Category: Devotions

Do you look at the elite and wish you were one of them? Are other people just a bit closer to God than you? Then the Apostle Paul is writing to you.

He has shown us in this letter so far that no amount of achievement makes us acceptable to God and He is not pleased with what we do but our trust in Him. Now having just written, ‘faith means nothing and the promise (of belonging) is worthless’ if it depends on our obedience to God, for all that our efforts do is lead us to ‘wrath’ (punishment) and ‘transgression’ (failure) he then elaborates on this further and if you feel just not quite good enough read this:

“Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.” (Romans 4 v 16-17)

Did you spot yourself in these verses? I have underlined them.

Paul is definitely referring to both Jewish and Gentile Christians. To all believers. No one is in a better position or more special place than the other. Our powerful God came and called you ‘into being’ even when you didn’t know Him and even before you were born! There is no outsider in the kingdom of God. You have as much right to the promise of God as the next person.

It’s been 5 years today since David went to be with the Lord. Since then other friends and colleagues have joined him and no doubt David is making every one laugh!

As you know I write a devotional every day. Today I just want to post what I wrote 5 years ago as I was reading through the Book of Acts.

David Tinnion: ‘the believers spoke well of him’ – Thursday 16th March 2017

We continue through Acts verse by verse …

Acts 16:2 “The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.”

This is not the negative ‘when everyone speaks well of you’ from Luke 6:26. This is not ‘everyone’ in our verse today, this is ‘the believers spoke well of Timothy’.

I am sat in my hotel room this morning knowing today will be a very difficult day. My friend of 23 years, David Tinnion, barring a miracle, will probably go to be with His Saviour today. Though my heart is broken and I grieve with his amazing wife Bobbie, I marvel at the messages that come in from around the world.

From central and south America to Europe, Africa and the many eastern and Asian nations, the believers ‘spoke well of him’.

Messages saying how David influenced, shaped, fathered, led, guided, encouraged and empowered them in some way have come flooding in. One leader said David had done more for missions in his retirement than some have done their whole life.

The believers spoke well of Timothy and Paul took that as a guiding reference to bring him onto his team. What believers say about an individual in private can be very helpful for wisdom. Their own encounter with that individual, their own personal stories and truths that perhaps no one else knows, these are the bits of information you need when searching for character issues.

Of course, it is so important to ‘speak well of someone’ to that person in order to encourage them and to keep on doing what they are doing. Through my tears this morning I am thankful that even in the 3 months of this year I remember being able to speak well of David to David on a number of occasions. Even at 70yrs of age a man needs to hear someone speak well of him.

Often we wait till someone has died to speak well of them. It is of course the right thing to do in order to honour their life. But let us use these life-giving words in life as much as we can.

I recommend David to you, the world of Elim and beyond speak well of him, he will be a good friend and help to you. However, the Saviour is calling him today, so your opportunity has gone but David’s has just begun.

For me, I am glad I have an Elim Global representative on earth (Bobbie) and an Elim Global representative in heaven making sure we get our requests in! The Bible tells me a yes on earth is a yes in heaven and a no on earth is a no in heaven. So I just need David to go along with what Bobbie says and Elim will continue to do well around the world!!!

There is nothing you can do to cause you to be saved, not one thing, it is total grace. Not one performance, not one sin-free day, not one commandment or act of purity or sacrificial giving, nothing. Get rid of the whole notion.

The Jews believed as the descendants of Abraham it was they and their land who were the promise given to him by God.

Paul disagreed.

Abraham is the ‘heir of the world’ and ‘father of all who believe’ (v11) and it is not the Law of Moses that binds the genealogy together but through ‘righteousness that comes by faith’ (v13).

We are not His for any other reason but Him.

“It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.” (Romans 4 v 13-15)

‘Faith means nothing and the promise (of belonging) is worthless’ if it depends on our obedience to God for all that our efforts do is lead us to ‘wrath’ (punishment) and ‘transgression’ (failure).

Faith is what we receive as we trust in Jesus. Obedience is what we do as a result of that.

But no amount of achievement makes us acceptable to God. He is not pleased with what we do but our trust in Him. So let’s stop trying to perform today.

The Church should be composed of people who are different in every way but who carry the same faith and experience of God’s grace. Look around your church, is that true? Then it is a church that the Apostle Paul could envisage.

Following on from King David’s, “Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them” (v8) Paul asks an important question: who is that for? The Jew or the Gentile? The answer is it is for anyone who has through faith been credited as righteous (Genesis 15:6) and not some outward sign that they had been accepted by God, i.e. circumcision (seen later with Abraham in Genesis 17:11).

“Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” (Romans 4 v 9-12)

If Abraham is then the spiritual father of all (circumcised and uncircumcised) why is this important?

(This is not to negate circumcision or any other outward sign of an inner working, i.e. baptism, that’s not the point) It is simply this:

There are no barriers to the pure grace of God to everyone and anyone. Churches that are not mono-cultural and who have an array of diversity and where the different classes and tribes worship together then we have the best display of the grace of God on the earth. This is the application of Paul calling for the circumcised Jewish Christians and the uncircumcised Gentile Christians to walk together because what holds everything in unity is their righteousness by faith given by God’s amazing grace!

I met a man the other day who had achieved so much for God but he was incredibly miserable.

Why are some believers like this?

“David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” (Romans 4 v 6-8)

In short, happiness is only found when you receive from God and not when you have earned something from Him (or think you have).

