Category: Devotions

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1 v 26-28)

The most surprised girl in history was Mary. An ordinary girl who was visited by a mighty angel who had been sent by an extraordinary God.

The Bible is a history of God taking ordinary people and doing miracles through them. They weren’t special but they became special through what God did through them.

God will use people who say YES to Him despite their circumstances saying NO.

Everything around you can be saying NO, but it is what you say that matters.

Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. It was a 2 year journey leading to the consummation of the marriage. The first year was as important as the second and the woman could only get out of it by a divorce. It was a fixed position. This announcement of a child would leave the circumstance saying NO.

God will use people who are chosen by Him. “…highly favoured” or uniquely privileged. No one in all of history is called or privileged to receive God’s grace except Mary.

Except …

“Highly favoured” in the original written language is used in the Bible one more time, in Ephesians 1: 4 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” ‘Chose us’ is ‘highly favoured’. So the special greeting to Mary is the same that Paul uses for you and me.

You who are reading this devotion today are uniquely privileged, highly favoured and incredible chosen.

So today wherever you are and whatever you do God can and will use you, He just needs your YES. It doesn’t matter about the circumstance you are in, YES use me God is the answer, I am chosen by you!

“Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favour and taken away my disgrace among the people.” (Luke 1 v 21-25)

At the same time as you are doing what you are doing, whether you are in success or struggling when perhaps the centre stage is the whole stage and you see no one else or nothing changing, remember this word: Meanwhile.

Meanwhile … the people were wondering … and Elizabeth was waiting and in her waiting she was being prepared for Zechariah. God was working in her womb, making her fertile for the very first time, waiting for her now dumb husband to come home to her.

You don’t see it all.

You are only part of God’s story not the other way round.

In His story He has many people and He moves them into place.

There are things happening right now that you do not even see or could possibly imagine.

Things are shifting, circumstances are changing for other people, preparations are taking place, do not give up hope.

One man was having an experience and meanwhile the people were waiting.

One couple had prayed for years and meanwhile God was waiting till they were past all possibility.

One man had forgotten about the prayers of old and meanwhile God was choosing him miraculously to enter the Holy of Holies.

One man performed his duty as all the previous priests had done and meanwhile God was sending Gabriel to him.

Which part of the meanwhile are you in? Where are you?

In the meanwhile you may feel isolated.

Elizabeth carried a miracle for 5 months in seclusion. Why?

Surely it was because she didn’t know how people would react. What would they say?

Perhaps it was herself who wondered whether she was able to carry the miracle to the fulfilment. Maybe she thought it would be best to not let people know, just in case.

So not only was her husband now silent, Elizabeth was now not seen. They were well and truly hidden.

In the meanwhile you may feel it is imperfect.

This may last the whole time of carrying the miracle.

Her husband was still mute, a sign to the miracle that unbelief and weakness needs to be silenced.

In the meanwhile you will be inspired.

The month after a young teenage family member came to see her. Her name was Mary and she had some news also! God will always have people in the latter stages of your miracle who will come to strengthen you.

Meanwhile is not just a waiting period. God is still moving.

“Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” (Luke 1 v 18-20)

His presence is everything.

Zechariah was standing in the holiest symbolic place of the presence of God but he wasn’t standing in His presence and it showed.

We can gather at many altars and perform a variety of liturgies. We can arrange our artefacts around us. We can position our Temple furniture and we can perform our duty of worship. Yet in all of that we can have let go of the old dreams, the prayers that are now not prayed and the hope that has disappeared.

You see, the answer is always the presence of God.

The presence keeps dreams new, prayers fresh and hope alive.

We need visitations from angels or people who have been standing in the presence of God.

Surround yourself with the presence of God. His presence is everything.

His presence is to be learnt and as we do it can lead us to miracles we long for.

Zechariah asks for a sign that this amazingly great news and answer to a very old prayer of theirs would actually come true. Wouldn’t we? Yes we would.

So the sign is given. Where is the sign? Zechariah wasn’t expecting that he would be the sign! It isn’t a punishment, it is a grace. “You will be silent”.

Some miracles need silence.

Maybe we also need to shut up and stop thinking of all the reasons why something cannot happen and be prepared to be part of an amazing story.

Zechariah had to complete his duty in the Temple and then go outside to meet the worshippers. He then had to go home and sleep with his wife Elizabeth. This was not the Immaculate Conception. He would then have to wait the 9 month period. In all of this he needed to be silent. If he had kept voicing his concerns then it would have affected the story.

Shut up and do what you have to do. Be a sign for your miracle.

Recognise His presence today, speak less perhaps not at all and be obedient.

 “Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹ he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshippers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1: 8-17)

Zechariah was chosen that day to burn incense. In the temple he would sprinkle frankincense on the fiery coals and a fragrant cloud would rise. He would prostrate himself on the floor and pray for the peace of Israel and give thanks for previous blessings. He had studied how to do this though this was most probably his first time.

