25 June

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, asked people to pray for three things: ‘That all Christians find new life in Jesus Christ… that all those you meet… might see something of Jesus… for the church to overflow with the reality of the presence of Jesus.’

Prayer is spiritual nutrition. Just as the body needs physical food, so the soul needs spiritual food. Prayer changes us. However, the Bible goes much further than this. Prayer is powerful. It is, as Charles Haddon Spurgeon put it, ‘the slender nerve that moves the muscles of omnipotence.’ Prayer has the power to change circumstances, other people and even the course of history.

24 June

Each generation has a responsibility to tell the next one about the goodness of God and to warn them of the mess that we make of our lives when we turn away from God’s goodness.

Bill Hybels has said that every major strategic step or decision he has made was inspired and encouraged by someone three feet away from him and not when he was in a crowd of a thousand people. While preaching can make a big impact, preachers often overestimate the amount of truth that is assimilated between the pulpit and the pew. In his life, ‘Truth applied across a table’ has been a key to his own personal growth. This seems to have been the key for Timothy.

To the very end of his life, Paul’s priority was encouraging and releasing the next generation. Let’s make it ours too!

23 June

Mother Teresa said, ‘I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.’

If you sow disloyalty, you will reap disloyalty. If you sow loyalty, you will reap loyalty. You show loyalty by your actions and your words. Be loyal to those who are not present. In doing so, you will build the trust of those who are present.

Guard your friendships. When there is a fallout, always seek reconciliation and remember that, as Martin Luther King said, ‘Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.’

22 June

John Bunyan

He was arrested for preaching the gospel. His wife died leaving him with four children, one of whom was blind. Yet he refused to give up preaching the gospel.

He wrote his greatest work in a prison cell. It has been a source of spiritual inspiration and help to countless readers. Translated into over 200 languages, it has never been out of print since the day it was first published in 1678.

Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory written by John Bunyan. It tells the story of a person called ‘Christian’ on a journey from his hometown to the Celestial City. On the way he faces many difficulties, challenges and obstacles, yet he perseveres faithfully to the end.

21 June

The word ‘heart’ appears at least seventeen times in the passages for today. The Hebrew understanding of ‘the heart’ included the emotions, but it also involved the mind, the conscience and the will. It means everything that is going on inside of you.

All the men and women whom God chose to use greatly had weaknesses and made mistakes. But God saw that their hearts were turned towards him. It is your heart that matters. Your heart lies ‘open before the Lord’ (Proverbs 15:11). Only God sees and knows the heart of every human being (1 Kings 8:39).

Joy comes from the heart and is not necessarily connected with your outward circumstances. Sometimes you face difficulties in life, not because you are doing something wrong, but because you are doing something right.

Paul faced huge difficulties but was filled with joy because he was doing something right and making a massive difference to the world.

Like so many who have followed in Paul’s footsteps, in spite of all his physical suffering, his heart was full of joy, and God worked through him. God used Paul in his weakness. This encourages us to believe that God can also work through us in our weakness.

The better you get to know God – his heart, his character and his love for you – the easier it becomes to obey him with all your heart.

Never settle for second best. As Solomon puts it, ‘Your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord our God’ (v.61). God wants you to walk before him with ‘integrity of heart and uprightness’ (9:4). The people determined to live like that and went home ‘joyful and glad in heart’ (8:66). Like the disciples, their hearts were full of joy.

20 June

Spending time in the presence of God is the most important activity of your life. You need God’s presence in your life more than you need anything else. But where do you find the presence of God?

God is always present with his people today by his Holy Spirit. When you pray, ‘Come, Holy Spirit,’ you are asking for an increased sense of the presence of God. There are times in the New Testament when the Holy Spirit filled a gathering of people sovereignly and spontaneously (Acts 2:2; 10:44). There are other times when the disciples prayed for the Holy Spirit: ‘After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit’ (4:31). In the Old Testament passage for today we read how ‘the glory of the Lord filled his temple’ (1 Kings 8:11).

Do not assume that if God is with you then you will not encounter any significant opposition. These incidents remind us that actually the opposite is often the case. Where God is at work, the enemy tries to stir up opposition and difficulty

Your happiness does not depend on what is happening to you. There is deep joy that came from God’s presence. In the middle of all the opposition and after they had been forced to leave Antioch, they went on to the next town, Iconium, ‘brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples’ (Acts 13:52, MSG).

