[Thursday's Devotional] - Not another day without a Petition

I am reading a very interesting book entitled Prayer of Petition by Dr. Jerry Savelle. I have learnt many things, and these include (in my own words):

·         A petition is making a formal application as to a high court judge. In this case we are submitting a petition or an earnest request, entreaty or a formal written request to the Judge of the universe who has all the power and authority to make everything happen

·         A petition prayer is painstakingly backed up with all the facts and figures required. For example, if you want £ 5,000 to go on holiday, then you have to break it down and explain what this is really for, when this is needed, how many people travelling and the destination, etc.

·         Above all, the request is backed up with a detailed research of relevant scripture quotes and references from the bible regarding God's written will on the particular issue.

·         I love the thought of printing this on paper, signing the petition including putting a date and time and then presenting this formally to the Judge, during prayer!

·         Though people can present this in the manner most comfortable to them, an example given is dressing up for the occasion and then making a formal request with all the evidence needed in place, meaning serious business!

·         From the author's experiences, this seems to be the quickest way to answered prayer.

There are many other examples and good things in the book. For example, writing a petition can help one to build faith to actually receive what is being requested. And out of my own intuition, I am extending this to include noting down everything that happens (positive or negative) in relation to the prayer, starting from the time I actually make the presentation.

I am beginning to see some amazing things, for example, a turned down application for a job is not a bad thing after all. This is divine guidance to something better, more fulfilling and sometimes God's protection. I am learning that if I do not keep a journal of answers or note down my experiences on the printed petition, I run the risk of unfairly thinking the Father is not answering or is delaying answers when in fact, everybody that asks of the Father is always given an answer.

Why not try this and start filing your applications and experiences? Better still and for personal growth in wisdom this year, why not seek out and buy the author's books including the one entitled - The Favor of God.

I promise, you will not regret it.

Farai Mutsambiwa

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Name your seed and harvest

Listen to me now.
Give me your closest attention.
Do farmers plow and plow and do nothing but plow?
Or harrow and harrow and do nothing but harrow?
After they've prepared the ground, don't they plant?
Don't they scatter dill and spread cumin,
Plant wheat and barley in the fields
and raspberries along the borders?
They know exactly what to do and when to do it.
Their God is their teacher.

And at the harvest, the delicate herbs and spices,
the dill and cumin, are treated delicately.
On the other hand, wheat is threshed and milled, but still not endlessly.
The farmer knows how to treat each kind of grain.
He's learned it all from God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
who knows everything about when and how and where.
Isaiah 28: 23-29 [The Message Bible]

True story: A few years ago, a great man of God I know, told this testimony. He was learning the principles of giving and receiving from the Lord, as the bible teaches. Then one day he gave £x to the Lord which was his full earnings for the week. That night there was trouble at home. His spouse was not very impressed!

In the wee hours of the morning, there was a knock on the door and a farmer walked in. He handed the man of God a cheque - 100 times £x, the amount given. He said it wasn't for the man of God to give to the church but a gift for him and his family. "Why?" The man of God asked.

"I am a farmer", the man replied. "I know that if I have some corn seed and need a harvest of corn, I have to sow some corn seed. If I need to harvest some tomatoes, I have to sow some tomato seed. I also know, each seed has a time duration to provide a harvest. As well as this I know that amount of seed and where to sow is also important."

To cut a long story short, a few months later, the farmer invited the man of God to his farm. He was very happy. A major farm disaster which only God could deal with, had just been averted. He went on to explain that, the morning he came to give him that cheque, he had had a sleepless night. Then, it finally dawned on him that he needed to sow in God's Kingdom and name the harvest he wanted to see including the time frame, during prayer.

At that, the man of God remembered the Word of the Lord, that as long as the earth exists, there will be seed time and harvest and that whatever a man sows, he will receive. So pray about your needs. Ask God for his will about what seed to sow, where and for what harvest. The man of God said, had the revelation not come through a farmer, and confirmed by his own experience that morning, he would never have truly believed. He knew that everything the farmer knew about sowing and reaping, he had learnt from God - who knows everything about when and how and where.

Farai Mutsambiwa

[Tuesday's Devotional] - When the kings attack, turn to the blood covenant

So the five Amorite (Western) kings—the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon—combined their armies and set out to attack Gibeon.

The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua camped at Gilgal, "Don't let us down now! Come up here quickly! Save us! Help us! All the Amorite kings who live up in the hills have ganged up on us."

So Joshua set out from Gilgal ….. Joshua 10 vs 5-8: [The Message Bible]

As recorded in the passage above, five kings assembled in order to fight the Gibeonites, and their crime was, they had made a covenant with Joshua.

