His Mission, Our Mission

Read 
Matthew 13:3-9; 18-23 
“When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart.” Verse 19 (NIV) 

Reflect 
The title of this devotional should be creating some memory cells to be firing in some of your minds. For many years this was the vision statement of our denomination: His Mission, Our Mission. It was a call to be like Jesus and to serve like Jesus in the task of bringing the Good News to our world. 

This parable is very well known. Jesus tells the story of a farmer spreading seed – good seed at the time of planting. The good seed falls on a variety of soils: fertile soil, rocky soil, pathway soil and weedy soil. 

Though Jesus explains this parable to his disciples, we still wonder about many things. What exactly does it look like when the seed falls on good soil and produces a crop, “yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown”? We really want to know if we are the good soil, producing the bountiful harvest Jesus describes. Are we good enough to produce 100-fold or just 30fold?  

Throughout his ministry Jesus gives many clues on what a life that produces a significant harvest might look like, but we can also consider the mission Jesus claims in Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” 

What we need to concern ourselves with is not how large the harvest is but rather that we are called to be like Jesus; his mission is our mission. And the Holy Spirit has been given to us, so we are called to go out and do the same. 

Pray 
Jesus, thank you for your Word! Thank you for your Spirit! I pray that my life will produce an abundant harvest for you, and that I may serve in your name. Amen. 

Settling for Less

Read
Numbers 32:1-27
“We will arm ourselves for battle and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place.”Verse 17 (NIV) 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.Hebrews 12:1-2a (NIV) 

Reflect 
Being raised in an immigrant family, I was taught that you do not ever purchase the highest price for an item. Or maybe it was just that as Dutch people we are inherently cheap. In any case I still to this day settle for the purchase of something that is mid-range in price. That practice has sometimes come back to bite with products that just don’t do the job I expected them to do. 

The promised land was just across the Jordan River, but the land on the near side of the river looked good for grazing. So, the tribes of Reuben and Gad petitioned Moses to let them settle in that area. In doing so, they faced the temptation of settling for what looked good rather than launching forward to grab hold of what God had promised – The Promised Land. When Moses challenged them, the tribes of Reuben and Gad agreed to go with the others across the Jordan to conquer the land. 

Settling down and being fulfilled merely with the things around us is so tempting. The more we have, the easier it is to focus solely on this life. Rather than keeping our eyes on the promises of God, we tend to see the things around us and be satisfied with them. The danger is that we end up settling for much less. 

The Christian faith is to be marked by a holy discontent with earthly treasures and that is easy to do when things are difficult. But as Christians, we need to long for Christ and his kingdom even when things are good, because we know Jesus is the greatest treasure. We are a blessed people living in a blessed land, therefor let’s remember to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus to obtain the ultimate prize – eternal life with Jesus. 

Pray 
Father, help me not to love earthly treasures more than you. We worship you for giving us the gift of your Son (John 3:16). In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Lord of All

Read
Luke 8:22-25. Verse 25 – “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement, they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

Reflect

Luke records four different kinds of miracles Jesus did in chapter eight. First, he calmed a storm. Jesus knew when he crossed the lake with his disciples that they would encounter stormy winds and waves. So why would he send them out into danger? He wanted to test how strong their faith was. But the disciples woke Jesus to complain. Their faith was still young and inexperienced.

Second, he cast out demons. Though the boat crossed the sea safely, another problem was waiting — a man possessed by many demons. Because the demons made the man so powerful and destructive, no one could help him or even restrain him. He was restrained by chains and kept under guard. But the demons were no match for Jesus. He freed the man of those demons and sent them into a herd of pigs.

Third, Jesus cured a woman who had been ill for 12 years. She believed she could be healed if she just touched Jesus’ cloak, and she was! During his ministry Jesus healed many others — people who were blind, mute, paralyzed, lepers, and more.

Fourth, Jesus raised a dead girl back to life. She had been sick and had died, but Jesus took her by the hand and brought her to life again.

Jesus is Lord over all things. Physical calamity, demonic powers, illness, and even death itself cannot snatch us out of his hand (John 10:28). With Jesus for us, nothing can be against us (Romans 8:31). Jesus is Lord – Jesus is our Lord! Halleluiah!

Pray

Lord Jesus, thank you for always being with us. Help us to have faith that you can overcome any threat to us. In your name we pray. Amen!

Taste and See

Read
Psalm 34:8. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Reflect

I am not one to experiment with new foods. So, it took my wife to convince me to try mangos. This was in Tanzania where mangos were plentiful and peaches, one of my favourite fruits did not grow. “Try it, you’ll like it,” was the advice I was given. Turns out I love mangos.

Try it you’ll like it; that’s what David is urging us to do. He is inviting us to experience what he has discovered: the goodness of God’s salvation. David is celebrating that God has rescued him from his fears and troubles.

Psalm 34 is a song of gratitude we can all sing when God brings us out of a “close call” situation. But David’s joy is only a foretaste of the complete and future redemption God will bring to all who trust in him, to all whom God will redeem through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

God promises great blessings to his people. God will deliver, guard, supply, listen, and redeem all who trust in his power to save. God himself also gives us the ability to believe and trust in him. And in response we seek to honor him in all things, speak truthfully, seek peace and justice, and humbly serve our God.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” This psalm is an invitation to take God at his word, to trust in the Lord and experience his goodness firsthand, to know God personally, realizing that he loves us more than we can imagine. The invitation is ours to receive, but it is also ours to give. What opportunities has God given us to share his invitation with others? Whom would God ask us to include in his rescue and deliverance?

Pray

Jesus, you are the bread of life, you are living water and your salvation is sweet like honey. Thank you for your invitation to “Taste & See!” Amen.

Certainty in Uncertain Times

Read
John 1:29 John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Reflect
In lots of places around the world countries are reopening and exploring how far and fast re-opening can take place safely.  I am sure that “fear of the future and fear of the unknown” would be a clear number one fear with all the questions about the future on our minds these days as we face the threat of the coronavirus.

Two thousand years ago, the apostle John was also feeling uncertainty and anxiety about the future. In a vision God gave him, he saw a scroll with the future recorded on it. But it was rolled up and sealed. The uncertainty of the future reduced John to fearful tears. He said, “I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside” (Revelation 5:4).

But when John finally wiped away his tears, he saw a Lamb which appeared to have been sacrificed but was alive and standing near the throne of God in heaven. And as the Lamb picked up the scroll, all of heaven broke into a joyful song with lyrics that went like this: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

That sacrificial Lamb next to God’s throne was Jesus, whom the Bible calls “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). At the cross, Jesus took your place and died for all of your sins. It’s a great comfort to know that the one who holds the future in his hands is the God who loves you so much he suffered and died and rose again for you!

But it gets better. The Lamb opened the scroll. He revealed the future. And it is good news! Life will not be easy. But through it all, the Lamb will be with you. Whatever comes, he will give you strength and comfort to get through it. And when death comes, he will share his victory over death with you and bring you to a life free of all danger and uncertainty forever in heaven. That is the assurance of our loving God, sealed by the blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Lamb of God, comfort me in these uncertain times by reminding me that my future is in your loving hands. Amen