For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
TO PONDER
In a previous devotion I wrote a few months ago now, I touched on my observations of other faiths during my study of a Diploma of Theology & Christian Ministry. This exercise helped me to become even more astutely aware that as a Christian, we have a living God who not only came down to earth, took the punishment for our sins through His crucifixion, and defeated death through His resurrection, but continues living with and within us through His Holy Spirit. This is in stark contrast to many other faiths whose followers battle through this earthly life on their own, trying to earn and win the reward of one day meeting their god!
We indeed have a living God whose gospel is living words for our earthly nourishment and our continued encouragement in our faith journey and our daily walk with Him. In today’s scripture from Romans 1: 16, Paul states boldly that he is not ashamed of the gospel.
Are you ever nervous or uncertain of the response you may encounter to boldly proclaim your Christian faith to those around you?
Paul lived in a time and setting of Roman rule. Rome thought it knew all about power. Paul was not embarrassed or ashamed by a gospel centered on a crucified Jewish Savior and embraced by the lowest classes of people. Paul not only knows the good news of the gospel and in particular what Jesus’ resurrection won for us but note the tense he uses in his epistle. He doesn’t state that the gospel will bring power, No, he states the gospel is power! Present tense. Right now. Alive!
Indeed, this is the same message to Christian’s today. We know the gospel is good news, but this is not only good news for our future but good news for today, right now, in every moment. A living message for all believers. People from all nationalities, backgrounds, demographics and vocations. God’s living Word doesn’t just transform believers as individuals, but it gathers us all into one community. His living Christian Church.
We ought never be ashamed of a King whose glory is not in gold or jewelled crowns, nor in imperial thrones with many attendants, but in the humility of the gospel itself.
PRAYER: Living God. Help me to live your gospel daily and not be ashamed to proudly identify as Your child. Keep me and all my brothers and sisters in Christ, nourished through Your word so I can serve You with my whole heart and being. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
TO PONDER
I think it is fitting to end our week of daily thoughts on love with this particular verse. It almost brings us back to where we started - love seeking out what is best for the other.
Without wanting to oversimplify it, I think this idea about love is one of the most counter cultural examples of love we have as Christians and it points us immediately to Jesus.
Jesus did not demonstrate his love for us by seizing political power, and making life on earth perfect for us - free of struggle, strife and oppression. Instead he offered up his life so that we could have life on a level that was so much more than we could have ever imagined for ourselves - a life lived forever in the presence of God. He offered his own life for our ultimate good.
In the lead up to the end of the year, life gets busy around LifeWay. The pastors have a worship planning retreat to plan the sermon series and preaching for the following year, there is an annual general meeting at the end of November, not to mention everything that is involved in planning for and presenting all the Christmas services and Carols events. I know that for me it is a time of year when it can be easy to forget about working for the good of others and simply focus on finding a time for myself and my family to take a break and be with one another, without having to be with one another at an event which either I or Elise is responsible for overseeing. It's an easy time of year to accidentally slip into 'selfish' mode. I suspect that I'm not the only one who feels this.
But as we see Christmas decorations begin appearing in our shops, it is a good reminder of the love that started it all. The love of God who came down from heaven, laid aside his power, glory and majesty, to be born as one of us, not for his own benefit but because of his great love for us and for our ultimate good. Ma that love be the source from which love flows in your life.
PRAYER: Loving Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me. Thank you that you love all of us so much that you would pay the price for all our sin and do all of that simply for our ultimate good. I pray that your love towards me would inspire me to love others with greater focus and intent, not because I might get anything from the arrangement but simply because you loved me first. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
TO PONDER
In the letter to the Colossians, just before verse 14, we hear a list of virtues or attitudes that as followers of Jesus we are asked to show toward on another. Then here in this part of verse 14 we read, "and over all these virutues put on love".
When I think about 'putting on love' I cant help but think of clothing. This is in fact the image that is used earlier in this text - "clothe yourselves therefore with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
I think clothing has a few different purposes. The first is to provide protection to our bodies from the elements. Whether it's a hat, t-shirt and shorts (or a skirt) for a hot summer day or multiple layers of thermal insulation on a cold winter day, the clothes we wear protect us from the harshness of our environment. In the same way, these other virtues talked about here in Colossians are like the things we wear that guard our hearts from becoming hardened in the harsh environment of the broken world in which we live.
But the second function of clothing is a little different. our clothing also projects something out to the world around us. It says something about who we are. If your work requires a uniform, then your outer attire communicates what you do for a living. If you wear a lot of designer brands and are always 'on trend' that communicates something different that those who get most of their clothing from various 'discount' chains.