The Holy Spirit will give you boldness in spite of opposition. In Antioch, ‘Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first”’ (v.46). In Iconium, ‘Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord’ (14:3). In spite of opposition and ‘a plot afoot’ (v.5) they ‘continued to preach the good news’ (v.7).

Why in the world would you not want to spend time with God? We spend hours on social media, watching TV or on our phones. As Joyce Meyer writes, ‘We seem to have no problem investing our time in those pursuits. The truth is this: The devil fights us more in the area of our spending time with God than he does in any other area of our Christian lives. In fact, Satan would much prefer that we get involved in all kinds of religious activity rather than spend time with the Lord.’

When we pray, ‘Come, Holy Spirit,’ we are praying for a greatly increased sense of the presence of God to come among us. This is what we so often experience when we pray that prayer.

Although God is present everywhere, we do not always sense his presence. Surely, what is being described here is a greatly increased sense of the presence of God. This is what Solomon was describing when he said, ‘I’ve built this splendid Temple, O God, to mark your invisible presence forever’ (v.13, MSG).

There can be particular moments when we experience God’s presence when we are with others, but you can also experience God’s presence as you spend time with him by yourself.

You don’t need to be legalistic about it, but a regular time with God helps. As you read the Bible, as you talk to your Father in prayer, as sometimes you listen to Christian music or just sit in silence, you begin to experience God’s presence. Indeed, sometimes the prayer ‘Come Holy Spirit’ can be answered with total peace, calm and stillness.

19 June

It is worth noting that God is not in a hurry! ‘In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign… he began to build the temple of the Lord’ (6:1).

The temple in the Old Testament points forward to the people of God. We are God’s house. God lives in us individually. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The church today is the holy temple of the Lord in which God lives by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:21–22). This is God’s ‘house’ today.

18 June

It is so important that you seek God’s guidance and help – in your ministry and in your life. With God on your side you can achieve so much more than you could ever dream of in your own strength.

 

17 June

Saint John Chrysostom (349–407) wrote, ‘Prayer… is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings… The potency of prayer has subdued the strength of fire, it has bridled the rage of lions… extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases… rescued cities from destruction… and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt.’

God used Barnabas, whose name means ‘son of encouragement’. Encouragement is not flattery or empty praise; it is like verbal sunshine. It costs nothing and warms other people’s hearts and inspires them with hope and confidence in their faith. We need those around us who are like Barnabas. And we can all be like Barnabas to other people.

Barnabas ‘encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord’ (vv.23–24).

The church faced a seemingly impossible situation. The very existence of the early church seemed to be at stake. What did they do? What are we to do in situations that are seemingly impossible? We see the answer in verse 5: ‘The church was earnestly prayingto God for [Peter]’.

• Pray together
  ‘The church’ (v.5) joined together in prayer. ‘Many people had gathered and were praying’ (v.12). The New Testament teaches a lot about private prayer, but there is even more about praying together.
• Pray earnestly
  There are two reasons why they might not have prayed at all. First, James had been executed (v.2). God had not answered their prayers for James; we don’t know why. But it did not stop them praying.
  
  Second, Peter’s situation seemed impossible. Their choice was either to give up praying or to pray passionately. The Greek word ektenōs (translated here as ‘earnestly’) was used to describe a horse made to go at full gallop. It denotes the taut muscle of strenuous and sustained effort as of an athlete.
  
  The imperfect tense suggests that they prayed not as a one-off, but for a considerable length of time. They persevered.
• Pray to God
  When you pray, you are not just talking to yourself, or praying eloquent prayers to impress those who hear you. Prayer to God means having an audience with God. It means actually coming into the presence of God – asking and receiving.
• Pray for others
  They prayed for Peter (v.5). There are many types of prayer: worship, praise, thanksgiving, petition, and so on – but here we read of intercessory prayer. They prayed for him because they loved him. Intercessory prayer is an act of love.

Jesus said, ‘Seek first his [your heavenly Father’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’ (Matthew 6:33). In effect, by praying for wisdom, Solomon was seeking first the kingdom of God. God said to him that as a result, all the other things would be his as well.

The offer of wisdom does not just apply to Solomon. James writes, ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you’ (James 1:5).

