Category: Bible

Encouraged by Vision180 devotional

August 14, 2021

I am reading this months devotional from Vision FM. It is called Vision180 magazine. Today’s reading is talking about creation. I really liked this thought from the very first paragraph…

“Science defines the universe as being made up of five components: time, space, matter, power, and motion. With that clearly in mind, read this: ‘In the beginning [time] God created [power] the heavens[space] and the earth [matter]. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved [motion] upon the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be…” and there was.’ (Genesis 1–3 KJV) The first thing God tells us in the Bible is that He created all things and that He controls all things.”

If you are interested in the devotion from Vision FM, you can find it here at vision180.org.au.

He made it all

August 13, 2021

Psalm 33:6-9 NLT – The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. [7] He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. [8] Let the whole world fear the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of him. [9] For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.

Many people I speak to wonder how the world came in to existence. They often wonder if there was a Creator or if evolution theory is true. The above passage settles it for me. The Lord merely spoke and the heavens were created. That is all I need to know. I don’t have to wonder or theorise, I believe God made it all. Some scientists may think it happened by random chance, but I believe there was a Creator – the God of the Bible. His Word says it and I believe it. Case closed!

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for creating this amazing world we live in. Thank You for the stars, the moon, the oceans, the streams, the grassy fields, the birds and animals. Thank You for creating mankind that we can know You. Thank You for creating me. I praise You and thank You for Your wonderful works. Today I stand in awe of You. Amen.

Humble before God

August 10, 2021

Knowing our place before God is vital for us as Christians. We are His children when we come to Christ, but we still have to understand that He is Almighty God. He is the King and Creator of the universe. All powers and principalities are under Him. He is all powerful, all knowing and all present.

When I was a new Christian I used to watch a lot of old movies. I especially enjoyed the ones with kings and knights in from the middle ages. I always loved the way that the knights came back from battle, laid down their swords and knelt face down before the king. They only rose when the king gave them the order to rise.

For me this is a good picture of knowing our place before God. Yes He is our Abba Father, but He is also our King. In fact He is the King of all kings and the Lord or all lords. I need to remember that I need to be like the knights and bow before my King.

As I type I am reminded of James 4:10 in the NLT. It says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honour”. My heart is to humble myself before God and wait for Him to ask me to rise. My heart is to always know my place before the King of the universe.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to always know my place before You. I pray that I will always be humble before You. I pray that I will always be found in Your presence ready to do Your will. I pray I will only rise when You say to rise. I ask in Jesus name, Amen.

Inner strength from God

August 4, 2021

In Ephesians the Apostle Paul prays two prayers for the church at Ephesus. The second is found in chapter 3. It says…

Ephesians 3:16-18 NLT – I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. [17] Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. [18] And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

In this short prayer Paul mentions four great things that he wants for the Ephesian church.

  1. Prayed that God would supply us inner strength through the Holy Spirit
  2. Then Christ will make His home in our hearts
  3. Our roots will go down deep in Him
  4. May we understand how deep God’s love is for us

These are four great things to ask for. We all need inner strength. We all need Christ in our hearts. We all need our roots to go down in him. And we all need to understand the depth of God’s love for us.

It is my prayer that you have all these things today.

Prayer

Dear God, I pray for everyone who reads this post. I pray that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You will empower them with inner strength through the Spirit. I pray Christ will make His home in their hearts as they trust in Him. I pray their roots will grow down into Your love and keep them strong. And may they have the power to understand how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Free discipleship Bible study

July 31, 2021

One of our most popular resources at PASSION Australia is our free discipleship Bible study. It has been downloaded tens of thousands of times.

I originally wrote it to disciple my children when they were younger. Since then I have revised and expanded it and used it with our church for new Christians and our young people when I was a Pastor.

Over the years I have received emails of people telling me they used it for themselves, to disciple a friend, and churches using it for new Christians program. It has been even translated in to other languages.

Each page of the booklet has a simple study that will teach you about the Bible, prayer, church, serving God, sharing your faith, the role of the Holy Spirit and being assured of your salvation.

It includes a number of Scriptures on each topic, some reflection questions, an explanation of a key Bible word, a simple prayer and some Bible memory verses.

If you are interested you can download it for free. You don’t even have to put it your email address. You can find it here.