Tag: midweek devotions

Midweek Message – A Divine Conclusion

church devotions, Psalm devotions

Psalm 51:10   Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (NIV)

Have you ever seen the old French film called ‘The Red Balloon’? It was made in Paris a year before I was born and tells the tale of a young boy who is befriended by a red balloon. The balloon and the boy become inseparable, and it follows him all over the streets of Paris. The film only lasts about 35 minutes, and it has been my favorite movie ever since I first saw it as a young lad.

The film depicts both happiness and sadness in simple ways and even when a tragedy occurs, there is a wonderful sequence of hope being renewed at the end of the movie. As I write this devotion, I can still see the beautiful conclusion in my mind’s eye. I won’t give it away – you’ll have to watch the movie yourself and be pleasantly captivated by it.

Sometimes I think that our individual lives are movies that only God can see. He knows all of the things that we have done, the moments that have impacted us deeply, the joys we have experienced and the sadnesses that we still carry. There is nothing hidden from God, so He could be justified in separating Himself from us after death, but instead He wants to give us a beautiful conclusion where we become reunited and restored to Him forever. That’s why King David, in today’s highlighted verse, prayed to God to clean his heart and renew his spirit: he wanted that beautiful conclusion which only God’s grace and forgiveness could bring.

Perhaps you feel as though you’ve done something which will separate you from God. Maybe you have a deep regret about a deed that has caused some distance between you and God. If so, then please know this – God can and will forgive you, just by asking Him to do so, even now as you read this. As the apostle Paul once wrote long ago: ‘For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ – Romans 8:38-39.

Point to ponder: Am I willing to hand over my regrets to the Lord and be cleansed with God’s Love?

Prayer: Lord God, create clean hearts within us and renew our spirits this day. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

PS: If you’ve never seen it, you can freely view the movie online at this link: The Red Balloon.

John Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor, now living in Knoxville, TN.

Midweek Message: The Other Good Samaritan

Devotions

01s The Other Good SamaritanLuke 17:15-16 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.  He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. (NIV)

In many years of ministry, I have seen people who were truly thankful to God for help and healing. Their lives were changed in a single moment, so they devoted themselves to worshiping and serving God for the rest of their days. I, also, am one of them because when God heard my cry for help about my alcoholism, He graciously answered my anxious prayer by restoring me physically, mentally, and above all, spiritually. I was made into a new person and decided to follow Jesus for the rest of my life.

The other Good Samaritan in the Bible passage from Luke 17:11-19 does the same. He is one of ten lepers who is miraculously healed by Jesus. He is sent to get this confirmed by a local priest so that he can rejoin his family and community. But as soon as he realizes that he has been healed of that terrible painful, disfiguring disease, he stops running away from Christ and returns to give Him thanks. He knows the source of his cure, so rather than going immediately to his priest and family, he humbly thanks Jesus by falling on his knees before Him, glorifying and praising God loudly.

Jesus appreciates this act of gratitude, but He is also perplexed. The other nine are nowhere to be seen, even though they are all His own people. Only this Samaritan is grateful for what has occurred; only this outsider recognizes what Christ has miraculously done for al ten lepers.

I have also seen people who have been restored physically, whose prayers for healing have been answered perfectly, whose worries and anxieties, issues and illnesses have been positively dealt with by God and yet they remain thankless. Instead of returning to Christ and worshiping Him, they take their cure for granted and get on with their lives, focusing on themselves first and ignoring any notion of recognizing what God has mercifully done in them. It’s sad to see and very disappointing, but Christ also experienced this many times throughout His life.

Wherever we are and however we feel today, let’s not forget what Christ has done in each of our lives. Let’s be thankful that we exist even for another day and make time to be grateful to God for all that He has graciously, and perhaps even miraculously, done for us.

Point to ponder: How has God positively changed my life? How do I show Him my gratitude?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, there are many times that You have helped us throughout our lives. You have listened to our prayers and enabled us to overcome illnesses and issues that have seriously troubled us. May we never take Your compassion and grace for granted. May we also seek to worship and glorify You for the rest of our days. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.