Category: Devotionals

Moulded by the maker

Reflections based on Romans 5:1–5.

We need to be honest – there are times when we all struggle, when thoughts about hope are simply beyond us because we are totally overwhelmed and frustrated by our circumstances. God knows that, and shows us great mercy in our struggles. But He also works through our testing times, our waiting times, the times when we are forced to give up on things we thought we were supposed to be doing, are suffering physically or are being treated unfairly by someone around us.

Some of the things we find ourselves up against are a result of human sin – of those around us or perhaps ourselves – but, whatever the reason, God can use it all to mould our character. As this Romans passage says, we can ‘boast in the hope of the glory of God’ – but also ‘glory in our sufferings’ because they produce in us a harvest of perseverance, character and, eventually, hope.

Knowing that God is doing something through the hard times, moulding us to be more like Jesus, can help us to understand why He doesn’t always deliver us from them. Rather than just praying for an end to the troubles, have you ever tried asking God what He is trying to teach you, or change in you, during a really testing time?

Mick Brooks, in his book Faith, Hope, Love and everything inbetween (CWR), says: ‘Even though we sometimes don’t realise it, don’t feel like it’s true and even, at times, don’t want it, God is committed to finishing what He has started. He takes imperfect people and works constantly to transform us, using everything we go through as the tools of His trade.’ (p17)

In my own life, it is certainly true that I can look back and see how God has changed me through the struggles — although I couldn’t see it at the time.

For prayer and reflection: Thank You Lord that You have a heavenly, eternal perspective. So often I want to be released from particular difficulties and yet You allow them because they mould me. 

Learning to remember

Reflections based on Exodus 15:1–18 and 16:2–3.

Our reading for today shows us how quickly we humans forget! God had miraculously delivered the Israelites from their oppressors, the Egyptians, by opening the Red Sea for them to cross safely, then closing it over their pursuers. Immediately afterwards they burst into a spontaneous song of thanks. Yet, by the next chapter they are longing to be back in Egypt because the going is tough! They’ve forgotten what they experienced there, and aren’t trusting that God will provide all their needs while they are in the desert. Did they truly think God would do such an amazing miracle to ensure their freedom, then leave them to starve in the desert? But, by focusing on their immediate needs, that was exactly what they were believing.

While we may judge the Israelites for their lack of trust, we, too, can quickly forget God’s goodness. By focusing on difficult circumstances we can get blinkered, and unable to see God’s perspective on the situation. But by remembering the good things He has done we can feed our souls with truths that build our faith back up and help us to believe that, while we may not get instant relief from our problems, God still has our backs.

One important way to remember is to delve into Scripture to see how God has been faithful to His people throughout time. Indeed, Romans 15:4 says that ‘everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.’ One of the purposes of the Bible is to feed us with knowledge of God, providing us with an assurance of His overall perfect plan.

For prayer and reflection: Thank you Lord for the Bible, and for all the wonderful stories of your faithfulness that it contains. Help me not to be as forgetful as the Israelites were.

An anchor for our souls

Photo by Manuel Keusch from Pexels

After a break over the summer (during which we had an incredible time in the Philippines – I’m sure I’ll be sharing about that sometime!), we are back with our next reflection on hope.

Reflections based on Hebrews 6:13–20.

While it begins by referring to the oath that God made with Abraham back in the Old Testament, I have chosen to concentrate on this passage from Hebrews because of verse 19. It is God’s nature that is unchangeable – as are His promises. So even while we are going through really tough times we can rest assured that His purposes will come to pass. It is that secure knowledge of our future hope that can anchor our lives even when all around us is a raging storm. In fact, the anchor on a boat isn’t really needed in calm seas – how often do we forget about ours when things are going well?

The curtain that is referred to in verse 19 was found across the entrance to the Most Holy Place in the temple. In Old Testament times, it was a place the priest could only enter once a year to atone for the sins of the people. But Jesus’ sacrifice for us means we have constant access to God now, and can draw close to Him during the good and bad times. That knowledge is, again, I believe a firm anchor for our souls. We can spend time dwelling on the fact that we are accepted by God, loved unconditionally and saved for eternity. Hebrews 10 includes a similar message to our reading, going on to say ‘let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings… Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.’ (vv.22–3)

I think there are times when we have to make a conscious effort to hold onto that anchor. One way we can do this is by reflecting on God’s faithful nature. Why not take some time out today to do so?

For prayer and reflection: Have you ever kept a prayer journal? You can record prayer requests, and answered prayers. If you already have one, take a look back and thank God for His faithfulness to you.

Jesus’ prayer for us

Reflections based on John 17:20–25.