But it's only the outermost layer of clothing that people get to see and often make judgements on. That's why putting on love over all those other things is so important; because it is by our love that others will recognise us was follower of Jesus. That what he tells his disciples in John 13 - "by this all people will know you are my disciples if you love one another".
Love is not always easy to wear though. Like a thick, itchy wooden jumper on a hot day, sometimes we just want to take it off and forget about it. But that's not really an option. Love is the thing we are always supposed to have visible to the world. So what is 'putting on love' going to look like for you today?
PRAYER: Loving Heavenly Father, I thank you that you have clothed me in the righteousness of Christ and call me your child. Please help me to remember never to leave my house without first putting on your love so that in every interaction I have there might be an opportunity for someone to recognise your love in their life also. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
TO PONDER
If there was ever a part of the Bible that dispels the idea that 'love' is some warm fuzzy feeling of attraction between two people I think this would have to be it. After all, if Jesus can command that we love one another, this assumes that love is something that we choose to either do or not do. Surely Jesus would not command us to love one another if that romantic kind of love was a prerequisite. After all we can't manufacture those feelings, we either have those feelings toward someone or we don't.
The love Jesus is commanding his followers to show to one another is the kind of love Jesus himself showed to every person he encountered during his life here on earth. I life lived in service to others. A love that was evident in the way he gave time, gave energy, and ultimately gave himself for those he loved. Even love for his enemies was on display when he asked for their forgiveness while hanging on the cross.
Jesus simply asks that we seek to do for others what he did for us. Live our lives in such a way that everything we do and say communicates to others, the love that God has for them. That's how Jesus loved and that's how he asks you to love also.
PRAYER: Loving Heavenly Father, Thank you that you have given me an example of love which I can try to emulate. Please forgive me when my attempts to love others as you have loved me fail and created in me each day a new heart dedicated to sharing your love with all. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
TO PONDER
Here it is, the most commonly recognised Bible verse about love. It's read at almost every wedding, has appeared in almost every 'Christian' anniversary or valentines day card. Strangely enough, it is also one of those Bible verses that sometimes makes its way into secular conversations about love. Unfortunately though, the way we tend to hear it is not the way it was intended.
It's true of me as much as it is of anyone else. I hear these words from 1 Corinthians and think to myself, "see it's no wonder I'm upset, my wife doesn't love me like that." Another variation could be, "Why can't my kids just learn to love one another and stop fighting all the time?...it's no wonder we are stressed out was their parents." I mean you could name a plethora of other situations whether they be in the family, workplace, school yard or purely social contexts and find the same thing - we 'love' 1 Corinthians 14 when it helps us show others how they are not loving us 'properly'.
It's a different story if we hold ourselves to the same standard. Then these words become something we'd like to avoid. When my children misbehave this verses says to me - if you love them, be patient, don't get angry. When my spouse and I get into an argument this verse tells me not to bring up all the other things that have hurt me in the past but to be gentle and seek to understand where they are coming from before pushing my own agenda.
One quote I came across while looking into the theme of love this week was from C.S.Lewis. He said, "Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained." I think we need to hear 1 Corinthians 14 with that perspective in mind. This is not about how others should love me, it's all about how I am to love others and to always seek the ultimate good of the other first.
PRAYER: Loving Heavenly Father, you are the source of all love and the only place where perfect love is to be found. Please help me to stop seeking to be loved perfectly by others and instead help me to desire to love others more perfectly. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
TO PONDER
What does it really mean to 'rely' on God's love?
We talked about 'knowing' God's love in yesterday's devotion so today we'll focus on relying on God's love. This is important because I think we often rely on God's love in a similar way we might rely on the love of our spouse, parents, or siblings. This is not a bad place to start, however I'm sure it wouldn't take any of us long to think of examples in our own lives or in the lives of others, of the family member who we don't talk to any more, or the broken marriage that we have moved on from our the estranged parents we no longer see. The problem with relying on God's love the way we rely on the love of others is that we learn over a lifetime, that the love of others simply cannot be relied upon.
That kind of experience leaves us always wondering whether God's love for us is complete, especially when we 'fail' to live the way he has outlined for us. While I'm not proud of it, I know that at times, the way I display my love for my own children when they have failed to live within the boundaries and expectations that their mother and I have set is probably not showing them what the love of God actually looks like. This is why we often find ourselves, either consciously or subconsciously, doing things to 'earn' God's love and approval.
Relying on God's love is about trusting that it is always there, always true, always for us, even when we do not manage to live our lives in accordance wth God's expectations. Relying on God's love is learning to trust that God is at work for our good, even when we cannot see even one scrap of good amidst our present circumstances. We can do this because God's love is not like the love of others. It is not conditional, it is not prone to whims and circumstance. It is proven time and again throughout the testimony of Scripture both in the Old and New Testament, but especially in Jesus, who went as far as to offer himself in our place.
