But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
TO PONDER
Do you ever find yourself in the same dilemma as Jonah. That situation where you know exactly what God wants you to do but you just don't want to do it?
Whether it's showing generosity to someone in need, forgiving someone who has hurt us, or even just reading your Bible and spending devotional time with God himself, so often we 'know' what we should do but just want to do something else.
I wonder why that is. When I reflect on my own life, it is easy to see that the times I have followed through on what I felt or believed God was asking me to do thinks have turned out well. It's consistently when I choose to do things my own way that life gets a bit more challenging.
It's not always easy to see in the midst of those difficult circumstances, but often those challenges we encounter while doing things our way serve two purposes. Firstly, they serve to remind us that we are not as capable and independent as we think we are, and secondly - if we are open to it - they also serve to lead us back to a deeper trust in God and His way. That's what happened for Jonah, the more he ran from God, the more resistance he encountered until he realised the only option was to turn back to God.
God loves us enough to allow us to choose whether we follow Him or not, but he never stops reminding us that we are better off with him than without him.
Maybe you are already walking closely with God in His way, perhaps you have been wondering why Life is so difficult at the moment and been trying to fix it on your own. Why not let the story of Jonah be a reminder that God is still there for you and inviting you to try doing things His way and see what he can do?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the one who sees and knows all. I know I often believe that I know better and stubbornly insist on doing things my way. Please help me to always remember that you are with me and loving me, even when I do things and I think I am doing them on my own. May I walk with you today in all that do. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
“Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”
To Ponder:
I was about 13 yers old when I first felt very strongly that God wanted me to be a pastor. However, I was 35 when I went to ALC. One of reasons was because I felt that I was not ready, there were still things about me that needed addressing. However, as our reading I have come to see that God doesn’t call finished people; he calls people willing to be cleansed and set apart. Being “useful to the Master” begins with turning away from what harms your relationship with God and choosing to live his holiness.
What if God really could use you? This verse says he can, especially when we are willing to let him cleanse us and make us ready. Uour usefulness isn’t about perfection; it’s about being willingess, being available, holy, and set apart for his purposes.
Prayer:
Lord, cleanse me from anything that keeps me from being fully yours. Make me holy and useful to you, prepared for the good work you have planned. Help me to turn away from what harms my heart, so that I may be ready to serve you in any way you choose. Amen.
Today's Devotion is written by Pr Nich, LifeWay Epping
“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
To Ponder:
When I was young, I really believed that God wanted me to try harder. Do better. Be more. Most of the time I felt like I just did not have stregnth to do what he was wanting me to do. In our reading for today it struck me that we don’t have to manufacture the strength or even the desire to follow God on our own. God himself is working in us, creating both the will and the ability to fulfill his good purpose.
That means when we feel weak, unmotivated, or unsure, we can still trust that God is at work within us. What if God really could use you? This verse assures us that he not only can, but he is already helping you want to and do what he calls you to.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you that you are working in me even when I feel weak or unmotivated. Help me to trust that you are giving me both the desire and the strength to do what pleases you. Shape my will, strengthen my heart, and guide my steps. Let my life reflect your good purpose and your glory. Amen
Today's devotion is written by Pr Nich, LifeWay Epping
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”
To Ponder:
Isaiah’s “yes” to God came after he was confronted with God’s holiness and his own need for cleansing. Isaiah had to be challenged. He needed to understand that what was happening and about to happen was only about him. He was not the centre of the world. That reminds us that God calling is not first about being impressive, but about being willing. God still asks for available hearts, no perfect ones, because there are pefrect hearts not matte what it looks like on the outside. .
What if God really could use you? Isaiah 6:8 shows that when God wants to work in us, the right response is trust, and readiness to go where he sends, because he is the one who cleeanses us and prepares for what he wants us to do..
Prayer:
Lord, open my heart to hear your call. Cleanse me, shape me, and make me willing to obey. Give me courage to say, “Here am I. Send me,” even when I feel unworthy or uncertain. Use my life for your purpose and your glory. Amen.
Today's devotion is written by Pr Nich, LifeWay Epping
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
To Ponder:
One of the things about our Christian faith is that we know that we are not here by accident, and our lives are not meaningless. God has shaped us with purpose, and he has already prepared good works for us to walk in. This means uour identity comes before what we do for God: We are first of all God’s handiwork, as as result of this we are called to live out the purpose he has given us.
What if God really could use you? Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that he not only can, but he already has a plan. Even the small, unseen acts of faithfulness can be part of his greater purpose.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you that I am your workmanship and not a mistake. Help me to believe that you have created me with purpose and that you have good works prepared for me to do. Give me eyes to see where you are leading me and a willing heart to walk in it. Use my life for your glory. Amen.
Today’s devotion is written by Pr Nich, LifeWay, Epping
“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”
To Ponder:
One thing that I have come to learn after many years of being a Christian is how God does not choose to work in people because they are the most impressive, gifted, or confident. Sometimes we are tempted to think that he does. However, the truth is he often chooses the ones who feel small, overlooked, or don't know what they are doing, so that his power can be seen more clearly. That means our weaknesses are not the end of the story. They may be the very place where God wants to show his strength.
