- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2918
Colossians 3:22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.
When we make a contract with someone we should keep it and we should obey the person in charge with everything they ask of us in a normal manner.
This does not mean we have to go against our beliefs when they tell us to do so – that is spiritual and we need to make sure we stick with God in those matters, not man!
But also to do things because we want to and not just because it’s our job; knowing that this is the will of God!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3103
Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Once again we see this has to be taken in context with the previous verses and again it is showing how we need to be able to live in peace together.
From a youth worker perspective there is nothing worse than having to try to piece together a young person after they have had an argument with their parents.
The stability in their relationship is in tatters and has to be moulded back together slowly to show them how things fit together one piece at a time.
God needs workers who are willing to piece together lives one step at a time so they can see The Fathers love.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3098
Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
I honestly cannot remember my parents ever using this one against me! I’m not sure what I would have thought about it then…
I have seen so many parents blame children for their splitting up or for their failures when they should be looking squarely at themselves instead.
Children should be what holds a family together because we should love our children unconditionally just as God loves us; which should make it easy for them to obey this verse.
If we cannot be trusted then how can we ask our children to trust us? If we cannot love, then how can we ask them to love us?
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3012
Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.
Our God is not a God to stir up anger in people against each other or against the world. Our God is a just God who continues to promote His love toward mankind.
Part of that love is showing us how we should be living one toward another – loving each other without judgement.
Part of a good relationship is learning to love one another no matter what is going on and not judging each other all the time!
Learning to put up with things other people do and not being bitter against them is just a part of us learning more about this love Christ wants us to have.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3117
Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
I do like stirring sometimes! Don’t ever take this out of context because it belongs in the whole passage and we will look at a verse a day.
Living in harmony with the one we love should be easy; but it takes both side to make sure the relationship works.
God continues to pour out His love toward us and continues to love and support us.
Is it not fair that we love Him back in return? That we submit to Him in return for all He does. It works in marriage so it will work with God!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3241
Colossians 3:25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
God is a just God. He is not going to ignore the bad things we have done if we try to sweep them under the carpet.
Just because we hide them from our own eyes does not mean they will be hidden from God’s eyes.
But just because others do not see the good things we do does not mean God will ignore those things as well.
God is just – on both sides of the coin!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3050
Deuteronomy 1:17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’
Agreeing with someone just because they sound good or because you don’t want to sound stupid is just not right!
If we do not open our eyes to the truth then we are failing ourselves and burying everything that is good in the sand.
It’s easy for me to stand here and say “don’t be afraid of other people” when I am not in your situation; but when you find out how much more God can do, you will agree.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2999
Exodus 23:2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.
Following the crowd always seems to be the easy option, but when you find out that you all get into trouble anyway, you wonder why!
The options are quite simple really – to do good or to do evil. We like to describe all manner of levels of good and evil but the fact remains, it is good or evil!
Whether it starts with a bit of gossip or joining in to get someone else into trouble just because, the other road is not all it is advertised to be.
God wants us to recognise our failings and to turn away from them. Yes we do need His help. But we can do it!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3148
3 John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.
It is quite easy to set people who love God apart from the others – they seem to be the ones doing good things, but not just doing good but doing it better.
When I see how God changes people when they get to know Him better, I see this ‘good’ spring up instead of the same old reactions I saw before.
God changes people from the inside and those changes get reflected on the outside; this is how we know people know God!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2960
James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
If you know something has to be done and you sit back and wait for someone else to do it, who is at fault? Yes that is a loaded question!
God calls us to go out and share the Gospel. He calls us to get up and do things. He also calls us to stop and wait for Him.
We do have to listen carefully to our awesome God… but we must be prepared to get up and do it when He calls us to do it!
He has called us. Let us go forward this year in hope.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3243
Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.
How do you go about saying sorry to God? Do you act like a naughty child and mumble sorry, run off and do it all again, or do you actually mean it?
It is hard to mean it when we have been doing things wrong and we know it. It is hard to humble ourselves. It is hard to stop!
But when we do come to Him with true repentance we can be sure He will see it and make a difference. Just as adults know the difference between a child saying sorry because they have to and one saying sorry because they mean it – so does God!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3245
1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!
When we see just how much God has done in our past and in the history from our Bibles, we should be in awe of all He can do.
This should make us want to seek out His strength, praying for it, asking for it and trusting He will deliver when we do pray.
Looking toward God and not toward this earth will give us more hope than the world can give us.
God’s ways are not limited to the ways of the earth which means our hope is not limited to what can be found here on earth alone.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3079
Isaiah 43:18 Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.
What has your year been like? Good, bad, ugly? Whatever has happened has happened and is now in the past.
Let us join forces and move forward with God this year as we look forward to all He can accomplish with us.
I may go around wearing a T-shirt that says “I can do all things through Christ…” but there are times when I beg to see how!
God is faithful and He will continue to allow us to bring glory to His name as long as we are willing to step forward and be counted!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2937
1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
Oh it is so easy just to go along with what others are doing just to keep the peace. It is just as easy to give in to those temptations around us and hope that we get it out of our system…
But this is not what God expects from us. He expects us to try to stand firm and stand up against the temptations because He is trying to lead us away from them.
If we are going to ask Him to keep us from them, we should trust Him to do exactly that!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3051
Genesis 6:9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
Have you noticed the huge headlines that are given up to people who have walked with God in our bibles? I haven’t either… because they are not there!
This should not be the news headlines but rather and every day occurrence which we should think of by default rather than as an exception!
God wants us to walk with Him as part of every day life and not just for special occasions.
God wants us all, not just part of us once a week!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3066
Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
You could go totally overboard and talk about how we would have to meet up and agree times and places and routes and things before we could walk together, but this is far more basic…
Unless we both agree to walk the same path, we cannot walk together. Unless we both agree to walk the same way, we cannot walk together.
This is all about living with the truth and sharing that same truth with others so we can walk together.
Our lives are very lonely unless we decide to walk together with someone. Make it Christ!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2730
1 Peter 1:16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
When we talk to other people about God and about Christ we should and must rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us through our conversations.
These words were used here because the apostle knew they would make a difference to the people he was talk to; they knew the scriptures and reciting verses from the scriptures strengthens their trust and belief.
We may not know where to look to find this in the Old Testament (actually Leviticus 11:44) but God can lead us to say things to others that will touch their hearts.
God is here with us every step of the way. Trust Him.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2923
Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
We should all know what the heavenly host sung out loud, but it is the fact they did sing out I want to mention today.
In scripture we are told all heaven rejoices when another person comes to know Christ as Saviour.
All heaven cried out loud when Christ was born because this was the point where they would know it was all possible for a sinner to be saved by grace!
Praise God that He allowed this to happen just for us!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 3057
Matthew 1:25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
The joy and wonder of seeing a baby born is so very special that I wish every person could be able to see it in the right time and right place.
Giving control to the right person at the right time to make it all happen in the best possible way is sometimes a lot easier than we imagine.
So I wish you all a very special and Happy Christmas and for God to bless you this coming year as He takes more control in your life.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2898
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
It’s a big day tomorrow. Think of all the stuff you have to get ready!
OK, now forget it all and refocus. Tomorrow is a great big day because tomorrow is the day we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Immanuel, our Saviour!
Don’t lose sight of the important things in life as we rush around and get the things done we think may be important.
And don’t forget to lift up your praise to God!