Lord, I need your wisdom. Please give me a wise and discerning heart in every situation I face. Lord, I pray for the wisdom that comes from heaven and is first of all pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (3:17).

16 June

There is always a temptation to make ‘other things’ more important than your relationship with God. Devotion to ‘other gods’ was one of the key temptations and weaknesses of God’s people in the Old Testament. This psalm reminds us of who God is and why it would be foolish to oppose God by going after other gods.

The Greek word for ‘peace’ takes on the meaning of the Hebrew word ‘shalom’. It means far more than an absence of hostility. It means ‘completeness’, ‘soundness’, ‘well-being’, ‘every kind of blessing and good’. It means harmony and concord between people. It means spiritual well-being, living under the favour of God.

Neither David, nor Solomon, nor any other king of Israel, was able to keep God’s decrees and commands perfectly. It is only Jesus, the final Davidic King, who is the fully obedient, eternal, anointed King. He is the one who does ‘walk faithfully before [God]... with all [his] heart and soul’ (v.4).

The book of Kings is, as Eugene Peterson puts it, ‘a relentless exposition of failure’. Yet God continues to work out his sovereign purposes – often silently and hidden. God’s sovereignty is never cancelled out even by deeply sin-flawed leaders (‘kings’). This means that you can trust his sovereignty in your life, your church and your culture.

1 Kings 1:1-2:12New International Version (NIV)

 2 When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observewhat the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

15 June

David apparently knew that what he was doing was wrong (‘because he had counted the people, replacing trust with statistics’, 2 Samuel 24:10, MSG). He was ‘conscience-stricken… and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing”’ (v.10).

Given the various options, spoken by the prophet Gad, he chose to fall into the hands of the Lord, for ‘his mercy is great’ (v.14). He refused to offer a sacrifice that cost him nothing (v.24). After his sacrifice, ‘the Lord answered prayer on behalf of the land’ (v.25).

14 June

John Newton (1725–1801) was a militant atheist, bully and blasphemer. He was a wild and angry young man. He was press-ganged into the Navy at the age of eighteen where he broke the rules so recklessly that he was publicly flogged for desertion. He was hated and feared by his crewmates and himself became a slave trader.

At the age of twenty-three, Newton’s ship encountered a severe storm off the coast of Donegal and almost sank. He called out to God as the ship filled with water and on that day, 10 March 1748, God rescued him. He began a new life. He started to pray and read the Bible. Eventually he joined William Wilberforce in the campaign to abolish the slave trade and became a leading light in that campaign.

Newton is best known as the author of the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now I’m found,
Was blind, but now I see.

To be rescued is to be saved, set free, delivered from danger, attack or harm. Jesus is the one who rescues you and brings you into ‘a spacious place’ (2 Samuel 22:20). 

Psalm 73:15-28

23 Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.

13 June

The writer of Proverbs says, ‘Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people’ (v.34). (‘God-devotion makes a country strong’, v.34, MSG.) Sin destroys a nation. Righteousness exalts a nation. Righteousness involves a range of right relationships:

• Peace with God
  Righteousness starts with making peace with God (Romans 5:1). It starts with the fear of the Lord (in the good sense of proper respect for the Lord).
  
  ‘The Fear-of-God builds up confidence, and makes a world safe for your children. The Fear-of-God is a spring of living water’ (Proverbs 14:26–27a, MSG).
• Peace with others
  As far as it depends on you, ‘live at peace with everyone’ (Romans 12:18). Right relationships with others are characterised by righteous words and actions. First, our words are to be truthful rather than deceitful for ‘a truthful witness saves lives’ (Proverbs 14:25).
  
  Second, our actions are to display a desire for the well-being of others. Be patient rather than quick-tempered (v.29). Be kind to those in need. ‘You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless; when you’re kind to the poor, you honour God’ (v.31, MSG). Display your delight towards those who act in wisdom (vv.33,35).
• Peace with ourselves
  Righteousness involves a right relationship with ourselves. You can know peace: ‘A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body’ (v.30a, AMP). Anger, lack of forgiveness, envy and jealousy can damage your physical body. Getting rid of the bad stuff in your life and having a ‘heart at peace’ is good for your health.
  
