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Sunday 31 May 2020

Daily Devotionals For Difficult Days [75] Teach you Kids the Gospel


Evening Devotions in the Summer's Household, about 1997
Evening Devotions in the Summers' Household, about 1997

I can Handle It!

I'm talkin' bout the flak and jokes today's picture is bound to generate!

But seriously, nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that another Christian couple in the church I pastor are reading the Bible to their children and praying with them - and indeed for them.

Some days ago I mentioned my second son Joel's "revival prayer" which turned out to be more an earthly alphabet-on-the-wall prayer. Well I present the picture above as proof of the story. (My fourth son had not yet arrived when the photo was taken).

Good Tradition

As my little ones were growing up, I (and it was mainly Dad) led evening devotions with them. We would sing a song, read a little from the Bible, explain it and then pray with them all.

We went through many children's Bibles, because we wanted to make sure the one we were reading at the time was age appropriate.

These devotions took place six evenings a week; we missed out Sundays because we heard God's Word and sang his praises among his people on that day of rest.

One of the reasons I led our family in daily devotions was because that was the habit or tradition I grew up in. Every morning after breakfast my dad led devotions with his six children and every evening we all got together, mother included, for family devotions  during which we always sang from the Redemption Hymnal, read the Bible and prayed.

When Yvonne and I married we were determined to take the good things from each family tradition and modify them where necessary.

We took family devotions from my side of the family but modified them: only once a day rather than twice.

Some of my readers will not come from a tradition of daily family devotions, so let me encourage you with these Scriptures to start one.

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instuction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)

Within these words are a world of wisdon for parents which I cannot unpack here. For example, I note that Paul begins, "Fathers." Why? Because on the last day the buck will stop with dads, not moms. Of course if there is no dad around, mom rises to the noble task: how we thank God for spiritually-caring mothers.

But within "training and instruction of the Lord" lies the command not only to teach our kids in a Christ-like way (rather than exasperating them), but to teach them the ways of the Lord, the Gospel, the Scriptures.

Tim's Mother and Grandmother

There is a wonderful example of this tradition passing down the generations in the Bible. Paul reminds Timothy that from infancy he had been taught the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15) and in 1:5 he talks about the sincere faith that lived not only in his mother Eunice but in his grandmother Lois as well.

Grandmother's teaching passed to daughter, and daughter's teaching passed down to son Timothy.

And then one day Timothy heard Paul preach and the penny dropped and the Holy Spirit brought life and faith to Timothy's soul.

A Question to Christian Parents

So I ask all Christian parents out there - and especially parents of young children: are you reading the Bible to your kids every day if at all possible?

Dads are you taking this responsibility - no command - seriously?

Will you make this the Number One priority of your weekly routine? More important than feeding them, more important than excercising them, more important than homework or school work?

Scripture nowhere says the church is repsonsible for the spiritual training of children; Scripture respects God's appointed order: parents are responsible for their children. What the church may teach is icing on the cake, not the cake itself. 

When you and I are old and grey, it will not matter one hoot if our kids are rich, successful or famous, if they are without God and without hope in the world. And it will not matter one half hoot if we are rich, successful and famous, if they are on their way to hell.

In my experience parents who do not have family devotionals lose their kids in the teenage years, but parents who faithfully instruct their kids see them continue in the church druing those turbulent years.

And dear parent, you who have faithfully discharged this duty for many years, but now see your child a prodigal, continue to love and pray for them, in the sincere hope in the promise of God, that if we train up a child when he or she is young he or she will not depart from it when he or she is older.


A SONG FOR THE DAY
It's hard to outgrow this simple song. Good enough for a child with truth suitable for a grey-haired saint.

 Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
they are weak, but he is strong. 

Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me he who died
heaven's gate to open wide.
He will wash away my sin,
let his little child come in.

Jesus loves me, this I know,
as he loved so long ago,
taking children on his knee,
saying, "Let them come to me."

Anna Warner

There are many variations to the theme, here's one of them.


A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving Father in heaven,

We thank you that you know what it is like to have a beloved Son. And you know the agony as well as the joy that begetting brings.

We thank you for giving up your precious Son to death so that we might live.

We pray today for every Christian parent. Help them in the daily struggle of bringing up little ones. Help them most especially, we pray, to make spiritual duties their highest priorities.

Before it is too late, may they teach their little ones the things of God, and may we all live lives that commend the Gospel to the little ones in our lives.

For we ask these things in Jesus' Name,

Amen.

Saturday 30 May 2020

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [74] God's Promise to the Weak

                    Smoking Flax (Charles Spurgeon) - YouTube

Famous Last Words


Someone once asked me "What are the daftest words you have ever spoken?" With so many to choose from, I was spoilt with choice. The first one to mind was "I will never have to buy another computer!" I was so excited by the high specs of my new desktop I was convinced it would last forever! Four or five computers later...

