There Was Jesus

There Was Jesus

by | Apr 25, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“In the waiting, in the searching
In the healing and the hurting
Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces
Every minute, every moment
Where I’ve been and where I’m going
Even when I didn’t know it or couldn’t see it
There was Jesus”

There Was Jesus, Zach Williams and Dolly Parton

“Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9: CEV

Have you ever stood in the snack aisle of your local grocery store, unable to make up your mind?

So many options… And they are constantly adding new ones.

Or perhaps you are buying new running shoes and can’t decide what will look better with your track suit…

Life is full of choices. Many of them are mundane and really don’t matter much – but then there are the bigger ones – should you perhaps stop drinking – even if it means the ‘embarrassment’ of admitting you have a problem? Is this the right job or should you stay in this toxic environment? Should you leave or stay with your abusive husband? Should you confess to cheating on your spouse?

Over the last decade I have counseled many people, and the questions – these tough questions – are just the tip of the iceberg…

Paul says the following in 2 Corinthians 4: 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

Perplexed in this case (looking at the Greek) implies a situation where it feels like you have no way out. The dilemma is such that you FEEL stuck in indecision, unable to move – but Paul continues and says: but we are not in despair!

You might be walking through the slow of despondency – but you are not sinking.

There is hope. There is a way out.

The situation is perplexing. The solution is simple.

When the storms of life surround us and trouble is all around we run to the Rock of our Salvation – our Solid Ground – our Strong Tower.

We draw near to Him in prayer and through His Word.

In prayer we draw near in petition and supplication – and He answers. Sometimes it’s not the answer we expected – but He answers – by giving us wisdom, discernment and above all peace that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

We speak to Him in prayer and He answers through His Word as well as the wise counsel and support of mature and Spirit-led brothers and sisters in Christ.

When our situations and circumstances perplex us I urge you to draw near to God in prayer – as an individual – but also with trusted brothers and sisters. There is power in praying together.

Reach out to mature Christians in your life and let them help you in the difficulty you are facing.

And above all, let God speak to you through your conscience, but above all through His Word – which really does have all the answers.

Finally, trust in God!

And if you persevere you will make it through the other side and realize that He was with you all along! Every step of the way!

He is near to those who are discouraged and saves those who have lost all hope! (Psalm 34:18). He is our strength and refuge! Our ever-present help in times of trouble! (Psalm 46). He wipes away our tears and binds up the broken hearted! He sets the captives free! He picks us up, dusts us off and puts us back on Solid Ground!

He never leaves us. He never forsakes us.

We are just sometimes blinded by what is in front of us – looking at the waves rather than Jesus walking on the water.

But He is with you. There is a way out. There is a solution. There is hope.

There is always Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, I need You. Your Word says that You are an ever-present help in times of trouble. Your Word promises that You are near to those who are discouraged – our Strong Tower and Refuge. Be my Refuge today, Lord. Be my Shelter in the storm. Be the Light upon my path. Grant me wisdom and discernment and help me see that You are busy making the way where there seems to be no way. Guide my decisions. Guide my words. Guide my actions. Help me see Your hand in my situation today and lead me to find rest in You. In the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

Run to the Father

Run to the Father

by | Apr 25, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“My heart has been in Your sights
Long before my first breath
Running into Your arms
Is running to life from death
And I feel this rush deep in my chest
Your mercy is calling out
Just as I am You pull me in
And I know I need You now”

Run to the Father, Cody Carnes

“4 For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love 5 He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— “

Ephesians 1:4-5:

From before the creation of the world – before the foundations of the Earth was laid – God in His infinite wisdom knew you.

Not only did He know you – all of your flaws, faults and failures included – but He loved you.

Not only did He lay the foundations of the Earth – but from the very beginning He was laying the foundation for our redemption and salvation. He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ.

I faced a lot of rejection as a kid. Not at home – but at school definitely. Being born with a clubfoot and walking with a limp, unable to participate in the activities that many of the other kids participated in – I was a bit of a pariah on my good days and prey for the piranhas on every other day.

There would be more rejection as I grew older.

We all face rejection – some of us more than others – but all of us feel the sting of being pushed aside, all of us face the burden of not feeling good enough and all of us carry our insecurities – often on our sleeves.

Whether this rejection is in the context of family, sports teams, career opportunities, romantic relationships, social groups – we realise that it is not realistic to believe that we will be celebrated or even accepted everywhere. We all face rejection in varying degrees of severity.