  Ultimately, this peace comes from being content about both the present and the future. For, ‘even in death the righteous have a refuge’ (v.32b). For those who fear in the Lord, he becomes our refuge in the present (v.26) and the future (v.32b).

12 June

To circumcise is to cut off. Every true Christian is circumcised by the Holy Spirit. When your heart is circumcised, you seek to cut off every wrong attitude that comes into your heart and mind. Say ‘no’ to anything that will stop your heart being right before God. Like Stephen, be filled with the Holy Spirit overflowing with love, courage and forgiveness.

Are you in a period of suffering or grief? God often uses these times to change your heart and increase your compassion for others.

11 June

Job said, ‘You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit’ (Job 10:12). Everything that happens in this world is within the sphere of God’s working. ‘Providence’ means God’s foresight: the way he anticipates and prepares for the future. ‘Providence’ is the way God guides and steers human history – he is present and active in the world – sustaining it and ruling it.

It is also the way he guides and steers your life personally and individually. As the apostle Paul wrote, ‘In all things God works for the good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’ (Romans 8:28). Even your mistakes he uses for good. In all the circumstances of your life and the events going on around you, you can trust in the providence of God.

10 June

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

Troubles are part of life. Jesus faced trouble and so did the apostles, David and all the people of God. However, as Matheson’s hymn beautifully articulates, troubles do not have the last word.

God does not promise you an easy path. Life can be extremely hard. The psalmist has seen ‘troubles, many and bitter’ (v.20). His troubles, pressures and worries were not occasional or trivial. They were numerous and serious. He gives you a model of how to respond in these circumstances.

• Keep trusting
  It is easy to trust God when things are going well. The challenge is to keep trusting in the midst of troubles. Do not stop believing in the goodness of God: ‘Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you?’ (v.19).
• Keep hoping
  Your troubles will not last forever. In the midst of troubles, there is hope: ‘You will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honour and comfort me once again’ (vv.20b–21). God will use your troubles for good. He will shape your character through them. As a result, he will increase your honour. He will comfort you through them so that you can comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:4).
• Keep worshipping
  Keep on praising God in spite of the troubles: ‘I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you – I, whom you have redeemed’ (Psalm 71:22–23). The presence of God in worship brings us peace and solace, especially in difficult times.

9 June

Loyalty is a combination of love and faithfulness. It is a quality often lacking in our society today. Disloyalty destroys families, churches, businesses, political parties and even nations.

The book of Proverbs is full of practical wisdom. It encourages you, for example, to be discerning about what you believe: ‘The gullible believe anything they’re told; the prudent sift and weigh every word’ (v.15, MSG). Ultimately wisdom is about how you relate to God: ‘The wise fear the Lord and shun evil’ (v.16).

‘Fear of the Lord’ is an attitude of healthy respect and loyalty. It means involving him in all your plans. We need to be very careful about the plans we make – that they are for good and not for evil. Eventually, even ‘the wicked will respect God-loyal people’ (v.19, MSG).

‘Those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness’ (v.22b). The word for ‘find’ is sometimes translated ‘show’. Both are true. Those who plan what is good not only find love and faithfulness, they show love and faithfulness as well. This is at the heart of loyalty – to show love and faithfulness. This is contrasted with those who selfishly plot evil and go astray.

29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Tragically, David’s love and loyalty to Absalom were not returned. We see here a powerful description of how disloyalty works.

There are always opportunities for disloyalty. In any situation – whether for example in the government, workplace or the church – there are bound to be those who complain (15:2). If you are a loyal person, you will help to deal with these complaints and attempt to diffuse them.

It has been said, ‘Loyalty means I am down with you whether you are wrong or right. But I will tell you when you are wrong and help you get it right.’

8 June

Back in the 1960s, the band The Monkees sang about how no one seemed to believe in absolute morals anymore. In Shades of Gray they sang:

When the world and I were young,
Just yesterday.
Life was such a simple game…
It was easy then to tell right from wrong…
Today there is no black or white,
Only shades of gray.

Now the expression ‘shades of grey’ has come to be associated with the notorious and controversial books and film with that name.

Many today no longer believe there is such a thing as absolute right or absolute wrong. Stark contrasts and black-and-white distinctions are not always easy to swallow in a society in which relativism is the order of the day. Everything is relative – a matter of degrees.