It was a special day for him. He was just a priest, not a High Priest, just an ordinary one and yet the dice rolled in his favour apparently because out of at least 20,000 other priests he had been chosen. Luck? Miracle? Or indeed chosen?

Zechariah is chosen to go into the most privileged place, the presence of God. He is alone in the place of sacrifice. He longs for the Messiah to come but he doesn’t realise how close Jesus is. He pours the incense on the altar. The place is filled with a beautiful fragrance.

The incense was not for the enjoyment of the people it was for God. But the beautiful smell was the signal that God was there meeting with them and it was then that they would pray. Maybe they thought the incense attracted God to them, a sign for Him to come?

Outside everyone is praying, the fragrance of the incense has reached them. Inside, alone, is a man chosen by God having the experience of sacrifice.

Symbolism is all around him. He has prayed and so have the people outside for the protection of Israel and for the coming Messiah. What he doesn’t realise is that all the artefacts around him have their central meaning in Christ, the whole of the Temple was a picture of Jesus.

Zechariah was before the altar of incense. The place symbolic of the prayers of people rising to God.

Where did he come from? I am not sure, he just appeared! Zechariah was clear that an angel had appeared, he even knew where he was standing for the detail will never be forgotten.

The message was simple and for all time.

Have faith, don’t be afraid.

The angel told Zechariah to stop. He wouldn’t command that if it wasn’t possible to do. Fear needs to be stopped because it paralyses us from moving. Zechariah would have to begin to move because God was already moving.

To stop being afraid Zechariah learnt what we must learn.

1. Our prayers are heard. The prayers of old and the forgotten prayers perhaps “your prayer has been heard”.
2. He can still do the impossible “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.”
3. His ways need to be His ways. Zechariah would not follow custom but call his son John for his son would follow a new path and purpose for God “and you are to call him John.”
4.  What I ask for is always less than what He can give “Many will rejoice because of his birth”
5. When God answers my prayer the blessing will go beyond me “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord”
6. Whatever God gives to me belongs to Him “He is never to take wine or other fermented drink” (the Nazirite vow which consecrated Him to God)
7. God is always bigger than what I think I know and understand often leaving me wondering “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born”
8. When God gives it is more about presence than protection or provision “He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God”
9. God never forgets the people of the past and the anointing of the present can be even greater than that of yesterday “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah”
10. The purpose of God is to prepare for Him coming. It is all about presence “To make ready a people prepared for the Lord”

Let us get into the temple today and wait on His presence for anything can happen when He is here.

It doesn’t matter how dark or how difficult life is …

“In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.” (Luke 1: 5-7)

In the time of “evil” (Herod) there was a man named “Jehovah has remembered” (Zechariah) who belonged to the priestly division called ‘worshipper of Jehovah’ (Abijah). His wife was called ‘the absolutely reliable one’ or ‘God is my promise’ (Elizabeth). Like her husband she too traced her priestly ancestry but all the way back to the founder of the Israelite priesthood.

So let’s do this again:-

In the time of a murderer of 2 of his sons, nearly all his wives and his father in law there lived a couple who believed that God remembers His promises.

Are you seeing this? Let me try again:-

In the time of one of the most wicked, self-absorbed, ambitious, and jealous (even to the point of massacring innocent children) rulers there lived a couple who had built their whole life on worship. The foundation of their family tree was one of praise and sacrifice. Their family stories were that of hosting the presence of God within the Holy of Holies, where hurts and offences against each other were sins against God and the liturgy constantly worked towards reconciliation and forgiveness.

It matters not how dark the world can get nor who rules the land we live in. In the midst of fear from the threats of man and the lies and manipulation of selfish people there can live lights shining bright, waiting and available to the story of God. Faithful names holding on to a much more faithful God. People of God who hold worship as the foundation of their life.

But to do it when it seems like God has not responded the way you had hoped is even more special.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were faithful, obedient and people who followed God’s ways. They were righteous but the desires of their heart were not being met.

Deuteronomy 7: 14 “You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young.”

People took this further and said if an individual was barren it actually showed the disfavour of God.

When you have Bible promises but also people using the Bible to discourage you further, how do you survive?

This couple were both very old and they had accepted things as they were, Elizabeth was unable to conceive and they didn’t know why. They lived in a tough time and their life was tough. So how did they survive? They did so by worship and trust. There is no indication that they walked away from God at all. Can you be trusted to carry a heartache? Will you trust in the tough times.

The true assessment of character only happens when there is lack. Trust is born in lack.

In a few days Advent will have begun! But today Christmas Advent calendars will begin to be opened and we will be enjoying a chocolate every day!

So I wanted this year to go on a journey with some special Christmas daily devotions. I hope they bless you and that God uses them to speak to you.

