[Friday's Devotional] - Hopeless?

There are many apparently hopeless situations in the Bible, here are just a few examples:

 

• Gideon and 300 men against the Midianite army (Judges 8)
• David fleeing from his would-be murderer Saul (1 Samuel 19-31)
• Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego entering the fiery furnace (Daniel 3)
• Daniel entering the lions den (Daniel 6)
• Jesus dead on the cross (John 19)

 

Yet if we read on in each passage we see that although logic dictates there is no hope, the outcome shows that the power of God gives us something unique - a hope that can inspire real faith.

 

Does your situation feel hopeless today?  Have you experienced a positive outcome in a “hopeless” position?  This is the stuff that people need to hear about – your testimony can encourage and plant hope where there is little to be found.

 

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 1 Peter 3:15-16 [NIV]

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5 [NIV]

 

God of hope, change our lives today and make us willing to talk about the hope we find in you – by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Amen

    

Dave MacLellan
(first published in 2007)

[Thursday's Devotional] - Unrepentant?

In Acts Chapter 9 we hear the story of Saul’s conversion:

 

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.  As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Acts 9:1-6 [CEV]

 

And later….

 

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.  At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.  All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. Acts 9:19b-22 [CEV]

 

What a difference a few days can make in a life….

 

Saul was transformed in his thoughts words and deeds by a personal meeting with Jesus who he had been persecuting.  So much changed in his life that he changed his name from Saul to Paul.  Our experience may be less dramatic than Saul’s – yet every day we need to repent (to turn away from our sin).  Perhaps we find ourselves stuck in a cycle of sin or struggling to be free from a sinful habit, we need the medicine of repentance to get right with God again.  Then our lives can be transformed like Saul became Paul.  Wouldn’t that be something!

 

Lord, help us to repent and receive your forgiveness. In Jesus name, Amen

 

Dave MacLellan 
(first published in 2007)

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Glum?

Sitting in my car in stationary traffic recently, I decided to look closely at the faces of all the people driving in the other direction.  As you can imagine there were not any happy smiling faces to be seen.  In the privacy of our cars and when we are alone you can see “Who We Are When No One’s Looking”.  It’s not a pretty sight. 

 

My sister told me that a Latvian woman she was helping has found it hard to adjust to smiling and saying “thank you” since arriving in the UK – 2 cultural differences she found difficult.  Perhaps there is not much to smile about in everyday life in Latvia? – my observation is there seems not to be much to smile about in England either!  Glumness is a state of mind that is all too common in today’s world.

 

If you are happy –  try showing it on your face, apparently smiling uses less muscles than a frown!  If you are not happy, think about life from God’s perspective and through the eye-glass of eternity. Let this be our prayer:

 

Your anger lasts a little while, but your kindness lasts for a lifetime.

At night we may cry, but when morning comes we will celebrate.

I was carefree and thought, "I'll never be shaken!"

You, LORD, were my friend, and you made me strong as a mighty mountain.

But when you hid your face, I was crushed.

I prayed to you, LORD, and in my prayer I said,
"What good will it do you if I am in the grave?

Once I have turned to dust, how can I praise you or tell how loyal you are?

Have pity, LORD! Help!"

You have turned my sorrow into joyful dancing.

No longer am I sad and wearing sackcloth.
I thank you from my heart, and I will never stop singing your praises,

my LORD and my God.  Psalm 30:5-12 [CEV]

 

Amen.

 

Dave MacLellan
(first published in 2007)

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Churlish?

I wonder - are you familiar with the lives of Nabal and Abigail, and their interaction with David?  It’s not a story often told, so if you have a spare few minutes you can re-read it in 1 Samuel 25 – here are the main points of the tale:

 

• Nabal was a very rich man who lived in Maon (a town in Judah)
• His wife Abigail was sensible and beautiful, but Nabal was surly and mean
• David (in the wilderness) sent messengers to kindly ask Nabal for food
• Nabal sent them back with a churlish reply
• David took 400 armed men to visit Nabal (not intending to greet him)
• Abigail heard about it and went ahead to meet David with a lot of food
• Abigail told David that her husband lived up to his name Nabal (“fool”)
• David was very pleased with Abigail and accepted the food gladly
• Abigail went home and told Nabal what she had done
• Nabal was furious had a heart attack and died 10 days later
• Not long after this David married Abigail

 

Churlish behaviour is sadly all too common in the church today.  Sometimes I find myself reluctant to behave kindly to someone I think doesn’t deserve it – or I neglect to do something simple which has been asked of me out of self-centred thinking or spite.

