[Thursday's Devotional] - Empty Hands

Thomas Aquinas once visited Pope Innocent II and the Pope showed Thomas the abundance of funds in the church treasury, the works of art, the extravagant decorations and ornaments in the chapel.

"You see, Thomas," said the Pope, "the church can no longer say, 'Silver and gold have I none.' "

"True," Thomas replied, "but neither can she now say, 'Rise and walk.' "

 

I find this very challenging. One of the things that Jesus often said that healing should happen in the kingdom of God, and it's great that we see God answering our prayers for healing.

 

A lady came to a recent 'encounter' service for the first time recently. She was clearly suffering from anxiety, and complained of a headache. We encouraged her to feel free to go outside during the service if that would help her.

 

After the service she came up to me all excited, saying "I don't feel anxious anymore, and the tightness around my head has gone". She had responded to a prophetic word, and received healing from God.

 

¹Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o'clock prayer service. ²As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. ³When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.  Acts 3:1-3 [NIV]

 

How do you feel about what you read in this passage? What would you like to do in response to this passage?

 

 

Tim Norman

 

Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 119:153-160, Ezekiel 1:1-3:27, Hebrews 4:14-5:10

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Do the Right Thing

It seems that people talk a lot about doing the right thing, about being good. For example, Nick Hornby is most famous for his books ‘High Fidelity’ and ‘About A Boy’. He has also written ‘How to be Good', which asks some searching questions: What is goodness? How can it be acquired? Do we want it badly enough, and if not how can we acquire a desire to be good? The narrator, Kate, goes to a rather sad Anglican Church, which she discovers her brother Mark, desperate for forgiveness, has started attending...

 

What nobody tells Kate ‑ and nobody tells the readers of How to Be Good ‑ is that Christians have an answer to the question, 'How can I be Good'? But it isn't a technique, it isn't a list of disciplines, it isn't about gritting our teeth and trying really hard; it is a delighted response to what God has done and is going to do for us. God has given us everything; we respond in unforced generosity. God makes streams of living water flow in our hearts; it overflows inevitably and joyously in service to him and concern for other. God forgave our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus; we forgive others with the same uncalculating recklessness.

 

Put another way it’s about the Kingdom of God ruling more and more in our lives.

As Jesus said:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6 [NIV]

 

Tim Norman

 

Read the Bible in a year:  Psalm 119:145-152, Joel 2:18-3:21, Hebrews 4:1-13

[Tuesday's Devotional] - I'm Alright

"How are you doing?" "You ok?" …."Fine" "Not bad"

 

Our small group is following a wonderful course called 'Freedom in Christ' and we were recently focusing on a number of statements about who we are in Christ. We can easily take these things from granted, so it's been good to stop and think more deeply about them (you can see them here).

 

One I was particularly moved by comes from these words:

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1,2 [NIV]

 

I'm generally a positive person, and having become a Christian in my teenage years until my late twenties I was very certain that I was free from condemnation of any kind. More recently I find that I really need to come back to these words, as I apply them to my life I really experience the truth setting me free.

 

It's not that I've done stuff wrong, I think it's more to do with being at a different stage of life with more to do, more calls on my time and (often) less sleep. Applying Scripture in this way, dwelling on it and savouring it is part of 'taking captive every thought' as Paul writes in another place.

 

As we discussed this in small group, several of us shared times when it has also been really helpful to talk and pray about it with close Christian friends. It really is important not only to know God is for us, but that we can be open with others in a way that leads to truth setting us free.

 

Are you seeing God's truth setting you free? What might you do to receive God's freedom more?

Have you got friends who want to know how you are really doing? What might you do to deepen friendships in this way?

 

Tim Norman

 

Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 119:137-144, Joel 1:1-2:17, Hebrews 3:1-19        

[Monday's Devotional] - Just Another Day

What is your day going to be like today? What has it been like?

 

In our current sermons on the book of Acts, we recently thought about the early church in Acts 2:42-47. It was a remarkable community, and has been an inspiration to Christians through the ages. (If you want to listen to the talk, you can find it at here.) Their shared life together and their service of other people were attractive and provoked people to ask what it was about them that was different. The result? "The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved".

 

Jesus said "Seek first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33). What does that look like?

 

I have been very challenged recently about whether I am really seeking God's kingdom, his rule over every part of my life. Most of the time it's not the lack of intention on my part, but the number of other intentions which crowd it out – I allow busy-ness to take over, the 'tyranny of the urgent' rather than the pursuit of the important.

 

This is an important choice : am I living 'in Christ'?  Am I walking through the day with him?  Am I focusing on worries and cares, or is my gaze on God?  Is my busy-ness driving the day, or is the matrix of my life a mission to be following God in everything?

 

 

Tim Norman

 

Read the Bible in a year:  Proverbs 26:13-22, Obadiah 1:1-21, Hebrews 2:1-18       

[Friday's Devotional] - Refuge in times of stress

You're aching, you're breaking
And I can see the pain in your eyes
Says everybody's changing
And I don't know why.

 

Keane – "Everybody's Changing"

 

 

Our world is a transient place. We move house, change jobs, children grow up and fly the nest, new technology comes in which we have to learn, friends move away, etc.

 

Sometimes it feels too much, and it would be just nice to have some certainty. Using a chart of life change units you can calculate what stress this is putting you under. I see that changing church activities is more stressful than minor violations of law!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale

 

My Grandad has just died in hospital. Over the last year the changes that took place in his body were dramatic, losing his mobility, memory and finally his speech. It was almost like his last vestige of pride and self-reliance was forcibly removed, as he relied on others for everything. Yet as he struggled with these last changes in his life, it gave me the opportunity to pray with him and thank him for the wonderful example of kindness and generosity he has been. He is still speaking powerfully to me through his example, and helping me to change.

 

Fortunately, in God we have certainty in a changing world; He is our Rock, the absolute dependable truth. That is not to say that God doesn't want us to change – he certainly does. I'm sure God uses some of these disruptive, painful things to challenge us to love and change, and also to come to Him for our certainty, rest and refreshment.

 

"You are my refuge and my shield. I have put my hope in your word."
Psalm 119:114 [NIV]

 

Jon Seaton

 

Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 119:113-120, Lamentations 1:1-2:6, Titus 3:1-15