Often, when going through difficult life circumstances we are quick to conclude that God has abandoned us. Yet, this can serve as confirmation that we are highly feared by evil spirits upset by the fact that we have turned to Christ and are serving God. Yes, no matter which way you look there may be trouble- sickness and disease, marriage problems, depression, lack and poverty, a disobedient child, trouble from your relatives, trouble at work, etc. But, do not despair!

Do like the Gibeonites did. They sent a message to Joshua who was obliged to fight for them because of an irrevocable covenant the two nations had entered into (Read Joshua Chapter 9).

We too have a covenant relationship with God our Father that is guaranteed by the blood of Jesus. So when next you pray or take Holy Communion, ask God to deliver you from your troubles, not because of anything else, but because of the power of the covenant relationship with Him.

After taking Communion, a symbol of covenant relationship with Melchizedek, a shadow of Christ in Genesis chapter 14, Abraham received answers to his problems. The word of God came to him in chapter 15. Fear was also driven away from him and God became his shield and rewarder or divine provider.

Again after the blood covenant in which Abraham cut sacrificial animals in half and then God passed through them in Genesis chapter 15, Abraham was given the land of Canaan by God

And finally, exactly a year after God had made another covenant when Abraham was circumcised, Isaac was born.

So child of God, do not be afraid and do not underestimate what Jesus did on the cross for you and me. He was a perfect sweet-smelling sacrifice unto God. Despite our imperfections like the Gibeonites who cheated Israel into agreeing a covenant relationship with them, God will definitely answer prayers when approached on the basis of His covenant promises guaranteed by the BLOOD of Jesus.

Farai Mutsambiwa

[Monday's Devotional] - My Boss Cologne

On 16^th August, 2011, on my way from holiday in Tenerife, my wife bought me a supersized jar of Boss Cologne as a present.  After only using it several months, the jar accidentally dropped on the carpet, head first. From that day I couldn't spray the Cologne onto my body. What a sad thing to watch my favourite Cologne trapped in the bottle every day!

On Saturday 17^th November, 2012, almost a year later, I was reading an article in a favourite Christian Magazine about how a dear Brother in Christ was in a similar situation. The door of his private jet had a defect and wouldn't open when he desperately needed to fly home after a hectic preaching day. So he asked God's Holy Spirit for a word of wisdom to speak to the door and got the result he wanted. He was following Jesus' example in Mark 11 vs 12 – 14 who spoke to a fig tree that wouldn't give Him some fruit when He was hungry.

Well, I too decided to follow Jesus' example. I asked the Holy Spirit for a suitable word and spoke to the bottle:

"Cologne bottle, hear the Word of the living God. It is written, all things shall work together, for the good of those called according to His purpose. Squirting mechanism, I command you in Jesus' Name - work together and give me my daily puff of Cologne!"

Guess what? Since 17^th November 2012, I have been using my favourite Boss Cologne whenever I want it!

Like Jesus, when you face an obstacle in your daily mission, ask the Father for an appropriate breakthrough Word and speak to the situation.

Farai Mutsambiwa

[Friday's Devotional] - Amazing Grace

My final song this week is one that, when I first heard it, I thought was too soppy, sickly, and over the top. Definitely cringe-making - after all, I had not asked Jesus into my life at that time and this was considered "religious drivel".

Unsurprising then, that I now find it beautiful and so meaningful.  I don't remember who sang it when I first heard it but that doesn't matter.

What song am I talking about?  Sorry, I should have said – "Amazing Grace".

The words are so appropriate in the way that I came to ask Jesus into my life and accepted God's love.  How different to some of the songs I've mentioned this week.

I did say how I sang in a choir and I have always enjoyed singing, but over the years the opportunities to sing were few and far between, and anyway my smoking habit helped neither my breathing nor my voice.  Nobody seemed to want me to sing, so why would I bother to try.  Yes, I made a little bit of effort when I went to church, but without any real enthusiasm.  Then once I had asked Jesus into my life it all changed.  I finally stopped smoking and although my voice still was not as good as it once was, and still isn't there yet, the desire to sing returned.  But now I was singing to and for our Lord.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me,

I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see.

And now those words mean so much, and when I sing to our Lord my voice is beginning to soar again.  So if you are near me in church or anywhere when I am singing I hope you will find it uplifting, but if I catch a breath or seem to falter, forgive me.  Singing to our Lord can often blow me away.  And if I dab my eyes at the end of our praise you will know He has touched me with his love again.

May God bless your voice, whatever it is like, whenever you lift it up in praise.

Jim Finch

[Thursday's Devotional] - I'm not in love?

There was a song I recall that tried to say it wasn't what it obviously was.  I am thinking of "I'm not in Love" by 10cc.

In this song, the singer is trying to give all sorts of reasons why he is not in love when it becomes increasingly obvious that he is.  What is he afraid of?  Committing himself? Admitting that someone means so much to him?  Not wanting to get involved?  I don't know, perhaps all of these.  There are times when we all find something we are not sure we want to be part of, even if we know we should be and are wanted to be. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

I have said before that I had a Christian upbringing.  For a number of years, I sang in the Chapel choir at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.  When I left school, a friend got me into Covenanters at St. Matthew's, but that ends when you reach 21.  So I knew about God, and accepted that He existed.  Occasionally, I went to church, perhaps to someone's wedding.  But I wasn't getting involved in "any of that". Oops, I did get married in church, but that's as far as it goes!  I managed to avoid church and God for much of my life after that.

Life was the usual mixture of "ups and downs" but I muddled through somehow on my own.  Then two years before retirement was due I was sacked from my job.  I went to church with my son once or twice, and then on an Alpha course, more to please him than for any other real reason.  But I was sceptical.  I knew God existed but I wasn't  getting involved.

'I'm not in Love! So don't forget it. It's just a silly phase I'm going through'.

I should have been singing 'You win again!'  Of course He did!

You can't win against God, but you do win with Him!  I am in Love and however much I said I wasn't, I was always His.  I just wouldn't admit it.

May your love of God blossom.

Jim Finch

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Prayer

Today I am remembering a song I first heard only a few years ago.  It is sung and played by an Irish based duo called Secret Garden, the title is simply 'Prayer'.  I can listen to this anytime, it is a gentle, simple melody with beautiful words that somehow offer peace.  It is late evening, time for sleep, and for me the time I like to talk to God.  Turn off the light.  No sight or sound to disturb my thoughts.  The Lord does not need light to see me and he can hear my prayer, silent or spoken. But when we were small children, some were a bit afraid of the night because it was dark.  In this song there are a couple of lines dealing with that fear:

Will your arms enfold us, through the dark of night.

Let your angels hold us, till we see the light.

It's another reminder that God is always with us, night and day, sleeping or awake.  And for me, it's that time to share with Him, and to say "thank you" for all that he gives me every day.  No doubt each of us has our own special time to talk to the Lord and he loves to share our thoughts.  And then I find myself saying "thank you" at any time for some small thing – the scent of a sweet flower, the song of a bird, a helping hand given or the smile brought to someone's face when they are feeling down.  Magic.

Let us pray – anytime and all the time.

Jim Finch

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Satisfaction

"Oh Well –Part 1" (mentioned yesterday) started me thinking about other songs that I have heard and enjoyed over the years.

"(I can't get no) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones was quite a big hit when it came out and is probably now considered a rock classic.  But what did it say to us?  To me it said the singer 'can't get no satisfaction' - forgive the grammar – and was simply "not happy  with life".  It was a time when many people were affected by the "I want" attitude that was growing ever stronger within our society.

In the song, everything was wrong because it didn't fit with the singer's likes and wishes. And it is even more prevalent today.  We are in the "I want it and I want it NOW" society and all the latest technological gadgets are a "must have" item.

But they are all material possessions and mostly things that, although probably useful and nice to have, we don't really need to live our lives.  So many seem to want the latest gadget only until the next new thing comes along.  And yet there are still so many people, around the world, in need of the basic requirements for life.  Food for the starving, shelter for the homeless, protection for the persecuted.  All things that many of us take for granted.

However, we can cope with whatever the world throws at us, through good times and bad.  Whether we are among the Haves or the Have-Nots, the Lord will see to our needs and we will be provided with all things necessary at any particular time, be it material or spiritual.  So, be satisfied that God knows what we need, and where he needs us to be. Of course, we are able to tell the Lord what we think we need and want, and he listens. Then he cares for us in the way that only he can, so let us thank and praise him for all the goodness and mercy he bestows upon us. That's true satisfaction.

Jim Finch

[Monday's Devotional] - Don't ask me what I think of you

I recently watched a programme on TV about the group Fleetwood Mac.  They are a band that I quite liked in their heyday some years ago, and I still do.  One of their songs in particular I always enjoyed, and somehow it seemed to speak to me years before I finally accepted our Lord Jesus into my life.  The song was Oh Well – Part 1.  It was mainly instrumental but there were two short verses, the second one struck a chord with me and at the time, though I had no real idea why.  Even though I had been brought up in a Christian family we were not great church-goers and didn't really think much about it.

The verse went as follows:

When I talked to God I knew he'd understand,

He said sit by me and I'll be your guiding hand.

