[Monday's Devotional] - Moving On

Moving on is always a challenge, be it into the unknown or something we know. The thing is, we are usually comfortable where we are, and we have taken time to grow accustomed to our surroundings, even with various things that might not be exactly as we like them.

I was at the last service at St Matthew's this morning. It was an emotional occasion – I have worshipped there for just under 20 years, which may seem like a long time but when there are people in the congregation who joined the church in the 1940's, (70 years ago), my near 20 years is a very short length of time.

During the service, we moved from St Matthew's to St Oswald's, and finished the service in our new location. The Bishop rededicated the church with a new name and that is part of the journey. The move to St Oswald's has brought its challenges but we can also see many benefits to the move.

We have seen many changes over recent years and there are more to come – the move to St Oswald's, the move from the church centre to St Oswald's Vicarage which will be happening in the next couple of months, and I will be looking at aspects of moving on this week.

But for now, my thought about moving on is this. Jesus moved on. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave the disciples the Great Commission to go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, son and Holy Spirit.

The disciples needed to move on, to complete their mission and in the book of Acts you can read some of the miraculous things that happened in their varied ministries.

As we go into the week, think about some of the things you may need to move on from and where God fits into that challenge.

Have a good day.

Richard Mason.

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Moving On - Change

The thing about moving on is that it often involves change. Quite often we find change a challenge – why should we change? Sometimes, we need to understand the benefits of moving on and why we need to do it – what will be there when we arrive.

It is often surprising when we have moved on that we can look back and realise that where we had been had quite a few discomforts that we tolerated without really realising it.

Jesus was into change in a big way. His time on earth was about changing the way we were to the way we are – moving into a world where Jesus had died for us and our forgiveness was guaranteed provided we turned to Him.

There were many who found it difficult to cope with the change that Jesus brought. The Pharisees were one of the groups that felt Jesus was destroying their comfortable ways and they set out to test him and see what he was made of. Their expectation was that they would find him out to be a sham or a charlatan – in the end that didn't prove to be the case.

The Romans also found Jesus to be a challenge – he didn't fit into any existing pigeonhole and ultimately Pilate washed his hands of him, not finding anything to convict him of.

At the start of a year, many people endeavour to make changes in various different ways – have you made a commitment to change something? How are you doing at it? Do you need to remind yourself what you set out to do?

Enjoy Tuesday.

Richard Mason

[Friday's Devotional] - Passion

On a scale of 1 to 10 it is said that British people have emotions in the region of 4 to 6 and being really passionate might merit a 7. But Hosea's passion is way off the scale. In the face of Israel's behaviour towards God he says,

Gilead is a city of wicked men, stained with footprints of blood. As marauders lie in ambush for a man, so do bands of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem…. I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel…Ephraim is given to prostitution" Hosea 6:8-10

Passion is a very personal thing, and we know when a preacher has passion or not. But the problem today is that passion tends to be viewed with suspicion. 'Is he putting it on?' 'It's nice to see someone with passion, but that's his thing'; or worse, "Dunno why she's going on about that, there's nothing we can do about it"

Of such replies Hosea says something that has become one of his most quotable phrases,
"Ephraim is a cake not turned." Hosea 7:8. Barnes, the famous 19^th century commentator says of this phrase: "The sort of cake, to which Ephraim is likened, was a thin pancake to which a scorching heat was applied. If it remained long "unturned," it burned on one side, while unbaked and doughy, on the other. Such were the people; such are too many so-called Christians; they unite in themselves hypocrisy and ungodliness, outward performance and inward lukewarmness; the one overdone, but without any wholesome effect on the other."

But Hosea's passion was born of desperation as well as from God. He saw the writing on the wall – the fall of Israel to Assyria was upon them – and as a nation it would disappear forever. The people needed to hear, but did not. So today, if you and I believe what we say we believe, let us take to heart Hosea's call to return – not only in our own hearts, where we must begin, but also in our interaction with others. Read the very last chapter of Hosea and see the sweetness and mercy of our God and with passion in our hearts say to him "O Lord, I love you"


Alan Cartwright

[Thursday's Devotional] - Return

Have you noticed that when passions are aroused words fly about that have a familiar ring about them? "You always…" says the angry wife. "You never…" replies the spouse! The same words come up again and again.

