[Wednesday's Devotional] - Our Daily Bread

Give us today our daily bread

Just the one line today....call it your mid-week kick back.

Although I could have easily used more lines and included the reprise part of the prayer as well, I did give this some thinking time.  Who am I to deny giving the trade I belong to it's shining glory in the prayer of prayers!!  Bakers rule and God's only son has blessed us forever.  Our highest honour...in case you were wondering is called the Worshipful Company of Bakers and dates back to the 12^th Century.

But let’s leave me and my baking to one side.  Ever since I was a child, this line has perplexed me.  Give us today our daily bread.  Was God filling my bread bin with Mothers Pride (Kingsmill to those younger than 35)?  That can’t be right, I see my mum buying bread every couple of days.  Nobody really explained it at school, or if they did, it didn't leave a lasting impression on me.

It wasn't until I was on an Alpha course (and this is why I think you should go to Alpha every 5 to 10 years, consider it a Christian Mechanical Service, it tunes you up, oils the wheels and makes you feel an awful lot better in your faith) that I began to understand this better.

There are many stories in the bible about food.  And God providing the birds of the sky for one. But there is also the passage that says “man cannot live by bread alone”....whoa hold on, Jesus tells us to ask for our daily bread and Matthew is telling us God said we can't live by bread alone?

Alpha straightened this out for me.  Jesus is the bread of life and by accepting him he will feed us spiritually forever.  God is giving us the opportunity to share in him a heavenly feast.  He can feed us, but it’s up to us whether we chew and swallow the food or spit the out.

Father, thank you for providing me with spiritual food to feast upon, more than I can possibly eat.  Encourage me to eat daily and help me understand on a daily basis. Amen.

Steve Fogo

[Tuesday's Devotional] - On Earth as in Heaven

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

 

I can roll these words around in my head over and over.  Jesus promises to come back and when he does heaven will follow.  However, I like to think that these two lines are a call to arms.  As we know from the bible, heaven is perfect.  It is somewhere that we are all destined to get to.  Jesus promises us that our belief in him is the entry ticket.  Though this comes with a caveat.  Faith without good works is pointless.  This line is a challenge to us.  God wants our lives on earth to mimic and replicate as closely as possible the life we will experience in heaven.  A sin-less, perfect environment.  Your kingdom and Your rules on earth as it is in heaven.

 

When I dwell on this I'm challenged by the cartoon that shows a young believer and Jesus on a park bench and the young man says to Jesus "So why do you allow things like famine, war, suffering, disease, crime, homelessness, despair etc.  here on earth?” and Jesus replies "Interesting that you should bring that up, I was going to ask you the exact same question"

 

It's up to us. God gives us everything possible to make Earth as it is in heaven, we simply need to choose to do so.

 

God, give me the knowledge to do your work on Earth, to make it heavenly and give me the strength to continue when the path is hard.  Amen.

 

Steve Fogo

[Monday's Devotional] - Father in Heaven

Sometimes I struggle with prayer… no, let’s be honest, most days I struggle with prayer... okay, OKAY, if I'm not in Church I always struggle with prayer.  I’m lazy and procrastinate, but then, perhaps some of you do too?

 

I've tried a few things to help, they work for a while, but then they drop off and I'm in that same old prayer wilderness.  My favourite ploy is to put a palm cross in the left hand window of my car. Every time I look left it reminds me to say a prayer, thank God, bless the occupants of the car next to me, that kind of thing.  But after a while the cross falls down or my youngest pulls it out, deconstructs it and then we can't get it back together again.  And so I go the rest of the year without regular prayer.

 

This week I intend to change that with a trick an old friend taught me.  He taught me that Jesus gave us the perfect prayer.  If you’re about my age or older you will remember rattling through the Lord’s Prayer every morning in school assembly. My friend showed me that this prayer is perfect in every way, yet we rush through it like cheap wine, when we should be savouring every drop like fine cognac.

 

Let’s start by breaking the prayer down into several sections, obviously starting at the beginning:

 

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.

 

Say those words out loud slowly, what do they mean to you? We often rush this prayer, but like pulling away at a road junction, it should take you some time to build up to speed.

