[Wednesday's Devotional] - Humble yourself and He will lift you up

The Lord uses the foolish things in the eyes of this world in order to confound those who claim to be wise by our earthly standards (1 Corinthians vs 27 – my paraphrase). When I tell people one of the many ways God speaks with people is through dreams, they laugh as it sounds old fashioned.

I remember in my youth when I didn't know the Lord. Bible reading and church going all sounded very foolish and a waste of my time (as if I really owned the time!). But in the fullness of time, here I am doing the very thing that I opposed and even more.

And as if this was not enough, the Lord is now showing me His kindness and goodness which He laid up for me before I was born and for all to see (Psalm 31 vs 19 – my paraphrase). He has enabled me to write a book based on my own dreams. He wants me to share the lessons He has taught me with the body of Christ and those who do not know Him so that together we will be built up to the same level of revelation (Eph 2 v 21 -22: my paraphrase).

God is magnificent; he can never be praised enough. There are no boundaries to his greatness.
Generation after generation stands in awe of your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts.
Your beauty and splendor have everyone talking; I compose songs on your wonders.
Your marvelous doings are headline news; I could write a book full of the details of your greatness.
The fame of your goodness spreads across the country; your righteousness is on everyone's lips. Psalm 145:3-7 [The Message]

Oh precious Lord, I could go on and on praising your Name and telling the world about Your goodness and mercy to me and those of my generation!

In today's bible reading based on Zechariah 1, we learn that Zechariah had a night "vision" (vs 8) in which the Lord showed him things He could not understand. I like what he says in in verse 9, "I asked, what are these, my Lord?"

In my book entitled, "God at Work in Our Dreams", one of the things you will learn is revelation of the meaning of our dreams comes when we take that humble posture of asking, "Lord you have shown me all these dreams, they don't make any sense, what do they mean?" Joseph the dreamer, Daniel and many others in the bible learnt many years before Jesus Christ came on earth that the Kingdom is revealed only to those who approach God like little children.

My book is available on Amazon

Farai Mutsambiwa

Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 139:11-16; Zechariah 1:1-4:14; 3 John 1-14

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Hard Talk

I did not go to seminary for training to discern the voice of God. But at some stage in my youth, I made a quality decision to seek wisdom. I had many questions I could not find answers to in this world: why am I born the person that I am; why are my parents struggling to bring food on the table; what is my purpose in life; is there any hope at all for a good future here on earth and beyond, etc?

One day, the practical nature of my questions forced me on an unwanted but finally very rewarding journey. I simply read the bible from Genesis to Revelation – of course, not in one sitting.

I learnt so many lessons for everyday life as well as heavenly things and now He has chosen me to share His wisdom with others.

Today as you read this devotional and the Book of Haggai know this thing, God is very practical as well as spiritual.

Since I am a human being and still alive I understand that God wants me to be here on earth. He has given me a specific geographic location for me to live (Acts 17 vs 25) and He has called me to bear lasting (heavenly) fruit (John 15 vs 16). However in the book of Haggai He also reveals that He has given us our own personal dreams. We want this and that, we want to go to such and such a place, we have dreams for the very best for our children, we have dreams to go to college and to find a good job, house, husband or wife. These things sound very practical, earthly and humanly to me and I cannot pretend they are not needed.

Well if you have such dreams, Jesus has already said elsewhere we need to seek the Kingdom of God first and all these things will be added unto us. And what does He say through the Book of Haggai? – if you want your dreams to come true, make My dreams come true first.

And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again:

"Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over. You have spent a lot of money, but you haven't much to show for it. You keep filling your plates, but you never get filled up.
You keep drinking and drinking and drinking, but you're always thirsty. You put on layer after layer of clothes, but you can't get warm. And the people who work for you, what are they getting out of it? Not much— a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that's what.

That's why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:

"Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over." Then God said: "Here's what I want you to do: Climb into the hills and cut some timber. Bring it down and rebuild the Temple.
Do it just for me. Honor me. You've had great ambitions for yourselves, but nothing has come of it. The little you have brought to my Temple I've blown away—there was nothing to it.

"And why?" (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) "Because while you've run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That's why. Because of your stinginess….." Haggai 1:5 –11 [The Message]

No wonder governments and money markets are being shaken in our generation. We seem to have forgotten that all the "silver and gold" we work hard for belongs to God. (Haggai 2 vs 8, 21 – 23: The Message)

As you put your priorities right today don't be discouraged. In the last verses of the Book of Haggai God says when you see this "shaking" taking place and you are obedient then be on the look out for His honour and blessings.

Farai Mutsambiwa

Read the Bible in a year: Proverbs 29:19-27; Haggai 1:1-2:23; 2 John 1-13

[Monday's Devotional] - Some will shine like stars

One of my greatest passions is to win souls for Christ. This is an act of thanksgiving for what Christ has done for me. When I count both my earthly and eternal blessings because of Jesus my Lord and Saviour, I just cannot help but run my race for souls. I want others to experience what I am experiencing, living in the Presence of the Most High God, daily. I want them to be flooded with His kindness, compassion, mercies, favour, goodness, encouragement, peace etc.

