Devotions

Abraham’s Testing (Genesis 22)

the testing of God

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

When did God test Abraham? “Some time later”.

The testing of God never comes when you expect it to. But it does come.

After the highs of victory and the beauty of the journey through life, just when you don’t expect it, “some time later” the testing of the Lord will come.

“Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied

What does God first call? He calls Abraham by name.

The testing of God always begins with self. God wants your life FIRST and giving our life wholeheartedly to God is what is required to be a follower of Jesus. That is why Jesus says “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Before God tests any other part of your life, first He will test the core of your affections, desires and loyalty. Why? Because He knows, if He doesn’t have ALL of you, He really doesn’t have anything of you.

“Then God said”

Once God has established your obedience and willingness to wholeheartedly follow Him, you are ready for the next test. The challenge is one that never ends, your maturing.

Call it your education, your growth, your process of change – as a Christian disciple, you can expect it. This side of eternity God is never satisfied with you, nor is His love for you so shallow, as to not continually use situations, circumstance, problems and people to shape, mould and mature you more and more into the image of His son.

PRAYER: Lord, I give you my life. It’s yours Lord. I say ‘Here I am I’m yours’. Shape me, mould me, make me more and more like Jesus. I know your way is the best way for my life and I choose it Lord. I trust you and I love you, Amen.

Treasure in Heaven – A Different Economy (Matthew 6)

Economy Treasure in Heaven

Matthew 6:19-21 says:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Where is your treasure? That is a vitally important question to answer!

According to Jesus you have two choices. Earth or heaven. The choice is yours.

Really, Jesus is talking about the economy. Turn on the news and you can be sure to hear something about the economy within a matter of minutes. The economy is a big deal. Why? Because it affects our lives. Job figures, unemployment, interest rates, inflation; it all has impact upon our lives.

But hear the Words of Jesus on the economy. He says there are actually two parallel economies at work here. One is an earthly economy. It is prone to difficulties like downturns, job losses, currency crises, recession, even criminal acts.

That is because the earthly economy, whilst important, is finite. It is limited. In other words, money is spent. Jobs come to an end. Businesses die. Prospect disappear. Nothing is certain, nothing is truly secure.

But there is a parallel economy. It is the heavenly economy.

This economy doesn’t get the media coverage the earthly economy gets, but don’t be fooled into thinking it doesn’t matter. According to Jesus, this is THE economy that matters!

He says, you have a choice – to invest in an economy that is limited, finite, and prone to downturns, losses and even destruction OR you can invest in an economy that is eternal, infinite and will NEVER suffer a downturn, recession or collapse.

Now, if you look at that logically, which would we choose? It shouldn’t even be close.

But I hear you say, “but I’ve got to put food on the table, and pay the bills and the rent”. This is try true and whilst we’re on this earth we can’t opt out of the earthly economy. So, how do we apply this then?

Jesus tells us that the key here is what we “treasure” (verse 21), that is, where our treasure is where our heart will be also.

What He is saying is this – which economy do you TREASURE? Which do you most value and cherish? Which do you concern yourself with most? Which of these two economies is your heart drawn towards?

This is important because the direction of your heart determines the direction of your life (see also Prov 27:19, Prov 4:23)

If you are treasuring the here and now, that’s where your life is headed. But if you are treasuring the eternal Kingdom of God and the heavenly economy, then not only are you investing in an unshakeable, everlasting economy, your life is headed in that direction also.

PRAYER: Lord, I ask you to show me which economy I am valuing the most. I want my heart to be with you, and I ask you to search me and convict of areas where I haven’t trusted you with it. Forgive me and I ask for the grace I need to make the changes you ask of me. Thank you for your provision in every area of my life. Amen

VIDEO: Who’s Leading You?

Here is an edited portion of a sermon I preached a couple of years ago. I am posting it hear because it addresses a very important issue and that is how we follow the voice of the Lord.

Hearing the voice of God is a right for every Christian but if we don’t do this, who is leading us in life? When we make decisions, when we choose the direction of our life, who are we following (or what are we following) if we are not following the leading of the Holy Spirit by the voice of God?

I’d encourage you to listen to this message.

The Call of Abram Part 3 (Genesis 12)

Blessing

Starting the walk of Faith as we learn from the life of Abram, the Father of Faith.

The Call of Abram Part 1
The Call of Abram Part 2

Genesis 12:1-3 says:

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Abram has left his home and ventured out in obedience to God. To where he didn’t know, but he went in faith.

But the Word of the Lord to Abram didn’t end there.

God said “Abram, you do this and I will bless you”. Wow, what a promise!

