[Friday's Devotional] - Super spiritual?

Super spiritual? When we look again at Jesus' ministry, we do not see someone detached from the real world. He was involved in the mess of real lives and he made an impact on those lives.   While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  Matthew 9:10-12 [NIV]   We can get into the mindset that we must get our spiritual life right before God will use us. But the message from the Bible does not seem to be spend all your time in getting spiritually right with God. Yes, it is to keep close to God, but then to step out, do things in faith, and you will grow spiritually.   Father, show us how to grow.   Guy Mowbray Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 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] - Be strong in Love

Be strong in Love  Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.   Do everything in love.  1 Corinthians 16:13-14 [NIV]   The Greek word used for courageous in this passage is unique in the New Testament. A more literal translation would be "act like a man".   Man up, be strong, all very macho. Is that tempered by, or just extended in Paul's next thought – do everything in love?   Love is a challenge: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 [NIV]   Not so much tough love as powerful, strong reliable, unwavering love.   Father teach us to be strong in our love for you and each other.     Guy Mowbray Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 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] - Pray Always

Pray Always Paul also maintained a close relationship with God.   For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:9-13 [NIV]   Paul's prayer here is focused on those in the church, praying that they would grow in knowledge and understanding through the Spirit, bearing fruit in every good work. The sense here seems to be that, as we do good work, we grow in knowledge of God and this develops fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self-control).   Father help us to pray for one another, and act that we too may grow in knowledge and bear fruit.     Guy Mowbray   Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 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] - Close to God

Close to God Reading Chapters 5 and 6 of Mark gives the impression of a frantic time of miracle after miracle and crowds flocking to Jesus to hear the good news. We also see that Jesus took himself off to quiet places to rest and pray. We may not currently be seeing miracle after miracle or crowds flocking to hear the good news, but we still need to learn from Jesus' pattern of ministry. He would go to a quiet place and recharge and reset his relationship with the Father. He would remind himself who he was and how much the Father loved him. If Jesus needed to invest regularly in keeping his calling clear, keeping distraction and temptation at bay – how much more do we? We need to learn how to recharge –  taking time to reset our relationship with God. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18 [NIV] Father teach us to keep close to you.   Guy Mowbray   Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 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] - Discipleship

Discipleship I thought this week we could look a little at discipleship.   One of Bill Hybels' observations of the church in Willow Creek was that those who came to faith, but did not develop strongly, had not learned to find sustenance for themselves. They relied on others to do the work for them, they had not been taught to stand on their own feet. Discipleship is about learning —listening, clarifying, asking questions – understanding and maintaining a close relationship with your teacher. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They'll end up realizing that they're the ones who need a bath. It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That's what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God. 1 Peter 3:14-18 [MSG] Perhaps in a time of reflection we could ask ourselves: do we take responsibility for our own discipleship? Do we seek to grow in faith and understanding, or do we rely on others to "do church for us"? Father help us to grow close to you.   Guy Mowbray   Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 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!