 

“Our Father who art in heaven” - I have an excellent relationship with my father.  Yeah, sure it was strained at times, if I’m honest, largely because of me.  I think the pattern of my relationship with him went something like this:  I loved him unconditionally until about age 11 or 12, in my teenage years I started getting annoyed with him, then in my early 20s I found him embarrassingly annoying.  But from about my mid-20s I fell back in love with him, head over heels, and that love grows stronger and stronger by the day.

 

When I recite that first line of the prayer, I'm reminded of how much love I have for my father and in parallel how much love I have for my father in heaven. If for just a minute I sit back and count the ways my own father has loved and cared for me, corrected me and guided me, then I compare this to my heavenly father, I get blown away.  Which leads onto the second line and it’s almost a thank you....."Hallowed be your name"........Forever glorious, above everything, in everything and responsible for things in the universe so beautiful that I can only barely fathom them.

 

My Father in Heaven, thank you for loving me and creating me and giving me a place in your cosmos, Lord I shall sing your name forever more because of the gift you have given me.  Amen.

 

Steve Fogo

[Friday's Devotional] - What if Jesus tells you, you suffer from Unbelief?

I was taken aback when the Lord told me I have little faith and much unbelief.  I am saying so because I have always thought otherwise.

 

One day I was fasting for something important and the devil was now tormenting me through hunger. If you are like me, we all know that Christians are encouraged by Jesus to pray (in the closet), fast and give, but to be honest, fasting for me is the hardest of the three.

 

Fortunately, on the day I was fasting, I thought of how Jesus endured the Cross so that you and I might be saved, and so I managed to persevere.  When I did, God honoured me by the end of the day with a breakthrough I wanted. My fasting on that day was a real sacrifice.

 

A week later, while still pondering about the question of fasting, the Lord took me to the story of Jesus teaching in the synagogue in his home town where the local people who knew him did not believe in Him:

 

 "And they took offense at him.  But Jesus said to them, 'A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.' Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. "
Matthew 13:57-58 [NIV]

 

Without fasting, I did not experience the breakthrough I wanted, but when I started fasting things changed.  Why?  Yes, I was praying and giving but again I couldn’t quite get the connection of fasting and breakthroughs that come from believing God. Then the Lord led me again to an incident when the disciples were failing to cast out a demon from a little boy and when they asked them why, Jesus gave them this explanation:

 

"Because of your unbelief, for assuredly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.'’ Matthew 17:14-21 [NIV]

 

I had read this passage many times before and believed that they failed to cast out the demon because this type comes out by prayer and fasting. True? Maybe!  But on the day I was reading this passage, the Holy Spirit revealed that Jesus was referring to the unbelief that caused the disciples to fail to cast out the demon. He said the kind of unbelief the disciples had could only be overcome by fasting and prayer. I can understand that. Here the disciples had seen Jesus in Person – they had heard Him pray and receive answers, sometimes audibly through the voice of God.  They had seen all the miracles and yet they still couldn’t believe.

 

We too we have no excuse. We have read the bible, heard and seen all that Jesus did and yet we don’t believe.  Furthermore we have all been given the Holy Spirit and we know God also now lives in our hearts and yet we still don’t believe.

 

But again thanks be to God. He has given us the solution. Unbelief is destroyed by prayer and fasting.  Friends, today lets fast and pray that our unbelief in the word of God is overcome. Then miracles shall follow.

 

Farai Mutsambiwa

[Thursday's Devotional] - How sensitive are you to the Spirit of God?

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  1 Kings 19:11b – 12 [NIV].

 

Recently I read of a tragic incident that reminded me of how God speaks in a very small voice as explained in our devotional today.

 

Some people were travelling by car in a foreign country, were car-jacked and most of their possessions were stolen.  Apparently there was a little boy in the back of their car who had noticed a car following them for a very long time. If they stopped at a filling station they also stopped, if they turned they also turned. They boy had innocently told everybody in the car, but all the adults brushed aside the little boy’s observations and carried on with their discussions. The people following were the ones who robbed them.  It’s a sad story and I do not mean to be disrespectful or too wise in my own eyes because it could have happened to anyone, me included.  But since this was reported in a newspaper, I believe the authors wanted to warn people to always be aware of their surroundings and anything suspicious wherever they are. There is so much evil in this world.

 

In the bible verse above, Elijah found that God spoke with him through “a gentle whisper”.  As Christians, God speaks with us through many ways – the Holy Spirit, His Word, other people, nature, dreams, prayer, fasting, etc. But are we listening or just too busy doing our daily chores?

 

In the tragic story above, God was speaking through the little boy. How often do we “despise” the counsel of others even on the basis of ethnicity, colour, nationality, those on lower ranks than us in society and even fail to listen to the needs of our own children?

 

There are more stories of how God teaches us about being humble. 2 Kings Chapter 5 is a story of how Army Commander Naaman nearly missed his healing miracle because of his pride.  A slave girl had told him that if he went to Israel he would be healed of his leprosy by Elisha who was there. When he went, Elisha told him to go dip himself in the river Jordan seven times and receive his healing. Naaman almost refused because the Jordan had unclean water and he wanted to go back to rivers in his own land that were cleaner. After much persuasion by his body guards, the he did as he was instructed by Elisha and was healed of leprosy immediately.

 

Friends, God uses whatever He wants, especially people that are humble and lowly, things that are despised in this world. He can come to us as a homeless person as Abraham and Lot learned when approached by strangers who seemed to be passing by. He used a little boy’s lunch to feed 5,000. He even warned that some people have entertained Angels without knowing it. Friends how sensitive are we to the voice of God?

 

Farai Mutsambiwa

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Spiritual Warfare and a Good Fight

I have no military background. But with the little knowledge I have, I know there different divisions and weapons.  Some constitute ground arsenal, others are airborne, naval and special divisions. I am thinking of the Navy SEALS in US, MI5 here etc. All serve a very special purpose.

 

Similarly many countries host shows to display their military capability to others. They show off their most sophisticated tanks, ballistic missiles, jets and other ordinary weaponry

 

After my family went through a difficult time, recently the Lord inspired me to start bible study sessions for my family on a regular basis. We read scripture, explained what we thought it meant to one another and then prayed together.

 

Apparently we began to see remarkable change over the issues we were facing.

 

On the very first day, our scripture reading was Leviticus 26: 8 which says “And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.”

 

We decided to be very practical and how revealing it was when somebody decided to take the mathematical approach!

 

They said if we divide 100 people by 5, it means each person in the minority group will chase 20. They then said, suppose an enemy has joined forces with others and they become a large force of 50 trouble makers to fight against 1 member of the minority group of 5 people who can chase 20 people individually, it means these 50 people can easily overcome that 1 person. However when this 1 person is joined by 4 others in prayer, God supernaturally empowers the group to outnumber the enemy 100 to 50!

 

Similarly when the minority group increases from 5 to 100, the bible says they will chase 10,000. That means each person is now supernaturally empowered to chase 1,000 people through the power of association.

 

We therefore concluded that if we take God’s word above literally and faithfully, we can overcome the giants in our lives through prayer of agreement.

 

Spiritually, the prayer of agreement by many believers is akin to the Navy SEALS, the long range ballistic missiles, the fighter bombers, etc.

 

Friends we need to be wise and well equipped if we are to win the battle with our adversary Satan

 

 

Farai Mutsambiwa

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Your Salvation is Near You!

One of my favourite prayer topics is to pray for my Town, Rugby.  I do it often but more meticulously each time I read the Observer Newspaper every Friday evening, just before I dive into the local news. I like looking back at the latest positive developments in Town, in particular how these will positively impact the residents and my family. Here are a few examples:

 

Matalan has opened in Town – I now know I won’t have to drive to other towns specifically for shopping in this shop which is a favourite with my family.

 

Similarly, the local Shopping Centre is being revamped leading to the creation of many jobs and more money flowing into and circulating within the local economy.

