Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
TO PONDER
I remember living with a housemate during my time at university who decided to join the Army Reserves. I recall one particular afternoon, he came home after a day of 'riot training'. We had a few friends over for dinner that night and we were interested to understand more of what this training had entailed and under what circumstances it might be useful.
He agreed to a demonstration and our friends volunteered their services as an impromptu 'angry mob'. Unfortunately the demonstration did not go so well. My reservist housemate fell quickly to the unorthodox and relentless assault of this angry mob of two! While trying to resist the relentless attack of wildly flailing arms, my housemate protested in panic, "No, Wait! That's not how a crowd attacks you!" to which our friends replied, "How on earth do you know how an angry mob is going to come at you?!"
One of the biggest weaknesses of the devil is that he does not expect resistance and unfortunately, all too often we do not provide any. Truely submitting to God and his laws and decrees, means sticking to them even when they are perhaps not the easiest path to take. It means providing some resistance when the enemy puts a challenge in your path. Luckily for us, the devil's obstacles, like my Army Reservist housemate, don't stand up too well when we submit to God's authority and follow his ways. When we do this, God clears the path ahead of us like an angry mob with wildly flailing arms, overcoming the enemy and causing him to flee!
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, Jesus said that I should pray, "Lead me not into temptation and deliver me from evil". So I pray that you would help me to submit to your will and your authority and that you would remind me to call on you when I need to resist the temptations and the hurdles that the evil one puts in front of me. Amen
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
TO PONDER
These days new don't tend to ask about sin very much. No one really wants to deal with those things about themselves that they would rather just ignore. But understanding the significance of our sin is an important part of understanding today's reading. The reality of our sin is a burden that none of us is actually able to bear. It is why we convince ourselves that we are actually doing ok simply because we might not be as bas as someone else. We need to constantly be reminded that even a hint of sin destroys our relationship with God and condemns us to death.
In that light, why would you not take Jesus up on his offer. You no longer need to carry the burden of your sin, Jesus has taken that on himself. However, he does ask that, having been freed from that burden, that we would faithfully get to work following him and tending to the tasks which he places in front of us.
What is Jesus asking you to do today?
PRAYER
Jesus, when following you seems like a drag or a burden, help me to remember the burden of my sin which you have graciously and lovingly taken from me. Amen
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
TO PONDER
Alexander Hamilton, the title character of the hit Broadway musical and one of the heroes of the American Revolutionary War, once famously said, "if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything". There is a certain truth to this phrase. It seems that as humans, we are determined to submit or perhaps more positively, commit ourselves to something. It might be a charitable cause, it could be our families, our employment, our health and physical appearance. It can just as easily be drugs and alcohol, sexual conquests, or chasing a big win on the pokies. It seems we are destined to serve something or someone, the only choice we have is what that someone or something is.
Jesus invites us to surrender ourselves to him and to his righteousness. When we do this, all the things of this world which have tried to lay a claim over us are put back in their rightful place, under the authority and lordship of Jesus. Although it takes submitting to him, it is the only way to experience true freedom.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, you are the only true source of life and love. Please help me to submit daily to picking up my cross and following you. Help me to live a life that helps others to see the freedom that comes from following you. Amen
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.
TO PONDER
Having grown up going fishing in my dad's boat I have always associated this verse with lifejackets, life buoys, and flotation devices. While I never had the misfortune of being thrown overboard while my dad was at the helm, I have often wondered what it might have been like to be lost at sea.
I am not a strong swimmer so for me, I would be completely dependent on my life jacket or whatever was keeping me afloat. To lose my grip on that would be to sink under the waves and be lost forever.
In my life, Jesus is like that life jacket. If I hold onto anything but him I will surely lose my life. Holding onto other things I just end up going under and being swamped by the pressure of life and the expectations of others.
What do you hold onto to keep you afloat?
PRAYER
Jesus, when Peter stepped out of the boat to walk to you on the water, he succeeded until he lost sight of you. Help me to always cling to you and find my life and salvation only in you. Amen.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
TO PONDER
I remember, back in early 2020, I think even before the pandemic took hold , there was a social media movement called the gratitude project (or something like that). I think it came out of a book with the same name. Essentially it is based on brain research which showed that regular intentional gratitude helps to rewire neurological pathways in our brains in such a way as to slowly change our thinking and outlook to a more positive one. Simply beginning and ending the day by listing three things you were thankful for was supposed to be enough for people to experience some positive effect.
So what do you have to be thankful for? When we can readily give thanks for all we have, then peace is usually not to far away. Or peace and satisfaction often disappear when we compare ourselves to or against others. This doesn't help in the body of Christ, in which we are told each part is different and unique but each has its specific part to play. So instead of being in competition with others, why not learn to give thanks for their unique gifts and abilities and see how the peace and contentment grow.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, sometime it seems easier to complain than to be thankful. Help me to always sing your praises and remember all that you have done for me and given to me. Please help me to be thankful about what I have and help me to resist comparing with others. Make me joyful in sharing generously all that you have done. Amen
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
TO PONDER
This verse always makes me think of a three legged race. My brother and I always used to be quite good at them back in the day when churches still held church picnics. He was younger and a little shorter than me, but not by much, and we were both very competitive.