But don't ask me what I think of you,

I might not give the answer that you want me to.

Oh well, that's no big surprise in one way as far as I'm concerned.  I have met one or two over the years with a 'holier than thou' attitude, but they seem to be fairly rare.  And I've never rated myself that highly by any standards.  In fact, I often find myself wondering why he would choose me in the first place.  I sort of "toddle along" and hope I'm doing alright, trying to live up to Jesus' standard in some way – but it isn't easy and nobody ever said it would be.

So let the Lord be your guiding hand but don't ask Him what he thinks of you. He will probably smile and tell you to carry on and do your best.

Jim Finch

[Friday's Devotional] - Changing Seasons

As we have looked at each season, I hope you have been able to recognize yourself and the place that you are in. Without the ability to accurately discern the season you are in, you will miss many opportunities. With an awareness of the season you are in, you will be able to step into new spiritual truths and a greater ability to live in the power of God.  

Just as a farmer has certain specific duties and responsibilities during each season, so do we. There will be seasons for him to sow, seasons to tend and nurture, seasons to reap and harvest, and a season to rest the ground ready for new growth. As we have seen this week, it is exactly the same with our spiritual seasons. If we fail to recognize and act upon the duties we have in each season, we will not be fulfilling all that God has planned in store for us.

A change in season is always difficult as we adapt to the new challenges and the demands that season places upon us. There will be times when we feel vulnerable or out of our depth, but God has placed us in that season for a reason. He has a plan and a purpose for us there, He has work for us to be doing. We must always remember as we face these challenges and the uncertainty of what that season bears, that the seasons come and go but our God is a God who remains unchanged and unchanging. He is the constant in the change of seasons.

"LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God" Psalm 90:1-2 [NIV]

As you journey through your spiritual seasons keep focused on the constant and unchanging God who has placed you there for a reason, in His perfect timing, and with a purpose to fulfill. There are precious crops to prepare for, nurture, grow and then harvest. Each of us, in each of our differing seasons, has a vital role to play in this. Whatever season you are in, enjoy and embrace it, because it will change. But also be ready to accept the season that you are about to enter.

Corinne Mason 

[Thursday's Devotional] - Autumn

When I think of Autumn, I am reminded of walks through rustling leaves, beautiful colours all around me and the expectation of my approaching birthday. There is also a tinge of sadness as the long summer holidays draw to a close, but an expectation of what a new term will bring as we enter a new season.

Autumn is a time of visible change and inevitable decay. A time when all around us seems to be fading away. It can be a time of sadness as we witness our hard work dying off, and look ahead to the bleakness of the Winter that will follow afterwards.

Provided you have been diligent, however, and have tended your crops during the summer, autumn is the time of harvest and the season when you will see evidence of your hard work. It is a time of harvesting and storing up fruits in readiness for the winter.

Autumn also helps us to see the passage of time – it is a time to reflect on where we have come from and where we need to go. This is the season filled with anticipation. Autumn is a season of fruition and reaping. It is a season of thanksgiving and celebration and a season of encouragement as we witness the changes in God's earth and in His kingdom. Autumn may also be the time to resume old routines. Autumn brings the last of the warmth and comfort before the cold of winter. It is a time of both beginnings and endings.

If you are in an Autumn season, be thankful to God for all that he has done in and through you in the previous seasons. Take time to be with Him and to harvest all the gifts He has blessed you with, store them away safely ready to face the battles in the forthcoming season. Be thankful for the things that are coming to an end, and for the new beginnings that will one day come.

Corinne Mason

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Summer

Summer is the season of fruitfulness and beauty where flowers and fruits are in full bloom and ready to be used. The summer time is a season we all look forward to, knowing it will bring times we can enjoy, and a world that explodes into colour, beauty and fruitfulness. It is a season that should bring joy to all who witness it.

It is also the season of watering (praying) and weeding (doing warfare over) the freshly planted crop. It is a time in which the crop is in potential danger from the heat of summer, so we need to be prepared to continuously water the crop by tending to it. It is generally a season of contentment, but it can also be easy to just sit back and enjoy it, rather than keep up with it by tending and weeding it.

The summer usually (!) brings with it the sunshine, and it can be a time when we most feel the "Son" shining on us too. We feel we are fulfilling what we were planted with and have been blessed with -  the opportunity to tend and grow God's crop. Just as we need sunscreen to protect our physical bodies from the summertime, we must remember to put on our spiritual protection from the summer too. As we set out to tend the crops we must put on our spiritual armour to guard and protect us for the fight.

" Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." Ephesians 6:13-18 [NIV]

If you are in a summer season make sure you do not become complacent about tending the crops God has given you to guard over, and be sure to share your fruits with those in a bleaker season too. As we each journey through different seasons, it is important we share and look after each other – and in the summer time there is much to be sharing. God has blessed you in order for you to give out.

Corinne Mason.

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Spring

After the winter comes the spring. Some of my favourite verses speak of this.

"My beloved spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me.  See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.    Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.    The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me." Song of Solomon 2:10-13 [NIV]

The promise of new life and new beginnings after the bleakness of the winter is such an encouragement. Once we have allowed God to kill off all that was no longer needed or was holding us back, we are ready to go forth and begin to bear fruit again. Slowly and steadily God will begin to plant new seeds in us, whilst still gently tending the land he is planting in. The spring can still be a time of ongoing refinement as God continues to nourish and enrich the soil, but the new seeds are being sown and we can look forward to a time of growth and development. Just as the gardener does not know exactly what will come from the seeds he sows, so it is with us - we are not sure exactly what the new fruits will be, but we can be expectant and excited about what is to come.

The spring still needs gentle care and encouragement as new shoots grow out, and just as new shoots are tender and vulnerable, we can feel the same way too. As we take wary steps into new things we can feel vulnerable and exposed, but unless we press on and are prepared to grow up and out we will never reach the next season of our lives. We will never reach our full potential or bear the fruit we were planted to grow. As we begin to put out our new branches and shoots, God will be there to help us and encourage us to keep on growing. Spring is a time of planting and activity, a time of work and effort to carry out instructions gained in winter, a time of great spiritual and physical energy and a time that great energy is required. It is a time of plowing new and sometimes hard ground and a time to fertilize the soil with prayer.

If you are in your spring – then be brave today and stretch out those new shoots a little further and allow God to gently grow the potential He has planted inside of you.

Corinne Mason

[Monday's Devotional] - Winter

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven."
Ecclesiastes 3:1 [KJB]

I'm sure you are all familiar with the use of the seasons to describe our stage of life or the journey we are on. This week we are going to be looking at each of those seasons and thinking about what that season means spiritually, and what we can learn from it.

It seems most appropriate to begin by looking at winter. For many of us, the wintertime has probably been a time of moaning about the cold and the negative effects the season is having on us. It can be hard to really enjoy the winter especially if it goes on for a prolonged time.  At first it is exciting to see the snow, and the beauty of the frosty landscapes. But that quickly turns to frustration at the chaos it causes and the disruption it brings to the routine we know as normal.

Being in a spiritual winter season can be quite uncomfortable and lonely. We can feel stuck where we are, unable to get on and do things; it can be a time of isolation and a season when people quite often feel depressed. We often feel we are enduring a winter season alone, and it can be especially hard to be with others who are in a more fruitful season. It somehow accentuates the bleakness of the season we are in.

Psalm 74:17 says "You have made both the summer and the winter."  Sometimes it is spring or summer in our lives and we feel alive with new ideas and boundless energy. And sometimes it is winter, and sometimes it lasts a long time. We feel that parts of us are dying. We can't go on doing the same things and we need to rest. The "spiritual winter" seeks to give us rest, let things that need to die do so, and offers the hope of new growth. If we slow down and let it do its job, then winter becomes something that we can treasure and not just make it through. Winter is a time to get warm and intimate with God, a time to rest physically and to exist on what has been stored from the previous harvest. It is a time of gaining direction for planting, to glean from past mistakes, to repair and prepare for the coming spring.

If you are in a winter season, cherish that time and know that one day God will bring you out of it ready to take on new growth. Allow him to prune you and give in to the things that need to die away, for from that decay will come new and exciting things. And in the loneliness, lean on God for comfort and warmth. He has promised he'll see you through it.

Corinne Mason

[Friday's Devotional] - Kingdom Come!

"The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"
Mark 1:15 [NIV]

God has guided people and has spoken to them in many different ways.

The clearest of all of these is in the life and words of Jesus.

Again and again, Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God:

The kingdom of God is wonderful place…

…where people are healed and discover who they were always meant to be,

…where people get to know God and the wonderful adventure He has for us all,

…where God's light shines into all sorts of dark places, transforming them into something better.

The kingdom of God is about a choice…

…a choice to turn to God's way, repenting from anything which leads away from God

…believing His good news in place of all sorts of other words

...choosing to hear what God is saying to us, and responding to what He calls us to do

The kingdom of God is the place where God is, which He shares with all those who have responded to His invitation of friendship.

To Reflect

You may want to thank God for what you have experienced in His kingdom.

You may want to pray for God's kingdom to come more and more in your life, in our town and in our world

Tim Norman