As followers of Jesus we cannot give in to these relativistic ideas. We must be open to the prophetic voice of Scripture, which often traces stark contrasts, urgent ethical choices and diverging paths in the midst of complex problems and situations.

 The psalmist contrasts himself with those who perish in shame. He writes, ‘but as for me…’ (v.14). He wants to continue to be close to the Lord to the end of his life. In fact, he wants the end of his life to be even more fruitful than the beginning. He says, ‘I will praise you more and more’ (v.14). Every generation has the responsibility of passing the baton ‘to the next generation’ (v.18). Succession planning is a key part of finishing well. It has been said that it is important to pursue a Paul and train a Timothy, be mentored by a Mary and prepare a Phoebe.

First, we see the results of being filled with the Holy Spirit:

• Boldness
  Peter and John are not put off by the threats made to them (4:17,21). Rather, ‘they raised their voices together in prayer to God’ (v.24). They prayed, ‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness’ (v.29). ‘After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly’ (v.31).
• Unity
  ‘All the believers were one in heart and mind’ (v.32a). They were all filled with the same Holy Spirit. A mark of a Spirit-filled community is unity.
• Generosity
  They had a liberating attitude to their possessions: ‘They shared everything they had… There were no needy persons among them’ (vv.32,34). Those who could afford it helped support those who were in need (vv.34–35).
• Power
  They had prayed, ‘Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus’ (v.30). Their prayer was answered: ‘With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus’ (v.33a).
• Grace
  ‘… much grace was upon them all’ (v.33b). Experience of God’s grace should lead to a community of grace and graciousness.

7 June

John Wimber often used to say, ‘It’s hard to sit still and be good.’ We are much less likely to fall into temptation when we are fully occupied and in the right place.

The key to receiving that forgiveness is admitting our guilt and repenting of what we have done. This is the great difference between David (whom God forgave when he sinned) and Saul (whom God did not). Whereas Saul tried to justify himself (see 1 Samuel 15), David simply admitted everything. He said, ‘I have sinned against the Lord’ (2 Samuel 12:13). In effect he just said, ‘I’m sorry!’

Forgiveness does not take away the consequences of our actions though. For David the consequences were huge. His baby son died as a result (vv.13–14), and God warned him that, because of his violent actions, ‘the sword shall never depart from your house’ (v.10). The consequences of David’s sin were long lasting.

Nevertheless, this was not the end for David. God did not abandon him. Although his son died, there is hope. One day they will be reunited: ‘I will go to him, but he will not return to me’ (v.23). Not only that, but God gave to David another son, Solomon, and ‘The Lord loved him’ (v.24).

This account is a warning and an encouragement. It is a warning to us to take responsibility for our lives, to put in boundaries, to get help early and to watch and pray that we do not fall into temptation.

If you have fallen, like David admit your sin, confess, repent, grieve if necessary and then get on with your life looking forward to what God has in store for you. We all mess up from time to time. God forgives. He restores. He blesses us again.

6 June

Steve Sjogren wrote a book called Conspiracy of Kindness. He started a church in Cincinnati, Ohio, that grew rapidly to an average attendance of 7,500. Their motto is, ‘Small things done with great love are changing the world.’ They carry out random acts of kindness like paying for a stranger’s coffee or writing a ‘thank you’ note to a shop assistant.

Showing God’s love in practical ways, they have discovered the power of kindness to effect positive change, both in their lives and in the lives of people around them. When kindness is expressed, healthy relationships are created, community connections are nourished and people are inspired to pass kindness on.

There is great power in the name of Jesus. To the Hebrew mind a person’s name revealed their character. This was not a magic formula or a tag-on at the end of a prayer. This was the difference between the ministry of Jesus and that of his disciples. Jesus healed on his own authority, while the disciples did it in his name. In the same way, we are dependent on him. In our weakness, you and I can continue to exercise his ministry, in his power and in his name.   

Not only was this man healed (he jumped to his feet and began to walk and praise God, v.8), but many people were also converted. This one act of kindness had an astonishing effect. The people ‘were filled with wonder and amazement at what happened to him… all the people were astonished and came running to them’ (vv.10–11). The demonstration of the power of God was accompanied by the proclamation of the gospel. They had the opportunity to speak about Jesus: his death and resurrection, and the need for faith (vv.14–16).