There were two tricks to successful three-legged racing. One was to always stay cool. To establish your rhythm and stick to it even if other teams seemed to be going faster. Inevitably, those teams who rushed for the line, ended up tripping themselves and not unlike Australia's favourite speed skater, Stephen Bradbury, my brother and I would more often than not, be the first team over the line. The second was a good tight bonding strap. While most other teams were looking for a way to make the strap was loose as possible, we did our up as tight as we could. It gave us more stability and helped keep our movements syncronised. Sometimes life with others, whether it be our families, our churches or our workplaces and wider communities, feels like a hundred different people pulling in all different directions and we end up wanting to seperate ourselves from one another because we don't seem to have common ground. The solution though is actually to draw closer to each other - to build bridges of peace and unity so that we can better support and lean on on another.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, when we were alienated from you, you did not step back from us but rather came closer to be one of us and to walk with us. Help me to also seek ways to walk in peace and unity with those who I don't understand and also with those who do not always understand me and my desire to follow you. Amen
Today's devotion provided by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle pastor
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
TO PONDER
I remember one fishing trip with my dad when we were on holidays in the Northern Territory. It was one of my dad's goals on this particular holiday to catch a barramundi over 1m long, and we had not been having much luck. So we were out in the boat almost every day. One day in particular I remember how still the conditions were. It is the closes I believe I have ever come to 'perfect peace'. We had found our way to a bend in the river anchored out in the slower and deeper water while dad cast his lure back towards the mangroves. Not even the sound of the water lapping up against the boat seemed to be present. The air was still, and humid, and thick, as it tends to be up in the NT and there was not a sound to be heard. Needless to say, we all startled when we head the almighty rushing splash of a large, perviously unseen salt water crocodile making its way into the river.
Strangely though, the croc didn't really disrupt the peace too much. After all, he (or she) was meant to be there, it was just another part of another unsuccessful fishing trip. That's what life with Jesus can be like. Even when the big threats come along, we can face them because we know God will find a way to use them to bring some good whether it is a deeper faith and trust in him for ourselves, or an opportunity for others to encounter him through us, the only difference is our trips with him are always successful. The path he has for us is one of perfect and complete peace if our hope and trust are completely in him.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, sometimes It's easy to lose sight of your plan for me. When things don't go the way I plan I often get frustrated and anxious. Help me to always remember that you work all things for the good of those who love you. Keep my heart and mind steadfastly fixed on you and your promises. Amen.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
TO PONDER
They say, "cleanliness is next to godliness" but I think the writer of the letter to the Hebrews would suggest an amendment to that phrase, " Peaceableness is next to godliness."
I wonder if you are like me and had never really considered how the peace we experience in our lives (or lack of it) is one of the ways that people see Jesus alive in us? The way we handle ourselves in a crisis speaks a lot more about who we are than when everything is going smoothly. I can't count the number of times I have seen cars with Jesus fish or Christian slogan bumper stickers, whose drivers are always ready to angrily toot their horn, or yell abuse out their window, or drive recklessly as if they alone had the right to use the road.
What does that say to the community? Become a Christian and you could also be as uptight, aggressive and frustrated as me? Surely if our lives are to be a witness to the presence of Jesus, then they should be able to be visibly identified as lives of peace. Lives where the circumstances of this life don't send us off the rails when they don't go our way. The kind of life that adapts easily and with joy when God asks you to do something different than what you had planned. Living peaceably with others is part of the deal of holiness. Without it, our attempts to share Jesus with others are likely to fall on deaf ears.
PRAYER
Jesus, help me to live a life that reflects your character; a life that helps others to see you alive in me. Help me not to forget that I am always on show as one of your disciples and that I am never off duty as part of God's family. Amen
Today's devotion provided by Mathew von Stanke. LifeWay Newcastle pastor
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
TO PONDER
Whenever I think about Jesus and 'peace' at the same time, I can't help but think of the old Sunday school song, "Peace like a river". I think most of you would be familiar with it; it really only has the one line, "I've go peace like a river". The funny thing about rivers is that unless there is a severe drought, rivers flow. Water comes from rain, melted snow or some artesian spring deep under the ground and it flows down the river only to be followed by more water and more water. As long as there is water at the source of the river, there will be water further downstream.
This is how Jesus gives us peace. Not a once off, dose of peace to last you through every circumstance, but a fresh and flowing stream of peace always ready to top us up when we start to feel afraid. This is a kind of giving that the world simply can't duplicate. We might find a temporary peace or calm with our wealth, success, or reputation but all those things will one day disappear and then the only hope and peace we will have left is Jesus.
So don't let your heart be troubled and don't be afraid. Jesus promises to always be with you and give you his peace.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, sometimes it is easy to think about faith as being like a vaccine, something that we get to avoid catastrophe. A one shot, jab in the arm that we can then forget about. Help me to understand more clearly that I really need to be coming back to you every day to receive your gifts anew every morning. Amen
Today's devotion provided by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle Pastor