Early in our marriage, I remember saying to my lovely wife, Yvonne, "I never suffer from depression." And it was true. I was born with the chemical make-up of an effervescent always-happy, always-positive personality. But those were the days before full-time ministry began.

Thirty years later...

In full-time ministry, whether missionary, pastor, evangelist, or whatever, you begin to carry greater responsibilities, experience satanic attacks and feel the sorrows of those who love and serve.

And along with those burdens come moments of darkness.

Charles Spurgeon once began a sermon like this:

"I almost regret this morning that I have ventured to occupy this pulpit, because I feel utterly unable to preach to you for your profit... I have been utterly unable to study.. Oh Spirit of God magnify thy strength in thy servant's weakness, and enable him to honour his Lord, even when his soul is cast down within him."

Even the great Charles Spurgeon!

Sometimes we are Weak

There is a wonderful promise in Isaiah 42:3 that runs like this:

"A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out."

There are images from nature here.

Imagine a reed battered by the wind or ground underfoot by some creature. Bruised and sore it could be broken by an ant. If someone should trample it again, the reed will fracture.

And here's a candle or oil lamp whose flame the wind has just blown out. You know how wicks smoke alot after you puff them out. The wick billowing with smoke is glowing but not on fire, and in just a short time it will grow cold. For sure if someone as much breathes near it, let alone on it, the smouldering remains of the once-bright fire will die.

Both of those images are parables of human experience, and espeically of weak human experience.

Isaiah says, God says, that there are times when those who love and trust God will feel "out for the count", bruised and smouldering and close to spiritual death. The apostle Paul admitted there were times when he felt in his heart "the sentence of death."

These "out for the count" moments may come from without or within. They may be singular or come in threes -  or even three hundreds.

God's Promise to the Weak

What does God promise to his people in these dark moments?

"A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out."

Oh Bruised Reed, there may be enemies who want you broken - I can think of one....

Oh Smouldering Wick, there may be enemies who want you snuffed out - I know of one....

...but know this, Oh Bruised Reed and Smouldering Wick, that God will not destroy you, God will not break you, God will not put you out.

The Gentleness of Jesus

When dear Peter had messed up big time, as we all can do, Jesus came to him gently. So gently, that he scarcely knew he was being restored, and so gently that none of the other disciples were aware of the sensitive process.

I've got a future for you, Peter. Do you love me? God is the God of Hope. Feed my sheep, feed my lambs, Jesus said. Keep going, don't give up, there's a future ministry for you.

And guess what? Within 50 days or so, Peter was God's Day of Pentecost Preacher!

From Chief Christ Denier to Champion Church Captain, all because the Lord Jesus does not break the bruised reed or blow out the smouldering wick, but instead he heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Summing it All Up

Sometimes we can't see fifty days ahead of us, and when that is so, we need to hold onto the promise of God in this present moment and in the rest of the moments of this day, that God is faithful and he won't break the reed or snuff out your fire.

A SONG FOR THE DAY
As I write this blog a lovely old song  comes to mind. (Oh I do wish someone would take the old songs, breathe new life into them and put them on YouTube!)

I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Thro' this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o'er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o'er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Annonymous

You can join in HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving and gentle Father in Heaven,

We come to you this beautiful morning with hearts filled with thanksgiving. We offer to your our praise and worship for all your kindess to us.

We thank you that you are gentle to those who are weak. We thank you that you are in the business of strengthening bruised reeds and relighting smoking wicks.

We pray for all who are weak today, that you would strengthen them with your almighty power, the very omnipotent power that raised Jesus from the dead.

And we ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

Friday 29 May 2020

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [73] What to Do when you Don't know what to Do


Today's Guest Devotional is written by Amy Mullens

We never Know what God is Doing

In August of 2015, our family of five drove from our home in Pennsylvania to Niagara Falls.  My in-laws and niece flew in from Texas to join us there.  Everyone anticipated a wonderful time together exploring the amazing natural wonder of the falls.  Once we had settled into our hotel rooms, my mother-in-law knocked on our door with a gift.  She had handmade two beautiful, matching quilts for our daughters.

Our family already had one precious little girl in it, but we were waiting on another.  More than a year before, we had begun the adoption process and our faith was being stretched while we waited to be matched with our little girl.  When we were presented with those quilts, I felt like the idea that we were going to have two daughters became more real.  It is a tender thing to have a loved one affirm your own faith journey.  I laid in bed that night in the hotel and prayed that God would shorten the wait.  I ached to know who our daughter would be and to bring her home.  What I didn’t know was that our baby girl was born that very week.  While we were enjoying ice cream, riding a boat up close to the mammoth waterfalls and swimming in the hotel pool, our daughter was born in a rural village in Ethiopia.

