Category: Devotionals

Encouragement

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I am excited to kick off this new blog series because it is on a subject that is close to my heart. In recent years God has been talking to me about how we all desperately need encouragement. I’m sure part of the reason was because I have a tendency towards negativity and He really wanted me to grow out of it, but He has been very gracious to me in the way He has dealt with that. (Being married to someone whose primary love language is words of affirmation has certainly taught me a lot too!)

I took over the running of our women’s ministry in church a few years ago, and the subject of encouragement was the big thing I felt God ask me to focus on. There was in fact just one verse that really seemed to sum up what God was calling us to as a group:

‘So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:11, The Message).

That has been my hope and prayer ever since: that we would show love, support, encouragement and unity through the way we interact with one another. That when we meet up we learn to intentionally build one another up as well as supporting each other in the day-to-day routines of life. It is my prayer for all of you that are reading this too – that you will have those around you that you can do the same with.

In our busy, time-starved society I believe encouragement can be sadly lacking but it is so vital for the well-being of our souls. There are so many things that can dampen our enthusiasm for life or knock the wind out of our sails, but encouragement is one of the gifts God has given us in order to set the balance right again in our lives. So, during this weekly series, I want us together to delve deeper into the Source of all encouragement and look at how He gently teaches us to be greater encouragers of not only ourselves but those around us too.

(If you’d like to leave a comment or two during the series, that would really encourage me too 😉 )

Worship and justice

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I am so glad you have joined me for this, the last in our series on worship as a lifestyle (next week we will start a new series).

Reflections based on Amos 5:14–15; 21–24.

‘Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’

It was with great interest, and an ever-softening heart, that I read The Art of Compassion. Martin Smith, formerly of Delirious, had launched the charity CompassionArt and invited other musicians to write an album with him, the proceeds of which went to helping the poor. I cried buckets reading the book, in which each artist revealed why they had gotten involved. For many, being part of today’s Westernised ‘worship music culture’ had made them desperate to discover the true meaning of worship afresh. One by one they shared how God had led them to these verses and how they had been undone. God doesn’t want our empty words – He doesn’t want us to sing about how much we love Him on a Sunday, then turn away from the person in desperate need on Monday morning.

Many of the artists have taken their families out to Africa to visit orphanages, and also adopted children and brought them home. I realise most of us don’t have the money to take our kids abroad to make them more aware of worldwide needs. But God does hold us accountable for caring for those we come across daily. When Israel was complaining that they were religiously fasting but God hadn’t noticed He replied: ‘Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?’ (Isaiah 58:6). And in Matthew 25:45 Jesus says: ‘whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’.

We may not feel that we have much to offer, but when we reach out to those around us God ministers to them. Being His hands and feet in this world is a vital part of worship.

Prayer: If you aren’t sure where the most needy are in your area, start praying that God will open your eyes to see who He wants you to help and how you can bring His justice to your neighbourhood.

Sometimes worship is a battle

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Before we start looking at today’s devotional, can I just let you know that I have the privilege of guest blogging over on  MumsKidsJesus today.

Reflections based on Matthew 4:1–11.

‘Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’

We are told here that Jesus had just fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, and that He was hungry. What understatement! Then Satan came to tempt him with things to ease his discomfort. If Satan used this method with Jesus he will certainly try it with us! Sometimes our everyday worship is simply about standing strong against our enemy, refusing to give in to temptation.

Look how Satan even used scripture to try to catch Jesus out, but Jesus was able to quote portions back at him. It is important that we know our Bibles well enough that we aren’t swayed by false teaching or other enemy lies. We also need to make sure we are equipped for battle. Not long ago I was challenged about the fact that I spend time each morning choosing what to wear, but often forget about ‘dressing’ my spirit. I now try to consciously ‘put on’ fruits of the spirit such as love, joy, peace, etc (see Galatians 5:22). I also realised I had stopped putting on the armour of God too, so try to make it part of my daily morning worship by reading through Ephesians 6 and visualising putting on the armour.

pexels-photo-104764We are also called to join with our fellow believers to be a united army. As a worship leader I am always intrigued by the fact that it was the musicians who led out the army procession. 2 Chronicles 20:21: ‘Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever”’. Worship can truly be our battle cry – and an important way to fuel our faith during seasons of attack.

Meditation: Read Ephesians 6:10–18 and imagine putting on each part of the armour so that you are equipped for the day.

 

 

Make space for the extravagant

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Reflections based on Luke 7:36–50.