So with Hosea: "prostitution" comes up again and again (nine times!). He really is angry with Israel and the first prophet to compare the nation's rejection of God with that of an adulterer.
And yet there is a more powerful word – unexpected because given his vehemence you would expect all doom and gloom in Hosea. But no! Amidst all the condemnation is the constant refrain, "Return". Return to the Lord, or Return to Egypt meaning the same thing, going back to the time when Israel was going into the desert and had to rely upon God. (The word comes 10 to 18 times depending on the translation).

God is incredibly patient and his grace is infinite! I read a story once of a pastor who kept coming to God for forgiveness concerning a particular temptation he was fighting. As he prayed yet again one day, he seemed to hear God saying, "'Again', what do you mean 'again' – when I forgive you your sin it is forgotten, thrown into the sea – there is no 'again': just a clean sheet each time – and divine help". Return, Hosea says, and he speaks words of tenderness.

Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!

Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips". Hosea 14:1-2

I love that phrase: take words with you. Just as we encourage the seeker to "pray the prayer", even so we are encouraged to pray the prayer of return. If today you have been looking within your heart and found things there of which you are ashamed; if you have realised that God is not King of all of your life – it is never too late (at least in this life!) to return to our God. He will give you the power to start again.

Return!


Alan Cartwright

[Wednesday's Devotional] - A Dangerous Split

I have spoken of the way the good times in Israel in the prophet Hosea's time had turned sour. Israel's fortunes were going from bad to worse because of the increasing threats from other local countries, eyeing the wealth of the rich land where Israel lived.

Hosea blames the leaders of Israel for their neglect of the God of their fathers, and fall into sexual idolatry. Hosea speaks of a growing split between Israel's religious leaders and their political leaders, and the increasingly secular attitude of the kings.

"Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, O royal house! This judgment is against you…" Hosea 5:1

When a people start to separate their God from parts of their lives, as in the separation of church and state, the danger of apostasy doubles: for who do the people follow in times of strife, the priest or the king? So instead of seeking God when invasion threatened, the kings tried to make pacts with their enemies, eventually leading to their downfall.

We too in the west are under increasing threat that the good times of the last 20 years have come to a halt and debt is rearing its ugly head. We too have seen the increasing separation of church and state and the Christian voice becoming marginalised. Then too, since the Industrial revolution, Christ has no voice in the workplace. Many Christians have so compartmentalised their lives that Christ is king only of their spare time and they keep their heads down at work and in places of influence and government.

So, is there no place for Hosea's words in modern life? If there is such a split in your life, how will you then live?

Hosea's concluding verse in chapter 5 is so sad.
Then I [God] will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me." Hosea 5:15


Alan Cartwright

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Where the good life comes from

Northern Israel above Lake Galilee and towards Lebanon is really beautiful. There are no mountains like the southern areas around Jerusalem, and the balmy Mediterranean climate makes for several crops a year. No wonder the Northern tribes of Israel loved living there and saw themselves really blessed! But, as nomads used to desert conditions, they looked to the locals for guidance as to how to make good use of the land – and the Canaanites taught that land fertility was a sex thing. If you encouraged sex, you encouraged the land to grow. What idiots! said Hosea the prophet; how could the chosen people of God give up on God and believe that human sex could influence the climate? As Hosea writes, [Israel] has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold— which they used for Baal. Hosea 2:8 [NIV]

What pathetic verses! God gave the wonderful gifts of the land to the people but they chose to give their thanks to Baal – the sex god.

Come on! says Hosea, let's go right back to the beginning, when you were my people:
"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. Hosea 2:14-15.

Isn't it odd that we more often find God in the desert than in plenty? It is certainly the experience of many, including me, that when the good times come we are tempted away from God, but in the desert: in the difficult times, we recognise our dependence on him. The good life comes from those times, and maybe we need to be led into the desert ourselves to hear God speaking.

In that day, concludes Hosea in chapter 2
I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.'"

A thought: the desert may be too far away – how about a retreat?


Alan Cartwright

[Monday's Devotional] - Dangers of the good life

There is only one thing worse than telling a nation or people that they are way out of line, and that is not to tell them. But the message of the Old Testament prophet Hosea is way over the top! Calling anyone, let alone a whole nation a “whore” is offensive to say the least.