 

Nabal died for his churlish behaviour – much better we kill off our churlish nature than have it lead to our undoing.  Let’s follow the example of Abigail and undo wherever possible the churlishness of others! – and let’s try not to be Nabal-like in our nature.

 

Lord, help us to be generous and thoughtful in the richness you have given us.  Amen

   

Dave MacLellan
(first published in 2007)

[Monday's Devotional] - Self obsessed?

In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent everything she had on doctors, but none of them could make her well. As soon as she came up behind Jesus and barely touched his clothes, her bleeding stopped.

"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.

While everyone was denying it, Peter said, "Master, people are crowding all around and pushing you from every side."  But Jesus answered, "Someone touched me, because I felt power going out from me."  The woman knew that she could not hide, so she came trembling and knelt down in front of Jesus. She told everyone why she had touched him and that she had been healed right away.

Jesus said to the woman, "You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace!" Luke 8:43-48 [CEV]

 

How busy must Jesus have been on this day! – He had been teaching the crowd, healing people and casting out demons and then he was called by Jairus, who’s only daughter aged 12 was almost dead.  Yet Jesus was not obsessed with his own wellbeing or stressed about the work he had to do.  He was sensitive enough to notice the power going out of him and cared enough to engage with the woman and greet her, and encourage her that her faith had made her well – no wonder she told everyone else!

 

It is easy to become inward-focused and contemplate our own woes all the time.  But we are called to serve others – like Jesus did.  What opportunity do you have today to spend 5 minutes “you haven’t got” with someone who needs your encouragement? 

It’s so easy to pass by on the other side or say “I haven’t got time for that today”.  Be open to take the chances that come your way and be flexible with your time allocation!

 

Lord, make us aware of the needs of others and help us to encourage and uplift others whenever we can – in Your name, Amen.

 

Dave MacLellan
(first published in 2007)

[Friday's Devotional] - Communication

Christ’s communication with His father and our communication with God is in the process of prayer.

Christ’s activity with His father was based on prayer.  Jesus in the Gospels, goes off on his own, on many occasions, to a quiet place, on a mountain, by a lake, in a garden, to pray.  To share with His father what had happened, what was about to happen, to seek guidance.  It was a communication that strengthened and renewed.

Jesus’ example of a prayer life shows us that prayer is not just about asking but also about sharing, and sharing our true feelings.

The prayer of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus asks if it is “possible to let this cup pass me by”, shows how we too can share our true feelings even though we know we have to go through whatever faces us, but strengthened to do so by our communication, by being in the presence, by experiencing, being held and loved, being close to and at peace in God.

Glenn Lowde (first published in 2008)

[Thursday's Devotional] - Standing firm

“By standing firm you will gain life” Luke 21:19 [NIV]

Many around the world experience the devastation of an earthquake.
When their world is shaken to its foundations.
Even more of us, perhaps, also experience our own world being shaken through suffering; whether that is illness, breakdown or loss. Our world is falling apart with little hope.

In the midst of the turmoil of our lives, when our world seems to have collapsed, God, who has been with us, is still there. God who has been faithful in the past remains faithful today.

The times when we feel our faith tested, the times when we feel crushed by events are the times when God is closest to us.

When our world seems to be collapsing, God stands firm. His love, His peace, His joy, His grace are close to us.

Stand firm, don’t lose hope.

God is with us.

Glenn Lowde (first published in 2008)

[Wednesday's Devotional] - The light of the world

“I am the light of the world” John 8:12

The light came into the world with the birth of Jesus.

