Devotion by Trevor Bradley

Do you ever wake up full of the ‘joys’, only to have that ripped away and replaced by the unexpected?  The foundations of your world have gone from immovable to marshmellow …

There’s a start to a chapter in 2 Chronicles 20 that showcases this.  It starts out like this – “AND THEN IT HAPPENED” …. They never saw it coming.

Max Lucado says: “GOD will see you through this.It might not be painless. But HE WILL take that which seems will harm,and use it/turn it around,for your good…HE WILL see you through”

How can we be sure?….. Because of the promise HE has given to us.  Proverbs 3 vs 5-6: “Trust in the Lord (the GOD  who is able. The mover of mountains. EL- the all-powerful one) wholeheartedly (with all that is within you. Stake it all on HIM) and do not lean on own understanding (wisdom,ability,gifts).  In ALL that is happening acknowledge that HE IS in control, and HE WILL direct your ways/paths (Psalm 32 vs 8 : ‘I will instruct you and teach you in the way you must go. With my eye watching over you, I will counsel/direct you’).

That’s HIS promise to you today. HIS word of truth. HIS assurance.

SO?

Psalm 46 vs 10 says “Let go,relax,and let God be God”.   Easy?   ……. Never ….  Is it contrary to what you believe you ought to do and the system tells you to do?  You bet.  But I would rather put my “what now” in HIS hands than in the hands of anyone else.

Wouldn’t  you?

Frank Retief was pastor at St James Church Cape Town for 31 years, having planted the church in 1968 with his wife Beulah.  He became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of England in South Africa until he retired in 2010.  Frank remains active in ministry through preaching, teaching, pastoral work & writing, and has authored a number of books.

 No Answer

Luke 18 v 1. Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

For many believers it is a mystery why there are times when God just does not appear to hear their prayers, or to deliver them out of some great need. It can be very discouraging and spiritually frustrating when the Father who sustains the world and has promised to care for His own children, seems to bring no breakthrough for us. What is this all about?In the bible passage alluded to today, Jesus tells a parable about a woman who needed some help against an adversary. She turned to the law, but the law let her down because the very one who should have protected her was unjust.

What did this woman do?The answer is she persisted. The judge said “this widow keeps bothering me.” So finally he granted her request. I do not know why God does not seem to answer us immediately in our time of need. But what we all know is that our Father is not unjust, but just and caring. Listen to Jesus’ words in Luke 18 v 7. “Will He keep putting them off?” The answer is of course, no, he won’t. He will see that they get justice. Our problem is that we have the way God should answer our prayers, all worked out in our minds. But God has His own sovereign will, and according to verse 1 “We should always pray and NOT give up.” Keep trusting Him, even when there are no apparent answers from Heaven. He hears us. He is our Heavenly Father.

Prayer:  O God my strength is exhausted. I feel discouraged and very low. Still I will trust you. You know me and you know my need. Amen.

Follow Frank Retief’s daily blog on http://frankretief.co.za/

Purchase your book requirements from our online shopping cart,
Email orders@christianbooks.co.za or
Visit one of our stores

Frank Retief was pastor at St James Church Cape Town for 31 years, having planted the church in 1968 with his wife Beulah.  He became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of England in South Africa until he retired in 2010.  Frank remains active in ministry through preaching, teaching, pastoral work & writing, and has authored a number of books.

Backslidden

Luke 22:62: “And he went outside and wept bitterly.” 

The reason for Peter’s tears was his failure to stand by Christ in his time of ordeal. Instead he denied Christ and his inner world crashed in on him. 

This is what it means to be backslidden. It is to let our love of the world supercede our love for Christ. We lose our taste for spiritual things and the view of life we once had becomes dimmed. Our lives undergo a change and we are no longer ardent about Christ nor zealous to see others brought to faith in Him. Sometimes our confusion about conversion stems from the fact that we have silently backslidden and have lost our grip on Christ.  

There are many reasons why people backslide. It could be the devil’s old trick of helping us to fall in love with the wrong person, or it could be the disapproval of family and friends, as it could be the simple busyness of life and the distractions of earning a living, paying our debts, and caring for our families. Who knows? There are a million reasons why we lose our grip on Christ. 

But here’s the thing. It may well be that your state of backsliding is evidence that you were never a real Christian in the first place and now the old life, the real you, is beginning to show through. That’s a possibility. 

On the other hand, it is possible that your backsliding is a temporary setback and you have momentarily caved into some pressure. But how do you know which? 

Well, in Peter’s case, Jesus met him later, after his resurrection and asked Peter: “Do you love me”. He asked three times. And Peter, in spite of what he must have been feeling was able to say: “Yes Lord I love you”. 

True love for Christ, rooted in the new nature, will eventually break through. The sign that you are a Christian is that you leave your backsliding and return to the Lord. Conversely the sign you are not a Christian is that you simply don’t care. Which is it with you? 

Prayer

Dear Lord, please protect me from the influences of the world, the flesh and the devil. Please keep me spiritually safe.

Follow Frank Retief’s daily blog on http://frankretief.co.za/

Purchase your book requirements from our online shopping cart,
Email orders@christianbooks.co.za or
Visit one of our stores

Candice is a busy wife to Matt and mom of Noah (5) and Tyler (3 going on 21). Candice also works part-time at our Rosebank Store of Christian Book Discounters. In her spare time Candice writes for her own blog and is a travel consultant.

SUSPENDED COFFEE AND GROCERIES

I read up a couple of weeks ago about this idea of suspended coffee. I’d never heard of it, and its apparently an idea that’s in operation all over the USA but I was totally keen to try it.

Suspended coffee works in some coffee shops, where if you buy a coffee, you can say “One decaf to go and one suspended.” In essence, you’re paying for two coffees but one is suspended. Someone in need, for example, a homeless person, a family in need ~ when they come into the coffee shop, they know to ask for a suspended coffee and they receive a free one because of you, paying for one. Stunning idea and really just demonstrates an act of kindness and giving to those who can’t even afford a simple luxury of coffee in the morning.

So, because I’m not really a coffee drinker, I decided to rope my kids in when we do grocery shopping, in a kinda “Suspended Grocery Shopping” idea. When I take my two little ninjas in the trolley down the aisle at the grocery store, whatever they choose as a treat, they throw another one in the trolley for “a baby who doesn’t have one.” Living in South Africa, my kids come into contact with loads of kids who are less fortunate than they are so I pack the extra goodies in my car. It’s never anything big, maybe like a sucker, or a packet of chips, or a boxed juice, but my kids are slowly learning that things that they have, some kiddies aren’t fortunate to have themselves. When we come across a little girl or boy that is in need, we can dig into the stockpile we have and hand it out. Not only is it a blessing to the little kiddie in need, but it’s a HUGE blessing to my two babies to see how much joy they bring to someone by just sharing something they take for granted everyday. Again, it’s being someone’s smile, even just for a few moments.

Being only 3 and 5 years old, my children still have so much to learn. They are only just beginning to find out what they’re capable of, and just because they’re tiny, doesn’t mean they can’t change the world for good, for Jesus. My kids and I have this little line we always say. I say to them “I may be small” and they end it off with “But with God’s help, I can do big things.” Me, as their mommy ~ I have to show them now that even the smallest things now, make an eternal impact ~ and that’s not restricted to their age at all. I pray every day that my kids, starting now at 3 and 5 years old, will start to realise the kind of impact they can make on the world.

Purchase your parenting book requirements from our online shopping cart,
Email orders@christianbooks.co.za