Just before He was betrayed by Judas, Jesus spent some time praying for himself, for his disciples but also for future believers – that’s us! In that prayer, our reading today, He prayed that we would be one ‘so that the world may believe’ (v21). His prayer echoes what the previous devotion discussed – about God’s plan being focused on us, that we would share the hope we have found through the way we live and speak.

The Great Commission, some of Jesus’ final words to His disciples, again encourages us to get out and share the Good News: ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ (Matthew 28:19–20)

Peter, in his first letter, encourages us to ‘always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.’ (1 Peter 3:15)

I think we can clearly see that we have a responsibility to share our hope with those around us – through the way we live and the words we speak.

If what you’ve read today fills you with dread and condemnation rather than joy, please don’t allow it to settle on you. I am not a natural evangelist, and also experience feelings of inadequacy. But even if you are struggling with the most difficult of situations, it can be through those testing times that we reveal the faith we have in our God to those closest to us. It is about learning to cling to that hope when all around us looks hopeless – which we will start looking at more closely next time…

For prayer and reflection: Jesus You prayed that we would be one so that the world would believe. Help me to realise that in You I have everything I need – to live in unity with others and to be a good witness.

God has put his hope in us

Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pexels

Reflections based on Ephesians 2:10–22.

This passage builds on what we were learning last time – that God’s hope is for everyone and that that hope is revealed through the Church.

Ever since I became a Christian in childhood I have been taught that we, God’s people, are God’s plan A for reaching the world, and that He has no plan B! Indeed, the phrase ‘The local church is the hope of the world’ is used a lot by preachers and teachers. It is so true that, as long as the Church is working as it should, it reveals a real depth and beauty – because it has the fragrance of Christ.

Our passage talks about us being part of a much bigger thing; a building God has fashioned for Himself. The apostles and prophets were the foundation, Jesus the chief cornerstone and all of us join together to be the holy temple in which God lives. Wow. It is no longer about ecclesiastical buildings but simply through the way we live that we reveal to the world that each one of us can have His Spirit dwelling inside of us.

While pondering this passage, I came across the following quote from C.S. Lewis: ‘The church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply, a waste of time.’ There is certainly plenty of food for thought contained in there!

For prayer and reflection: Spend some time thanking God in your own words that He has chosen the Church to be His vehicle to reveal Himself to the world.

Made alive!

Reflections based on Ephesians 2:1–10.

If, like me, you have been a Christian a long time, you can begin to forget what it is you have been saved from – what this glorious hope has actually done for you even while you are still on this earth.

I think it is important, at times, to think about where we could have been without Christ. A look around our society today should make this easier! In just my lifetime so much more crime, depravity, idolatry, greed, poverty etc has sprung up and, but for the grace of God, we could be involved in it ourselves. We could be part of the ‘I’ generation in which anything goes as long as it feels right for ourselves. (And, unfortunately, we can sometimes get sucked into the same kind of thinking.)

While there might seem to be freedom in doing whatever we want it just leads to death – and we can see that all around us too. But thank God, because of His great love, He saved us from that and brought us into a richness of life that no one without Him can fully comprehend (and we will spend eternity discovering more about ourselves).

Remember: our salvation is a gift of grace from our incredible heavenly Father. We are alive in Christ and that beats anything this world can offer!

Optional further reading: Psalm 130:5–8, Romans 15:7–13.

Hope within the body of Christ

Reflections based on Ephesians 4:1–16.

‘There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called’ (v.4)

I find this reminder of our one hope really interesting – and encouraging. It comes under a subheading ‘Unity and maturity in the body of Christ’ and here we are urged to live lives ‘worthy of the calling’ and are given a wonderful picture of how the body of Christ should work. Supporting one another, building each other up and each playing the part that God gave specifically to us…

Paul is obviously very aware of how differences between people can niggle and eventually erode the unity of the Church, so he begins by reminding us that there is only one body, and one Spirit – just as there is but one hope.

As we looked at last week, that hope is open to everyone who chooses to believe. That means our churches are going to be full of people that are very different to us! How do we learn not to just live with them, but appreciate those who may have different viewpoints and giftings to us? Well I think ensuring we keep the ‘main thing the main thing’, as a speaker I heard once said, is a pretty important part of that.

If we keep our focus on the fact that we, totally undeserving sinners, were offered unmerited favour by our God, through Jesus Christ, then we can look at others through the eyes of humility and love. But also with a heart of celebration – God has given each one of us this hope! And exuding that future hope, no matter what our circumstances (and possibly personal differences), is something that only the Church can do.

Let’s ‘grow up’, shape up and show the world that we certainly do have something that unites us all!