What if God really could use you and me just as we are? Not after we become perfect, but right now, with our doubts, our limits, and our ordinary lives. God delights in using unlikely people so that everyone knows the work belongs to him.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you that you see me differently than the world does. Help me to stop focusing on what I lack and start trusting what you can do through me. Use my weakness, my story, and my life for your glory. Teach me to walk in humility and faith, knowing that your power is made perfect in what I cannot do on my own. Amen.
Today’s devotion is written by Pr Nich, LifeWay Epping
“The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?’”
To Ponder:
As I read this reading in Judges, I can Identify with Gideon. I know the things in me that I see and know that make me unsituble to do this things that God sks me to. Yet God did not tell Gideon fo focus on these things. He did not tell him to wait until he felt stronger, braver, more prepared, or more ready. Instead, He said, “Go in the strength you have.” Gideon did not have much stregnth at this point. But this did not matter to God.
This means what we have right now, our current abilities, our small faith, even our imperfect courage is enough for God to begin working through us. God does not ask for perfection. He asks for willingness.
Sometimes we delay stepping out because we think we need more: more confidence, more clarity, more resources, more training etc. But God’s starts where we are, trusting that he will provide what we need along the way.
What if the strength we already have, no matter how small is exactly what God wants to use?
Prayer:
Lord, help me to stop waiting for the perfect moment and to trust you with what I have right now. Give me the courage to step out in faith, even when I feel unready. Remind me that you are the one who sends me and strengthens me. Use my life for your purpose, just as I am. Amen
Today’s devotion is written by Pr Nich, LifeWay Epping
1. Judges 6:12
Verse:
“When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’”
To Ponder:
I wonder what it would have been like to be Gideon in this reading. It strikes me that he didn’t see himself as a mighty warrior. In fact, it was the opposite he felt weak, afraid, and unqualified, in other words not the right person for the job. Yet God spoke to him based on who he could become, not who he thought he was.
What if God sees more in us than we see in ourselves? What if doubts, limitations, or things we have done are not things that get in the way, but the very places where God wants to work?
God often chooses ordinary people with normal everyday struggles. Like Gideon, we may feel unworthy or hesitant, but God works us you not because of our strength, but because of his presence with us.
The real question is not whether we are capable, but whether we are willing to trust that God can use us right where we are.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you that you see more in me than I see in myself. Help me to believe that you can use me, even with my doubts and weaknesses. Give me courage to step forward in faith and trust your working in my life. Remind me that I am not alone, because you are with me. Shape me into who you have called me to be. Amen.
Written by Pr Nich, LifeWay Epping
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
TO PONDER
When I reflected on today’s verse, I found myself thinking about the total blackness of night without any trace of light whatsoever? The type of scenario where you hold your hand up in front of your face and cannot see your hand in the darkness. I often find myself getting up from bed in the darkness of the dead of night, to visit the lavatory or to have a sip of water, or ironically even both. I don’t put a light on so not to disturb others sleeping in the household. It is generally pitch-black and hence my vision, is of little to no use to me at all. I know my house design well enough and the placement of our furniture around the home to be able to reasonably, and most times competently but slowly, make my way to the toilet or wander out to the kitchen. However, the walk (or perhaps shuffle) to fulfil my dead-of-night objective is always slow and cautious and on an extremely dark night, I will find myself tentatively shuffling to my destination with my arms and hands out-in-front of me searching for walls and corners I know are there in the darkness somewhere, but I need to make sure I do not walk into them!
Contemplating these dead-of-night expeditions of mine, I wouldn’t know how long it takes me to carefully and cautiously shuffle to the bathroom or blindly navigate my way to the kitchen but I know it is a slow trip and in fact one that would be accomplished in probably half the time (or even quicker) if I had light for the journey.
I see a real parallel with our reading today and my cautious night-time shuffles in the dark. With a light on in the bedroom to lead me to the ensuite or kitchen where the further use of the next light switch, would instantly overcome the darkness, I would achieve the objective with confidence and no trepidation.
This is exactly the life and the way our Lord wants us to live. Confidently and with no trepidation. That is, with the light on! His light in our lives, leading and guiding us. He has rescued us from the evil of Satan’s darkness. The freedom that He has won for us enables us to take every step confidently in His light. We do not need to shuffle, take cautious steps or blindly extend our arms out in front of us to hopefully anticipate what’s ahead of us. We are free from the dominion of darkness, knowing that we can take each step forward in full confidence and in His full light on our journey, as He walks beside us. We are free!
PRAYER: Merciful Saviour. Thank You for rescuing me from the inhibiting life of darkness, evil and sin and for freeing me to a life of light where I can live as Your disciple with confidence and no trepidation. Thank You also for the everlasting life that awaits me in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping