My dad is 79. That’s getting in on years! He lives in Ipswich and I live in Townsville. We don’t get too much time together, so I treasure the moments when we find ourselves in the same place.

When we have an afternoon to just hang out, no agenda, I ask him to tell me his stories. He has stacks, some from my childhood, some from his life, and others from my grandparents journeys. I love the stories because they anchor me to something bigger than my day-to-day. They remind me of the legacy of the Ridgeway family.

In Deuteronomy 4, Moses purposefully reminds Israel not to forget. In verse 9, Moses says to the people, ‘Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children, and to their children after that.’

It’s easy to get caught up in the urgency of managing the day-to-day and forget the legacy that you carry. Moses was cognoscente of that. He wanted God’s people to keep the stories of God’s goodness in the forefront of their minds. He wanted the stories of God’s mercy and grace to be a legacy that their children carried.

The day-to-day can be frustrating. It can be filled with disappointments. It is often has a loud and insistent voice that drowns out everything else.

But when I treasure the God stories of my journey, it reminds me that God is consistently good to me. It prompts me to see past the small irritations of the journey. It energises the promises that God has spoken over my future. It informs sacrificial decisions that are made not for my immediate benefit, but as an investment for future generations.

Selah

An encounter with Jesus should always generate the question,”What now shall I do?”

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit descends on the believers and apostles gathered in the upper room. The public, watching the supernatural phenomenon of Pentecost, assume that the people were simply drunk. Peter addresses the crowd and corrects them, assuring them that it is a move of God, and that Jesus is, in fact, both Lord and Messiah.

Verse 37 tells us, ‘When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”‘

A declaration of truth should stop us in our tracks. It should cause us to examine ourselves, in the light of this new truth. Those discovering that Jesus was Messiah examined themselves in the light of this truth and inquired what the appropriate response was.

God is constantly dropping truth into our lives via His word. But the only way for it to change us is if we ask ‘What now shall I do?’ in the light of what I now know.

If we invite God’s truth AND His instruction on how to proceed with fresh revelation, transformation into His likeness can begin.

Selah

Have you ever put off catching up with someone because you did the wrong thing by them? It feels awful, and the longer you delay, the worse it gets.

Honesty moment – just before I started writing this, I was totally bratty on the phone to my husband and now I’m loitering in a hotel lobby bar, writing and delaying the inevitable apology! ฀

As in the natural, so in the spiritual. When I KNOW I have disobeyed God, my first reaction is to avoid Him. I’m an expert! I dither and duck-shove reasons to come into His presence. I’m busy, I’m working, I have family commitments, I use Sunday as band aid. But if I’m honest, I am making excuses because I’m avoiding the spiritual ‘smack’ that I fear God has waiting for me.

I need to have Romans 8:1-2 tattooed across the inside of my eyelids! It is a permanent reminder that God both knows the sinfulness of my heart AND that I have the gift of Jesus’ hard-won righteousness.

It is a gift that comes by faith in Jesus! Not only that, but I have the Holy Spirit, who helps me live for God each day, even when I fail a thousand times. Never live with dirty hands and a distant heart. God made provision that you can live in connection with Him.

Selah

The Psalms is a book of wisdom that encourages the reader to examine their life is the light of God’s commands. It then encourages the reader to live a life that finds it pleasure solely in God.

It establishes the theme from the first verse, with Psalm 1:1 observing, ‘Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked’.

Jesus was our ultimate example of how to walk within a corrupted world. He often walked with sinners, as well as sitting and eating with them. However, walking along side is not walking in step.

Walking in step is to adopt the prevailing culture, even when it runs in opposition to Kingdom culture. It can happen so easily. We live in times where modern media platforms invade all areas of life. Our responsibility is to hold all things up to Kingdom culture to test the veracity of it’s claims.

If you feel like you have stepped out of your grace zone, check who you are walking with. If it’s the spirit of the world, the solution is simple. Repentance and realignment is available in a simple moment of prayer.

Selah

I sat at a dinner party recently where a table of adults laughingly offered up what their preferred super power would be. It’s funny how the kid in everyone came out as powers such as time travel and invisibility were bandied about.

The truth is, as believers, we do act as bearers of super powers, although not our own.