Day 1: Prophecy of Micah

“Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.

² ‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.’

³ Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labour bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.

⁴ He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

⁵ And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders,
⁶ who will rule^[c] the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword.  He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land and march across our borders.

⁷ The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for anyone or depend on man.
⁸ The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, and no one can rescue.
⁹ Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed.

¹⁰ ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord

Micah 5

The key message for today: Though the circumstances are difficult. Though your abilities seem inadequate. It is always who is inside you that is of importance. Greater is He that is in you than is in the world.

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times

Bethlehem (whose name we have to use the region of Ephrathah for because there are other Bethlehem’s in order to determine which one we mean).

• You are not unique. There are others like you.

 Well, not exactly like you, because you are small, weaker and more insignificant actually.

That was the description of But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah.

However, King David was born in your town.

I love this.

Maybe today you feel more like the description of Bethlehem Ephrathah. You believe you cannot influence the situation you are in. Life is a struggle.

Look back – See what God has done in previous years through you.

Bethlehem! … King David was born in your town!!

 He was your ruler, strong, majestic, secure and great.

You may need to go back to a previous generation or it may be within your own personal history, but God is there to be found.

Believe again – It can happen again. God can come again.

Out of you will come for me one.

 And not just one but The One!

 The One who is everlasting, who is from of old, from ancient times, the One who is peace.

Live in the light of that fact

Thrive in the place you are – be like the “dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass” and don’t “wait for anyone or depend on man”. Do it now.

Live victoriously – “in the midst of many peoples” be a “lion among the beasts of the forest”

A new day will come – “in that day” is the Lord’s Day of miracles and moves that you cannot do yourself.

Look back, believe again and live in the light of that fact. Though it is tough at times who is inside you is of huge importance. Greater is He that is in you than is in the world. The King not just of David but of all kings is with you!

This is the final devotion on Hosea. An old prophet has not only spoken into his generation but also to mine here in 2023.

I am committed to doing what the first hearers failed to do and to listen.

Hosea, in the north of Israel, prophesied around 755 to 710 BC at the same time as prophet Amos who with Isaiah and Micah were prophesying in the southern kingdom. Sadly Assyria did invade and destroy the northern kingdom in 722 BC, God’s people had not listened.

What is the book of Hosea all about? Here are 5 big themes.

1. Spiritual decline
2. The influential power of sin
3. God faithfully loves us
4. God is our Redeemer
5. The cost of following is worth it. The cost of not doing so isn’t.

Can you imagine being Hosea?

I sat with a Pastor yesterday who was expressing how after a few years of trying they have begun to feel like a failure. I explained to them that a failure is someone who hasn’t gone when God said go.

Was Hosea a failure? His wife kept wandering away to other men and then the generation refused to listen to his message from God and destruction came.

When Hosea began his ministry, Jeroboam II (782-753 B.C.) was still reigning in Israel. Hosea’s ministry spans the last six kings of Israel from Zechariah (753 – 752 B.C.) to Hoshea (732-722 B.C.)

Of those, 4 were murdered and the last taken captive to Assyria; so confusion and decline characterized the last years of the northern kingdom.

Hosea was the last writing prophet to minister to the North before the fall to Assyria. We don’t know what happened to him or how he died.

In the world’s eyes he may be viewed a failure. He paid a high price. But the cost was worth it because he did what God asked of him and therefore he was a success.

“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them.” (Hosea 14:9)

Following God, walking in His ways, being a disciple of Jesus Christ is a choice.

You can enjoy the benefits of ministry without paying the cost of walking in His ways.

You can be known as a ‘nice Christian person’ you can be a member of a church and join the choir and never have made the choice of discipleship.

You can instruct others on being a disciple and be a great orator of the Bible without paying the cost of walking in His ways.

Those who pay the cost of walking in His ways carry a personal message that says, “It’s not about me.”

Those who pay the cost of walking in His ways carry a personal message that says, “I will lay my life down for others.”

Those who pay the cost of walking in His ways carry a personal message that says, “I don’t know it all”.

Successful kingdom followers pay the cost and walk in His ways. Failures don’t but they pay a higher cost.

What is the book of Hosea all about? Here are 5 big themes.

Spiritual decline

The influential power of sin

God faithfully loves us

God is our Redeemer

The cost of following is worth it. The cost of not doing so isn’t.

What is the book of Hosea all about? Here are 5 big themes.

1. Spiritual decline
2. The influential power of sin
3. God faithfully loves us
4. God is our Redeemer

“I long to redeem them …” (Hosea 7 v 13)

“I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?” (Hosea 13 v14)

Overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro is the world’s largest statue constructed between 1922 and 1932, Christ the Redeemer. It is an amazing picture for the whole of Brazil’s Christian faith. Christ the Redeemer has His arms stretched out to the whole world today. No one is beyond His reach.