I would, later in life, become a drug addict. I would embrace my outcast status and separate myself even more from my community, my family and even myself.

I had a very strange relationship with Jesus during this time. I kicked against God and His plan for my life – I tested His love and His grace like a rebellious teenager tests his parents. I could not understand or comprehend this kind of love – this love that would see me at my worst and still choose me.

Yet, as much as I rebelled and as much as I was kicking against His love and His will – I did not let go of Him either. Whenever it seemed like I was slipping too far I would reach out – and like a child grabbing the leg of his fathers pants or the seam of his mothers dress in a crowd – in the midst of the chaos and the noise of my life I would grab onto the hem of His mercy and His grace.

Like Saul I kicked against the goads. Like Jacob I wrestled with God during this time.

But thank God He never separated Himself from me.

Jesus hung on the Cross with open arms welcoming the sinner, the downtrodden, the weary and the lost – “come to me and I will give You rest!”

With arms wide open He hung on that Cross.

The face, the grace and the embrace of God is found in Jesus Christ.

Today I beg you to come to this conclusion – that no matter what rejection you have faced – no matter what mistakes you made and no matter what your burden of insecurity looks like – God chose you!

Before He said “let there be light” the light of His love was shining on your future.

We just have to open our eyes and see it.

Today I beg you to come to this conclusion – to realize that people might have pushed you aside in the past, but God calls you closer. People might have disappointed you, hurt you – even hated you – but Jesus is the love of God made manifest. God chose you from before the heavens were imagined, since before the creation of the Earth – He knew you. He loved you. He chose you.

Flaws and all.

You might have fallen from grace. Circumstances, situations and the storms of life might have you feeling broken, battered and unloved – you might be at the bottom of your rock bottom right now – but God is calling you to get back up and to start running from death to life.

He is waiting with open arms.

It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done – it doesn’t change His love for you – what matters is where you go from here.

Run towards freedom. Run towards healing. Run towards restoration.

Run to the Father today.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for Your great and unfailing love. I thank You for the mercy and grace You poured out upon the Cross for me. I thank You Lord that when I come to You my sins are washed away, my shortcomings are cast into the deepest depths and my iniquity removed as far as the East is from West. I thank You Lord that in Your presence there is freedom from addiction, healing from hurt and deliverance from insecurity and fear. Open the eyes of my heart today Lord so that I might see Your love shine here in my life today. I might have felt uncared for, unloved and pushed aside by people and through situations in my life – but You will never leave me or forsake me. Flood my life with Your presence today. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Never Lost: Worship Devotional

Never Lost: Worship Devotional

by | Feb 28, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

Psalm 116:1-2:

“I love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.”

Israel – throughout the Old Testament – suffered many trials and tribulations, fought many wars, endured famine, nakedness, captivity and sword… But God prevailed – He heard them every time they called. He never lost a battle.

I have had situations in my life where everything seemed impossible – where the waves seemed to overwhelm, the tempest raging around me.

I have had circumstances in my life that can’t be shared here, because it is not for the faint of heart – but the long and short of it is that I should have been dead. I could’ve, if it weren’t for the grace of God, easily been in an early grave.

I have seen, in my short life time, miracles upon miracles – I have seen debts being cancelled, families restored, bones straightened, tumours shrink – I have seen, through the power of a humble, earnest prayer (no shouting, no big words, no theatrics) a man on his deathbed restored to life.

And these are just the testimonies in my own life and the lives of those closest to me- miracles of provision, miracles of healing, miracles of restoration – there are a few of them happening around me right now.

Jesus said, in a conversation with His disciples: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19)

Job declares the following in Job 42, after the Lord confronts his unbelief and ignorance:

2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.

It is easy for us to react to our circumstances from a place of doubt and ignorance – when the waves obscure our vision, it is simpler for feet to fail and the soul to sink.

And perhaps now you are going through the tempest, through the fire, through the storm – perhaps you are facing the collapse of your business, the breakdown of your family unit or marriage, or a problem with your health – but I am here to encourage you to worship in the midst of this storm – to set your eyes upon the author and the finisher of our faith – turn your eyes upon Jesus.

One of the first passages of scripture I ever memorised and committed to heart was Psalm 27. This was my first step towards understanding the Bible in context rather than just having a loose collection of disjointed verses and declarations. I was thirteen years old, and remember reciting it whenever I had an opportunity.

