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- Written by: DJ Dave
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Matthew 6:2 So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
Gifts are not all about receiving, but about giving as well. Think of the pleasure you get when you are able to give something to someone when they really need it!
And it is not all about giving in front of other people so they can see how great a giver you are; but about the secret giving when you are fulfilling a need – maybe a need which is not public!
God see everything and is just – He knows who are the people who are doing the real giving and those who are giving to lift themselves up.
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- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
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Matthew 6:30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
OK, this one is not so direct; but I want you to think about the gift of this world which God has given us all.
Our planet is an absolutely amazing place, complete with broken places and people, complete with stunning beauty and wonderous horrors.
God gave us this place to live out our mortal lives; a planet floating in space around a burning hot sun, swirling around in a galaxy in amongst other galaxies… just for us!
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- Written by: DJ Dave
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Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
When it comes to Christmas or birthdays, we do try to think about the gifts we are going to give to others – why, because we love them in some way or another!
If we spend that amount of time thinking about the presents we are going to give to our friends and family, then how much time must God have thought about the perfect gift for us?
I know He is not limited by time, but He has given us a gift which surpasses all other gifts – because of His love for us which goes far and beyond any other love!
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- Written by: DJ Dave
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John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Let us talk about gifts this month! God has given us some pretty amazing gifts, the most quoted of which is probably from this verse.
God gave us His Son! Jesus came to live on earth as a human man so He could take away the sins of the earth.
The only way He could do this was to give His life, a life without sin, as a sacrifice to atone for the life we owe for doing things wrong against God!
Think about it…
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- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
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John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
A statement here made by our Lord stays the same now as it was then – if only people realised who Jesus is, they would ask Him for help and He would serve up feasts!
When we ask things of our God, are we asking as a person who asks another person – maybe they can give us what we need…
Or are we willing to ask as a person asking God – I know you can give this to me and I know you are willing to give it to me… please may I have it?
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- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
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James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
Lacking wisdom does not mean lacking knowledge. We can have all the knowledge we need to know things and work correctly, but unless we know how to apply that knowledge in the best possible way, we can’t say we have wisdom.
God is more than willing to share the wisdom we need to work effectively with Him each and every day. He is more than willing to give us what we need to become effective servants.
He is not shy about giving away this wisdom either – so long as we are willing to seek it!
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- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
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Psalm 119:125 I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.
When we are willing to listen to God, we are going to be able to learn from Him. It is the first step toward being able to do the will of God!
God is not going to ask you to go and break all the rules just to do something you feel you cannot do – He knows what you are capable of, what you are good at and what is profitable for all concerned.
Being able to listen to God allows us to get to know that will of His one step at a time!
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- Written by: DJ Dave
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Psalm 116:16 Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.
It is not just because God created us that we should be counted as His, never mind His servants.
It is because of what Christ has done for us by giving His life for us and then rising from the dead to defeat the curse upon mankind that we should be counted as His.
He has broken us free from the debt we owe due to our issues and our sins. He has broken us free from eternal death and has given us eternal life – as long as we do choose to take it!
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Romans 8:12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
As described in the first few verses of this chapter, we do have an obligation to do what is right. But not always according to how the world sees things.
Christ has separated us from the world and given us a new spiritual life which we are free to accept and live with – giving us freedom from this world.
The world is, by biblical definition, corrupt. Why then should we be forced to live by the corrupt rules and not God’s rules?
Our laws were based on biblical standards and we should not have a problem with most of them – but mankind has corrupted those laws. They are of the world and no longer of God!
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Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Do you ever feel like you do all these good things for God and you don’t get as much as the people around you? I know there have been times when I have felt that, but it is not true.
We have the good things of this world, which are what we tend to focus on most of the time. Then we have the good spiritual things which we can actively seek.
But then we have the eternal things which we cannot know of, but which we know we are going to get.
Trust that God is doing what is righteous and our rewards will be eternal!
