[Friday's Devotional] - Sing and Dance

Sing and Dance  Praise him by blowing trumpets.  Praise him with harps and lyres.  Praise him with tambourines and dancing.  Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes. Praise him with clashing cymbals.  Praise him with clanging cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord.  Psalm 150:1-6 [NIRV]   Different churches have different cultural experiences and common styles of worship.  Having spent 2 weeks in Mozambique during July this year, I enjoyed several different church services including very enthusiastic singing and dancing.  The joy expressed in song and dance is very infectious and uplifting.  Sometimes we need to be reminded of the joy that comes from knowing Jesus.  To think about: The fruit of the Spirit includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Do I experience that joy? How can we lift our worship to express our praise more fully? Dave MacLellan Twitter Website Copyright © 2016 St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Thursday's Devotional] - Come and Go

Come and Go Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.   And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  Hebrews 10: 23-25 [NIV] Some are in the habit of "giving up meeting together".  We in the church are both the body and the bride of Christ.  How can we spur one another on toward love and good deeds if we don't make it a priority to meet together regularly?  If we lose our commitment to each other, we are in danger of losing the support and nurture of other disciples.  You may have heard the analogy of a hot coal which falls from the fire.  When coals are burning together, they contribute together to the fire which does not go out until it is consumed.  If a single burning coal falls out of the fire and lands on the hearth, you can observe that the flames die and the lump of coal that was once red hot will soon stop glowing and after minutes will sit, solitary and cooling, until it is cold and unconsumed with the potential for burning unrealised.  The same coal if re-introduced to the fire amongst other coals will burn completely until all the energy is used and only ash remains. To think about: Are you solitary and smouldering, or in the heart of the fire? Do you know someone who has fallen or jumped from the fire and is cooling?   Dave MacLellan   Twitter Website Copyright © 2016 St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Up and Down

Up and Down Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  Hebrews 12: 1-3 [NIV] It is very easy to become discouraged when we are running in the race of life.  Emotionally we are up and down all the time.  Sometimes we have "cliff top" moments when we feel that we are on top, that all is well with life, the world and the universe.    At other times (in my experience much more often) we face feelings of pulling ourselves out of the gutter, not finding it easy to drag ourselves out of bed to greet the world.  Perhaps this leaves us feeling we don't deserve the title "disciple", that we have done something to make us unworthy or committed an "unforgivable sin". If life is a race, then it is more of a marathon than a sprint.  Perhaps you enjoy watching sport?  One of the things that separates champions from others is the fact that they have control of their emotions and a certain self-belief and knowledge of their own skill.  So, for example in tennis, they may be facing 3 match points against them and go on to turn things around to achieve victory.  That's why (among lots of other reasons) I am not a champion at tennis! For the Christian we need to develop a different form of self-knowledge.  The knowledge that Jesus has already pioneered and perfected faith can help us to overcome the hindrance of sin and the condemnatory words of Satan. To think about: How am I going to feel today?  Can I set my face "like flint" and overcome emotions? Will I rely on my emotional wellbeing or the knowledge and love of Jesus?   Dave MacLellan   Twitter Website Copyright © 2016 St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Lead and Follow

Lead and Follow   Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.  Matthew 16: 24-27 [NIV] There is a lot of emphasis on leadership, in life, in our working environments, even in our churches.   Whether you are in leadership, or not, make sure you are following Jesus.  Leaders especially have a great responsibility to teach truth, model discipleship and follow Jesus.  The more gifts you have been given, the more wise you need to be to ensure they are used well. The way of the cross is not "comfortable Christianity" – if you are not moving out of your comfort zone in your discipleship, you are not following the teaching and example of Jesus! To think about: What does it mean to deny myself? What am I doing to follow the example and teaching of Jesus today?   Dave MacLellan   Twitter Website Copyright © 2016 St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Monday's Devotional] - Give and Take

Give and Take   Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 9: 42-45 [NIV] Jesus was very frustrated at the competitive nature of his disciples.  On one occasion James and John were seeking to have their status as "favourites" confirmed, asking if they could be seated either side of Jesus in Heaven.  Jesus felt that they had not understood that being great in Heaven is a result of faithful "cross-lifting" on earth.  Many who are thought of as leaders on earth might expect (if they believe in eternal life) that they will have a high status in Heaven.  Not so, Jesus taught! Jesus modelled servanthood to his disciples.  He sacrificed his own time and energy for the good of those around him in need.  He liked to spend time with the outcast, the sick, those with seemingly no voice or status in society, including tax collectors, thieves, lepers and prostitutes. Do we spend our time, energy and money on those who are needy?  Do we give generously or do we rather take what is on offer as a free gift and come back for more? Imagine a bank where everyone withdraws more than they have deposited… How could it survive?  In a church, the same rules apply, as they do for a nation living beyond its income.   If everyone takes more than they give we end up with an overdraft or a deficit, which means that the work of the church is stifled by the withholding of gifts (of money or services) from the congregation. Some people have said to me that they are weary and battle-worn and that they don't feel able to continue in a role of serving in the church, they just need to "take" for a while.  Whilst we all have good and bad times, a soldier who is rested but won't go back into battle is not much good to the army! To think about: What am I giving financially to the church?  Should I increase it? How am I spending my time?  Could I use my God-given gifts to build the church up more?   Dave MacLellan Twitter Website Copyright © 2016 St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!