I don't care much about some of the inconveniencies and discomforts of winning the lost: I was once reproved as "unprofessional" for giving glory back to God in my e-mail after God had given us success at work. I was further commanded to STOP mentioning this great Name at work; and for speaking things that are not as though they already existed in times of trouble (Romans 4 v 17), I have been misunderstood and called names by others; on one occasion I was condemned by fellow believers for buying a struggling man of God a suit; during a church-organised event I crushed my thumb carrying a bag of hard cement and on many occasions I have prayed for the lost to come to Christ and for wisdom to win them.

Why am I telling you all this – to show off? Definitely NO! In Acts 20 vs 33 – 35 Paul told the church of Ephesus what he had done in his ministry life, and among them and he in turn wanted them to follow his example. In fact as I write this devotional, it's Sunday and the preacher this morning pointed out that in Acts 4 vs 36 Joseph also known as Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement) was singled out by God and recorded in the bible as a good example to people of all generations for what he did in the next verse – selling his field and bringing the money to support God's work.

Dear friend, my assignment in today's devotional is simply to "spur" and encourage you to be "wise" and win lost souls. One day I want you and me not only to be told "Well done good and faithful servant", but I want you and me also to be clothed with distinctive shining garments for soul winners only in fulfilment of the Scripture in Daniel 12 v 3:

"Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever"

By the way it's sad to observe that for "lack of knowledge" and stopping me from mentioning the awesome Name those responsible lost their job within months. He has already made it known He will not share His glory with anyone.

Farai Mutsambiwa

Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 139:1-10; Daniel 11:36-12:13; 1 John 5:1-21

[Friday's Devotional] - We have turned away from your commands and laws

So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:
"Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.
Daniel 8: 3-6 [NIV]

Daniel has been shown a vision of the end of time and the last battle in Chapter 8. This has had a very traumatic effect on him. In the start of this chapter, Daniel has understood that Jerusalem's desolation and the exile will continue for a long time, namely seventy years. Daniel is not the sort of God-fearing man who just shrugs his shoulders and says 'OK, whatever God decides'. He is more passionate than that. His response to this news is not apathy, but a prayer for mercy on Jerusalem and on his people. Daniel clearly believes that God is able to save.

Notice how Daniel begins his petition for Jerusalem. He doesn't just pile in with a plea for God to change his mind. He doesn't say the equivalent of 'Go on God, let us off'. No. He begins his prayer with an acknowledgement of who God is. He knows that God is perfect and cannot ignore the sins of his people. He also counts himself among the sinners of Israel. Israel had been on the slide for a long time before the exile finally happened. Daniel was a God-fearing man who was not to blame for the disaster that overtook Israel. Still, he is quite able to identify himself with the people of Israel and therefore part of a sinful nation. It is a belief in collective responsibility that we have lost, but is quite biblical (see Isaiah 6:5 for one example). This belief in confessing our national sin and asking for God's mercy on our nation is being rediscovered by the church. Judging by the state of our nation and Europe, I would say it was about time.

John Martin-Jones

Read the Bible in a year: Proverbs 29:10-18, Daniel 8:15-9:19, 1 John2:28-3:10

[Thursday's Devotional] - The Lion's Den

Daniel answered, "May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty."
Daniel 6: 21-22 [NIV]

Until quite recently I never paid this story much attention. It was suggested to me when I was very young that Daniel had probably never existed and that the whole book was written some four centuries after it is set as a resistance document designed to encourage the Jews suffering under Greek oppression in the second century BC. With me so far? The net result was that I decided that I knew about the book of Daniel. There is of course, a huge difference between knowing God's word and knowing academic facts and arguments about it. Well, I now believe that the book of Daniel does date from the sixth century BC, but that isn't the point that I am trying to make. The point is that the book of Daniel will not help, encourage and instruct me when I come to face a lion's den if I have nothing but a head full of dead theories about the book. However, what if I have my armour on? If I have been swimming in the word of God? Well then, things will be different!

The account of Daniel in the lion's den was given a new relevance to me some years ago when a good friend introduced me to a rock song by a wonderful American Christian rock band called Guardian. Some words that the song puts into the mouth of Daniel have become very important to me… 'Who said I am not a feline-phobe? 'Who said I wasn't ready to wet my robe? Faith is tough boy, but God give grace so take a deep breath, head up, set your face like flint and stop being a wimp.

Go on. Here's the link. Make sure that you play it very loud. Thanks for reading.

Lion's Den

John Martin-Jones

Read the Bible in a year: Psalm136:13-26, Daniel 7:1-8:14, 1 John 2:12-27