 

The local Hospital has opened a specialist macular unit to all wet age related macular degeneration eye patients in Town. They don’t have to travel long distances to obtain the same service in neighbouring counties.

 

My favourite fast food chain stores McDonalds and Burger King have expanded operations and also started new services.

 

Someone has just returned from Nepal where they volunteered to save lives after two recent earthquake disasters in that country. The bible teaches so much about helping our neighbours when they get in trouble. With the advancement in travel technology, Nepal is only a stone’s throw away by aeroplane.

 

I could go on and on, not to mention the many companies, individuals and the Police embarking on voluntary services all for the good of the community.

 

What does the bible have to say about this? Being a peace loving citizen who believes in making a positive contribution to the community the Lord has planted me in, the Lord has taught me this:

 

‘Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit……. Work for the well-being of the city where I have sent you to and pray to the Lord for this. For if it is well with the city you live in, it will be well with you. Jeremiah 29: 5, 7 [NLT]

 

Friends, here is one thing I have learnt – Whatever we need, if we pray, we will be surprised that we will find it very close to us. I believe this since nothing is impossible with the Lord.

 

I am reminded in the book of Judges that at one point in time, Samson was faced by a multitude of Philistines who wanted to capture him and he had no weapon. The next thing, it so happened there had been a dead donkey nearby and Samson took its jaw bone and killed so many Philistines with it. After the Lord gave him a victory, he was so thirsty and was about to die of it. Samson then cried to the Lord and the next thing, the ground opened up producing a spring of water. Friends, if we are in the centre of God’s will and on God’s assignment, I believe these things will happen to us more often.

 

Farai Mutsambiwa

[Monday's Devotional] - Trust in the Lord

When facing tough times, it is often very difficult to trust in the Lord let alone to see His presence or hear Him speak. One sunny summer day recently, I asked the Lord to manifest His visible presence to me. Moments later I was looking at my garden through the kitchen window and the Spirit of the Lord started ministering to me:

 

Firstly, a happy-go-lucky bird landed on the lawn. Obviously on the lookout for cats, the bird started pecking at the ground. The Spirit immediately said to me, "Son, it looks like that bird has more faith than you. If you could read their minds, don't you think they might be laughing at you saying - Look at these human beings, they call themselves believers and friends of the Most High God, yet our God seems to be more real and able than theirs!"

 

Secondly, the Spirit of the Lord led me to consider the beautiful purple, pink and yellow flowers. "Son, He said, have you ever seen these flowers walking all over the garden and talking with one another - guys we are running out of clothes, what are we going to do? I am really nervous, let’s go and find some work!!"

 

Thirdly, I looked up at some plants in the garden and their leaves were rustling because of the wind. "Son, the Spirit of the Lord asked - Can you see the wind?" "No, Sir!" I answered. "God is Spirit!" the Holy Spirit reminded me. "He is like the wind that blows in any direction. Such is the work of the Spirit; you do not know what He will do for you next. So keep on believing and trusting in the Lord. Blessed are they who believe without seeing!"

 

Fourthly, the Spirit of the Lord led me to consider the giant pine tree at the back of my garden. "Son, He said, I am always with you and speaking words of encouragement but without a voice! Oh how I wish My servants would only believe!" "What Lord is this all about?" I inquired. Then He said, "Do you remember the word of the Lord I gave you to encourage your friend on his birthday anniversary, recently? That's right! I said - ....my people will live as long as trees and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard won gains!" Isaiah 65:22 [NIV]

 

Finally and several hours later, the Tempter was about to make me anxious again - this time, for my daughter coming home from school, as it had started raining!  Immediately the Spirit of the Lord said to me, "Son, how quickly you forget!  Just a few hours ago, I was teaching you about how I care for you and the lilies out in the garden." With a smile on my face I said, "Lord! Forgive my lack of faith. I think all I need to do is to pray in all circumstances whenever I feel I am getting anxious." "Well done son!" He said. Immediately, there was a knock on the door and there she was - my daughter!