‘A woman in that town who lived a sinful life … came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.’

After a little break over Christmas, we are back to our Wednesday devotionals on worship…

What total extravagance. Could you picture yourself doing that: entering a home uninvited, weeping and wiping Jesus’ feet with your hair and then kissing them and pouring a year’s worth of perfume over them? Jesus not only accepted the offering of worship from this woman, but also told her that her faith had saved her. Others looked on, probably shocked that Jesus allowed ‘such a sinner’ near him and also appalled at the apparent ‘waste’ (which, incidentally is how the disciples responded to a similar incident later in Jesus’ ministry – see Matthew 26:6–13 for example).

Before we side with the onlookers, condemning the sinner as inappropriate and her actions too ‘showy’ (do we do the same in church?), think about how she truly understood the depth of her sin. She wept enough tears to clean Jesus’ feet! She knew who she was and her dire need of Jesus. As she poured out her love extravagantly, He forgave her extravagantly, extending His love and forgiveness to her.

Extravagant means ‘excessive’, ‘lavish’, ‘wasteful’ and I think worship that can be described like this comes in response to how much we truly understand what we’ve been saved from. I am enjoying listening to a song by Kim Walker Smith at the moment, which has a line in it ‘I wanna waste myself on you’. It seemed like a strange line at first, but it has been hitting my heart each time I listen to it, and, looking at this passage, I can see exactly what it means. Just as in any other love relationship, God enjoys it when we show Him how much we love Him. This woman poured out something so precious that others called her wasteful, yet Jesus understood her extravagant act – and praised her for it. Can He do the same to you?

Question: What extravagant act can you do today to show God how much you love him?

Find time to withdraw

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Reflections based on Luke 10:38–42.

‘“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?”… Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’

Jesus is here tackling the issue of our natural tendency to busy ourselves doing ‘stuff’. Honestly, I find it hard to stop (even to spend time with God) before I’ve done all the jobs that need doing. And yet, when I put time with God first, my perspective on things definitely changes. And when I ask for His help for those things on my ‘to do’ list that really do still need doing often I find a renewed energy and focus. Things that I thought would take me a long time are done much more quickly.

I think that Jesus is also making a very pertinent comment about our acts of service. I know I’ve said in the previous entry of this blog series that worship is service, and that is true, but the heart behind it is the crux of the matter. I have purposefully written this blog straight after the last one because I think we can often busy ourselves with commendable tasks, but neglect the love relationship that is meant to be behind them, fuelling them. Yes, feeding and caring for the guests were necessary jobs (and, secretly, I can totally understand Martha’s frustration!) and yet we can go overboard and miss out on the very thing that we truly desire and need – time with, and input from, our Lord.

How often do we overcomplicate things that could be done more simply, which would free us up more to spend time with Him? And how often do we run out of energy doing things that God hasn’t called us to do? We need to take time to sit at His feet as Mary did; drawing from the Source so that we can serve others out of the overflow He has given us, not from our own, limited, strength.

Question: How often do you rush about trying to achieve things, while neglecting time at your saviour’s feet? Repent and spend some quality time with Him today.

Worship is service

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Reflections based on Romans 12:1–21.

‘Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.’

This passage focuses on the fact that our everyday lives should be about keeping in step with God. The Message translation is great at putting this point across. I like the challenge it gives us right at the start not to be moulded by our culture, as I think that is a danger we can all slip into so easily – without realising it.

The richness of truth in today’s reading is amazing. But much of it is so simple: if we put our focus on God, simply doing what He asks us to, He will change us for the better. It puts it in such a matter of fact way. We should find out what it is God wants us to work at then focus on just that. The image of the body used in verses 4–6 is a vivid picture of how each of us has a God-ordained function.

So worship is not just about what we say but also about what we do. Colossians 3:23–24 sums up how we can worship through daily tasks: ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since…it is the Lord Christ you are serving.’

The second part of our passage today covers so much of what we can do within a life of worship (loving each other, helping those in need, living at peace, looking after ourselves so we don’t burn out). Each one of these is an important aspect of worship. 1 John 3:17–18 goes so far to say, ‘If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.’ Sobering stuff…

Question: Have you considered helping the poor, or fulfilling your role within the church family, to be an act of worship before? How should that change your attitude towards such things?

Costly worship

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Reflections based on Genesis 22:1–18.

‘Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son,
your only son.’