The fourth chapter in 2 Corinthians looks at the veil that is drawn across the vision of unbelievers by ‘the god of this world’. The truth of God’s reality is hidden from them and they languish in darkness, waiting for someone to draw that veil back and let the light in.

As believers, being light bearers is not a choice. By virtue of the Spirit that dwells within us, we should be compelled to pour this light out into the dark world around us. The sad fact is that we can dim this light and seriously diminish the effect that God can have in our world.

Verse 3 tells us “…if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish”. So as you head out today, love as God loves, show kindness as God shows kindness, be gracious as God is gracious, bring joy as God brings joy. In doing so, you lift the veil for God’s light to shine into a dark world.

Selah

Today’s devotion is a simple reminder ..sometimes that’s all you need

Jeremiah 46:3-9 describe in detail the process of an army preparing for battle. You would expect verse 10 to describe how they then took to the field and slay their enemies. Not so. Verse 10 is a reminder that the battle is, in fact, the Lord’s.

“For this is the day of The Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Himself on His adversaries.”

Does today’s battle bow your spirit before you have even begun? God’s instruction is begin battle preparations regardless of how you feel! As we reach the end of what we can do, God steps onto the battlefield and assumes the position of control, leading us through tough times into victory.

You gotta love that!

Selah

Gosh, I love the apostle Paul! Here is a man without any tickets on himself. He has a true measure of his failings and the messy past from which he has come. However, here is also a man that has a complete understanding of the grace that he has received. In 1Cor 15:9-10 he comprehends fully both his humanity and the power of God’s redemption.

This is the beautiful tension that all Christians struggle with. We see with shame who we were and with a sense of awe who we have the potential to become through God’s redemptive power. We determine to apply ourselves with diligence to this process of change, but always acknowledge that it is through Him that this transition is accomplished.

Rest easy in knowing that even Paul worked though this tension, and the mere acknowledgment of the struggle shows a holy respect for the God that walks you through such a miraculous transformation

Selah

Have you ever considered that how your circumstances are affected by the words of your mouth? You should. Want to know why? Because what you say is what you see.

Psalm 118:1 makes the statement that the Lord is good and His mercies endure forever. God then instructs not once but three times that, having recognised this, “Israel must now say…” – that they must verbalise what they have discovered about God.

The word ‘now’ acknowledges that there was a time Israel did NOT recognise, or had forgotten, God’s goodness and mercy. However, once they realised afresh, their vocabulary about God changed to include these now amazing attributes.

To say out loud how good God is reminds us of His greatness. It restates His attributes. It creates neural pathways that reflect how we see God. If we speak out about God’s goodness often enough, we create a connection in our mind between God and goodness. When someone simply mentions God, our first thought is how good He is.

Take the time in your day to verbalise the goodness of God in your life and create a habit of speaking this out regularly. Let the very mention of His name conjure thoughts of grace, mercy and blessing.

Selah

The mortal coil is an interesting shell through which to navigate relationship with God.

We are invited to build connection with an infinite Saviour within the limitations of the finite framework of our humanity. At times, it can be mighty frustrating! I strain to see my life, and life in general, how God sees it as my humanity tethers me to a limited understanding.

I love that God, sensing our frustration with the need to “just trust Him”, encourages us in 1Cor 13:12. He reminds us that there will come a time that we will slip the bonds and restrictions of our humanity.

In that moment, there will be a clarity that can only come in an eternal context. Just a parent encourages a child that the mysteries of life will unfold at the right time, God reminds His kids that their journey will be the same.

Selah

If you read yesterday’s YBL devotion, you may see that God is hammering a theme home here! Psalm 116 is a beautiful psalm of thanksgiving, which is always a powerful exercise.

To list the stunning mercies of God as a reminder of His grace always serves to reposition our spirit. It reminds us that we are above and not beneath, that we are victorious and not defeated. This comes not from my actions, but from a loving God that leaned towards me way before I leaned towards Him. In evidence, look at verse 2 – “Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.” God doesn’t wait until His children call out for Him. Instead, He sits poised over our lives in anticipation of pouring out love, mercy and blessing. Never believe for a second that you must debase yourself to earn favour or love from your heavenly Father. His position towards you is always one of grace, through the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. So, “…return to your rest, oh my soul, for The Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” (V.7)

Selah