Category: Devotions

God’s grace.
Ephesians 3
It is God’s grace.
God is not where you think He would be. Nor does He do what you think He ought to do or not do. God is in places you have never and would never dream to go in. His grace is found in prisons of failure not the palaces of achievement. It refuses to break the bruised reed that everyone wants to break or snuff out the smouldering wick that everyone sees as useless.
I LOVE YOU. NOW. AS THINGS ARE. NO MATTER HOW BAD.

It is God’s gift.
Paul says he received this gift. He was saying, “It shaped my life, my thinking of life. It has shaped the way I have taught and how I have written. The day I received this grace changed me forever.”

It is God’s purpose
“This grace is not just for me but for others.” v2 for you; v8 to preach; v9 to make plain.
Paul is a steward of grace. As God gives grace to Paul then he must give grace to others. If you really want to gauge your love for God then look at your love for people.
Jesus did not spend time with the sinners who may have skipped their Bible reading that morning. But he spent time with people society called sinners. When we get to heaven we will be standing with countless people dressed in white robes. Who will these people be? Will it be those who have ticked all the right boxes of Christianity? No. It will people who needed to rely on the grace of God.

God hasn’t finished with you yet!
Ephesians 2
God is at work in you, right now.
The frustration you are experiencing may be simply God working to move you out of the Egypt experience and into His promises.
God isn’t at work producing the circumstances you want; God is at work in bad circumstances producing the YOU HE wants!

a. You are His workmanship, v10
The word is where we get our word ‘poem’ from. It means ‘that which is made’.
God has to make you before He uses you.
God has to work in you before He works through you.

b. You are created in Christ Jesus, v10
He is still Creator God. He can still speak things into existence. He can still shape and form life. He can still create something from nothing. He can still move things from chaos to creation.

c. To do good works, v10
To speak a healing word, to pick someone up, to make someone laugh, to put your arms around someone, to sit quietly as someone cries out their story, to read the Bible to someone. What can you do today?

d. Prepared in advance, v10
Wow! God will not change His plans for you because you decide you won’t want Him anymore or because circumstances mean things are impossible. You may have changed your plans for God but His plans are still the same and He is waiting. His plans contain promises. Promises not for your disaster but for your abundance. Plans and promises that bring a future and a hope.
Amen!

Where are you?

The beginning of a New Year!
Ephesians 1
The year is around AD62, Paul is under house arrest with a Roman guard. He is contained, limited and not free to travel like he has been. He is restricted to reach the many churches he still wants to visit.
Do you know this kind of place? A place of containment?
This is where Paul was.
But he disagrees.
He says, v3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ”.
“I am not sitting in this prison, I am living my life in the heavenly realms!”
The heavenly realms is the unseen world of spiritual reality where we are one in Christ.
a. I am under arrest but I am at the horizon. The point of the physical and spiritual, the visible and the invisible.
v1 I am a servant, called, an apostle (sent!), set apart. How is this possible?
Because the physical circumstances will not define me. I will find a way because I live at the horizon.
The horizon is a sitting place, v20 and in the next chapter 2:6. It means you are not moving forward. We are so used to hearing messages of breakthrough, advancement, growth and it is all good. But here is a New Years message: sit down!
Stop trying to make things happen. Stop getting tired from your own efforts. Learn how to relax in God. Learn how not to carry the weight of your problems, but give Jesus your burdens.
Let God work for you not you work for Him.
You are seated with Christ.
b. v18 I am under arrest but I have hope. This is not hope so. This is a real, tangible, guaranteed hope in Jesus. You have not been put on this earth to go under and stay under, to be overwhelmed and eaten away at the predicament you have found yourself to be in. You were created for something much better! Our hope is in His resurrection, v20.

The reason for your life part 6
Coming to the end of this year we have examined how Paul defends his purpose for living. 10 points:
1. Living with purpose keeps the important issues important.
2. Living with purpose leaves no concern for popularity.
3. Living with purpose can be taught but also caught from God.
4. Living with purpose is caught in the desert places.
5. Living with purpose builds your testimony.
6. Living with purpose brings confidence.
7. Living with purpose will have to be defended.
8. Living with purpose is a solid foundation.
Galatians 6
9. Living with purpose holds to personal values.
v1 forgiveness and restoration, not judgement and rejection.
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

v2 carry problems of others
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

v3 get rid of pride
If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

v4 continually self-assess.
Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else

v5 be personally responsible
for each one should carry his own load.

v6 support someone else
v7-9 Don’t give up – sow well reap well.
v10 Use every opportunity to bless.

