Fallen Heights

 

S – Revelation 2: 4 - 5

 

‘Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.’

 

O – This is a very clear and confronting communication to my heart from the Lord. I see that it brings home to me the accountability and serious aspect of my relationship and discipleship with Jesus. This is not the Jesus of Nazareth who is giving me this perspective, but the risen and ascended Lord of Lords. He sees this as a serious issue to hold against me. There is a love scale in my connection and commitment that can diminish; there is a height that I can also fall from. This height is a measurement and expression of my love and zeal for the things and values of the Kingdom. I observe that I can fall from this awareness to a far lower place and level. It requires an addressing and action from me. To see it as serious and to repent And to do something about it. A doing again of the actions that was so reflective and responsive when love was exciting and enthusiastic. Then there is the consequence of not addressing this state, the Lord will intervene with serious action.

 

A - This is such a sobering communication for me. I find it so easy to become adjusted and desensitized to a diminishing love and devotion level that I don’t recognize it. It is though it can become acceptable to believe that it is OK and doesn’t require my attention or urgency. Yet I need to be aware of my decline and where compromise has come into my expression and relationship. Rather than my compromise and acceptance I need to repent and remember and do the things that were such a prominent part of my Christian life and devotion. I need to remember that the Lord sees this as a serious and significant situation. If I continue in neglect and denial it will disqualify me from being used in the purposes of God.

 

 

P – Lord this is a sobering message to my heart. I choose to repent and remember from where I have fallen, I choose to repent of those things that I do not do now that I used to do as first responses and desires as part of a first love relationship. Lord I ask that Holy Spirit will continually bring these issues and convictions before me for my response and rectification.

 

I get knocked down, but i get up again!!

Scripture:  Psalm 143:4-6.  ⁴ “I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.  ⁵ I remember the days of old.  I ponder your great works and think about what you have done.   ⁶ I lift my hands to you in prayer.  I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain”

 

Observation:  I love David’s progression in these verses.  From paralyzed fear to lifting his hands in prayer.  From a place of darkness & hopelessness to a recognition that there is one source of hope & light – the Lord Himself – and He becomes the one David seeks in the midst.  David is on a journey in this psalm – but the turning point seems to be where he turns his thoughts in verse 5 – to the great things he’s seen the Lord do in the past.  Perhaps out of a wishfulness & wistfulness to be there again.  Yet, as he ponders the good things of the past, he realizes that even where he is now is not too hard for his mighty God!  And now David starts to declare that God is who he will put his trust in – without any physical evidence before his eyes that anything in his circumstances has changed….in fact, he still admits his depression is deepening in the next verse!!  But is verse 5, his faith kicks in.  In verse 6, his faith becomes action as he physically lifts his hands in prayer.  And the whole tenor of the psalm changes from that point on!

 

Application:  I have the same choice before me when things are not going well.  When I feel overwhelmed, in darkness – even without hope.  I can wallow in it or I can direct my thoughts to the only One who can bring light & hope, who may not immediately change my circumstances, but who will hold me firm in the midst of them.  My thought-life is just so vital to my well-being!  The enemy may well knock me down – but I can get up again – because the One standing beside me to lift me up simply cannot be knocked down!!  So – even if all I can do is raise my hands in prayer, it is the first step up & out of any pit that has been dug for me!

 

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father, Thankyou that You are the light at the end of every tunnel in life.  That when I get knocked down, You are beside me to help me up, so I can get up again!!  May I always remember You and Your great works, so that, when I fell overwhelmed by life, when the enemy has knocked me down, I will be encouraged to allow faith to kick in and continue to put my trust, my hope, my life, into Your hands.  “May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing” (v 10b).  In Jesus’ name.  Amen

 

Sue Otto

Back to first things

Scripture

2 John 6 “Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning”.

 

Observation

John is writing to the church and its members to remember the core values of their belief. Not to get caught up in the squabbles of life but to remain pure in their faith, just as they had been in the beginning. He reminds them that love was a foundation in their conversion and that no matter how long it has been since that conversion experience we should never outgrow the basic foundation of loving one another.

 

Application

It’ like putting first things first. So often I feel like I’ve moved on to other grander tasks. But I realise that the foundations of my faith are essentials for me to build upon. I can’t discard them or feel they were for yesterday. They are imperative components of my future success. So I need to go back to the things I heard in the beginning and cherish them as valuable assets. I need to ensure the first things are secure in my life – and love for my fellow Christians is one of those. God commanded me to do so.

