13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Point to ponder: In this week's scripture we are encouraged with a blessing that Paul wrote about 2000 years ago, and it is such a good reminder in this time of turmoil and world-craziness that God fills us with His Hope.
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
I am taking a break from ministry etc. to travel and visit family for this coming few weeks, this will therefore be my last devotions for 2023. I would therefore like to bless you with being filled with the hope of God, with joy and peace in believing - and that you will abound in the hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. In spite of the world crumbling around us - we need to remind each other in this time that we are heavenly citizens and that our hope remains in HIM alone.
May you all have a safe and sound festive season and may you experience the blessing of the presence of God in abundance.
7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Point to ponder: Often we focus on the image of Jesus being the good shepherd. Today I want to focus on Him being the door. In the days of old the shepherd slept with the sheep in the field. When they made a shelter for the sheep, the shepherd slept in the door to the shelter - watching over the sheep and protecting them from anything that tried to come in to harm them. When Jesus uses the image of the door, He is speaking from that point of view. He speaks about being the One who guards the door to our life, but also guards the door to eternal life. The sheep could not enter into the fold unless they passed through the door - but so could the enemy also not enter the fold either, because The Shepherd would protect the sheep from harm coming to steal, kill, and destroy. In verse 16 we also read the amazing hope that Jesus is the Shepherd of all people - not just of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles. He has sheep which are not of 'this fold' that He wants to bring in. Have you entered through the door which is Jesus and are you part of His fold? What an amazing image to keep in mind - the Shepherd guarding the door - and what is there under the sun, that will come past this Shepherd?
Have a look at what such a sheepfold may have looked like in the Bible's time:
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ...
Point to ponder: In a time where people from all walks of life and all over the world are grabbing natural weapons to either attack or to defend - it is good to be reminded that, as Christians, our weapons are not carnal, but spiritual. Our weapons are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds and casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Let us therefore take on this war - the one in the spirit, and start using our spiritual weapons to cast down every high thing that exalts itself against God. Whether it is a thought that needs to be brought into obedience to Christ, or whether it is an argument or a stronghold of some nature. Let us take it on with the spiritual weapons God gave us - not the natural ones that we make for ourselves.
Point to ponder: This is such an encouraging Psalm of David. He declares that God has brought him out of a deep pit of miry clay. How many times did God fish you and me out of an array of horrible pits of miry clay? Maybe take some time to recall a few of these moments and celebrate with David those victories. Celebrate those times that God listened and heard your cry. Celebrate the times that He set your feet on a rock, established your steps and put a new song in your mouth - and then praise God anew for each one of those moments, and trust Him again because of the track record of faithfulness in your life. Sing a new song to Him!
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
The excellency of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
7 The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Point to ponder: Sometimes, when I look at the world today and see all the wars and rumours of more wars and tragedies upon tragedies, then I have to admit my knees are feeble and my hands weak. In times like these, this prophecy in Isaiah 35 is so encouraging. God promises that one day there will be Holiness and righteousness and peace, and that the sorrow and sighing shall flee away. He encourages us to strengthen the weak hands and feeble knees, and to say to the fearful hearts - fear not! Be strong, for God will recompense His people and save them.
He promises that one day there will be a highway of Holiness. So let us remind ourselves that, as we have a heavenly home, we are just walking through this world temporarily. So let us 'walk with Him' while we have to walk in this world still, and let us invite Him to walk with us, so that our feeble knees and weak hands will be strengthened, and fearful hearts can be encouraged.
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Point to ponder: At a time in history where the world seems to be spiraling into an ever-increasing vortex of conflict, war, immorality and hopelessness for many, it is good to be reminded of this verse. God, through Paul (who was no stranger to adversity and persecution) encourages them (and consequently us) that no matter what goes on in the world, we still remain conquerors through Him Who loved us. Paul's persuasion that nothing - not death, life, angels, demons, things we know now and things which are still to come, no height, no depth nor any created thing - nothing, but nothing is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let us put our faith in Him alone and trust Him Who loves us no matter what. Let us stand firm in the knowledge that NOTHING can separate us from Him Who loves us.
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Point to ponder: I don't think there was ever a better time to read and ponder this scripture. We are in a time in history where darkness is getting darker than ever before. We dare not fall asleep in the spirit, we need to ask Holy Spirit to wake us up in every possible way. We need to put on the Light of God in our spirit. The night is indeed far spent, we need to make sure that we change our ways and walk properly in the day, casting off every sin however 'small' we might perceive it to be. Just a little bit of darkness is enough to escalate into unimaginable darkness. Putting on the armour of light means that we can make NO provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.
Help us Abba to walk in the light, to stay in the light and to put on the armour of light as You designed it to be before the foundation of the earth.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Point to ponder: After contemplating last week's scripture about men loving darkness rather than Light - I was reminded about this scripture in John. Not only do men love darkness, but darkness does not comprehend light. Think about that statement - comprehend on the one hand means to mentally understand or grasp, but it also means to include, comprise or to encompass. In the original Greek of the New Testament, comprehend includes to 'take possession of" or 'make one's own', "To take into oneself". Darkness, therefore, does not understand light, but it also does not include, comprise or encompass light. Darkness does not take possession of light, nor does it make light its own. Darkness does not take light into itself! What a picture of evil is that not! Evil does not take light into itself because it would mean that darkness has to encompass Him Who is The Light... it will mean to take possession of Him who is The Light, to make his own Him who is The Light.
"In him was life, and the life was the light of men". Darkness is an absence of light. It is an absence of Him who IS Light - and if He is absent so would life be absent, for "In Him was life and the life was the light of men" As simple as that. The absence of light in our spirits means the absence of life.
How dark would our spirits not be if there were no light from God shining? Why does man love darkness rather than light? Let us ask Holy Spirit - He Who is the fire that was poured out on Pentecost, to come put on the lights in our spirits.
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Point to ponder:
The last week's happenings in world history are probably on all of our minds. I have no real words for the unspeakable suffering of people under the ruthless rule of pure evil leadership. But then God reminded me of the above verses. God is so much bigger than us, somehow He manages to get all the principles together and weave them into a tapestry of perfection. He spells it out that He is righteous and will not let evil run rampart unpunished, and at the same time God makes no secret of the fact that He is a God of love who does not condemn anyone who believes in Him. He is longsuffering and does not want anyone to perish, but wants to bring us to repentance precisely so that we will not perish forever. He did not come to condemn us, but if we do not believe we are condemned already, simply because we do not make use of our only way to safety, the only way by which we can get out of the trap the enemy sets for us. He spells out so beautifully exactly what condemnation is - it is the rejection of God's light. Even though light has come into the world - they loved darkness rather than light and therefore their deeds are evil. Everyone - yes EVERYONE - no matter your political affiliation, or which team you support, if you practice evil, you hate the light and do not come to the light, simply because light will expose all your sinful evil deeds.
However, if we love the truth, we will gladly come to the light so that our deeds will be clearly seen that they are of the light - done in God. And this is the issue of the heart - what is in our hearts? Is God's light there? Then there is no place for evil deeds, the only time there is place in our hearts for evil deeds is when we love darkness more than God's light. Evil is the absence of light - the absence of He who is The Light.
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Point to ponder
Today it is good to know that this earth with all its brokenness, failures and heartache, is temporary. We but live in a tent - a temporary dwelling - our eternal house, our permanent dwelling is in heaven. While we are longing for our eternal home, desiring to be clothed with the splendor of God's glory, once again let us be encouraged by knowing that ultimately mortality is swallowed up by life. God prepares us for that life, by giving us His Spirit as a guarantee - to be with us. He is Emmanuel, God with us in this temporary tent abode! Heaven came to our earthly house so that mortality is swallowed up in life and we can be united with Him forever.
