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Category: Devo

Devo 7 December 2019

Posted on by Mike Lloyd

“For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,”

Titus 2:11-12 NLT

All people have salvation offered to them. Godless living and sinful pleasures distract us from God’s path. God’s path is righteousness, which means living God’s way; wisdom, which is choosing the right path; and devotion to God, that is putting Him first and recognising His place as Creator and a good Father. God offers us the choice of either salvation or death. Salvation is gained not through following a list of demands and penances and things like self-flagellation, but following our Creator who loves us and just wants honest and heartfelt connection. If only we really knew how cool God is! So salvation refers to what is written about in John 3:16-17. There are two options there, life or death – that is life, salvation, or death, never to be conscious again. God came to save and not to condemn or destroy us – only the devil wants that. These are the greatest verses in the Bible;  ““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 NLT.  Amen to our Father who only wants to save us from eternal death and show that we can live an outward focussed life like Jesus. This is what will make us truly happy. Amen.

Devo 8 July 2019

Posted on by Mike Lloyd

“The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.””

1 Peter 3:12 NLT

Yes, God is watching, but this means He is listening for us. He desires nothing more than contact with us. He is always with us, as David reminds us; “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” Psalms 16:8 NLT. God hates evil, it is contrary to Him, for God is love. God IS love. GOD IS LOVE. God is the perfect personification of love, real and true. So to say that God hates evil is to say that love hates evil. Love is the opposite to evil. “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT. As such evil is not patient and kind, evil is jealous and boastful, rude and proud. Evil demands its own way. Evil is irritable, and keeps a record of wrongs. Evil rejoices in injustice and in hiding truth. Evil wants us to give up and lose faith and lose hope. God is ‘so’ the opposite. God is the quintessential opposite of evil and God is love. God wants to restore us and wants us to recognise His goodness. Let us turn our faces from evil and look to God always!

Devo – pride and pity

Posted on by Mike Lloyd

Proud: showing the arrogant attitude of people who think they are better or more important than others

Pitiful: causing feelings of dislike or disgust by not being good enough

I think it’s safe to say that humanity always functions within both of these states. After the fall of man, a major shift happened within Adam that would forever affect his offspring. In their departure from God, Adam and Eve lost their grasp on their identity, soul, joy, and sense of wholeness. Being disconnected from the One who created you can only, by nature, bring about brokenness.

From this place, we don’t know God and therefore we don’t know ourselves. In not knowing God, apart from His grace, we are incapable and, quite frankly, wickedly unwilling to seek Him to complete us. Therefore, the only place we believe we can find wholeness is in the tangible: people, things, and roles. I would argue that seeking wholeness in things and roles still finds its root in seeking identity in people. Validation in front of the eyes of others fills us with a sense of self-satisfaction from their praise or envy. It makes a lot of sense for us to see sin manifest itself so evidently within relationships because we are made in the image of God and we reflect His plan for us as relational beings.

I challenge you to think about your motivations. I challenge you to accept God into your life and in accepting Him you can be complete in Him. 

Taken in part from http://www.humblebeast.com/truthfully-speaking/2015/6/30/proud-pitiful-our-search-for-identity-in-the-people-around-us