Lights are used in many different forms - to light the physical darkness of our world, to shine out to guide our way, to illuminate our homes, our places of work our towns and cities.

Spiritually we also have a light to lighten the darkness of our lives. A light to guide us though life when it seems dark and lonely.

Christ is that light, ready to enter and illuminate our lives if we ask Him.

We give a candle at baptism to represent this light of Christ coming into our lives, a living flame, a symbol of the living Lord entering our lives and illuminating our path as we journey each day through life.

Glenn Lowde (first published in 2008)

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Our neighbour

Are we prepared to take a risk in being identified with our neighbour?

Made in the image of God, being the hands, feet, eyes of our Lord as we go about His work?

God is working in us, using us. God within us

What a thought!

If so, then everyone we meet today is also a little encounter, a unique encounter with God.

We are challenged, no commanded, to love our neighbour.

A challenge in which we shall fail.

And in that failure we shall be forgiven, but this is a challenge we are commanded to engage in as we go about our daily lives.

Glenn Lowde (first published in 2008) 

[Monday's Devotional] - Do we condemn?

“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more”  John 8:11b [NKJV]

How do we treat our neighbour, friend, family member?  How many times have we held a grudge, given someone the silent treatment or refused to listen?

Yet Jesus said:
"Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."  Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.” John 8: 7b-9[TNIV]

Have we condemned our neighbour or friend?

Jesus will not condemn but he does say “go and sin no more”.

We have received forgiveness as a result of repentance, we are accepted, we are not condemned, but we are commanded to go and sin no more.

So in our forgiveness of others how do we respond?

How are we challenged today to forgive but not condemn?

Glenn Lowde (first published in 2008)

[Friday's Devotional] - The Lord's Prayer

Often when I pray the Lord’s prayer, I try and put it into my own words.  I find by doing that, it becomes more meaningful – words that are repeated too often can start to wash over you and lose their impact.

 

So here is my attempt – why not try it yourself?

 

Father God, thank you that you love me more than I will ever know.

You alone are God – help me to honour you above all things.

May your kingly reign come about in my life, in my family, in our church, in my work, my town, this nation and the whole earth.

May your heart become my heart, your concerns my concerns.  Help me to be obedient to what you call me to do.

Thank you for all your provision: for those who love me, for the beauty in nature around me and for my food and shelter. Help me to be nourished not only by them, but by your word that is Spirit and Life.

Thank you that I can walk through today knowing that I am forgiven by Jesus’ sacrifice for me.

Help me not to harbour grudges or bitterness against anyone.

May I be aware of you presence beside me through today. Give me wisdom to make good decisions and avoid ways that are harmful and not in your purposes.

All things are yours Lord. May I use what you give me to your glory.

Amen.

 

Jon Seaton

[Thursday's Devotional] - Grumpy Old Men

Then John’s disciples came and asked him, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’

Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

‘No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.’ Matthew 9:14-17 [NIV]

 

I thought I should include a passage on fasting this week, as it is Lent.

 

If, like me, you are not fasting or giving something up for Lent, you’re in good company – Jesus’s disciples didn’t fast either.  However when the passage above was written, fasting would be a common practice, whereas it is not so much in today’s Christian practice.

 

As I get older, I notice I have got a bit grumpier.  People get dropped off my Christmas card list, people get told my aches and pains.  Although “Grumpy Old Men” is a TV comedy show, its observational humour of older people’s traits rings true.  However, I do not want to become like that!

 

In the passage, I think the wine refers to the good news of the kingdom and new wineskins are new followers.  The Pharisees are like the old wineskins, the grumpy old men going through a fast merely as a ritual and unable to take on the Gospel.

 

My desire this Lent is to go deeper in my Faith.  A challenge for me is not to become a grumpy old man like a Pharisee stuck in his ways.  I want to be like a new wineskin, able to adapt to new things and “living life in its fullness” (John 10:10).

 

Ironically, fasting is quite a fresh idea now, and one I should maybe re-visit.  What practices could you adopt that would keep you like a new wineskin?