5 June

The way you receive the promise is by repentance, faith in Jesus, baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (vv.37–38). The evidence that you have received the Holy Spirit will be seen in a changed life and a transformed community (vv.42–47). The church is not only a place of celebration, exuberance and joy; it should also be supremely a place of love.

• Love for God
  The church is a place full of love for God. They had a new love for the Bible – ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching’ (v.42). Much of this teaching is now enshrined in the New Testament.
  
  They had a new love for the sacraments – ‘They devoted themselves to... the breaking of bread’ (v.42). ‘They broke bread in their homes’ (v.46).
  
  They had a new love for prayer (v.42). The Spirit-filled church will be a praying church.
• Love for one another
  The church should be marked by love for one another. They had a new desire to meet together – ‘They devoted themselves... to the fellowship’ (v.42). They continued to meet together and ate together with ‘glad and sincere hearts’ (v.46). There was a new release of finances and generosity in giving (vv.44–45).
  
  The Spirit-filled church will be a united church.
• Love for the world
  The church should be filled with a love for the world. They were an outward-focused community performing signs and wonders (v.43). ‘The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved’ (v.47). The Spirit-filled church will be an outward-looking church.

Only in Jesus were the promises of the Davidic covenant fulfilled. The human kings failed, but there remained the hope of a future king who would fulfil the kingship ideal. Jesus was the son of David (see, for example, Matthew 1:1). As he entered Jerusalem, the people cried out, ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!’ (Mark 11:10).

However, the victory of Jesus and the kingdom of Jesus were far greater than anyone had anticipated. They were achieved not by a conquering king winning physical battles, but by a dying Saviour winning the great spiritual victory over sin, guilt, addiction, fear and even death itself.

We see from the example of Jesus that victory is not always glamorous or even obvious. But God promises you, as he promises David, that he will be with you wherever you go and that, in Christ, ultimately you will be victorious.

4 June

The Hebrew word ‘Ruach’ literally means ‘breath’ or ‘wind’. Ruach is used in the Old Testament for the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of God. The day of Pentecost was the fulfilment of when Jesus had breathed on the disciples and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:22).

Supremely, the experience of the Holy Spirit is an experience of God’s love for you (Romans 5:5). It is the way in which you feel God’s love for you, so that you can say with the apostle Paul, ‘the Son of God… loved me and gave himself for me’ (Galatians 2:20). As Rick Warren says, ‘to feel loved by God… is the starting point for every ministry, every revival, every renewal, every great awakening.’

The Holy Spirit is the one who provides the power for all revivals, and he does it supremely by enabling the people of God to feel, experience and know in their hearts the love of God. It is the kind of knowledge that travels from your head to your heart.

The experience of God’s love through the Holy Spirit brings unity to the church. As we recognise that the same Holy Spirit is at work in Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants and Pentecostals of whatever church or denomination, there is a healing of division and a visible experience of unity.

3 June

 Yet despite all his disadvantages Patrick remained convinced that God had called and anointed him as an evangelist. He wrote, ‘We are a letter of Christ for salvation even to the back of beyond – and what does it matter if it is not a learned letter? For it is still to be found valid and plain for all to read, written in your very hearts, not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God!’

Today his more eloquent contemporaries have long been forgotten, but the impact of St Patrick’s ministry and mission to Ireland 1500 years ago is still recognised around the world. Even his weakness was anointed.

As David takes up the throne of Israel he says, ‘… though I am the anointed king, I am weak’ (2 Samuel 3:39). The moment you put your faith in Jesus, God anoints you with the Holy Spirit. However weak and inadequate you may feel, God can use you, like David, in extraordinary ways. Even your weakness is anointed. 

The Holy Spirit comes to anoint and empower you – to help and guide you in every aspect of your life – not just the ‘spiritual’ parts. Everything you have belongs to God and he wants to be involved in all of your life. Through the Holy Spirit living within you God wants you to become like Jesus in all your thoughts, attitudes, words and actions. You are Jesus to the world.

2 June

Then Jesus says to Peter very simply, ‘Follow me!’ (v.19). This crazy love for Jesus means following his example of love. Jesus showed the supreme example of servant love. He said, ‘Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (15:13). He gave a very practical example of what this kind of servant love involved, when he washed the disciples’ feet (John 13). It is a commitment to help people, to whom we are not necessarily attracted, to grow in their love for Jesus, not seeking to control them but to liberate them.