You can rely on God's love because it has overcome sin, death and the devil. There is no power that is greater than it and nothing can separate you from it.
PRAYER: Loving Heavenly Father, Thank you for the gift of your steadfast and perfect love. I simply ask that you would help me to rely on your love more fully, That I would know how to trust your love in a way that it casts out fear and anxiety in me and empowers me to live completely for you. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
TO PONDER
There is a profound difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing them. I mean, I can do a Google search or check the Wikipedia page or even ask ChatGPT or some other AI chatbot to tell me all they can about Donald Trump. I can watch all the news reports and listen to all the political reporters all the opinion pieces, but even knowing all of that is not the same as actually having a personal relationship with him.
That's kind of what John is getting at here in this epistle. There is a difference between knowing that 'God is love" and experiencing that love first hand. Not only that, but only when we have known the steadfast and self giving love of God towards us are we able to then show that love to others.
There is a popular anonymous secular saying about this phenomenon too. It goes like this, 'show me your friends and I will show you your future." The rest of the world gets that we become like the people we hang out with. So when we hang out with God, when we know his love and remember to live from that love, we begin to exhibit that love because the love of God begins to shape and form us into his likeness.
So, I'll say it one more time; there is a difference between knowing about God's love and knowing God's love for you personally. One will transform you, the other will usually just leave you trying to earn something you already have. Why not get to know first hand the love God has for you?! He's not hiding it, it's in the Bible, it's on the cross, it's in the care and concern that his people show to you and for one another. Sometimes we just have to slow down and recognise it.
PRAYER: Loving Heavenly Father, Thank you for all the ways that you have shown your love to me, from providing all I need each day, to sending Jesus to the cross for my sake. Please help me to slow down and learn to see and experience your love for me first hand in every moment of every day so that others might also get to encounter your love for them, through me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
TO PONDER
TA quick reflection today that comes from our pastor's conversation about this text from 1 John.
When you think about Jesus 'laying down his life" what do you think of?
The most common answer is "when he died on the cross" - and of course, this is perhaps the most obvious and profound example.
But the reality is much greater than just this one moment. Jesus entire life was lived for the sake of others. He healed the sick - touching those whose conditions would make him 'unclean' in the eyes of the religious elite. He ate with sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes - those who the rest of the world rejected and so was rejected himself. While He took time out to pray and be by himself, he did this so he was prepared to serve others well.
This is the kind of 'laying down' of life that John is talking about, not just a one time grand gesture but an ongoing pattern of putting your own agenda aside for the sake of others. That's the kind of love Jesus demonstrated and is the kind of love we now can share with others in his name.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, Thank you that you laid your life down in every way so that I may have life to the full in your name. Please help me to live that life and show your love to others faithfully in every moment, Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.
TO PONDER
I think this is a very fitting Bible verse from the New Testament that echoes the call of God to Joshua and then from Joshua to the Israelites when we began going through the book of Joshua some 8 weeks ago, "be strong and courageous".
One of the thing my wife Elise (a Primary School teacher) and I have been talking about recently is the lack of resilience that seems to be present in young people these days. I'm sure there are lots of different contributing factors to the decline of resilience in young people but it seems to me that one of the biggest things is hat we no longer expect people to do hard things. I'm sure many of you reading this will be my vintage or older and remember a time where if you found a task or a subject as school difficult, you were told by both your parents and your teacher to work harder, to practice more, and stick at it until you got it done.
That just doesn't seem to be how things work any more. If something does not come easily to a child, parents are much more likely to say these days, how are you going to make it easier for my chid to succeed. Now please don't mishear me, there are children who have genuine additional needs when it comes to education and legitimate adjustments do sometimes need to be made, but just because something is difficult, doesn't mean you give up on it.
This is an important skill because Jesus said following him would not be easy. In fact, there are many people I know who used to be followers of Jesus who now no longer follow him simply because it was hard. It was easier in the long run to go out with their friends on Saturday evening and get outrageously drunk and then sleep it off on Sunday morning than it was to exercise some self control, set a good example and still be okay the next morning. It was easier to accept the evolutionary arguments from their academic friends about evolution and the origins of life, than to think deeply about the truth of Scripture and defend their beliefs in the face of criticism.
Being a follower of Jesus today requires resilience, strength, and courage. It always has and it always will.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, nothing is more courageous that your decision to go to the cross for my sake. I pray that you might use my life in such a way that others may come to know what you have done for them as they see you alive in me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.