Quality reading..

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We all have them don’t we?  That little pile of books that we keep in the loo room for those times of boredom.  In our house we have a bible, a devotion book and a random book about wasps or something like that for those that fancy some random interesting facts about something random.

My friend and I have had interesting moments (separately might I add) with the devotion book that sits in our downstairs loo. It’s almost like that book has a set of ears, and gives freakishly timely thoughts and words as though it’s heard our previous conversation prior to that moment of “relief”.  It makes us laugh.  We have even been known to go consult the “book in the loo” to see what it thinks about the current state of events.

So today’s page inspires my thought for today and gives words to something that has already been stirring my heart.

“Having devotions and being devoted are two different things”

Devotions stir our hearts and seal a quality time in the presence of God our father.  It’s good to set aside time in any relationship for it to grow. Time and love are entangled in a dance together – we spend time with those we love, doing what we love.

The more time we spend with people, the more we become like them.  The same is true in our spiritual relationship with God. The more time we spend in His presence the more we become like Him.  It’s impossible to not be changed when we spend time with Him.  For this reason – devotions are great.

But it’s not about having devotions. It’s about being devoted.

And being devoted looks like something. And it’s not complicated. This for me is summed up in Matthew 22

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

A devotion to God, and being devoted to His mission – people.

It really is simple – LOVE GOD and LOVE PEOPLE

It’s impossible to separate our devotion to God without being devoted to His cause.

It’s impossible to spend time with God and not come away with a love for His people – ALL people. Because God is all about people.  And I often wonder how short I fall in this when I worry only about me and mine.

As the church we are called to be loved (by Him) and be love (to people) – but love is more than an emotional feeling towards someone or something. It’s an action word – it requires action. We can say we love all day long, saying it is easy. But it should look like something more, it’s our faith in action.

I’m challenged by this. I want this to the most natural thing in my life – to love as an action – not forced, box ticking love because I have to, but a genuine, real expression of God’s heart for people. But the reality is, for me to love like that – it has to flow from my relationship with God, who is the first giver of a love like that. No strings attached – loving because He is love.

Love from the centre of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Romans 12: 9-10 (MSG)

So keep having devotions – but may that time keep you devoted to the great heart of God. Love God and love People – action – it looks like something more than mere words.

My Redeemer lives…

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Sunday is here – the day of celebration. As if the sacrifice wasn’t enough – the Great Friday, the biggest expression of love anyone can show a person.  As if we needed more, than to know someone has given up THEIR life for ours. And yet we should know God by now – there is more. There is always more.

It was more than just a sacrificial action of love – the sacrifice served a purpose.

Jesus – the perfect, spotless, blameless one, came as fully God and yet fully man to accomplish one task.  To make a way for people to connect with His father. To take care of “once and for all” (Hebrews10), the very thing that separated God from His people.

He took our sin, He nailed it to a cross.

Colossians 2: 14-15  says “He cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.  In this way He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross”

The cross achieved so much more – he was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed (Isaiah 53 NLT)

So we now have –

1. A love that goes beyond anything we will experience here on earth, sacrificial, a gift, unconditional.

2. A sacrifice that disarms the enemy who is set out to destroy our lives.

3. Our debts paid so we could experience a wholeness – spirit, soul and body.

And then to top it all off and the reason we celebrate today, the final showdown – Jesus who dies on Friday, and achieving so much by his death, walks out of the tomb 3 days later – and it’s more than Him simply being alive again. For Him to be alive – He had to defeat death.  The final hold that the devil had on God’s people – the power of death, and Jesus defeats him in this grand finale to win mankind completely.

Death, where is your sting?

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had  the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. (Hebrews 2 v 14-15)

So death has no power and Jesus fully alive is why today is so incredibly important. Easter in incredible (chocolate is epic) but this entire thing will always be about Him.

We are forever changed at the cross, and fully alive in God because of the resurrected Jesus.

Happy Easter