At that stage I was being relentlessly bullied at school because of my club foot (I would actually leave school at the beginning of my second year of highschool because of the bullying). I did not fit in – I was different. And the only comfort I really had was in these verses:

“1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.

It might feel like a war has broken out against you. I have my fair share of battle scars – and I can tell you that the enemy has never prevailed – Jesus has never lost a battle!

In my addiction – God won the battle!

In the wake and aftermath of a toxic marriage and divorce – God won the battle!

In my depression and anxiety – God won the battle!

Every time a war breaks out around me the Lord prepares a table, even in the face of the enemy, even in the midst of the battlefield – and tells me to come and be still. He raises His banner. He fights for me.

I hear the words of encouragement Moses speaks to the Israelites: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14)

The Lord is our Light, He is our Salvation – and He is the Stronghold – the Strong Tower in which we find shelter from the storm.

He is our Defender and He is our Warrior King – the One Who Goes Before – and makes straight the way before us.

He has never lost a battle. Your situation, your circumstances, your diagnosis might seem impossible to man – but with God all things are possible!

He is setting a table for you today, in the midst of the battle and in the face of your enemies – He is giving you a front row seat for the victory to come.

He has never lost a battle and He never will.

Prayer: Lord, I declare today that You are the stronghold of my life. You are my light and my salvation. I declare today that You are the Mighty One who saves – and because of this I will fear no evil. Every enemy will stumble and fall in the mighty name of Jesus. I declare today that You are my victory. You set a table for me even in the face of my enemies – and I will rest and trust in You. You will fight for me. Your ways are higher, Your plans are better – I surrender to Your will for my life. I will trust You in the heat of the battle. I will be still and know You are God. You are my Victory. And I praise You, not only for what You have done, but also for what I know You are going to do. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Breathe

Breathe

by | Feb 25, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence
Living in me”

This Is The Air I Breathe, Hillsong

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.“

Genesis 2:7, NKJV

Jeremiah 29:13-14:  “You will seek (baqash) me and find me when you seek (darash) me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”

As a former addict and alcoholic I spent a lot of time in 12 Step Meetings. One of the hardest hitting ideas in the Twelve Steps to me personally is step 11: “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”

CONSCIOUS CONTACT. When we look at the Word spoken through Jeremiah in the passage above we see that the Lord does not hide Himself from us – He isn’t hard to find – but it takes a sort of effort from our side.

Looking at the Hebrew words BAQASH and DARASH in this passage we find that the Lord requires two things of us.

“Baqash’ is also translated as ‘desire’, to ‘plead’ or ‘beg for’ and to ‘aim’. 

‘Darash’ is to get up and go looking, to ‘ask’, to ‘study’, to ‘call’.

What God is saying is: “I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU when you DESIRE ME, set your sights on Me – HUNGER AND THIRST for Me – and then ACT ON THAT DESIRE by LOOKING, by ASKING, by STUDYING, by CALLING.”

Our ‘contact’ with God needs to be ‘conscious’ – born of desire and pursued with action. Our ‘contact’ or ‘finding God’ should be intentional – an exercise in mindfulness.

I would like to add the word ‘constant’ to the mix.

Scripture encourages us to ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thes. 5:16-18, Luke 18:1:), to pray about everything (Phil 4:6:), to meditate on His Word day and night (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-2:) – Scripture encourages us to be consistent in our efforts for ‘conscious contact’. Scripture calls for CONSTANT CONSCIOUS CONTACT.

The Psalmist in Psalm 116 proclaims: I will praise Him as long as I live –  as long as I have breathe in my lungs – I will praise Him!

In Genesis 2:7: we read that God breathed life into Adam – and his lungs reacted – expanded, inhaled, exhaled… 

If worship is our response to our Creator, our response to the goodness and glory of God (Psalm 116) then Adam’s response to his Creator was the first act of worship.

If we meditate on this a little bit we might come to realize that our worship, our prayer, our meditation – our seeking out the Lord should be as breathing to us.

Just like breath is life to the body, so also prayer, meditation, the study of His Word, and our worship is life to our souls. 

God wants to dwell in our midst – He doesn’t want to come and visit once in a while. He doesn’t need a holiday home. He wants to tabernacle here among us. He wants to establish His throne here and now in our hearts and in our lives. He desires to be with us.

And all we have to do is breathe.

All we need to do is start being present in His presence. Being mindful of maintaining that constant conscious contact with the Lord.