But, what is it when we are told that the best things in life are a stomach full of the finest foods; good company; good times – and sex? What is it when sex seems synonymous with the good life? All that we have is God-given – and sex is God-given, but not as the source of the good life! Yet according to Hosea, that was what the Israel he preached to thought. Look at these horrifying words:

The first time GOD spoke to Hosea he said: "Find a whore and marry her. Make this whore the mother of your children. And here's why: This whole country has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to me, GOD." Hosea 1:2 [Message]

Israel at that time, some 700 years before Christ, took on the belief of the original Canaanite dwellers that the fertility of northern Israel was due to their practice of having cult prostitutes. The good crops and fair weather and land made for prosperity, but instead of Israel thanking God for that, they preferred the attractions of the fertility cult. The result was disastrous. As Israel fell into sin and went away from God, they became rotten through and through.

Hosea’s question seems very apposite for us today. What do you attribute the good life to? Most people in the west live their whole lives without the danger of starvation, attack or death, but many today give us the distinct impression that this is attributable to human effort and the rewards are to do as we like.

What do you attribute your good life to? What are you grateful for? Where are your priorities? We may be good-living people, but Hosea’s point is that if we are Christians and we do not see God in those questions, then our love for God is compromised. He calls it adultery.

This week, let’s do some digging in our lives to see what our real priorities in life are.


Alan Cartwright

[Friday's Devotional] - Pressing On

Lots of people have the New Year's Resolution to 'get fit'. It's a worthy goal but a hard time of year to take it up. The weather is hardly inviting us out to 'enjoy' a run or a bike ride. There may even still be boxes of chocolates left over from Christmas, tempting us to over-indulgence.

As many of you will know I exercise pretty regularly. It's a hard routine to maintain in winter. I run and swim and cycle, but in January I mostly swim because it's the only discipline that's warmer than the outside temperature!

Sometimes when I am half way through a work out I am really tempted to give up, maybe I'm feeling stiff, or out of breath or just not in the flow of what I'm doing and I think 'that'll do for today, just give up now'. At that point there is something I tell myself that often keeps me going.

'The difference between a bad workout and a good workout is about 15 minutes. Just 15 minutes'. In other words even if I don't feel good if I simply keep going I will complete a good workout and not a poor one. I haven't got to be fast, I don't have to feel good, I don't need to set a new record. I just need to keep going.

Paul said the same

'I press on towards the goal' Philippians 3:14 [TNIV]

What is it that's making you feel today like giving up? What would 'pressing on' mean? It might not feel great but when you reach the end of the day, how will you feel knowing you've persevered instead of giving up?

'Father, some days I just need to press on and find the courage not to give up. Not to give up loving, not to give up praying, not to give up working, not to give up caring. I'm not superhuman Father; fill me with your strength when I feel like giving up. Amen.

Sheila Bridge

[Thursday's Devotional] - Putting on the New

'Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience' Colossians 3:12 [TNIV]

This verse gives the other side of the coin to our reflection on Tuesday about what we should 'put off'. We talked about putting off the rags of our lives.

Maybe you are still wearing some new clothes you were given at Christmas? Dressing gowns that are still fluffy, socks without holes or scarves that are keeping the winter winds at bay? It's lovely to wear new things especially when they have been thoughtfully given to us (or maybe even made for us) by people who love us. It's an extra special gift when some time and care has gone into a colour that might suit us or a style that would grace us.

God has these clothes tailor-made for us: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Each of us will wear each of them slightly differently. These qualities will find a unique expression for you. Patience may not look the same on you as it does on me: God is not into clones. But he does want each of us to reflect his character and so if you want to be the best version of yourself, the 'you' that God most wants you become, then these qualities will be regulars in your wardrobe.

Stop and take a moment to think about what you are wearing today. I don't mean what you are actually wearing! Which of these qualities above might you be wearing right now? Or which one do you need to put on?

'Father, thank you that you offer me transformation. Some days I really don't feel at all patient or loving, kind or gentle. Father I need you to clothe me, I want to be the best version of myself that I can be. Fill today with your grace and presence, Jesus. Amen'

Sheila Bridge

[Wednesday's Devotional] - All change ahead

I don't know how you are feeling about 2012. Maybe it feels like it will be full of change? This coming Sunday will mark a change that has already taken place in the life of m2o, the move for many down to St Oswald's. But it will also close the door on St Matthew's forever as we formally close one old place of worship and rededicate St. Oswald's as St. Matthew & St. Oswald, the new.

For many people Sunday's services will be a significant and maybe even a sad moment: few of us like change and we have had many changes to cope with as a fellowship in the last few years.