 

Another surprise for me. To be honest, this is the first time I have ever had a tangible conversation with the Lord. It came unexpectedly and in answer to a prayer about 15 years ago and repeated occasionally - "Lord, I really envy all my Heroes in the bible - Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah etc., ....... they talked with You like they were talking with a man!"

 

All the glory to the Most High God!

 

Farai Mutsambiwa

[Friday's Devotional] - In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches about life in the Kingdom of God

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.  Matthew 5:1-2 [NIV]

Sometimes we need the benefit of time, or of solitude to think properly and mountains are good places for this.  Even Jesus needed to get away from the pressure of his work, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the good news and healing the diseased, the sick, the demon possessed and the paralysed who sought him out and followed him around.

 

But it wasn’t a total escape for Jesus as he took his disciples up the mountain with him.  Weary as he was, he gave them some profound teaching.  Moses had been given the Law on a mountain, and now Jesus was reinterpreting that same law on a mountain.  When I read the Sermon on the Mount, I am struck that some of the things I strive for most and that govern the way I approach my working life, things like being in control, like being liked, like having my efforts noted and appreciated and praised… are not qualities that are at the top of God’s list.

It is not the qualities that gain the respect and admiration of men that are the values of the Kingdom of God, rather the poor, the innocent, the victims, the self-effacing  that capture God’s heart.  Blessed, he says, are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted.

For Prayer:

What are you preoccupied with? Are your values the same as God’s or have they parted company somewhere along the way?

Mairi Mowbray 

[Thursday's Devotional] - On the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus Christ’s glory is revealed

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone.  There he was transfigured before them.  His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.  And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’  (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)  Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’  Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

Mark 9:2-8 [NIV]

Mountains can be exposed places open to the elements, fierce and wild, with wind, cloud or snow impairing visibility and extremes of temperature.  Climbers need to be well prepared.  But nothing prepared the disciples for what they were to experience on the mountain.  When Jesus revealed his glory to them, Peter’s reaction was one of bewilderment and fear.  He didn’t know how to express the emotion he felt as he experienced the intense religious moment, so he filled what could have been a holy silence with words, anything off the top of his head.  I suppose he was trying to make sense of something he couldn’t quite grasp, or trying to find a way to make a memory he could go back to and meditate on later.

Although Jesus didn’t set out to confuse his followers, not everything he did or said was instantly understandable.  The Word of God is not a simple handbook of instructions and explanations.  Some things need coming back to, thinking about more fully, meditating upon in the light of experience, before their significance and meaning become clear.  We need to be prepared to live with some uncertainty and expect some surprises.

For prayer:

Is there something you have heard or read or experienced recently, that doesn’t make sense at the moment? Or is there something that has become clear that you could share with others to help them?

Mairi Mowbray

[Wednesday's Devotional] - On the Mount of Temptation the devil offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour.  ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ Matthew 4:8-9 [NIV]

My family elected to ascend Snowdon by the Llanberris path, never having followed that route before.  Before the mist descended, it afforded the most breath-taking views down the valley, houses, rivers, farms, and huge piles of discarded slate from the now defunct quarry workings.  At times the Snowdon Mountain railway ran alongside the path, the carriages filled with curious tourists relying on the engine’s steam power rather than their own steam to reach the summit.  Watching them being hauled up the mountain made us weary walkers feel morally superior!  They certainly didn’t deserve the Tshirt!

There are hard ways to do things and there are easier ways.  During the time of preparation for his ministry, Jesus spent 40 days in isolation in the inhospitable desert without nourishment or human company.  And just when he was approaching the limits of his physical endurance, he was tested.  From the height of the mountain he was shown the kingdoms of the earth spread out before him.  Jesus could have accepted power and world dominance by transferring his allegiance away from God – the easy way - but even in his weakened state, it was a compromise he could not make, so he took the hard way. 

“Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Jesus said. Matthew 4:10b [NIV] 

For prayer:

Do you recall a time when you succumbed to pressure, maybe stress, tiredness, emotional persuasion – and took the easy way out, perhaps even doing the wrong thing?  Share your struggle with God.

Mairi Mowbray

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Mount Sinai - where God gives Moses the Law

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.’ Exodus 24:12 [NIV]

We made it up Snowdon – 15 members of my family on foot and my Mum (whose hips aren’t up to it) went by train.  Despite the optimistic weather forecasts, a thick mist descended and you could hardly even see the café from the summit cairn.  People were miserably taking pictures to prove they had conquered the mountain, but quite honestly they could have been taken anywhere for all the view there was!.

So we had something in common with Moses  - as he was preparing to go up Mount Sinai a cloud covered it.  This was not fog, but the glory of God, and it rested there for six days.  Then God’s voice called out of the cloud and Moses went up into his presence and remained there for forty days (24:16-18).  During this time God gave instructions on how to build a sanctuary for him; also how to make the Ark of the Covenant and detailed instructions for how God was to be worshipped.  The biblical account takes as many as seven chapters- indicating the instructions were to be the bedrock of the Israelites’ faith.  In the meantime the Israelites down below grew bored, frustrated and rebellious to the extent that they give up hope and turned to other gods, making the famous golden bull effigy.

 

Moses had gained direct exclusive access to God, and the Israelites had felt abandoned.  It can be hard sometimes to allow our leaders to lead us, to plan and to make decisions without becoming impatient and wanting to take over and do it our own way, or go back to doing things the way we once did.  Christian leadership is a hard calling and often leads to rejection and loneliness. 

For prayer:

Pray for those in positions of Christian leadership, and pray that we will trust those God has given authority to.

Mairi Mowbray

[Monday's Devotional] - Mount Moriah - the Testing Place of Abraham

We are staying within sight of Mount Snowdon for a family holiday in celebration of my mother’s 80th Birthday.  Mountains in the Bible are often significant as places of encounter with God and I have picked some of these as the basis for our meditations this week, starting today with Mount Moriah - the testing place of Abraham  (Genesis 22:1-18).

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” Genesis 22:2 [NIV]

There is something disturbing about this story – it doesn’t fit in with what we believe about the love of God that he would ask a parent to put his only child to death in a ritual slaughter.  We know how longed-for Isaac was, how many years Abraham and Sarah had been childless before they had this precious gift of a Son.  Could Abraham perform such an extreme act to prove his allegiance to God?

But this was a test.  It wasn’t that God wanted Abraham to kill Isaac, but he wanted to test the extent of his devotion and the extent to which Abraham believed the promises God had made him.  You will remember that God renamed Abram with the name Abraham meaning “the father of many nations”.  God had promised and everlasting covenant between himself and Abraham and his descendants for generations to come and promised them the land of Canaan (17:7).   Just remember, this promise was made to a Babylonian emigrant, 75 years old, childless and owning nothing but his tents and animals!

Abraham and Isaac trekked for three days up the mountain – plenty of time for soul searching – which is what many of us go on mountain walks for.  We have no insight into his thoughts and prayers – what would you have prayed in such circumstances?

It is with great relief we see the arrival of the angel to put an end to the testing and the substitution of a ram caught in a thicket for the sacrifice.  God speaks through the angel, confirming that Abraham has passed the test – he had withheld nothing from God – and God’s covenant promise is restated that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and that through him all nations of the earth would be blessed.

For prayer:

What promises has God made us? How can we demonstrate to God that we believe them? What do we value most in life? Could we sacrifice it for God’s sake?

Mairi Mowbray

[Friday's Devotional] - U-Turn Grace

For those of you who know me and my sister, you will be well aware of our appalling sense of direction and total inability to navigate using a map.  When planning our road trip to Scotland, many joked they would be receiving a postcard from Cornwall - they knew only too well our limitations in this area!

I am pleased to report that we only had a few very minor detours.  My memorable ‘long way round’ was having travelled way too far South on the M6 (and missed the exit to the Lake District) we navigated a roundabout to redeem ourselves.   When faced with the choice of the A66 East (2nd exit) or A66 West (4th exit) in my stubborn impatience I raced off at the 3rd exit…..…….. back onto the M6 !!!!!!! 