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2 Thessalonians 2:14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Despite there being all those people around us who can teach us about Christ, we also have the task of sharing the gospel with others.
It may well be the story we tell someone about Christ which gets them to ask the right questions and finally accept Christ into their own lives.
God has put us all here as a cohesive church to work together for His glory and for His good – let us do that and keep more people coming in to hear the gospel in our churches.
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2 Thessalonians 2:5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?
How quickly do you disregard the things others tell you? How about the words which you were taught at church on Sunday; have you forgotten already?
We need to take in the teachings which come from God and keep them close to our hearts – meditate on them so we do keep them close.
God has given us many people around us who are willing to teach us the truth – why keep choosing to follow the lies just to get out of doing things?
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Isaiah 24:5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.
What is it which makes this world so bad or evil? It is the people who live on it and not the creator who created it!
God gave mankind the laws to live by, and we went ahead and chose our own ways of doing things anyway!
Our free will is not corrupt. We do have the choice to follow God and do His will. It is our hearts and minds which have been corrupted and continue to choose badly.
Who started the ball rolling on that front? The evil one. Why continue to follow evil?
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Jeremiah 31:32 “It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
The words of Jesus we looked at yesterday are built upon the promises God made many years before – our proof we do have hope!
We may not be able to keep the commandments or to follow God’s will in our lives, but we can always stand on His promises.
Time and time again we break our promises because we are weak and tempted; but Christ lived up to every one of the promises laid down for Him to fulfil.
Believe and trust in Him – totally!
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Mark 13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Jesus said these words with conviction; knowing they are true and will continue to be true.
He has upheld His Word throughout the years and we can continue to see their effects on humanity throughout history.
Jesus knew there would be all manner of things which would go wrong over time because of our corrupted hearts – but He also knew what He had said would be, and still is, uplifted forever.
God’s Word is full of hope, promises and everything which is true. Lift it up for all it is!
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- Written by: DJ Dave
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Mark 13:28 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
There are many warning signs we look out for in the world around us – clouds which can bring rain, early nights which mean winter is coming… What would happen if we ignored the signs?
We would have to be prepared for all manner of things happening in our lives if we ignored the world around us – we would have to be ready to do almost anything at the drop of a hat!
Christ has given us the bible so we can know of the warning signs which will show He is going to be coming back soon – don’t ignore them!
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Luke 19:43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.
The more we allow the world to work in our lives and take control of our actions, the more we will be trapped by that same world!
God is the one who has given us freedom and He has given us the instructions to live within that freedom – but if we ignore those instructions, we may well have to live in the mess we make!
Listen to God. Hear His instructions. Obey His requests. Live a life He wants for you – because He does know what is best for you!
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Hosea 2:6 Therefore I will block her path with thorn bushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
God has given some people pretty strong reasons to pull their acts together! The more power and influence we have in this world the more, I’m sure, God is going to be watching us.
We need to make sure we are listening to Him all the time because His guidance is what we need; whether we are a child, adult, worker, leader, president or whatever!
Obey God so He does not have to resort to strong words which you may regret…
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Number 22:26 Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.
Balaam was trying to do things the way he wanted to; but God had other ideas and knew the only way to get through to him would be by extraordinary measures.
God chose the donkey to receive the message because Balaam was not listening to the instructions God gave him.
God also chose the exact place to get the message across by making sure Balaam would not be able to go anywhere else!
Don’t be surprised if God picks the most inopportune moment to give you a message!
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Matthew 7:14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Jesus has warned us that life is not going to be like driving without a care down a deserted motorway! Life is going to be like driving down narrow country roads with all manner of obstacles and dangers!
We do have to watch out and be aware of the things which may trap us or trip us up. We can avoid many of them if we are willing to ‘drive’ carefully in our lives too!
Not many are going to choose the narrow country roads because of the pitfalls and things which are waiting – but that is the road which does lead to where God wants us to be!