His reach is far and wide and there are no lengths that He will not go to bring us back. God will chase after a wayward wife, a prodigal son and a lost sheep. He will run after you too. He is your Redeemer.
We all need rescuing from time to time.

He saved you. He heard you. He turned to you. He was gracious to you. He gave righteousness to you. He protected you. He has been good to you. He delivered you. He dried your eyes. He steadied your feet. He brought you to life. In the presence of suffering, in the presence of liars, in the presence of all His people, even in the presence of death, He freed you, freed you to serve, freed you to praise and freed you to live. For the ones who have fallen on hard times. For the tattered and the torn and those who have been forgotten. For the ones that have run out of second chances, burnt every bridge, and hit rock bottom… You are never too dirty, never too deep, never too far, to find hope, find relief, to find the Redeemer.

Let us never stop telling the ancient stories.

There are stories that our children and our grandchildren need to hear us say. We don’t need to rewrite our history to make the story more palpable. But we do need to let grace rewrite our story.

You may have a story of a life of work. A story of marriage and family. A story of life containing failings and achievements. Speak it out.

The blood is greater. It is greater than my fearful future. The blood of Jesus overcomes the powers of sin and death, racism and hate. This is my story. This is my song. Shout it aloud of your Redeemer! His arms are outstretched towards you today.

What is the book of Hosea all about? Here are 5 big themes.

1. Spiritual decline
2. The influential power of sin
3. God faithfully loves us

The story of Gomer, the adulterous wife, is the heart of the message. Hosea continued to love Gomer even when her actions was the opposite of love. Where she was the epitome of unfaithfulness Hosea was the embodiment of faithfulness. The prophetic message revealed that just like Hosea in his marriage, God was faithful to His unfaithful people.

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” (Hosea 11 v 1)

Not every display of love is God. Even idolatry contains love.

But every display of God is love. When He speaks love is spoken. When He sends love is coming. When He shows up love is here.

Love is challenged continually across the world by preachers who are concerned about a sinful Church. The fact is the Love of God is the answer to a sinful Church.

To live by love means you are not denying or trying to forget the sin in your life, but by allowing love to expose it you find who you really are. Love calls you to keep coming back to God.

God will not fail to fulfil His responsibilities even if we fail to fulfil ours.

God is always true, right and faithful even in His punishment/judgment.

God making all things right doesn’t mean it wasn’t wrong and deserving judgment. Sin is never right. But God is here and He faithfully loves us. This is a major theme in Hosea and it is found in chapter 11.

“How can I give you up? Even if I could, I wouldn’t. I called you and you came to me

But then others called you and you left me. Yet I stuck with you then and I don’t intend to change my pattern now.

I taught you to walk, I led you, I bent down and lifted you up. It is within your DNA to walk away from me. Every time.

But I am committed to you. And that is final.

So I ask, How can I give you up? How can I let you be ruined? I cannot. For I am not like you.

I am the Holy One, the different One.

And I am here with you. I will win you back. I cannot let go. I will not let go. I know you will return. I am waiting.”

What is the book of Hosea all about? Here are 5 big themes.

1. Spiritual decline
2. The influential power of sin

If only spiritual decline was self-contained. But it isn’t. It impacts on others. What happened in the northern kingdom where Hosea was prophesying seeped into the territory of the south, into Judah.

If you have ever seen the negative impact from someone’s decisions to walk away from God then you know it is often more than a stone in the water causing ripples. Sometimes it can be a tsunami of impact. When people fall from grace they always take others down with them.

There is however one thing worse than this and that is to lead others astray.

“Though you, Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty.” (Hosea 4 v 15) Judah was as open to idolatry as the Northern Kingdom. It didn’t take much for Judah to go astray.

“Israel has forgotten their Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses.” (Hosea 8 v 14) Judah’s history reveals they were only spared the destruction that happened in the north because their waywardness was interspersed with revivals. Nevertheless what happened in the north impacted the south. Sin doesn’t stay still, it grows like a cancer that consumes and spills out and continues to invade others. Sin impacts those closest to us and then it continues to hurt, damage and lead astray as many as possible. Whole communities can turn to idolatry because of charismatic personalities who behind the scenes are committing idolatry in various forms.

So what can we do to protect ourselves from sinful influence?

• Not everything you hear can be trusted and believed blindly.
• Not everything that is inspirational is from Him even though it might make you feel good.
• Not everything that is false looks false at first otherwise there wouldn’t be a possibility of being led astray.
• Everything must be filtered through this one test: Jesus is the Christ in flesh sent from God.
• Every religious experience must come under the submission of the orthodox teaching of and about Jesus Christ.
• Everything the Spirit of Christ does points to Jesus and if it doesn’t then it is the spirit of the antichrist.