My sister had tears of laughter in her eyes but it took a few hours and a few more miles before I could see the funny side.  Our saving grace on the road trip were our ‘magic ears’, we both had phones with GPS maps and headphones under our helmets, which enabled us to enter our current location and destination.  The app would talk us through the route - in some locations the signal dropped out or stuck, but on the whole they were a God-send for directionally-challenged folk like us.

The wonderful news is when we tune into God’s wavelength he gives us direction:

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21 [NIV]

God loves us just the way we are, but he loves us too much to leave us that way.

There are often areas in our lives that hinder us from moving forward and enjoying the fullness of life God has for us, you may identify with some: Fear, Anger, Abuse, Procrastination, Anxiety, Grief, Insecurities, Unforgiveness, Compulsive Shopping/Eating/Drugs/Drink addictions, Lust, Unworthiness (feelings of not being good enough) Lying, Perfectionism and many more... they keep us chained like slaves.

John Newton, writer of Amazing Grace, knew much about slavery.  He gave his life to Christ and spent the rest of his days scratching his head in disbelief over the change.  When he was 82, he said, “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great saviour.”

God’s Amazing Grace allows U-Turns, if you have lost your way or need to move forward from things that hold you back, or if you have not rested much in his presence lately, many signs I saw in Scotland echo God’s desire, He implores us to ‘Haste Ye Back.’ It just means ‘Come back soon.’

‘Haste Ye Back’ by Andy Stewart [YouTube - 1 min]

Dawn Milward

[Thursday's Devotional] - The Definition of Grace

The critics are right: Grace is unfair.  We deserve God’s wrath and get God’s love, deserve punishment and get forgiveness.  We don’t get what we deserve.  Paul put it ironically,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” Romans 6:23 [NIV] 

If you want fairness, try a religion which says we may have to go through thousands, even millions of incarnations before paying for all our sins or one that lists things we must ‘do’ in order to qualify. 

Thankfully God’s word tells us:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 [NIV]

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” Titus 3:5 [NIV]

It seems unfair that a human rights abuser like Saul gets forgiven, or Moses whose foul temper led to murder and rebellion against God, or a murderer/adulterer like King David, or a thief hanging on a cross who has a conversion just before death.  Yes, it’s unfair— wonderfully and gloriously unfair I would say.

In this try-hard, perfectionist lifestyle we need to remember grace.  God’s grace is sufficient when we feel like we’ve failed.  God’s grace is sufficient when we worry we have let someone down.  God’s grace is sufficient when we just want to slow down.  God’s grace is sufficient when we feel guilty for something we’ve done wrong, God’s grace is amazing.

Many have penned the wonders of God’s amazing grace, in 2013 Phil Wickham wrote and sang “This Is Amazing Grace, This is unfailing love..…you would lay down your life that I would be set free” you can listen to this modern and upbeat song with the link below:

This is Amazing Grace [YouTube - 5 mins]  

Dawn Milward

[Wednesday's Devotional] - A Sly Side Wind

‘Amazing Grace’ is also the title of a film about William Wilberforce's political fight to abolish slavery, helped by William Pitt and John Newton among others.  The movie shows that after years of trying to get the bill passed Wilberforce is physically ill and devastated that after all this time the laws still have not been changed and hundreds of people are still being enslaved and killed.  

From 1789, Wilberforce regularly introduced bills in Parliament to ban the Slave Trade.  He was fiercely opposed by those making fortunes from the trade, but he never gave up.  The turning point was in 1806 when the abolitionists’ came at parliament with a ‘sly side wind.’ Amusingly (or not at the time) I was reminded of this when being blown side-ways on the M74, I am not sure if it was the solid fenders on my bike or the high luggage that acted as a sail, I only know I hung on for dear life - no wonder there are two massive wind-turbine power stations either side of that motorway!

I won’t spoil the film for those who’ve not seen it, but I love how the breakthrough comes as the result of a brainwave by James Stephen, a maritime lawyer who struck on the ingenious tactic of coming in by a ‘side wind’ and proposing a bill, seemingly unrelated to abolition, regarding ‘the use of neutral flags on French cargo ships’ - if you don’t already know how this began to change the course of history you will have to watch the film.  The scene in the film is so amusing - a very boring politician spouts his case for this bill and only one of the opposition gets wind there is something amiss.

