Daily Devotional

In Christian thought, the title "God of hope" is used to describe and emphasise God's role in providing assurance and confidence in his plans. This title is often associated with the biblical verse Romans 15:13, which states, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul is asking the God of hope to fill these believers with all joy and peace as they put their trust in Him. In other words, he is not asking God to simply dump the blessings of joy and peace into their hearts without cause. He is requesting that as these believers trust in God, so their faith will bring joy and peace to their hearts. In other words, help them to keep believing so that they can experience joy and peace.

What a fantastic prayer to ask God for others or for ourselves. What more could we wish for other believers than to be filled with joy and peace and abounding in hope?

Hope prays for God’s "will to be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10) and then seeks to be God’s agent of change!

One writer says: "Biblical and Christian hope does not mean living in the clouds, dreaming of a better life. It is not merely a projection of what we would like to be or do. It leads us to discover seeds of a new world already present today, because of the identity of our God, because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This hope is, in addition, a source of energy to live differently, not according to the values of a society based on the thirst for possession and competition. … As we embark on this Life, we are led to create signs of a different future here and now, in the midst of the difficulties of the world. To discover the seeds of renewal that will bear fruit when the time comes.”

Heavenly Father, thank You that I have access by faith into Your amazing grace, and have been enabled to stand firm in the evil day. I praise You that my hope is based on nothing less than the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, Who cannot and will not disappoint. Thank You that Your gracious love has been poured into my heart in great measure through the indwelling Holy Spirit, as a guarantee of Your precious promises. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Daily Devotions

In Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” What ann amazing blessing.

A church ran into difficulty when the elders decided that one man was shouting too much in church. They thought he might disturb the very distinguished guests the church was suddenly now having. So the elders called the pastor aside and notified him that this shouter must be refrained. The pastor told them "I won't tell him to stop shouting, but I will go with you if you wish to tell him". So, soon off they went to visit this farmer.

As they drove down the dusty road to his house, they found him ploughing his huge field with his mule near the fence line. One elder spoke for all of the others, stating how they had voted to ask him to hold the shouting down when in the worship service and the potential problem it would cause.

The old farmer quickly stated, "See that beautiful wife standing over there? God gave her to me. See that beautiful farm house? God gave us that house. See those beautiful children playing in the yard? God gave us those children. See all of this beautiful land? God gave me this land. Now, hold my mule while I shout!”

O Lord, you have indeed carried me on your wings.

By your mercy, you have delivered me from sin and death.

You have set me free from their bondage.

Once I was a slave, but now I am free to be your servant.

Thank you, Lord.

Even as I seek to live faithfully as a child of the new covenant,

help me to live each day by grace.

May I continue to ride on your wings

as you guide and empower me to serve you in every aspect of my life.

All praise be to you, gracious Lord,

because you carry me on your wings.

Alleluia! Amen.

Daily Devotions

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

Our friend Frederick Beuchner used to speak about the ‘seeing heart’ He also shared that there was a great teacher of the Old Testament at the seminary where he studied for the ministry years ago. He recalls, “One thing he told us that I have always remembered is that we really can't hear what the stories of the Bible are saying until we hear them as stories about ourselves we have to imagine our way into them, he said. 

We have to imagine ourselves the prodigal son coming home terrified that the door will be slammed in his face when he gets there. 

We need to experience having the breath all but knocked out of him by the great bear hug his father greets him with before he can choke out so much as the first word of the speech he has prepared about how sorry he is and how he will never do it again.  This kind of regret is unlike the way Sunday after Sunday you and I say in our prayers how sorry we are and how we will never do it again. 

We have to put ourselves in the place of the good thief spread-eagled in the merciless sun saying to the one who is dying beside him, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power," the way at the heart of every prayer we have ever prayed or will ever pray, you and I are also saying it in one form or another.”

As in our text, unbelief colours many of the resurrection encounters. Fear and shame fill the disciples. They cling to one another behind locked doors. The risen Lord comes bearing his wounds, in his side, in his hands and feet. He does not blame or chide. Instead he speaks words of peace, and gives them his best gift, his Holy Spirit.

Jesus, 

We dare to believe in the things we cannot see: 

In your love for us 

In your love for those around us 

In the hope of eternity. 

We dare to believe that another world is possible 

That suffering can end 

That we can play a part 

In the kingdom to come. 

We dare to believe in heaven on earth 

In the light breaking through 

In justice made new 

In the blessing that you love for us. Amen

Daily Devotions

We read in Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Immeasurable blessings refers to benefits or positive things that are so great that cannot be fully measured or described, and this is particularly true in describing God's love, grace, and provision. It implies a vast and overflowing abundance.

We often complain about things in life. The economy. Our jobs. The state of this world. We often feel empty and robbed of "the good things in life." But the Apostle Paul saw things differently. Instead of complaining about what he didn't have, he understood and rejoiced in what he did have. Riches in Christ. 

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, near the beginning of his little book All of Grace, tells the story of a minister visiting poor woman he intended to help. He had money in hand to give her, but when he knocked on door, she didn’t answer. Later he found out why: she thought he was the landlord coming to collect rent!