For prayer and reflection: Thank you God that you love me – but that you also love the people I find most difficult in church. Help us to learn to celebrate that each of us is different.

Hope for everyone

Reflections based on Colossians 1:13–29.

Just in case you aren’t fully convinced, we are spending one more blog looking at how much Scripture proclaims Jesus to be the hope of the whole world! Here, Paul is telling the Colossians his own reasons for working so hard – because he longs to present people that are fully mature before God.

Again, we are told of the supremacy of Christ, how He has been in existence since the beginning of time and helped the Father create the world and everything in it. We are also told that God could only reconcile us to Himself through his Son’s sacrifice.

Interestingly, Paul also refers to the fact that God has made salvation available to the Gentiles too. Remember, in Acts 10, God showed Peter a vision about this, urging him to eat animals that had previously been thought unclean. When Peter resisted, God said ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean’ (v.15) and immediately God put him in contact with Gentiles, to whom Peter then continually preached salvation.

The hardworking nature of both these men challenge me on days when I’m weary. They both understood that this hope is for everyone, not just to be kept to ourselves.

How often do we judge those around us? We may think that a particular neighbour, colleague or family member would never respond to the hope we have in Jesus – but who are we to judge? Only God can look into the hearts of men and women and truly know where they are at.

Interestingly, we were discussing this very subject in our small group this week, and we admitted that we can have a tendency to decide ourselves who seems ready to hear about the gospel – and who doesn’t. Often it is actually our fear of others rather than God that keeps us silent, but let’s remember that it is through us that: ‘God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (v.27).

Prayer: I’m sorry I sometimes judge those around me as not being worthy of, or interested in, Your love. None of us could earn our salvation – thank you that we don’t have to!

Active hope

Reflections based on 1 Peter 1:13–24.

Last week we looked at the start of 1 Peter 1. The second half of that chapter continues with an exhortation to set our hope on future grace. This is an active thing; a choice. Indeed John Piper has described hope as being ‘faith in the future tense’ (a phrase we will come back to later in our study) and, just like faith needs to be exercised in order to grow, so too, I believe, does hope. So what should that action look like?

In these verses we are being urged to live holy lives rather than giving in to our earthly nature, and to love one another sincerely. If we are honest, there are times when it is far easier to give in to fear, anger, lust, dishonesty etc. What about the harsh words spoken over you? Maybe by someone in your local church? Or the friend or spouse who does something to really hurt you? Or perhaps you suffer daily through sickness. It is hard to feel hopeful in these times – and hard not to respond with our fleshy natures.

We will be taking a closer look at how we cling to hope in the midst of troubles later, but I think one of the keys is contained within this passage. We constantly have to remind ourselves that we were saved by something that will never perish – the precious blood of Jesus. And our truly, magnificent, all-powerful heavenly Father chose to redeem us in this way and so our hope is also in Him.

Whatever today looks like, our tomorrow is certain and sure – glorious intimacy with Him. Remind yourself today that God’s word is ‘living and enduring’ and never returns to Him empty (Isaiah 55:11). God will always have the last word. Hallelujah!

For prayer and reflection: Meditate on the fact that Jesus was chosen before the creation of the world to be your Saviour. How you can remind yourself of that amazing hope throughout today?

Jesus, the hope of the world

Reflections based on 1 Peter 1:1–9.

I simply had to start our study focusing on the person of Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate hope for the whole world. As Christians we believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection has provided the way for people to be saved.

This passage has such a richness to it, reminding us that it is through God’s mercy towards us that we have this hope at all, and through Jesus’ perseverance and willingness to die a truly horrific death. We also have an amazing promise – we can now partake in the same inheritance as Jesus and it is being kept for us until we get to heaven!

The passage doesn’t shy away from explaining that we will face struggles in this world. Indeed the people Peter was writing to in this letter were ‘scattered throughout the provinces’ (v1) and some of that was no doubt due to persecution. But trials while on this earth do not disqualify us from our inheritance, which is an important truth to cling on to when we are feeling close to despair. In fact, here we learn that often they prove the genuineness of our faith.

Verse 8 is one I think we should all keep close to us, as it is full of comfort and hope. We believe even though we do not see, and that gives us a glorious joy that can only be found through our Saviour. What a hope we have! It is not based on our own strength, deeds, health or bank balance –but on Him alone. There is nothing we need to do to earn it, as it is a gift.

Let us never take hope for granted.

For prayer and reflection: Thank you for the hope that I have in Jesus Christ. It blows my mind that I am a joint heir with Him. Help me to live in the light of that truth, whatever I go through today. Amen.