 

Prayer

Father, thankyou for loving me before I ever loved you. May I carry out that love toward my fellow man and through doing so bring glory to your name. Amen

 

Jim Jung

The great reveal!

Scripture:  1 John 1:7 “This one who is life itself was revealed to us & we have seen him.  And now we testify & proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life.  He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us”

 

Observation:  John is speaking from experience.  He has been privileged to actually walk with Jesus and see Him “in action” on the earth!  Yet even so, he still needed the Father to reveal to him the truth of who Jesus really is.  Jesus cannot be recognized as the Son of God without a revelation from God.  Even though we must choose to surrender our lives to Him to receive His gift of abundant life now & eternity with Him, it is God who must reveal who He is to us!  Another gift from God!  Another act of His mercy!  And a strategic area for those who do believe – to testify & proclaim the truth of that revelation to all those who don’t yet believe, whilst praying that the Lord will break through the hard shell of their unbelief to pierce their darkness with His revelation light.

 

Application:  I have received a great gift – the revelation of who Jesus really is.  What a privilege!  Yet it’s not a gift just for me.  It’s a gift to be given away. And my prayers must be that the Lord will give His gift of revelation of Himself to those who don’t yet know Him.  That He will reveal Himself for who He is – the Son of God – not just a nice idea, a good teacher, or a great moralist – but the very Son of God who loves us & died for us! The reality of that truth can only come by revelation.  That’s why there is always a party in Heaven when another dear one comes to the Lord.  God’s revelation of Himself has broken through the man-made and Satan-encouraged barriers that we have all put up when we resist the Lord’s love!  I must work towards others salvation, but I must pray for their openness to God’s revelation of Himself!!

 

Prayer:   Dear Heavenly Father, Thankyou for revealing who Jesus really is – Your Son – to me.  May this truth be the basis of my prayers for those who need You so desperately, but haven’t yet received this revelation.  I recognize that, whilst I must pray for others & point them to You as You have commanded, salvation is all from You, as You are the One who must reveal Yourself to mankind.  It takes the pressure off, Lord!!

 

In Jesus’ name

 

Amen

 

 

Sue Otto

Executive Administrator

Peninsula City Church
252 Frankston/Flinders Road,

Frankston, Victoria, Australia   3199
Telephone: +61 3 5971 2669
Facsimile: +61 3 5971 4213
Web Page: www.pencc.org

 

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Trust In Him

Scripture:

Jeremiah 48:4  ‘For you trusted in your wealth and skills therefore you shall perish’.

 

Observation:

God is certainly on the warpath!  He is letting all know that the Moabites are going to be destroyed.  Jeremiah did not have words of encouragement to say, but only words of destruction.  They were God’s words and Jeremiah had no choice but to obey and speak out.

God has said he will destroy the Moabites because of their trust in themselves of what they can do, their abilities, their accumulation of wealth.  We all know that we have to start somewhere, some-one needs to give you ‘a break’, an opportunity.  To obtain a skill, training needs to come from some-one and in turn the skill can be mastered to the degree of your time and effort being invested and in due time a living can be obtained and wealth can be enjoyed.

Application:

I have been trained by a skilled teacher to touch type without looking at the keys!  I have had some great employment opportunities to use that skill to obtain a steady income.  But if I trust completely in my skills, I am no better than any other typist.  My skills and wealth is ok to have, however, my trust needs to be wholly and completely with my God who gave me the ability to type and gain an income.

My trust needs to be completely in my God who really does supply all my needs.  He is my source of strength and hope.  He will sustain me, not my abilities.  They may come and go and I need to lay all my skills and wealth at His feet for I know I am nothing without my God.

 

Prayer:

Lord, your spoken words of destruction to the Moabites I have heard and apply it to my life.  My trust is not in my skills or wealth as much as I rely on them and want to hang onto, I need to let go and trust that you are my source in all things.

 

Terry B 

 

Life in the Power of His Name

Scripture:  John 20:3 “But these are written so that you may continua to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him, you will have life by the power of his name”

 

Observation:  The Apostle John’s reason for writing his gospel is clear – to encourage believers to “keep on keeping on”, and to bring others to believe in Jesus.  Why?  That they may have life in the power of His name.  Life in the midst of difficulties.  Life in the midst of death.  Even life after physical death.  Life both now & into eternity.  A new life.  An abundant life.  A deeper, more fulfilling life than even a “good” life lived without the Lord.  Jesus spoke peace – shalom – to His disciples each time He met them in the narrative of John Chapter 20.  Peace that passes all understanding.  Peace in the face of anything in the world that may cause a lack of peace.  Life, peace, fulfilment, hope, joy.  In a  deep & abiding measure, today & into eternity.  That’s what “life in the power of His name” is all about.