Jesus calls you to the same kind of love. You express your passionate love for Jesus by a passionate love for other people, by giving yourself to take care of his sheep, to feed, serve and love them.

1 June

It is not enough to know the evidence of the facts of the resurrection. We need a personal encounter with the resurrected Jesus.

In this short encounter, Jesus transformed the group of frightened, confused individuals into a community of love, joy and peace.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to you. He gives you the power of his Holy Spirit and the power of his word to declare the message of God’s forgiveness to human beings. This is the message that brings eternal life.

Do not feel guilty about having doubts. Like Thomas, be honest about your doubts and bring them to Jesus. When Jesus answered his doubts, Thomas’ response was the pinnacle of respect, reverence and awe. He said, ‘My Lord and my God!’ (v.28). From a place of having doubted, Thomas makes perhaps the strongest statement of Jesus’ divinity in all of the Gospels. He is the first person to look at Jesus and call him ‘God’. He said, in effect, ‘Wow!’

Belief and life go hand in hand in John’s Gospel (v.31), because, if you believe in Jesus you have life. This is real life of high quality, an abundant life (10:10) that goes on forever (3:16).

31 May

The world is running out of energy – oil, coal, gas and so on. How do we ensure sufficient energy supplies to sustain life? Where will we find this energy? We are searching anxiously for power ‘from above’ – trying to harness the almost limitless power of the sun.

All of us face the same problem as the physical environment, but on a spiritual level. We stand before a choice: do we look for the energy we need in ourselves and the resources of our intelligence and our entrepreneurial spirit, or do we look for it ‘from above’, from the risen Christ, the Sun of Righteousness?

When the New Testament speaks of God’s love, the focus is the cross. When the New Testament speaks of God’s energy, power and strength, the focus is the resurrection (Ephesians 1:19–20). We rightly think of power belonging to God. Yet we so easily forget that God’s power is also ‘for us who believe’ (v.19).

The same power and energy that raised Jesus Christ from the dead now lives in you.

But in the middle of all his problems, ‘David strengthened himself with trust in his God’ (v.6b, MSG). This was the turning point in David’s life. Those who, like David, have turned to God in their deepest distress have been repeatedly amazed at the speed with which he has been able to change their fortunes.

As the men return from battle, some of his men did not want to share what they recovered with those who were too exhausted to fight (vv.21–22). But David was wise enough to see that everyone has a part to play in God’s work. He replied, ‘No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us… The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be same as that of him who went down to the battle. All shall share alike’ (vv.23–24). Those who do the less glamorous work are just as important as those who hit the headlines.

Follow David’s example – spend time with God strengthening yourself, being re-energised and then trusting him wholeheartedly, believing that he is in you by his Spirit and believing that you are able to do whatever you need to do through him.

Lord, thank you that whether we are at our lowest ebb or facing great trials and challenges or just facing the ordinary struggles of life, we can all find strength and energy in the Lord our God.

30 May

During his trial, Jesus declared to Pilate, ‘You are right in saying that I am a king’ (18:37). However, unlike Caesar, his kingdom is ‘not of this world’ (v.36), for it is an eternal heavenly kingdom. This eternal King is triumphing, not through the might of Roman triumphalism, but through the seeming weakness of death on a cross.

His life appears to be a horrible failure. Hate seems to have conquered love. But in fact, the conquered one, who has apparently failed, has in fact triumphed and opened up a source of new life, a new vision for humankind and a new road to peace and unity.

If you are struggling at the moment with the circumstances of your life, stay close to Jesus and remember that God can be glorified in defeat. The greatest triumphs in our lives sometimes occur when the circumstances seem to be hardest.

On the other hand, we also see David at his best. David had an opportunity to take revenge on Saul, who was trying to kill him. However, David refused to take revenge. He had great respect for Saul, because he was in a position of authority.

He says, ‘Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?… The Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed’ (26:9,11).

David stayed loyal and faithful to Saul despite the fact that Saul was trying to murder him. Follow David’s example and refuse to be led into sin in an attempt to break free of a person’s authority over you.

The life of David teaches us not to expect instant success and triumph. Often, God prepares us through the years of obscurity, difficulty and even defeat or failure. It is in these times of testing that, like David, we must not act out of revenge but rather with love, honour and respect.