 

Jon Seaton

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Talents

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.  So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.  After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them…..

 

[after those who been given 5 and 2 bags of gold had been commended, the master’s focus turns to the one who had been given one bag..]

 

‘Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.” ‘His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

Matthew 25:14-19, 26-27 [NIV]

 

I remember hearing this parable as a child, maybe aged 9, and feeling quite indignant.  I had money in my money box, just like the man who buried it in the ground, and my parents encouraged me to save it.  I couldn’t see what was wrong. Although the meaning of the story was lost on me at that age, I think my reaction was the same as the one Jesus was trying to create in his adult hearers - to challenge normal behaviour with a shocking story.

 

Of course the story is not mainly about how we invest our money, but rather how we invest ourselves. Do we react out of fear or laziness, trying to preserve our lifestyle? Is life a damage limitation exercise?

 

The implication of the story is that investing yourself is a difficult business, as the servant comments that his master “harvests where he hasn’t sown”.  It could all go wrong, but Jesus says it is imperative that we take the risk and go and do something with what we are given.

 

Have you taken stock of your talents recently? How are you spending them?

 

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it”. Matthew 16:25 [NIV]

 

Jon Seaton

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Paralysis by Analysis

We have been booking a holiday recently, and all the campsites are rated out of 10 from survey results.  I don’t just have the brochure to inform my choice, I have people’s personal reviews on the internet, Google Street View of the surrounding area, Tripadvisor ratings… the whole process took us hours of research, but because the data was there, we felt we had to use it to come to the best decision. It was really exhausting.

 

In this age of research, surveys and digital information, it is easy to approach all aspects of life through your computer, including Bible study.  It is easier now to be an amateur theologian, with online commentaries, blogs, etc.  Some intellectual rigour is certainly helpful to gain insight and have a sound worldview, but it can end up as quite an exhausting experience as you try and assess different opinions on the meaning of a passage.

 

I think Biblical truth mainly comes to us as revelation through obedience rather than by analysis.  The Pharisees had a thorough knowledge of Scripture, yet often missed the point.  They weighed people down with rules rather than liberating them to live.

 

Oswald Chambers comments “We read some things in the Bible three hundred and sixty-five times and they mean nothing to us, then all of a sudden we see what God means, because in some particular we have obeyed God, and instantly His nature is opened up”.

 

Therefore, I want to retain the Bible as the life building Word of God spoken into my life, and not merely an exhausting assessment of arguments for and against certain points of view.  I want to treasure it and have it there for my benefit.

 

I hope on our holiday our research will prove to be worthwhile.  I hope the Google street view image in my mind will be re-inforced by the true image.  In the same way, I hope I can be obedient to Jesus’ commands, and experience the truth of Scripture more in my life.

 

Jon Seaton

[Monday's Devotional] - A refreshing cup of tea

“That hits the spot” and such phrases have gone into the English language to express the refreshment that comes from drinking tea. (If you’re not a tea drinker you’ll have to imagine your favourite thirst quenching drink for the purposes of this devotional!).  There is also the rest that can accompany your cuppa – maybe a mid-morning break from work, and an opportunity to chat. The emphasis is on what we feel – our body demanding some liquid and a rest, and that need being satisfied along with the pleasure of the taste.

 

Of course, we are normally only conscious of our desire for a drink, rather than the essential, life sustaining properties.  If we kept ignoring these demands, then you can only survive for about a week without water, and it’s a lot less than that in the heat.

 

It is interesting that Jesus uses a drink as one of the symbols to remember him by at the Last Supper. He also uses the analogy of the thirst quenching drink with the woman at the well, saying that:

 

“…whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life”. John 4:14[NIV]

 

So, maybe as you have a cup of tea today and are conscious of your need for a drink, use it as a reminder to bring your needs to God.  Or maybe after you chat to colleagues or friends, you could talk to God.  But remember that just as it is essential for your body to stay hydrated, the really important thing to stay alive spiritually is remembering Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

 

“Do this as often as you drink it” Jesus said at the Last Supper. Maybe remember his sacrifice for you over a cuppa today.

 

Jon Seaton

[Friday's Devotional] - Jesus

So what can I tell you about Jesus?  That he was the first son of Mary who came from Nazareth, but her future husband Joseph, a carpenter, wasn’t his father.  We believe he had younger brothers and sisters.  He became a travelling preacher or rabbi in a small occupied country, and he upset the High Priests and Pharisees because he told ordinary people the truth about God and himself and how they could be accepted into Heaven when they died.  This angered the Pharisees so much they persuaded the Roman Governor to have Jesus crucified.  However this was all part of God’s plan, for on the third day – just as he had said – Jesus rose from the dead and took his place as God’s true Son in heaven.

 

Now Jesus is our saviour, our way to Heaven.  Only through him can we reach God the Father.  All we have to do is ask him to come into our lives and take over.  Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  Of course there is a catch, we have to try to live our lives as Jesus would want us to from here on – and that is not so simple, but so worthwhile, believe me. Perhaps you think, as I did, that you don’t qualify, you’re not good enough.  Wrong!  God wants each of us just as we are, to accept Jesus his son, as our saviour, and in due course join Him in heaven.

 

When Jesus lived on earth he didn’t just look for the good and holy.  He reached out to the ordinary people, the downtrodden, the good, the lawbreakers, the rich, the poor, the wicked, and the sick.  He healed, taught, encouraged, and performed miracles.  Not for self-centred glory and approval, but to demonstrate the wonderful love and care, and power of his father.  God.  So there you are.  Hopefully most of you have already invited Jesus to take over your lives, but if not it’s never too late.  But really “the sooner the better” since it can only be to your benefit.  Don’t leave it to pension age like me.

 

Jesus loves you, he loves every one of us.  Become a Diamond Geezer or Girlie.

 

 

Jim Finch

 

With thanks and acknowledgements to Diamond Geezers by Anthony Delaney

[Thursday's Devotional] - Father

The father is the main role-model for the son, but isn’t always appreciated.  Are you one who remembers your father as a strict disciplinarian, a clip round the ear or at least a good telling off the most likely response to anything you did?  Did you ever get it right? You should have been born a girl, they usually saw the more loving side – but not always!

 

Personally, my father died before I was 4 years old so I never knew him.  Maybe your father was absent for some reason, or abusive – verbally or otherwise, or just impossible to please.  Maybe he was too busy with his own life to take any notice of you, or it seemed best just to avoid each other as much as possible. In the book, Diamond Geezers, some were asked their reaction to the word ‘father’. “Strength, warmth, smile, fun, gentleman” – but that was just the women.  The men said, “Liar, cheat, fear, absent, just wanted him to say he was proud of me..” There were some positive answers too, but not many.  So if we invite men to get to know God the father it’s not surprising if we get a wary or bad reaction.  No doubt that’s a big part of why there are many more women than men in church regularly these days.

 

So what did God think about you when you woke up this morning?  Perhaps he didn’t notice you at all.  After all he’s got many billions of planets and stars to look after, not to mention the billions of people on this planet alone!  Why should you matter to him? You’re just another brick in the wall as it were.  No wonder people reject a God like that.  I do too, because He isn’t like that at all.  He watches over each of us night and day, waking and sleeping. The real God couldn’t wait for each of us to wake up so He could enjoy the good things we do and try to help us avoid the bad things. On top of which He calls us his children and loves us without setting any conditions. What a father! Blows me away!

 

Jim Finch

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Friends

Who is your best friend?  Do you have one?  Most of us have a number of friends, and often they are workmates or people we have known for some years or neighbours we have got to know.  Sometimes they are people we went to school with and still have contact with or someone we go to the same club or church with at present.  But which of them would you call your best friend?  Or is it none of them?  For many of us our best friend as we grow up is our mum.  We may not think so at the time.  She makes us go to bed when we are wide awake and gets us up when we want a bit more time in bed!  But she is the one who takes care of us through thick and thin.  My mum was a Diamond Girlie.  I can still hear her saying “Oh, our Jimmy, you didn’t did you?”  Yes mum I did! Forgiven again, but with words of reproach.

 

Unfortunately friends can be unreliable at times, untrustworthy, or lead us astray without us realising it until too late.  When you need that favour from a good friend, really need it, can you rely on them or will they make excuses?  Similarly, can we be a real friend to someone, whoever they are, when they need help of any kind.  Do we greet friends with a usual “Alright then?” or “How are you getting on?” without really wanting an answer, and is the response “Fine, and you?” before you both move on.  I hope your friends have more time for you than that, and I hope I do too.

 

In the book he Diamond Geezers, Anthony Delaney tells of the time he saw Eric Delve preaching:

 

Eric held up a nail saying, “This is the sort of nail the Romans would have driven into Jesus’ hand and feet. If someone had to have a nail driven into them, who do you love enough to say ‘Don’t do it to them, do it to me instead?”

 

Of course, we all have one friend who is there for us at all times, whatever the situation, and whatever mess we have got ourselves into.  In times of trouble you can always turn to God. He may not approve of what you or I have done, but He is always there, and even if you don’t notice he is ready to put an arm round you, offer comfort, and help you start again.

 

 

Jim Finch

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Coal or Diamond?

So what are we? Coal or Diamond? Both are made of carbon and in time under pressure the carbon can become coal, that’s not too difficult. But under a lot more pressure and high temperature that same carbon can become diamond. It’s harder to find and takes a lot of careful grinding and polishing to get it to the brilliant stone that we know it can be.

 

We are born in the coal state, formed and fashioned as a standard human being.  A coal man or woman.  However, God wants us to be a brilliant diamond. Unfortunately some of us never quite become that. As we grow there are lots of influences around.  Some are good and some are definitely not.  We all know of a man who has ‘made it’ to the top or become famous in some way, and maybe we would like to be the same.  But have they become a diamond or just got lost in their own little world.  For most people life probably provides more problems than they would like, and most of us are not going to become rich and/or famous.  I certainly don’t stand out in a crowd.  But, as I’ve already said, God wants us to become a diamond.  It’s not impossible.

 

So through life we are fashioned and shaped, tested and tried.  As it was said in the film (I think) ’Carry on Sergeant’ “The easy way isn’t easy, and the hard way’s ruddy hard”.

It’s just as well that it is God who is testing us because we know that he will also guide and help us to overcome all our trials and tribulations, so that we can become diamonds.

 

Lord, some of us may only be coal at the moment, but we are ready to be put under pressure to become the diamonds you would like us to be.

 

 

Jim Finch

[Monday's Devotional] - Failure

Sometime in the past few years – oops!  I’ve failed already, since I can’t remember exactly when or why – we had the opportunity to take freely a book entitled “Diamond Geezers” by Anthony Delaney.  Only recently have I got round to reading it right through. Of course, Geezers refers to chaps, but there are Diamond Girlies too!  So don’t think for one minute that this is all about men. 

It’s not nice to be told that we are all failures, but in a sense, we are.  It’s part of being human.  We are disappointed when our favourite team (football, cricket, hockey, netball, etc) fails, gets beaten, doesn’t win the Cup, gain promotion, or fail to beat the drop.  In fact we look down on any form of failure, because our society culture almost idolises success.  Yet we hear all too often of the failures of our sports heroes, celebrities, politicians, movie stars.  We feel hurt, just like we do when we don’t get the job we applied for, or someone else gets the promotion we feel we’ve earned and should have been given.  We are not in the team, failed an exam, or simply ignored when something good is being given out.  Failed again!

Perhaps we are not looking at it quite right.  Actually we are not failures, we have just failed - and we can try again.  Who says so?  God does, he forgives us and invites us to be as his child, cherished, loved and always encouraged.

Proverbs 24 verse 16 says :

…though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again [ISV]

Why?  How can this be?  Because Jesus paid for all our mistakes, wrongdoing, failings, when he gave his life on the cross. And if He could do that for me, surely the least I could do is try again to get things right, for Him.... Isn’t it?

Jim Finch