It also says that if the Son sets us free, we are free indeed (John 8:36). It is important for us as Christians to use this freedom well. We can’t just live as we please, we must use this freedom given by God to serve God. We do this by serving one another in love. As today’s verse says the whole of the law can be summed up by “loving our neighbour as ourselves”. Let us purpose in our hearts today, to live in freedom and serve others in love.

Prayer

Dear God, help me to live in the freedom that is given to us because we know Jesus. I pray that I will not use this freedom to indulge my sinful nature, but to serve others in love. I want to truly honour You will my life and how I live. I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

God is always with us

August 23, 2021

God is always with us. The Bible tells us that Jesus will never leave or abandon us in Hebrews 13:5. It also tells us that the Holy Spirit is in us in when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives inside us (Romans 8:11). This is also the same Spirit who hovered over the waters at creation (Genesis 1:2).

This means we are never alone. The Holy Spirit is with us to guide and lead, give wisdom and direction, to help and comfort us. He is closer than our next breath. He is there in between heartbeats.

Let us not forget that God in the Holy Spirit lives inside us today. We can speak to Him at any time and we can expect and answer.

Prayer

Dear God, thank You that the Holy Spirit lives inside me. Help me to never forget that I am never alone. Help me to remember that You are right with me all the time. And that I can speak to You any time I need help, wisdom, guidance and encouragement. Please help me to be conscious of Your presence today. I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Where is your solitary place?

August 19, 2021

Mark 1:35 says, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray”.

The Bible tells us that Jesus often went to a solitary place to pray to His Father in heaven. Where is your place? Have you got a place to go and be alone with God? If you haven’t, I would encourage you to find somewhere you can go.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I thank You that Jesus modelled alone time where He could go away and pray to You. I pray that You will help me to find a place where I can go away and pray to You. Amen.

Love discipline to grow

August 15, 2021

Proverbs 12:1 NLT – To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.

To learn and grow we all need our course to be corrected at times. We all learn and grow, but sometimes our learning takes us off our true course. It is in these times we need God’s correction and discipline. We need Him to guide us back to the path. As Christians we need to realise God’s correction is for our own good. Like a parent scolds a child who runs on to a busy road without looking or reaches for a boiling pot on the stove, God corrects us. We are His children and He is our heavenly Father. And although it is not always nice at the time, we need His discipline to keep us on track. As today’s verse says, we must love discipline.

Prayer

Loving Heavenly Father, today we thank You for Your loving discipline. Thank You for the times and ways You correct us and steer us back to the right path. I pray that we will never hate Your correction, but always understand You discipline us for our own good. Amen.