Whenever, we leave and go in obedience to the Lord we also do so with a promise from the Lord that this will result in blessing. Abram didn’t receive blessing from God immediately, it wasn’t as though he never encountered hardship or difficulty from that point. Far from it! But neither is that true blessing from the Lord.

Blessing comes as a result of God’s face shining upon our lives as they are lived in alignment with Him. As Abram committed to walking in obedience to the call of God upon his life, counting the cost, enduring the difficulty, he was also committing to a course that God has said is blessed. And, as history shows, it was as God said it would be.

When you commit your way to the Lord, to live in alignment with His calling and purposes for your life, you are committing to 1) LEAVE the old and to 2) GO in obedience. And when you do that, you also commit yourself to the promise that accompanies that path and that is a promise of blessing.

If you are already on this path – the way of faith – I want you to be reminded of this promise from God that He will bless you. You need to be reminded of this promise and thank the Lord for it. Because of your willingness, and your obedience, God can and will fulfil that in your life.

PRAYER: Thank you Lord for your promise. I align myself to your way of faith today and I declare your promise of blessing over my life and I receive that blessing in Jesus name, Amen.

The Call of Abram – Part 2 (Genesis 12)

How do we start in the way of Faith? We look to the Father of Faith Abram and start where he started.

Click here for Part 1

Genesis 12:1:

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

2. GO

First Abram was told to LEAVE. Next he was instructed to GO.

Going is always part of the call. God never calls you out of one place or situation, without a place to call you to go into. However, being told where that place is is another matter!

Where was Abram instructed to go? To “the place I show you”.

You can imagine how this would go down. Go, Abram. Where Lord? I will show you. Ok, so where is that Lord? I will show you. Can you show me now? I will, but first go.

Now remember, Abram has been told to leave his country, his people, his family everything to follow the Lord. Most of us can get our heads around that, even if it seems tough to do. But to then not know where to go? That’s maybe a bridge too far!

Yet that is the call Abram has and it is the call you and I have.

In my life, if I survey the past decade I couldn’t have guessed where serving and following the Lord could’ve taken me. It has certainly had some twists and turns which I could never have predicted. I didn’t know the path I was going to walk starting out with the Lord, and to be truthful I am glad I didn’t as it would’ve made it that much harder to stick at had I known.

Going without knowing where is matter of radical obedience. The way of faith is a way of radical obedience to the Word of the Lord. When He speaks we obey. We don’t need to understand, we don’t need to know why, we don’t need to have it all mapped out. His word to us is enough.

Taking Him at His Word and going is the way of faith that pleases God.

PRAYER: Make me a person of Faith Lord. Stir me that I may walk in obedience to your Word and follow you where ever you command me to go. Thank you Lord, Amen

Click here for Part Three

The Call of Abram Part 1 (Genesis 12)

Abram's Call and the Way of Faith

Abram’s call is a great template for us to learn the way of faith from the man who would later become the Father of the Faith, Abraham.

Genesis 12:1 tells us:

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

The Lord calls Abram and gives him three clear instructions. When we too walk in obedience to these 3 things, we are beginning to walk in the way of God-pleasing faith.

1. LEAVE

The Lord’s call to Abram is to get up and leave.

Leave your family, leave your country, leave your people and your Father’s household. Get up and leave. Why did God ask Abram to do this? I believe it was to establish in Abram a complete trust in God.

When we come to Jesus, He asks us to leave behind everything from our old way of life and follow Him. When we make Jesus No.1 in our life, He won’t tolerate competition for that place of affection and commitment in our hearts, so the only option is to choose.

Take Jesus, leave the rest!

When no-one else is around, when all our other comforts and familiarities are removed, when everything we’ve added to our lives has been removed – we find out who we are. God told Abram to leave his familiar, comfortable life because God didn’t want Abram to trust in the stuff he knew – he wanted Abram to trust in Him and Him alone.

In doing this – removing the old, familiar, comfortable things – not only does God establish trust in Abram’s life, He also establishes in Abram His true God-given identity.

Abram was the old identity, Abraham was the identity God created for him to walk in and live out.

If you want to find who God created you to be and discover your God-given identity in Christ, it’s going to take you heeding the call of Christ to LEAVE behind the stuff you’ve accumulated along the way. You are not your job, your friends, your education, your music, your sport, your abilities or your experiences. Leave them behind and embrace who God calls you to be.

PRAYER: Lord, I give myself back to you today. I recommit my way, my heart and affections to you. I choose to lay down my old identity and I choose to put on the identity you’ve given me as your Child. Thank you Lord, Amen.

Click for Part Two Here