If you feel like you are currently in an impossible situation, with no change in sight, remember the side-wind tactic.  The Lord of heaven and earth is about to release His winds of change.
“The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in their depths. He … releases the wind from His storehouses” Psalm 135:6–7 [NLT].
The Lord will release His “winds of change” for His purpose and plans for us at the appointed time “…fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him,” Psalm 148:8 [NLT].

Amazing Grace trailer [YouTube - 3 mins] – Full movie can be viewed on YouTube/Netflix etc.

Dawn Milward

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Amazing Grace

This is my all-time favourite hymn and I know it is loved by many.  It is hard to comprehend how these words, penned by John Newton one frosty December day in an attic room of an English vicarage in Olney in the late 18th century, still have life-changing impact.  In the 21st century these words still encourage, challenge, comfort and even stop people in their tracks.  I heard a Scottish piper playing these notes only 2 weeks ago in Edinburgh when I was with my sister and was moved to tears of gratitude. 

“Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind but now I see.”

What wonderful news.  I remember singing these words 19 years ago, my eyes and heart still closed to the truth of God’s great love for me, but God is in the wretch-saving business… so I qualified!  John Newton qualified too: once a slave trader, alcoholic and violent man his heart was changed by the power of God’s spirit during a violent storm at sea.  Newton had previously been a slave himself, starved and brutally abused at the hands of his captain’s African mistress in Sierra Leone - later in life if he ever felt tempted to feel proud of his natural abilities or his moral calibre he would think back to the time when he was a ‘wretch’, lower than slaves.  No one is too bad for God... and no one is too good either!

These days I still mess up, we all do, we make wrong choices, say wrong things, but encouragingly ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ is a realistic picture of the Christian life.  Virtually every time the pilgrim faces a choice, he makes the wrong one and makes bad detours all along the road.  I am thankful that in Scotland we did not make too many bad detours, more down to Amazing Grace than our Amazing Navigation!

The wonderful message of grace is that although we fall down, God picks us up and dusts us off.  Again, and again, and again…..

If you can find time listen, reflect and give thanks as the piper plays Amazing Grace [YouTube - 3 mins].

Dawn Milward

[Monday's Devotional] - What is Grace?

There is a wonderful book I read many years ago by Philip Yancey called “What’s so Amazing About Grace?” and the author was once asked “Can you define grace?”

Philp Yancey replied “I don’t even try. Jesus talked a lot about grace, but mainly through stories.  I remember once getting stuck in Los Angeles traffic and arriving 58 minutes late at the Hertz rental desk.  I walked up in kind of a bad mood, put the keys down and said, “How much do I owe?”  The woman says, “Nothing.  You’re all clear.”  I said I was late and she smiled, “Yes, but there’s a one-hour grace period.”  So I asked, “Oh really, what is grace?”  And she said, “I don’t know.  [They must not cover that in Hertz training classes.]  I guess what it means is that even though you’re supposed to pay, you don’t have to.”  That’s a good start to a definition.

I know this may seem very basic theology to many, but during our recent road-trip to Scotland, my sister and I were showered with God’s grace in so many areas that it just had to be my theme for these devotionals.

The most amazing thing about grace is that it requires no action on our part other than to hold out our hands and receive it.  We don’t need to try to earn it, we don’t need to work for it, we don’t need to have some kind of super-spiritual life-style. Grace is an attitude completely on God’s part, it comes entirely from Him and it is given unreservedly in abundance.

We live in a world where we are driven to do more, make more effort, give a little extra and keep going for longer.  Do you ever wonder if you are doing enough?  If your house is clean enough?  If you’re managing to do enough at work?  If your kids are learning and developing as they should?  If we’re not careful these pressures can all get on top of us and chain us down.  Thankfully, God doesn’t measure us by these standards – He tells us “My grace is all you need”.  2 Corinthians 12:9 [NLT]

If you have time listen and reflect:

Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) by Chris Tomlin [YouTube, 8 mins]

Dawn Milward