Sit back, receive His presence, be thankful for His forgiveness and be happy today.

Do you ever worry about being good enough for God? Do you wonder if He is pleased or angry or is He someone who is rolling His eyes at you? How debilitating that must be! And more important what a waste of time as a follower of Jesus!

“Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. “ (Romans 4 v 4-5)

God looks for faith; works with faith; pays out because of faith.

That is the gospel.

Faith … trusting Jesus.

Faith gives you enough credit for you to be declared innocent because the debt on your account has now vanished. God did it.

If that’s the truth why are you worrying about being guilty?!

Ever felt that life is passing you by and you are becoming impatient?

Ever feel you want to help God out a bit and take matters into your own hands?

Ever felt that faith wasn’t enough?

Me too!

So far Paul has been saying we cannot boast in anything. It is all of His grace. No matter who you are (Jew or Gentile) the declaring of your innocence before God is done by trusting in Jesus and following Him (faith).

Faith. Simple faith. Nothing else. All of Him.

So Paul chooses Abraham to illustrate this teaching. Abraham died nearly 250 years before Moses was born. So this ancestor pre-dates the Law of God. Paul uses him (seen as the spiritual father of both Jew and Gentile) to show that not even such a heroic figure has the right to boast because of their works. He then uses Genesis 15 v 6 as a key verse set around the story of him and Sarah:

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? ² If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³ What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4 v 1-3)

How to live with hope that God will do with your life what He said He would do:-

• Hold on to the promise God has given you. It’s what Abraham did.
• As you do you will create a legacy that will outlive you. It’s what Abraham did. (The countless followers of Christ are Abraham’s sand on the seashore family).
• Don’t Ishmael your promise for it will lead to pain. It’s what Abraham did. (The hatred of Arab Muslim and the Israeli Jew stems from this impatient act).
• Recover your ground of faith and get back on track when you fail, believe in the impossible working God that His Isaac promise is coming. It’s what Abraham did.
• Be willing to sacrifice/lay down/let go of what God has given you knowing He can give it back to you again/resurrect your Isaac. It’s what Abraham did. (This faith in the resurrection of Isaac points to the faith in the resurrection of the dead that followers around the world now hold on to).

I’m trying to reach a target of £5,000 for Svetlana and Maxim. In 3 days Justgiving will release the funds to be sent to her. Please can you share the link on social media to help me get past that target, the link will take you to the story. Thank you to everyone who has already given. They are overwhelmed and thankful to God for you.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/helpforsvetlana?utm_term=XdwgaAzGE

The gospel is God comes in grace to free us from His wrath towards our sin. The grace means there is nothing that we can do which can force God to do that. There is no achievement, heritage or enough obedience to His law/standard that qualifies us to demand or expect the hand of grace. It is purely and totally God and it is always surprising to the recipient.

So no one can boast about anything!

Recently I listened to a man tell of his many accomplishments in the kingdom of God. He never mentioned God in all of those achievements.

One thing is certain, it is impossible to boast of your own salvation without mentioning God!

“Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” (Romans 3 v 27-31)

Being made right before God is never achieved by working at being right or good or the best you can be.

Being made right before God is only by faith in the act of Christ on the cross and your daily trust in Jesus to follow Him.

With this there is no difference whether Jew or Gentile, it is the same for everyone in this world.

So should we not bother to try and be good?

Paul emphatically says NO!

Here is the Message to help us: “Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it.” (v31)

So we approach the Law/standard of God in the right way and Paul will throughout his letter teach a healthy approach to it. He already has said that we uphold the Law by being convicted of our own sin, “through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3 v 20) and he will say more later in this letter.

I’m trying to reach a target of £5,000 for Svetlana and Maxim. In 4 days Justgiving will release the funds to be sent to her. Please can you share the link on social media to help me get past that target, the link will take you to the story. Thank you to everyone who has already given. They are overwhelmed and thankful to God for you.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/helpforsvetlana?utm_term=XdwgaAzGE

How can God ever say anyone of us is innocent?

How can God turn a blind-eye to our sin if that is what He indeed does?

How can God say someone isn’t guilty when everyone and He knows we are?

How can God bring justice to satisfy the obvious need to punish the guilty?

Here comes the good news:

The heart of God.

The problem of justice existed until that moment of the amazing move of God Himself.

But now … Jesus!

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3 v 21-26)

The cross of Christ was the act of love and grace but we must see it as the act of punishment to fulfil justice for sinners like us.

How can we know this to be true?

By placing our trust in Jesus and following Him demonstrating our belief by actions.

This is the gospel!

613 laws of God and all given via Moses to prepare us all for the need of a Saviour to rescue us from the penalty of not being able to do them!

Paul talks a lot about the law simply because that is the high standard of God. Take away the standards and the holiness and there can be no sin.

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. (Romans 3 v 19-20)

Every mouth silenced and the whole world accountable for their own sin. No one person is excluded.

But what about what Paul said in 2:13 “For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.”? That’s the point: no one has been able to fulfil the law in order to be declared righteous. No one but Jesus.

Every person that ever lived is speechless before God. That’s the point. It is like the criminal in the court now awaiting sentence. There isn’t anything that can be said. There is no defence. All they have to rely on is the mercy of the judge.

No one can appeal to their good works done aligned to God’s laws. No one can claim any heritage of religious duty. No one can achieve the standards of God. Silenced.