What we don’t know, much of the time, is what in the world God is doing.

Joseph didn’t know about being second in command of Egypt while he sat in a prison for a crime he did not commit.  (Genesis 39-41)

Jochebed wasn’t able to foresee her people being led to freedom through the middle of the Red Sea when she desperately hid her baby boy in the Nile River.  (Exodus 2:1-10)

David probably could not picture his coronation day when he when acted like a crazy person to escape King Achish.  (I Samuel 21:1-15)

Esther was entered in an involuntary beauty contest without knowing she would be celebrated for centuries as a lifesaver of the Jewish people.  (Esther 2:1-18)

Paul and Silas did not know that the earth was going to quake and that their captor and his family were going to put their faith in Jesus when they began to worship God as mistreated prisoners.  (Acts 16:25-34)

The world over is living in uncertain times.  People are losing loved ones.  Jobs are in question.  Will schools be open in September?  Very little feels normal and we all wonder for how long it will be this way.  It is natural for anyone of us to wonder: “What in the world is God is doing?”

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.

 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
       

                                             Isaiah 55:8-9

 There is a sanctifying humility when we remember that God does things that are beyond our imaginations each and every day.  There is peace and comfort in knowing that he is indeed at work.

Here are some things that I shift my focus to when I struggle to see beyond the day-to-day difficulties, confusion and fogginess:

Trust His Love

I John 4:8 says that “God is love.”  It doesn’t say that he is lovely, loving or that he shows love.  This scripture teaches us that his very essence is love.  That means that no matter what the news reports, what fears enter my or what hard thing I walk through, God is, beyond any doubt, loving me in the midst of it.

Pray for Perseverance

We all want to make it, don’t we?  We want to see this day end on a good note, this pandemic come to a close with intact relationships in our home; we want to finish all things well.  Romans 5 tells us that suffering produces perseverance, which in turn produces character and character brings about hope.  There is a lot of talk about hope these days and it is so important to maintain hope, but if you do not have perseverance and character, it is going to be near impossible to muster hope during difficult moments.  I need to ask God for the strength each day to persevere.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”  (Romans 5:5). Circling back to God’s character, we can be sure that our hope in him will not disappoint as it is backed by his love.

Worship Him

When I focus on who God is and remind myself how majestic he is, it completely changes my perspective about life.  I can remember the powerful things that he has done in the past and know that he is doing amazing things right now at this time in history in my life.  Often, I have to force myself to worship when I am feeling discouraged or fearful, but I have learned that it is a secret weapon in combatting the negative thoughts that the enemy would have me to focus on.  C. S. Lewis said, “There is no neutral ground in the universe:  every square inch and every split second is claimed by God and counter claimed by Satan.”  Worship is an act of redeeming the time the Satan wants to steal with despair, sadness and fear.

When you are tempted to think, “What in the world is God doing?” remember that you have no idea and that our smallness set against his almighty, sovereign place is high above our understanding and is exactly as it should be.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Speak to me
When the silence steals my voice
You understand me
You understand me

Come to me
In the valley of unknowns
You understand me
You understand me
You understand me, God
You understand me

So I throw all my cares before You
My doubts and fears don't scare You
You're bigger than I thought You were
You're bigger than I thought
So I stop all negotiations
With the God of all creation
You're bigger than I thought You were
You're bigger than I thought You were

So much bigger than I thought
You're bigger than I thought You were

I believe
But help my unbelief
You understand me
You understand me
Help me reach
The faith that's underneath
You understand me
You understand me
Yes, You understand me, God
You understand me

I will rest in the Father's hands
Leave the rest in the Father's hands
I will rest in the Father's hands
Leave the rest in the Father's hands, yeah
I will rest in the Father's hands
Leave the rest in the Father's hands
I will rest in the Father's hands
Leave the rest in the Father's hands
So I throw all my cares before You
My doubts and fears don't scare You

Sean Carrol

You can listen in HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our sovereign Father in heaven,

We thank you that your ways are higher than ours and your thoughts too.

We confess that we are often in the valley of unknowing but we thank you for the sanctifying and humbling grace this bestows upon us.

We ask that when we do not know what to do, you will help us to trust in your love, ask for your power to persevere and continue to worship you.

We do indeed worship you, our loving, sovereign and trustworthy God.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

Thursday 28 May 2020

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [72] God's Escape Route Promise

                                                            architectural photography of building

No Way Out?

