Bring some Spirit-filled peace into your hectic schedule every weekday morning with this new Daily Devotional. Start your day with God Renew your spirit Refocus your faith
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Day 79 - Issue 37
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READ: Matthew 5.3 NLT “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” Robert Powell acted the part of Jesus in Franco Zeffirelli’s film Jesus of Nazareth. He claims that his life was changed by the experience and recalls the day when he was filming the Sermon on the Mount. Powell had no time for Christianity but as he preached the sermon he said that he was so affected by its beauty that he began to cry. The tears were not in the script but …
Day 78 - Issue 37
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READ: Isaiah 59.1-2 NLT Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. If God feels far away, guess who moved. Isaiah makes it clear that the answer is decisively not God. Throughout the years people have lashed out at God because he seemed so distant. Have you ever had that feeling that your prayers were bouncing off the ceiling …
Day 77 - Issue 37
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READ: Isaiah 58.6-7 NLT “This is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.” It is incredibly sad that Isaiah’s words written more than 2,500 years ago still apply today. There continue to be people who are wrongly imprisoned, hungry and homeless. God’s word to us today is, therefore, …
Day 76 - Issue 37
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READ: Isaiah 58.4 NLT “What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarrelling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.” Nothing is more unattractive than hypocrisy. When I have talked to people who don’t go to church, time and again they have pointed out the gap between churchgoers’ faith and actions. This was precisely the situation that Isaiah was addressing. The people were regular in their attendance at the Temple and they said all the right things. They seemed …
Day 75 - Issue 37
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READ: Isaiah 57.20-21 NLT “Those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt. There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God. It was Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in his famous Confessions who observed,” Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” There is no doubt that Augustine was reflecting on his own life. He had lived a promiscuous life before he became a Christian at the …
Day 74 - Issue 37
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READ: Isaiah 56.9-11 NLT Come, wild animals of the field! Come, wild animals of the forest! Come and devour my people! For the leaders of my people—the Lord’s watchmen, his shepherds— are blind and ignorant. They are like silent watchdogs that give no warning when danger comes. They love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming. Like greedy dogs, they are never satisfied. As a church leader I find these words incredibly challenging and agonisingly sad. I am sure that we have all known church …
Day 73 - Issue 37
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READ: Isaiah 56.6 NLT “I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord, who serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who hold fast to my covenant.” In the Old Testament, God’s people were often told to be welcoming to foreigners. God’s love was not confined to the Jews and they were reminded that, as a nation, they used to be foreigners in Egypt so it was only right that they should be generous and loving towards …
Day 72 - Issue 37
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READ: Isaiah 56.1-2 NLT 'Be just and fair to all. Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you and to display my righteousness among you. Blessed are all those who are careful to do this.' Justice is a major theme throughout the book of Isaiah. From the first chapter, God declares his hatred of every form of injustice and his unwillingness to receive the worship of people who refuse to act justly. God declares that he has had more than enough of the people’s sacrifices and is …
Day 71 - Issue 37
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READ: Isaiah 55.10-11 NLT 'The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.' There is something about me that you need to know, and that is that I am incredibly excited writing these daily devotionals. Believe me, that’s …
Day 70 - Issue 37
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READ: Isaiah 55.8-9 NLT “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Life is full of mysteries. Every day tragedies occur and people scream out to God that life is not fair. As we reach out to others in their times of loss we would love to be able to offer an explanation, but we cannot. The …
Day 69 - Issue 37
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READ: Isaiah 55.1-2 NLT 'Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink – even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk – it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.' Much of Isaiah’s prophecy is dominated by the theme of judgement. The people had wandered away from God and had lived lives that were a complete disappointment to him. They …
Day 68 - Issue 37
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READ: Acts 7.59-60 NLT As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died. Stephen was one of the seven people who were appointed to handle the distribution of food to the widows. Chapter 7 reveals that he was also a very fine preacher. He delivered a careful exposition of the Old Testament story which showed that God had repeatedly raised up men to act as deliverers of his people, …
Day 67 - Issue 37
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READ: Acts 6.1 NLT 'But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.' If you have ever been part of a church or other human organisation you will know exactly what is meant by rumblings of discontent! They are part of life and are exhausting. It isn’t open war, but it isn’t something that can be …
Day 66 - Issue 37
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READ: Acts 5.38-39 NLT Gamaliel said, “My advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!” The success of Peter and John’s healing and preaching ministry was deeply irritating to the Jewish authorities. They were anxious to silence them but nothing seemed to be working. They tried …