Worship should become a lifestyle. Prayer should become a lifestyle. His presence should be the air we breathe. His Word should be the daily bread that feeds and sustains us.

God is not hiding. He is just waiting for you to make a move

God is still breathing life into dry bones. It is time you let your lungs respond.

Prayer: Lord, right now I invite Your Holy Spirit to come and invade my life. Let Your love and presence flood my soul. Hear the longing and the thirsting of my heart as I acknowledge that I am lost without You. Bring water to dry places Lord, feed me and restore me. Give me the wisdom to seek You, and as I seek You let it become like breathing to me. Ignite a fire in my heart that burns for You – awaken and stir up a longing that desires You above all else – and as I seek You Lord, I know You are faithful. As I seek You Lord, do not hide Your face from me, but allow me to see and experience the beauty of Your presence in my life today. Amen.

My Chains Are Gone

My Chains Are Gone

by | Feb 25, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“My chains are gone, I’ve been set freeMy God, my Savior has ransomed meAnd like a flood His mercy reignsUnending loveAmazing grace“

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), Chris Tomlin

“He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.”

Psalm 107:14

Speaking about the thorn in his flesh, Paul writes the following in 2 Corinthians 12:

”9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

A little over 8 years ago I was living a double life. I was a youth pastor and worship leader, but also a drug addict and alcoholic. I had my own thorn in my flesh.

All of this culminated in me ending up on the cold, concrete floor of the local jail.

I was arrested twice in that time – once by the local authorities – and after that by the grace and mercy of our God.

It was in that time that I encountered God like never before.

I have become increasingly grateful for His mercy and grace. Grace is often defined as ‘getting what you did not deserve’. Mercy on the other hand is ‘not getting what you DO deserve’.

The fact that I fully deserved the judgement, not only of man and the legal system, but also the judgement of God Almighty – but was given mercy instead – causes me to tremble. Leaves me astonished.

When I think of the times I should’ve died – near overdoses, hanging out with guns and gangsters, bad batches and bad friends – I am grateful to be alive today.

8 years ago today I stepped into my last ‘first’ 12 Step Meeting. I had relapsed the day before (after stringing together +/- 3 months of sobriety and narrowly escaping a 6 month prison sentence I still had not learnt my lesson), but had returned to the fold again – this time taking that first step on purpose.

That meeting ended with a prayer. Just before the prayer we all stood holding hands in a circle, and someone said: “We stand this way to remind ourselves we need never stand alone again, unless we choose to…”

These words have kept me clean. 

I know that my life has not been ideal – that I have not lived a perfect life – but I am grateful that God never let go of me, and that even throughout my addiction, even throughout my clinical depression, mental illness, physical infirmity and moments of doubt and fear I have always found shelter in Him. I had to go through darkness – even though I have served Him (even in my addiction, with all my flaws and failures, I was faithful and committed) just over 2 decades – to know the fullness of His grace and mercy. The fact that even at my darkest He saw me. Even at my lowest He loved me. And He NEVER LET GO. He promised us: “I will never leave or forsake you – I will never let you be alone!”

Just like He promised Joshua: ‘Be strong and of good courage, I am with you!” He is with you!

I am writing this post for the families of the addicted. There is hope. Your husband, wife, daughter, son, brother, sister – they can recover! They can still come home! No matter how far they may have strayed.

Finally and foremostly I am writing this post to carry the message of hope to the still suffering addict and alcoholic – to carry the light back into darkness and call more of the suffering, broken and weary back home.

Jesus says: come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. (Matt 11:28-30)

If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, if you are broken and weary, if you are still suffering in silence – know that you are not alone.

If you have a problem with drugs or alcohol – so did I.

Come fall before the mercy and grace of Jesus. Let His love flood Your soul.

And if you ever need a friend, come lean on me.

I am writing this for you. You are not alone. We will love you until you learn to love yourself. You don’t ever need to be alone again.

Prayer: Thank You Lord that I am not alone in my trials and my tribulations. Thank You Lord that You hear me when I call and that those who put their trust in You have never been put to shame. You are the chain breaker. You are the miracle worker. And I thank You Lord that You are working freedom in my life today. I thank You that You are silencing the voices of fear and insecurity, and that I will hear the tender whispers of Your heart today. Remind me today, Lord, of the places I have been and help me be a faithful witness of Your love, grace and mercy to those who are still going through their storms. In Jesus name. Amen.