10. Living with purpose will be attacked, v17, you will be branded for Christ.

Conclusion:
So often we shy aware from self-examination and instead we analyse the circumstances of our life or people in our lives.
However if we become people who simply follow our purpose in life we will be led less by circumstance and people and driven by purpose.
Now is the time to put these principles in place. If we do, we will rise again and again over every opposition that comes our way.
Lets all sign up to be people of purpose.

The reason for your life part 5
Galatians 5

8. Living with purpose is a solid foundation, v10

The Message translation says “Deep down the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect”.
He’s been to God before and for all this.
The purpose for your life is found by digging deep down into God. It is Him and His presence with you that forms His teaching, plans and desires within you.

The reason for your life part 4
Galatians 4
Continuing point 7.
7. Living with purpose will have to be defended

e. Win the argument lose the war is often what happens. But we need to do all we can to win hearts, finish the war and our argument be heard.
v11-12 To beg doesn’t make you a beggar.
v13 Show your own humanity, your weakness.
v14-15 Build bridges through praise of others.

f. Face to face is always better than any other communication, v20.

L

The reason for your life part 3
Galatians 3

7. Living with purpose will have to be defended.

We all know the examples of leaders who seem to like to fight. I have just watched a nature programme and it was basically a wonderful film on tigers who seemed to spend most of their life fighting to be the King. If life is only about fighting till you’re the last one standing then life is going to be lonely. We do find ourselves in disputes but few possess the ability to present clearly opposing reasons in a dispute. How did Paul do it?

a. He wasn’t afraid to use words to catch the attention, v1. The amplified version says of the word foolish that Paul was saying ‘you poor + silly + thoughtless + unreflecting + senseless Galatians’.

b. He knew that finding the right questions to ask is better than simply finding the answers, v1-5, six questions in total! Questions disempower your accusers from their secure position.

c. He had found his position in Scripture, v6, his gospel of grace was there.

d. He spoke to his accusers as though they were his friends. In v15 he used the term ‘brothers’ in effect saying ‘you are my friends and colleagues in the faith, let’s not forget that fact within this dispute.’

We all have to fight at times but it is easy to spot those who are defending their position from a life of purpose rather than those who attack for ulterior motives.

The reason for your life part 2
Galatians 2
We continue to examine how Paul’s purpose (the gospel of grace) shaped his life.

6. Purpose brings confidence, v6-10.

v6, The “seemed to be important” is v2 “those who seemed to be leaders” is v9 “James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars”.
Who were they?
James (not the apostle) – brother of Jesus, leader of the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), leader of the elders in Jerusalem Church.
Peter – leading apostle, fantastic Jewish ministry.
John – disciple whom Jesus loved, son of Zebedee, brother of James, one of the Twelve. Later wrote Gospel, 3 letters and Revelation.

Paul lived with purpose and in so doing he was not intimidated by: reputation (v6) or appearance (v6).
What Paul was saying was that he was equal in ministry, God was at work in Paul just as much as them.
Leaders can get things wrong just like any other human being and if you spot this, it doesn’t mean you are a Jezebel or that you are touching the anointing, you are as anointed as anyone, v11-14.
Just because man puts man on a pedestal and because man likes being up there is not the sign they are above you.
Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it.

In his inaugural speech, Nelson Mandela in 1994 said this:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us…
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.

Without being rude and above reproach we do need to break free from the intimidation of the reputation and appearance of man and let others copy the beauty of living with purpose.

The reason for your life.

In the last few days of this year I am going to be turning your attention towards how Apostle Paul shows the benefit of living with the purpose that God gives. In doing so, hopefully, we too will find our purpose as we brace ourselves for a new year!

Galatians 1

1. v6-9 Living with purpose keeps the important issues important.
See how many times Paul mentions the gospel, it was his and our purpose, that man is justified by grace through faith alone.

2. v10 Living with purpose leaves no concern for popularity.
We all like to be liked but at the cost of our purpose, it is not worth it.

3. v12 Living with purpose can be taught but also caught from God.

4. v17 Living with purpose is caught in the desert places.

5. v21-24 Living with purpose builds your testimony.

Christmas Day! A hectic day maybe but it can be a day of reflection on the year that has gone by.
Paul says goodbye. Before we begin the celebrations of today, what are the important things to carry forward?
2 Corinthians 13 v13. Paul helps us:
What are you aiming for? How can you realign your focus? What do you want in life? How are you going to make that happen?
Who will you listen to? Who is the voice speaking into your life? Your input is as important as your output. Are you reading good books? Whatever the input, make sure it is taking you somewhere.
Who will you be at peace with? Who is the annoying person that you can do your best to love and care for?
Maybe during the loudness of Christmas you can spare a few minutes to ask yourself these simple 3 questions.
And the God of love and peace will be with you. Amen.