As well as looking back and formalizing changes that have already taken place, we are anticipating further changes in the year ahead. The purchase of the St Oswald's Vicarage and it's conversion into new church offices and rooms for our children's work. Even though these things have many positive spin offs, the process of change is unsettling. Not in the least because we are made to look round at the place where we have grown comfortable and ask ourselves 'what do we really need to be effective in this parish?'

The phrase I want to give you today is not actually one of Paul's as the others have been this week. Instead, it comes from the book of Hebrews, for which the author is unknown.

'We have this hope as an anchor for the soul' Hebrews 6:19 [TNIV]

It's good to remind ourselves that the anchor for our soul, the 'thing' that steadies our spiritual lives, is not a place nor a building, but a person. Jesus who is the 'same, yesterday, today, forever' is the anchor for our lives. When everything else changes around us, his love remains the same.

'Father, help me today if I feel I'm drifting hopelessly. Help me to know that I have you providing me with hope as an anchor, holding me steady even when the things around me change. Help me to face the discomfort and upheaval of change, trusting in the fact that you have promised that you have good plans for me. Amen'

Sheila Bridge

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Putting out the rubbish

'Rid yourself of all such things as these…' Colossians 3:8a [TNIV]

In chapter 3 of Colossians, Paul talks about taking 'clothes' off and putting on new clean clothes. We will come to the second part of that idea on Thursday. Today I want us to think about stuff we need to put off, the rubbish that we need to put out of our lives. 'Stuff' that we would be better off without.

The list Paul gives includes: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language, lying, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed. It is worth stopping a moment and reading back over that list and asking yourself 'how big an issue is that sin for me?'

Such an inventory is helpful but not easily memorable. John Ortberg in his book The Me I want to Be gives a much more memorable acronym: RAGS. He says we need to put off our

Resentments

Anxieties

Greed

Superiority

That's a comprehensive and memorable checklist. Resentment covers anger in all its forms. Anxiety covers all the things I'm worrying about and therefore failing to trust God over. Greed covers all the times I put my comfort/needs inappropriately high up my agenda and superiority covers all those moments when I judge others, forgetting that I too have feet of clay.

'Father, I don't want to be dressed in RAGS today. You have qualities that are much more beautiful for me to wear. Help me now to give up my rags and hand them over to you. I'd like you to take the rubbish out of my life. Amen'

Sheila Bridge

[Monday's Devotional] - Looking Forward

As I write this Christmas is only just over and I realise that it will be in the even more distant past by the time you read this devotional.

Maybe by now people will have stopped asking you 'how was your Christmas?' and perhaps even stopped wishing you a 'Happy New Year'?

This year particularly it has struck me that for many people Christmas can be pretty distressing. It's not Christmas that's the problem, it's just that if you have difficult stuff going on in your life, it feels doubly bad at Christmas because everyone is meant to be officially jolly. But maybe you'd just lost someone you loved or maybe you were ill or burgled or over-worked. 'Jolly' might have been the least likely word to describe your mood.

Psychologists tell us that there is a 'blue Monday' in January, a day when we are at our lowest ebb. The credit card bills for Christmas have arrived but the fun is over, spring is still a long way off and it doesn't feel like there is a whole lot left to look forward to.

Paul's letters to the early churches give us a few pithy phrases that I hope might help pull us through this week if January is feeling like a long slog. Here is the first:

'Forgetting what is behind, straining toward what is ahead' Philippians 3:13 [TNIV]

Sometimes it's good to 'forget' and move on. Sometimes there are things we need to quit 'rehearsing over and over' in our mind: regrets, resentments, disappointments.

'Lord, show me today if there are things that I am unhelpfully remembering over and over in a way that leaves me stewing. Help me to stop looking back and start looking forward. Thank you that you have given me a new day today, full of new opportunities. Help me embrace it hopefully. Amen'.

Sheila Bridge

[Friday's Devotional] - Heroes

We all have heroes, some well-known, some not, but we all have our own personal ones. When I helped at 'Refresh' – a late night street ministry in Rugby we were sometimes out till 4am and we acquired 'Superhero' nicknames, our family in Christ contains Batman, Robin, Roy of the Rovers, Angel of Rugby, Dr Who, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman! I have many friends who I see as heroes, they carry Christ's strength in spite of their own human weaknesses making them super-humans in my eyes.

My heroes are ordinary men and women, living out their God-given destiny by courtesy of an extra-ordinary God and they give me inspiration that each one of us can live the dream God has given to us.

