[Monday's Devotional] - ThanksGIVING

This week we are going to be thinking some more about being thankful.  If you were in church yesterday you will know that the focus of the service was on ‘giving’ but not just ‘giving’ because it’s needed or necessary, but giving out of thankfulness, giving as a response to all that God has given us.

Now I have to confess that writing these devotionals is a challenge because I am more often worried than I am thankful.  And just at the moment it feels like there are a lot of things to worry about.  Anyone else feel like joining me in the ‘worry corner’?!

I suspect a lot of us find it easier to focus on negative things that are going on in our lives and it can feel an uphill task to remember to be thankful.  We can even wonder ‘what’s the point?’

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, tells us that the point is that we become what we do. When we worry we don’t just worry, we become worried and anxious people.  When we give thanks, we don’t just give thanks, we become thankful, cheerful people.  We are shaped by the attitude we adopt.

‘Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life.

Philippians 4: 6-7 [The Message]

So, what kind of person do you want to be today?

ThanksGIVING prayer: Remember to thank God today for all of the people who have helped all of us in our Christian faith and in the life of our church.  Give thanks particularly for Leaders, Readers, Churchwardens and PCC.  Is serving in this way one way you could give back to God for all he’s given you?

Sheila Bridge

[Friday's Devotional] - If you possess these qualities ...

Peter writes,

If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will help you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  2 Peter 1: 8 [NIV]

We have been looking at seven qualities or virtues which are stepping stones to greater Christian maturity.  Peter has said that cultivating such things as goodness, self-control, perseverance and brotherly kindness will help us to grow as Christians.

Now he adds to this by saying If you possess these qualities in increasing measure they will help you...  So we are not to adopt a tick-box mentality to them.  These are not merely targets for a crash course in spirituality, but life-long objectives.  We will never finish with them because we can keep growing in them.

On the other hand, Peter writes,

But if anyone does not have them, he is short-sighted and blind and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.  [verse 9]

As Christians we know that, because of Jesus, our sins have been forgiven and we have been adopted as children of God.  Understanding this and responding to God’s love in faith is the defining point in our lives.  Nothing is more important.  We have been born again to a new hope; we are a new creation; we have moved from death to life!

Growing in our new lives, just as babies grow into adults, should be a priority for each of us.

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and for ever!  Amen.  2 Peter 3: 18 [NIV]

Lord, please show me what I need to do to grow as a Christian.

David Long

[Thursday's Devotional] - Don't lose a minute ...

So don’t lose a minute in building what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with... reverent wonder, warm friendliness and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.  2 Peter 1: 6(b) – 7 [The Message]

Today we’ll look at the last three qualities which can help our faith to grow.

The first of these is reverent wonder (godliness in the NIV).  The Greek word Peter uses (eusebeia) meant ‘religion’ in popular pagan language.  Here, it means a true respect for God in every area of our lives.  We mature as Christians as we grow in our devotion to the Lord.

Next comes warm friendliness (brotherly kindness NIV).  Real affection for our brothers and sisters in Christ is vital to our own growth as Christians – and will help theirs, too!  Although there are many differences between us – class, race, culture, and denomination – we need to support each other and show genuine kindness.  And like all the other qualities that Peter mentions, we must work at it.

And so finally we come to generous love, the goal of Christian discipleship, and the fruit of Christian maturity.  Love is a deliberate desire for the highest good of the one loved; and it shows itself in sacrificial action for that person’s good.  That is the kind of love which God showed us in the death of Jesus.  It is the kind of love which he wants us to show to each other.

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5: 8 [NIV]

Lord, please help me to love others as you love me.

David Long

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Add to your faith ...

So don’t lose a minute in building what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience... 
2 Peter 1: 5-6(a) [The Message]

Let’s look at the first four qualities which can help our faith to grow.

The first is good character (goodness in the NIV).  Good character is only seen in the good actions we perform – the kindness and thoughtfulness we show other people; and our best actions are done when we listen to the still small voice of God.

Then comes spiritual understanding (knowledge NIV).  How well do you know God?  How deep is your understanding of his love and his purposes?  Spiritual understanding comes from reading and knowing the Bible, from fellowship with other Christians, from reading Christian books and from thoughtful prayer.

The third quality is alert discipline (self-control NIV).  This is all about allowing the indwelling presence of Christ to have control over temptations of life whether that is overeating, buying something we don’t really need, pornography or anger – just to mention a few.

And fourthly, passionate patience (perseverance NIV).  Mature Christians don’t give up.  They don’t give up believing or praying or serving or hoping.  They’re in it for the long haul.  They know that they first believed because Jesus gave everything up for them when he died on the cross.  He did not fail in his work, and they will try not to fail in theirs.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1: 4 [NIV]

Lord, please help me to keep going in my faith even when it gets tough.

David Long

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Make every effort...

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  2 Peter 1: 5 – 7 [NIV]

How do we grow in our faith?  Peter gives us a list of seven qualities – from goodness to love – which will help us become mature in Christ.

We do not have to think of the qualities as being in a sequence; they are not in any particular order.  So we don’t have to have mastered goodness before we move on to knowledge, for example.  But the goal at the end of the list is love, the most important virtue for a Christian to have.  So we all start our Christian lives with faith and move in the direction of love – love for God and for each other; and the other six qualities are our stepping stones in maturity.

But do notice Peter’s words in verse 5: make every effort to add to your faith.  This growth in the Christian life is not just going to happen; we need to work at it!  As we saw yesterday, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, but we need to put ourselves in the place where we can cooperate with the Spirit.  Growth needs both the Spirit’s fullness and our active cooperation.

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.  1Peter 2: 2 [NIV]

Lord, please help me to cooperate with your Holy Spirit as he helps me towards maturity.

David Long