[Friday's Devotional] - Fear of the Lord

Fear of the Lord Of late I have been studying what fear of the Lord means and the Strong Concordance led me to this example.   Pharaoh had been stubborn and refused to let the children of Israel leave Egypt for the Promised Land. God therefore sent Moses to warn Pharaoh that if he continued in his ways he would see God's punishment - a series of progressive plagues. One of these was hailstorm and we pick the story up in Exodus 9. Here Moses was instructed to tell Pharaoh;   "Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die. Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field." Exodus 9: 18-21 [NIV]   So in very simple terms, fear of the Lord means great reverence (deep respect and honour) of God. It means, whatever He says, people should treat with great respect and obey immediately and exactly as instructed out of fear of the consequences if they don't do so.   The good thing about God is that, He is like a teacher who asks his students a question and gives them a choice of two answers- one that is correct and the other incorrect. The teacher then tells the students the correct answer to choose.   I have read the book of Exodus many times, but until now I had not noticed that even though the Egyptians did not know God, some of them were beginning to tremble with fear each time Moses came to them with a word from God.   Just as the Lord had said through Moses, the hailstorm came and the land and all who disobeyed were devastated. Pharaoh came to his senses (but only for a short time) and sent word to Moses to come back to the palace and pray that God would stop the hailstorms. (The children of Israel were living in the same land yet, in their community called Goshen, there were no hailstorms).   "Moses replied, "When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord's. But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God."  Exodus 9:29-30 [NIV]   I pray to the Most High God (El Elyon) to manifest Himself in your life so that others may be drawn towards Him.     Farai Mutsambiwa   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's 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] - Love does not dishonour others

Love does not dishonour others But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. Romans 14: 23 [NIV]   Have you doubted during difficult times? Have you done something out of fear or excitement (emotions), or led by our strong desires (will) or out of our own wisdom (mind) and not by faith? According to the verse above we have all sinned – myself included!   If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them. James 4:17 [NIV]   There are so many good things we know we need to do but we don't do them. For example, we know we need to help or encourage someone and to share the gospel with people of other faiths or our unsaved boss but we don't do it because of fear. Rather, we feel safe sharing God's word with one another as Christians. We speak evil about others at the slightest opportunity - and when we sin against others we sin against Christ.   Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Matthew 7:1-5 [NIV]   Some of us are quick to judge "the evil" others do, yet we all have planks in our own eyes. In the bible there is no big or small sin. Sin is sin and that's why everyone has to confess and repent from something (including the evil we do but don't know we do), every time we pray before God.   Isn't it amazing that those of us who are good at pointing out the wrongs others do are the least qualified to do so?   To the Pharisees who brought a woman caught committing adultery, Jesus said let the one who hasn't sinned cast the first stone at her. They all disappeared showing that only Jesus is qualified to judge us all. He didn't condemn the woman but spoke kindly with her and let her go away free with advice not to sin again. Only the goodness of Christ leads to repentance.   We need to adopt this attitude as Christians. We are all sinners, and work in progress – the best and worst among us.  Let's bear with each other's weaknesses everyday till Christ returns. The mark of a true Christian is loving others as Jesus did!   Farai Mutsambiwa   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's 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] - Value your freedom

Value your freedom "Every day is like a birthday for me. I don't have a dollar in my pocket but look at me. Working, trying to enjoy life."   Those words are from one of two convicts recently set free from an American prison where they spent more than 20 years for a crime they didn't commit. I wonder whether these words resonate with our everyday experience of joy – the same joy we felt the day Jesus set us free?   This is a true story I read in July 2017, prompting me to write this devotional.   It all began when a man was shot in the leg by members of a rival gang and decided to take revenge by shooting indiscriminately at a crowd at a party he knew was hosted by members of the rival gang. A person was killed and several others injured. For some reason two innocent men were sent to prison for life, despite glaring evidence that they had not done it.   Every day, for the 20 years they were in jail, the men wrote letters to prominent people in America, including Oprah and President Obama, seeking influence for their release and justice to be done. In the meantime, one man's father died of heart failure and his mother suffered a major stroke. The other man's widowed mother had to work 3 jobs to raise money to pay lawyers, and later fell into depression as the two men continued to lose appeals.   Over the entire period, faith in God kept the two men afloat. As they held tightly to their faith, God moved supernaturally for their rescue through some concerned lawyers, law students and the Innocent Project charity. In the final moments of their release and with three of the key witnesses dead during the 20 year period, the actual killer was due for a lethal injection for killing another person in a few months.    Wanting to make things right with his God, the real killer finally broke silence and confessed that he was the one guilty of killing the other person. Although he had been picked up by the police and questioned over the issue soon after the crime, the police let him loose though they had caught him in possession of the weapon used.   That reminds me of how Jesus saved us from eternal death. Though He was innocent, He gave Himself up on the Cross that we might live for ever. If the real killer had not chosen to confess the truth, the two men would have died.   Friends, let us not take our salvation and the death of Christ in vain. "You're my son, and today is your birthday". Psalm 2: 7-9 [MSG]   Let's live life every day as if it's our birthday celebration because God has set us free from eternal death!   You can read the detailed story of the two men in this link   Farai Mutsambiwa   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's 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] - God’s greenhouse: A safe place to be!

God's greenhouse: A safe place to be! Suppose you take a jar of clean water and pour it into a jar of dirty water. Does that make the mixed water pure and drinkable? Of course not!   Suppose you take a jar of dirty water and pour it into a jar of clean water. Does that make the mixture dirty? Yes!   During the time of Haggai, church-going people gave their perfect offerings to God but they were not blessed because they were busy building their own houses while the house of God remained in ruin. That was like mixing dirty and clean water, whichever way you do it, expecting a good result. God was not pleased and He called for a drought in the land.   Like in Haggai's time, the Lord who does not change, is asking the same question today.    "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Ask the priests what the law says: If someone carries consecrated meat in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?'" The priests answered, "No." Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?" "Yes," the priests replied, "it becomes defiled." Then Haggai said, "'So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,' declares the Lord. 'Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled. Haggai 2: 11 -14 [NIV]   When it dawned on the people that they needed to set their priorities right and begin to rebuild God's house first, things changed on the very first day they started doing so.    "From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid. Give careful thought: Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit." "'From this day on I will bless you.'" Haggai 2: 18-19 [NIV]   Concerning our needs and priorities Jesus said the same thing:   But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  Matthew 6:33 [NIV]   If you are worried about Brexit, retirement plans, future economic hardships and other life challenges, how about entering God's greenhouse by seeking the kingdom of God first?   Farai Mutsambiwa Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's 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] - Nature: A display of God’s endless love

Nature: A display of God's endless love This summer, I returned to my motherland, Zimbabwe, and I want to share my holiday experience. The aim is to thank and praise the Lord for His creation we often take for granted.   Zimbabwe has excellent tourist resorts including Victoria Falls, the Great Zimbabwe Monuments, the Nyanga Mountains, Mana Pools Game Reserve, yet many locals have never visited any of these places. For many years they have watched people from other nations come to their country to view this beautiful heritage.   However, for three days in August, my family and I were blessed with the opportunity to view Victoria Falls, to go on a Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi River and the children enjoyed a Zip Line adventure that involves sliding down a cable across the deep Zambezi River gorge.   As I reflected on these things, I felt overwhelmed by the beauty of God's word, His goodness, majesty and handiwork. I asked Him, why are You showing me this amazingly beautiful sunset? Why did You create these awesome waterfalls? Why have You allowed my kids to go on a Zip Line and even protected them from any mishap during the adventure? Why are You showing us these hippopotamuses? What is this all about Lord and what response do You expect from me?   His response: It's not because I am wiser, have more money or am better than everyone else but because of His grace. He gave me more answers from the book of Psalms which says God has given "land" to all nations as "an inheritance" because "His love" for them "endures for ever" Psalm 136: 21 [NIV]   He made "the sun to rule over the day, for His steadfast love endures forever" Psalm 136: 8 [ESV]   Oh Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures Psalm 104: 24 [ESV]   You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills Psalm 104: 10 [ESV]   Our guide confirmed the truth of God's word when he explained, "more than 70% of the water in the Zambezi River which pours over the mighty Victoria Falls comes from a spring in the Congo!"   Awestruck by God's creation, king David began Psalms 104 and 136 by blessing, praising and giving thanks to the Lord for His "greatness, splendour, wisdom, majesty and for His love for mankind that endures forever". In Psalm 8, David concluded that God created all the things we see (nature) to remind us that He cares and is always mindful of His children. Like the Psalmist, next time we see the sun, the moon, the stars, birds of the air and lilies in the field let's respond by giving Him all the praise.   Farai Mutsambiwa   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's 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!