My first childhood hero/heroine was from the film "Inn of the Sixth Happiness", I watched it as a small child and even then God was locking a dream, a promise in my heart. The inspirational story of Gladys Aylward "The small woman with a great God", this London maid had a God-given dream in her heart to go to China, told by the mission society she was unqualified, in 1930 she funded her own passage on this perilous journey, she had a heart for the people and especially the orphans. When the Japanese invaded in 1938 she led 94 orphans over the mountains to safety despite being injured herself, this was just one of her many God-given appointments.

More recent heroes - Norman & Grace Barnes – Authors of 'Destiny Calls – Living your Dreams' they inspire and challenge with their life story, an ordinary London couple with an amazing God, now in their 70's they live on the South coast. 'Tell me your dreams and I will tell you the future'.

Simon Guillebaud, Victoria Saxby, Corrie ten Boom, Cathy Hemsley, Horatio Spafford, Jo Gunton-Jones, Dannion Brinkley, Dawn Austin, John Newton, Margaret Gurnett, Heidi Baker, Sheila Bridge, Johnny Cash….. my hero list is exhaustive! One of the primary activities of the Holy Spirit in the life of an individual is to awaken them to the God of possibilities within them. All my heroes are ordinary men and women with an extra-ordinary God.

One of the Refresh team, my brother in Christ (aka Batman), picked me up from airport 'arrivals' in 2009, I was on a real spiritual low. As I came through 'nothing to declare' and opened the doors I looked for him, there were the usual taxi-drivers and chauffeurs holding signs for 'Mr Johnson' etc…. as my eyes scanned the masses I spotted him, he was holding a cardboard sign and on it he had written my Refresh name… "Wonder-Woman". I laughed uncontrollably, I thought how disappointed others would have been expecting to see "Wonder-Woman" only to have me arrive and claim to be her; but that is how God sees us and his promises enable us To Boldly Go……To Infinity and Beyond!

"Be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy; always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light". Colossians 1:11-12 [New Living Translation]

Dawn Milward

[Thursday's Devotional] - Destiny Calls

All of us have a God-given destiny, which is why we are still here; God has not yet called us home as he still has a purpose on earth for each one of us. Those God-given dreams may be locked away in our spirit from childhood, but they are there, for each of us there is a purpose that you alone can fulfil, the tragedy for us would be to miss it and I believe that is often the case. God has no 'special' people – some he uses in more obvious ways than others but all humans are special to him.

I remember hearing a lady speak at New Wine, God had called her on mission abroad and she was asked "Why do you think God chose you?" she replied "I don't believe I was God's first choice, I believe He called others first, but they said no".

"Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it." Luke 12 v33 [New Living Translation]

To fulfil our God-given destiny there are often sacrifices to be made, I'm not suggesting that we are all called to mission abroad and to give up our entire possessions, but some are. However, we are all called to give up whatever stands in the way of our destiny. On my first visit to Casa Reom, Mozambique in 2000 an African brother gave me a scripture "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God" Deuteronomy 4:24 [NIV] It was not until 5 years later that I obeyed and surrendered to the Lord what he had been asking, thus bringing me a step closer to my destiny.

We are all up against a formidable opponent who knows God has a plan for our life and spiritual progress does not come easy, it is often a painful price to pay for the Lord's promised 'double portion' (Isaiah 61) He says it twice - just in case we don't believe him the first time!

Are you missing His Best? What's blocking your blessing? Your time - no time to sit in his presence? Your friends? Your work? Your habits? Your words of doubt not of faith? Your relationship? Your materialism? Your _ _ _ _ God will fill in the blanks, He is a jealous God.

When you're willing to walk away from something you love because you love God more you position yourself to receive the fullness of His blessings in your life and your God-given destiny is a step closer.

Dawn Milward

[Wednesday's Devotional] - It's a tough job

I have to confess that throughout last year work was tough. Many times I felt I was drowning and knowing that God had dropped me in this river of difficulty did not always help. I thought I was going under, it seemed I was frantically treading water, yet, one day at a time God brought me through the year and although I sometimes felt that I was losing, I realise I have been learning a great deal. As I look back on the changes God has bought about in the staffing and in my relationships at work, I now see his hand on the whole situation and this keeps me afloat.

