How confident are you in Jesus’ promises?
22 Feb 26
Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One
Readings:
Numbers 7
Mark 4:21-41
Let us cross over to the other side (Mark 4:35).
How confident are you in Jesus’ promises?
Mark introduces the account of Jesus’ disciples going through a storm with the words, “On the same day” (Mark 4:35). Jesus teaches His followers all day and then decides to test their knowledge. Just the statement, “Let us cross over to the other side” should have assured the Twelve that they are going to reach the shore. A great windstorm arises on the Sea of Galilee, which is approximately 690 feet below sea level and surrounded by mountains. The Twelve panic as their boat is rapidly filling with water. And where do we find Jesus? “But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow” (Mark 4:38). After He is awakened, Jesus rebukes the storm and chides His disciples for lacking faith. Why is Jesus going to the other side? He will free a demon-possessed man (Mark 5).
Employment Point: Embrace the promises of Jesus.
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Reflections
“When the altar was anointed, the leaders brought their offerings for its dedication and presented them before the altar. For the Lord had said to Moses, “Each day one leader is to bring his offering for the dedication of the altar.””
Numbers 7:10-11 NIV
- The leaders brought forth daily offerings that was worth many during those times and every leader brought the same and equal amount as the others-no more no less. It also shows how much they honour God and how much they are willing to sacrifice for the name of God, for they did not forget it is God who had saved them from slavery. They had all achieved freedom in God.
“It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.””Mark 4:31-32 NIV
- something so small can grow into a big tree. I believe Jesus liken this to our faith and us as humans, being so small and negligible. However, when we are anointed, we can grow and be someone God uses mightily. Every one started out as a small seed. I’m not saying in terms of wealth but in terms of how vulnerable each one of us are as babies. The same for our faith. But along the way, we grow and we learn to crawl and walk and run! It takes time but we will get there. Continue to persevere my friends!
The devotional is also a reminder that when storms come, we may not fully understand why it has to happen to us or why we are even crossing to the other side. The picture can only get clearer if we follow the Lord and obey His commands.
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The Discipline of Spiritual Tenacity
BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
February 22
Be still, and know that I am God. — Psalm 46:10
Tenacity is more than endurance; it’s endurance combined with the absolute certainty that what we expect to happen is going to happen. Tenacity isn’t simply hanging on. Hanging on can be a weakness, a sign that we’re too afraid to let go. Tenacity is the supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be defeated. As disciples, our greatest fear isn’t that we will be damned. It’s that Jesus Christ will be defeated, and that the things he stood for—love and justice and forgiveness and kindness—won’t win out in the end. God calls us to the discipline of spiritual tenacity. He asks us to do more than simply hang on. He asks us to work deliberately for him in the certainty that he’s not going to be defeated.
If we are disappointed and losing hope just now, it means that we are being purified. There is nothing noble the human mind has ever hoped for or dreamed of that will not be fulfilled. One of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God. But God has promised that our patience will be rewarded. “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial” (Revelation 3:10).
Remain spiritually tenacious.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight.
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Reflections
I think in a sense, we are holding on to the hope in the Lord. We know who He is and we know His power. We know His wisdom and we know He is already victorious. And we know that we can hang on to Him for He is trustworthy, totally faithful.
In Chinese there is a saying. If you lean on human, humans can fall. If you lean on mountains, mountains also can fall. This is so true isn’t it? We know for sure who we can lean on - Our Lord and His truth. That is the only reliable person we can trust and lean on, without fear of any judgement, betrayal, etc.
Perhaps that was the fear of His disciples when they saw Jesus being arrested. They thought He was defeated and everything that they know or learn or preach goes down the drain. Nobody knows at that point in time, that Jesus will be resurrected. Nobody in the bible was mentioned to have not scattered when He was taken away. I can imagine what goes on in their minds. It’s devastating, doubtful even. What and who they have been with? But they know the experiences are real and their personal encounters are real.