Imagine what is going on between the lines here for a moment. At the start of this passage we are told that God asks Abraham to take his son and sacrifice him on an altar. In the very next verse we are told Abraham set off the following morning, early, to do just that.

I am curious about what must have been going through his head during the night, but what an incredible act of obedience to get up and prepare to do what God has told him to! He doesn’t know that God is going to step in and provide a different object for the offering – even if he does say in faith when Isaac asks him where the lamb is that God would provide (oh how deeply that question must have cut him).

And how must Isaac have felt when his father then bound him to the altar!? He must have thought he was crazy! And yet he then sees how God steps in in his sovereignty and listens as God makes a promise about Abraham’s descendants. Of course, this episode also gives us a beautiful picture of how God would, in the future, give up his own son to death. While he stepped in and saved Isaac from the altar he had to allow his own son to suffer in order to save humankind.

We may never be asked to pay such a high price as Abraham, or indeed be tested as much as he was, but, when we hear God’s clear direction, it is an act of worship to be obedient – whatever the cost. Interestingly, in 2 Samuel 24:24 David says, ‘I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing’. In a way, worship needs a cost – as it then reveals how much God means to us.

Question: When was the last time that you offered God something that cost you greatly in terms of personal sacrifice?

How praise is made possible

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Reflections based on Hebrews 13:11–16

‘Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.’

I believe that this passage is a great reminder of our need for a saviour, and the ultimate sacrifice that he had to pay. Before He came, communion with God was only possible through a hugely complicated set of rules and animal sacrifices. Jesus’ death did away with such rituals and opened up the way to the Father.

Let’s ponder Jesus’ sacrifice a little more. Remember the agonising struggle that He had in Gethsemane when he thought about what was about to happen to him? Take a look at Matthew 26:36–46. ‘My soul is overwhelmed’ seems like a very apt description but somewhat inadequate too! Thinking about His humanity, Jesus must have been petrified at this point and yet He was still able to pray: ‘Yet not as I will, but as you will.’ Wow. But thank goodness He was able to do that, as it is only through what He suffered and endured, and then fought and conquered through His resurrection, that we are able to have a relationship with God. Today we are able to worship God freely, without needing to go through a priest.

While Jesus paid the sacrifice for our sins in a way we are totally incapable of doing for ourselves, God does still ask us for sacrifice. We are told to take up our cross on a daily basis (Luke 9:23). We are also asked to put others before ourselves (Philippians 2:1–4). But when each of these things is done from an attitude of thankfulness and remembrance of what Jesus has done for us, they don’t seem like so much of a sacrifice do they?

Prayer: Thank you Lord for paying the price that I could not for my salvation. Help me to live in the light of what you’ve done, remembering to take up my own personal cross daily as well as put on an attitude of thankfulness and praise.

Wired for worship

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I have been a worship leader for many years now, which means I think about the whole subject of worship quite regularly and extensively. I’ve also read a lot of books about it. That by no means makes me an expert, as I think we can spend our whole lives learning more about worshipping our king.

My aim in posting this devotional series is for us to explore together what it truly means to cultivate a lifestyle of worship – every day. So let’s begin…

‘For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.’ Colossians 1:15

Reflections based on Colossians 1:15–23:

Everyone on this earth was made for worship; it is an inbuilt thing. We were made by God, for God. If we aren’t worshipping God we are worshipping something else.

Worship comes from the Old English word ‘Worth-ship’ and it really is about honouring what we value the most. As Louie Giglio, in his book The Air I Breathe, says: ‘Right this very instant, all across your city or town, people of all shapes and sizes, people of every age and purpose are doing it – continually making decisions based on what they value most. Worship happens everywhere…all day long.’

When we look at it from this perspective, the idea of ‘worship as a lifestyle’ doesn’t seem so alien.

Our passage in Colossians looks at how Jesus existed before time, was there helping his father create the world and also reconciled us to God. As verse 17 indicates, ‘He existed before anything else,
 and he holds all creation together.’ There is so much in there to ponder – try reading back through the passage slowly and see how your spirit responds to the enormous truths contained in it.

You may not feel like worshipping God today. Life is hard and none of us are immune to difficult circumstances. But even if you don’t feel it, the way you live your life reveals what it is that you worship. Your ideals, priorities etc are all based on what it is that you value most. That is simply the way you were made. And for those of you who, like me, have a tendency towards self-sufficiency, do really take time to ponder the question below.

Question: Think about what you prioritise in terms of your time and money. What does that reveal to you about what you value most?