Pastor Richard Wurmbrand - I've mentioned him quite a bit in these posts - arrived at the end of his rope while he was in prison. "We are surrounded only by hatred and wickedness. Every day they mock and beat and torture us. It is years since I saw a man who loves me or heard one single good word."

He wrote to tell his son about the thirty pills he had hidden away for the day when he could take it no longer.

But that day did not come.

But in 1964, after 14 long years, he was suddenly given amnesty. Two Jewish organisations fearful that Wurmbrand would not be released in spite of the amnesty put up $10,000 to secure his release (the normal fee was $1900).

And so, before Wurmbrand lost his mind or life or both, he was released. And you can hear his weighty talks on YouTube (though his number of "hits" are small fry compared to "This cat will make you laugh" videos, such are preferences of modern man.)

God promises this to his people:

"No temptation [trial] has seized you except what is common to man. God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

God will never allow his people to be tempted more than they can bear but he will - sometimes at the last moment - provide a "way out."

Let's explore this wonderful promise.

God knows our Limits

The first thing we should note is that the Lord knows our limits. Of course he does, for he was - and still is - a man himself.

One day right after his baptism Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted for 40 days and 40 nights. We might think that because he could not succumb the temptation was not that severe. It's exactly the other way round. The more one can resist, the greater (and longer) the temptation. A sea wall that gives way quickly experiences far less of a battering than a sea wall that will never give way.

And when the man Jesus could stand it no longer, God brought it to an end and sent in his troops, angels who "attended him." (Matthew 4:11).

God knows how much you can bear and how much I can bear. He knows our limits, our breaking points.

God won't allow us to break

We know that Satan wants to destroy us because God had to set limits to him when he came after faithful Job. "This far and no further," was God's command.

Because God knows our breaking point, he won't allow the trial to reach that place: he will intervene beforehand.

The point we think is too great is often less distressing than the point God thinks is too great: God knows we can handle more than we think we can, not least because he is with us in the trial.

Paul has to remind us that we are not on our own.  "No temptation [trial] has seized you except what is common to man." When we are thinking, "I'm the only one in the world facing this," Paul says, "No, you're in good company."

Read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, read Foxe's Book of Martyrs, or the Martyr's Mirror, a long account of persecutions, especially against the Anabaptists.

Read Sermons from Solitary Confinement by Richard Wurmbrand or The Pastor's Wife, Sabina's account of her husband's years of incarceration.

The valleys we pass thorugh may be far deeper than we may wish, but God promises that he will not allow us to reach the point where we can no longer bear it.

A Way of Escape

Just when we think we are at our wit's end, the Lord will step in and provide a way of escape, a way out, so that we can stand up under it.

How often this is the Lord's way! We can see no way out, we can see no light at the end of the tunnel, but all of a sudden and mysteriously, God provides a resolution, a troop of angels, a cheque in the post.

On many occasions growing up as a MK (Missionary's Kid) in both Pakistan and in the UK, God intervened in a moment of financial crisis with a mysterious unexpected gift from an unknown or unxpected donor.

When my wife and I have ourselves been in ministry situations which did not pay enough to keep a family of six, we experienced remarkable and supernatural interventions.

God's interventions are often "last minute" to test and grow our faith, and then to increase our faith in his mighty power to deliver.

Summing it All Up

Satan's career is all about breaking us, but God is in the business of making us. And he makes us most when he tests us the greatest. Don't ask me why he couldn't have chosen or found a different or easier way! 

So if you are passing through a trial, be comforted and take peace from the promise of God not to allow you to reach breaking point.

Hold him to his promise in your prayers and ask him to show you the escape route, and soon.

A SONG FOR THE DAY
We may have chosen this song before, but it is so apt for today's promise, that we choose it again.

When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast.
I could never keep my hold through life's fearful path;
For my love is often cold; He must hold me fast.

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.

Those He saves are His delight, Christ will hold me fast;
Precious in his holy sight, He will hold me fast.
He'll not let my soul be lost; His promises shall last;
Bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast.

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.

For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast;
Justice has been satisfied; He will hold me fast.
Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast
'Till our faith is turned to sight, When He comes at last!

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.

Keith Getty

You can hear it sung movingly HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving Father in heaven,

We thank you that we have a Man in heaven, your beloved Son, who has known every grief that wrings the human heart.

We thank you that he is a sympathetic High Priest.

We thank you for your Spirit, the divine Comforter, who works in our hearts to bring us your comfort and peace in times of trial.

Teach us to trust in all of your pomises, and especially this one today.

We lift up our persecuted brothers and sisters. We bring to you those who serve you across the globe in difficult circumstances.

Deliver us from the evil one we pray and help us to look for your soon and certain deliverance with anticipation and even joy.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Photo by MILKOVÍ on Unsplash