Now that we saw that, may we too be encouraged and not scatter if we hear news of His defeat. We know the truth and so we ought to hold on to that. He cannot be defeated. Nobody is higher than the Lord.
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Lent devotion Day 5/53
taken from YouVersion, Lent for Everyone
Lent for Everyone is a devotional created and written by N.T. (Tom) Wright. For each day of Lent, there is a reading chosen from the Gospel of Matthew, plus a reflection by Wright. These readings have grown out of a project encouraging Lent reading in Northern England. This is the second in a three-volume series based on the Revised Common Lectionary of the Church of England.
Today’s reading:
Psalms 32
WEEK 1: SUNDAY
A long time ago, when I had just learnt to drive, I ran out of petrol on a lonely country road. I gratefully accepted some fuel from a nearby farmer. What he didn't tell me was that it was a mixture designed not for a car, but for a lawn mower. I got back home all right, but the next day the car behaved like a sick animal, coughing and spluttering. I made it down to the local garage, where the mechanic explained what the wrong fuel does to the engine. There was thick, messy stuff in the carburettor where there should have been clear petrol. He cleaned it out, and I felt — and it was as though the car felt — a huge sigh of relief. Even to hear the engine running smoothly was a delight. Now I was free again, free not to have to worry about the car but to think, more positively, where I might want to go.
That is the mood of this Psalm. It would be wrong to think of it, as some do when the question of sin and confession comes up, as a gloomy poem. Some Christian traditions these days seem to do as little 'confessing' as they can, in case it spoils the happy mood they want to maintain. But that's like trying to carry on driving while the engine is complaining it's running on the wrong stuff. Confession is facing up to what's wrong. The first two verses of the Psalm list four different types of problem: 'offence' or 'transgression' (breaking of a known command), 'sin' (missing the mark of genuine humanness), 'guilt' or 'iniquity' (the murky stuff inside me where there should be clarity and openness) and 'deceit' (the vain attempt to pretend all is well — a very common problem today). And the reason we do this is the same reason I went to the mechanic. As the Psalmist says in verses 3 and 4, it was hard to live like that.
It's only then that we discover why the Psalm declares that people who confess what's wrong inside are 'blessed' or 'happy'. The Psalm is actually a great celebration: it's over! It's gone! It's been dealt with! And instead of the heavy, dark feeling inside, there is a sudden sense of God's presence, protecting and rescuing us (verses 6 and 7).
Only then do we discover that forgiveness isn't just a matter of bringing the bank balance, as it were, back from a huge debt to a balance of zero. Once the car has been cleaned out, we are free to hear a fresh call from God, to hear when he whispers and feel when he nudges, rather than having to be treated like an unbroken horse or mule (verses 8 and 9). A well-trained horse is one that has learnt to sense the rider's hopes and intentions and even to anticipate them. It is as though the mechanic not only fixed the car but showed me on the map some wonderful places to visit that I'd never imagined before.
That's why the poem closes, once again, with celebration. Put off the task of confession and the mess will only get worse, leading to all kinds of trouble. But trust in the Lord — and that trust will often begin by trusting him with our saddest and darkest secrets — and we will find his love surrounding us. It's like going outside on the first spring morning where suddenly you realize it's not cold any more. Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty, not because God is mean or fault- finding or finger-pointing but because he wants us to know the joy of being cleaned out, ready for all the good things he now has in store.
TODAY
Father, help me, this Lent, to confess my sin honestly and to celebrate the new life which you give to those who trust you.
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As I read this, the lyrics of the song “All sufficient merit” pops up in my head. Indeed nothing we can do can satisfy anything. It is all His grace.
https://youtu.be/VFwC9v9NYQM?si=tkPe6oR4IskWOBfK
Let’s pray:
Father help me to give thanks and praises to You and honouring You in every good works. Help me to not forget everything that You had done for us in order to save us. Indeed it is all Your grace and nothing else. In Jesus name. Amen 🙏🏻
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