Spurgeon then said: “Now it is my desire to be heard, and therefore I want to say that I am not calling for the rent; indeed, it is not the object of this book to ask anything of you, but to tell you that salvation is all of grace, which means free, gratis, for nothing.” Well, that’s my object this morning: I just want to tell you about “the immeasurable riches of God’s grace.”

In “The Hollow Men,” poet T. S. Eliot describes a desolate and despairing world reeling after the first world war. He opens with the lines 

We are the hollow men 

We are the stuffed men Leaning together 

Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!” 

In this world, rife with sadness and loss, it is easy to feel hopeless and utterly emptied out. However, those of us who know Christ and are known by Him experience the opposite. For when we are in Him, we experience the immeasurable fullness and begin to understand just what’s possible in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

God, you are glorious, generous, and gracious. You have blessed me physically and spiritually with so many wonderful touches of your grace. I praise you for your faithfulness. I thank you for your grace. I exalt your name above every other name and hold it as a personal treasure. Please be glorified in me — my speech, actions, influence, and life. I promise you, O God, to see great things through your power in my life and the lives of your people. In Jesus' name, I pray with expectation. Amen.

Daily Devotions

In Genesis 27:28-29 we find these words, “May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness — an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”

These verses record Isaac's blessing of Jacob, which was intended for Esau. This promises Jacob a life of abundance and authority, including the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, and the subordination of nations and his brothers. It also states that those who bless Jacob will be blessed, and those who curse him will be cursed, echoing God's promise to Abraham. 

As a minister was addressing a group of men, he took a large piece of paper and made a black dot in the centre of it with a marking pen. Then he held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, “I see a black mark.” “Right,” the preacher replied. “What else do you see?” Complete silence prevailed. “Don’t you see anything other than the dot?” he asked. A chorus of noes came from the audience. “I’m really surprised,” the speaker commented. “You have completely overlooked the most important thing of all—the sheet of paper.” 

Then he made the application. He said that in life we are often distracted by small, dot-like disappointments or painful experiences, and we are prone to forget the innumerable blessings we receive from the hand of the Lord. But like the sheet of paper, the good things are far more important than the adversities that monopolise our attention.

In spite of Jacob’s deception the promises of God are still sure. As we see later in the unfolding story of Jacob’s life along with God’s blessing comes responsibility to be that blessing.

Lord of every blessing Bless me I pray so that I may be a blessing, use my hands with Your power so that I may be a channel of Your grace in every step I take. May I lead people to know more and more of Your love and care as I love and care. May Your grace always be with us, guiding and protecting us, today and always. Amen

Daily Devotions

We are all familiar with the saying, “it is more blessed to give than to receive” that actually comes from Acts 20:35 where  Paul quotes Jesus. Elsewhere, Jesus talks about such a blessing as, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

Recently, scientific research has found a neurological link between gratitude and generosity. 

“In a sense, gratitude seems to prepare the brain for generosity. Counting blessings is quite different than counting your cash, because gratitude, just as philosophers and psychologists predict, points us toward moral behaviours, reciprocity, and pay-it-forward motivations. Apparently, our brain literally makes us feel richer when others do well. Perhaps this is why researchers have observed that grateful people give more. Gratitude might be good for us—but it is good for others as well”

Money and material goods can be a blessing or a temptation, and that’s why God urges us to be good stewards of all that he gives us. In addition, good stewardship is not only about what we give in church; it’s also about the generosity we show to people in need. Generosity is not an occasional activity but a lifestyle founded on the gospel: “Freely you have received; freely give,” says the Lord (Matthew 10:8).

We are happy not when we accumulate treasures on earth, but when we gather them in heaven; not when we keep everything for ourselves, but when we give freely for the good of our neighbour.

Give me, O God, a merciful heart, willing to share with people in need. Remove selfishness from me so that I may be a generous giver. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Daily Devotions

There is something about the person who is content with their circumstances regardless of how good and bad their current situation. 

The story is told about a pilot who always looked down intently on a certain valley in the Appalachians when the plane passed overhead. One day his co-pilot asked, “What’s so interesting about that spot?” The pilot replied, “See that stream? Well, when I was a kid I used to sit down there on a log and fish. Every time an airplane flew over, I would look up and wish I were flying... Now I look down and wish I were fishing.”

It is always tempting to think that others have it better than we do, and that if we just had “a little more” everything would be fine. But contentment cannot be achieved by increasing possessions. Nothing will ever be enough.

The Psalmist put it this way, “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them — he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free.” Psalm 146:5-7

G K Chesterton once wrote, “True contentment is a thing as active as agriculture. It is the power of getting out of any situation all that there is in it. It is arduous and it is rare.”

Contentment can be described a state of satisfaction and peace with one's circumstances, and is often regarded as a blessing of the new life in Christ. It can lead to a more joyful and less anxious life by shifting focus from what is lacking to what is present. 

Dear God, thank you for the many blessings in my life. Help me to cultivate a heart of contentment, even when faced with challenges. Guide me to find joy in your presence and appreciate the good things you have given me. May I be grateful for what I have and not desire more than what I need. Help me to trust in your provision and find peace in your unwavering love. Amen