A Devotional Life

Judges 6:1-14. “I am doing lent from apps,” a friend said. Then, a few days later: “I’ve felt so assured of God’s love...”. Then, a few more days later: “Hey Sam, I’m getting baptised!” In today's world, there are so many voices, but it’s incredible the peace, assurances and even victories we find every time we listen to One Voice - God’s voice of truth. The passage begins with a pattern seen throughout the book, that of Israel’s struggle with sin (4:1, 6:1, 10:6). This time, as a consequence, God allows the Midianites to attack Israel. But the Midianites were as cruel as a plague; they would invade the land, ruin the crops, steal all the livestock and leave nothing. So the Israelites cried out to God for help (6:6), and He sent Gideon, a very inadequate man who struggled to see God's faithfulness. God sends that Gideon, but God first speaks truth into Gideon’s identity and reality...

1 Timothy 6:3-8. (ESV) "We'll make Lasagna today", my flatmate said. So we got Jamie's recipe book out. There was a list of ingredients; we got that bit right. Alongside the list were measurements, when to put what, i.e. the instructions. But along the way, we began to miss and make up some steps. We finished making the Lasagna quite all right, but the taste and look of that thing. It went straight into the bin. Lesson learnt, follow the recipe! In the book of 1 Timothy, Paul begins to give Timothy some doctrines (like godly recipes) for Christian ministry and living. And in our passage (in v3), he identifies in summary what makes up a godly recipe (which is also how to tell wrong teachings): Agreement with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ Agreement with godliness (instructions from God's Word) In v2, Paul asks Timothy to teach and insi...

Mark 10:13-16. Praise God! Happy new year!!! There's a phrase every parent has said at some point, "Stop nagging me" or "Will you give it a rest". Or maybe you have a unique response to a constant "Are we there yet?", "Can I have ice cream for breakfast?"... or something else a little kid will invent just to call for your attention. The passage conveys one of Jesus' teachings on the kingdom of God. (The Kingdom of God, now referring to the lordship of the crucified and risen Christ - His reign - the life He gives) In the first century, children and women were not held in high regard publicly - a societal norm that Jesus frequently addressed. Sadly we see this reflected in the passage as the disciples rebuked people for bringing little children to Jesus (v13). In response to this, Jesus rebuked his disciples. He then invited the little ...