God has called you to live for him in your unique situation: administrator, butcher, banker, builder, dustman, nurse, home-maker, teacher, tycoon…. the list is endless but the boss is the same, the 'unseen' boss. Nobody else can live for Christ in the job that you do, that is your privilege and your pain, and it's different from anyone else's. Just as every football match ever played is a different match the rules remain unchanged and unchangeable, so your working life is unique and unrepeatable.

Holiness is recognising that God has called you to live for him in your unique situation. Holiness in not just the absence of badness, not just a negative quality based on lots of prohibitions, holiness is the positive presence of the life of Jesus. You carry Christ into every situation and his presence to some will be uncomfortable, without saying a word his spirit will be at work. Holiness is godliness with guts.

Many years ago as a new Christian I was unbearable at work, of that I'm sure, I was very good at trying to change others, not realising the only change necessary was the work the Lord was wanting to do in me, thankfully he is still at work. As we liberate him to reign in the place where we work he will liberate us.

In the words of St Francis of Assisi "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words" he also said "While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in you heart"

During the toughest times at work I remember His hand has placed me in this privileged job, I know there is a purpose above and beyond having learnt the job and the ability to do it, there is a higher calling and knowing that carries me through the most demanding days. On such days I rely on His promises to me, I look at the small photograph on my office wall, it's me on my motorbike all loaded with bags for the adventure, 'Jesus is my pillion' (this was a prophetic word several years ago-our God has a great humour) where and when we don't yet know, we do know that my present work is just for a season, it is preparation time for our destiny and for us all it is important that each day we embrace the journey as well as the destination.

Dawn Milward

[Tuesday's Devotional] - True Self, True Inheritance

We have many goals in life, at the start of each New Year we often make resolutions to improve our physical self, to get fit, go to the gym, lose weight and diet. Although it is important for our well-being to be physically healthy I know many people who, after attaining their goal find it has not brought them the contentment desired, the root cause remains and they are still unhappy with themselves.

In the film 'Cool Runnings' the coach, who had once cheated in order to win a gold medal, told his team "A gold medal is a wonderful thing – but if you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it".

Yesterday I shared the importance of looking forward and pressing on to our heavenly goal. Discovering our true self, the person we were created to be and discovering our God-given destiny is part of that goal. Without a real sense of God's purpose there is a grave danger we will determine the way ahead on our own. When we allow God's spirit to convict, cleanse and conform us to his will, we become that priceless treasure and privilege, our true self. Your life is an unrepeatable opportunity; it is a work of art that will be created once only, you will know God differently from anyone else and the revelation you receive will be seen by others. I believe our inheritance is more than we could ever hope for and that begins in this life, I believe also that far too many of us settle for so little of our true inheritance in Christ.

My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I'm your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!

The wise counsel God gives when I'm awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I'll stick with God;
I've got a good thing going and I'm not letting go.

Psalm 16v5-8 [The Message]

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience, when we know our true identity in Christ we begin to walk in our God-given purpose and destiny, releasing the full portion of our spiritual inheritance.

Dawn Milward

[Monday's Devotional] - It's Behind You!

As we begin this New Year how will you journey into it? Most of us know that the month of January gets its name from the Roman god of beginnings, doorways and transitions, Janus, a two-faced god who looks to the future and the past. While it is good to look back and remember how far we have travelled with the Lord and to recognise what events and people have helped to shape us into who we are today, it is unhealthy to stay in that place.

Whatever has gone before is past and God's plan for your life is not static and unmoveable, it is dynamic, organic i.e a living entity not a vegetable! It is a steadily unfolding scheme that is flexible. Make a mistake and our Dad will incorporate it in the plan, provided that you will commit the mistake, the sin, to him. The only voice that tells you you've really blown it is a satanic one. Surrender 'second best' to him and he will forge it into 'best' in the heat of his holiness.

My past holds its fair share of disasters and failings, probably more than most, a spirit full of unhealthy emotional baggage led to a string of addictions in my life and two failed marriages, I do not want to make light of this and for a long time I felt a failure, but it is in the past, it's behind me - the God who heals has brought restoration. My point is that whatever you are struggling with right now, take heart, the potter is shaping us through his refining fire. The wonderful news is that God takes ordinary failures and makes them heavenly success stories.

William Carey, a Midlands pastor and the founder of the Baptist Missionary Society said "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."

"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running and I'm not turning back". Philippians 3:12-14 [The Message]

William Carey also said "If God used me no one need despair" – that too would be my message.

Dawn Milward