 

Application:   Life & Death.  This is the great issue.  Physical death comes to us all.  Physical life is given to us all – yet there is one choice that is essential to make in life – will we live as believers “in the power of His name” or not?  Right now, I am  sitting at the hospital bedside of my father-in-law – his deathbed -and I realise how critical this question is.  I realise what a difference it makes to have life by the power of Jesus’ name, that even as death is faced head-on, it’s not the end, & Jesus promises His “Shalom” in the midst.  Even as death is confronted, Life in Christ is greater.  I know because I know because I know.  And whilst there is sadness, there is also assurance of Christ’s love, His peace, and, yes, His victory over death itself.

 

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father, thankyou for Your peace, Your Shalom in the midst of darkness & difficulty – even that of death.  I thank You for the assurance that You watch over all my comings & goings, and that, when death comes for the believer, You pull the curtain aside that covers the mystery of death, so that Your glory might be revealed.  Thank you for Your life, life lived in the power of Jesus’ name.  In Jesus’ name.   Amen

 

PS  My father-in-law died about an hour after this was written – peacefully, with his family around him.

More than you can bear

S – John 16; 12-14

 

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

 

O - The grief of the disciples in not being able to bear more of the great things Jesus wanted to tell them. There is an unending revelation that Jesus wants to reveal and the Holy Spirit wants to convey. The whole assignment of the Holy Spirit is to make known what is to come both for my own life and destiny but also for the deeper understanding and purposes of God. It seems the disciples were so and understandably affected by the grief that Jesus was leaving to return to the Father that this incredible communication from Jesus was being lost.

 

A – This brings into focus again the importance of my relationship and communication with Holy Spirit. I wonder how many times I have lost His impact in my life because I cannot see past some of the grief and circumstantial issues that I experience in life. The much more I have to say to you is lost because my eyes and concerns are fixed in other places or issues. Yet the focus of Holy Spirit is to reveal truth and understandings of events and happenings that I cannot even begin to comprehend. How I need to keep this before me and not allow the pain and disappointments that occur in the natural to rob me of this incredible communication into my spirit from Holy Spirit.

 

P – Lord forgive me when my natural emotions and focus rob me from experiencing the guidance and revelation that Holy Spirit is assigned to reveal. I don’t want it to be a ‘more than you can bear experience.

Sickness of the soul

‘God, pick up the pieces. Put me back together again. You are my praise!’ –Jeremiah (17:14)

 

Sometimes a person needs healing in his or her emotions. This is the case with Jeremiah.  In the circumstances in which he was called, emotional support and healing were necessary. Also, being rejected by those who he was called to preach to further bruised his soul.  Declaring the Lord to be his praise indicates Jeremiah’s revelation of how he would receive the healing for which he prayed.

 

When I am facing ‘sickness of the soul’ I need to recognise that the resource of praise is an instrument of the Lord for healing.

 

Father, Jeremiah’s prayer is my prayer.  Father, would you pick up the pieces? The areas of complete weakness, would you empower with your strength? The feelings of unworthiness, would you envelop in your righteousness? Put me together again. You are my praise! Have the place of full honour in my life.

 

Hayley

Return

Scripture:

Jeremiah 15:19, The Lord replied, if you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me.  If you speak words that are worthy, you will be my spokesman.  You are to influence them, do not let them influence you!

 

Observation:  Jeremiah did not feel that he had moved away from God, however the Lord spoke very clearly about returning back to him.  The Lord spoke of “Restoring” “a server” “a Spokesman” and “Influence”.  This was the Lords command, but finally Jeremiah was to be an influence, it appears that Jeremiah may have had a weakness to be influenced by those around him.  But the Lords command was very clear.  “You are to influence them”

 

Application:  When you are called to leadership you are called to lead!  I am one who needs to be an influencer not to be influenced by those I am leading.  But like Jeremiah there is a “return to me” moment.  You don’t think you have moved away from God but you have. 

 

Everyday there are moments to come before the Lord and return to him, I am to continue to serve, continue to speak words that are worthy and to be an influence.

 

None of this will have any power if I am not dependant on the Lord.  Everytime I doubt, everytime I fall or make a mistake I am to “Return” to the Lord. And when I do he restores and I continue to serve.

 

Prayer:  Father thank You for Your love Your discipline Your Grace.  Help me be obedient to Your word.  As the concerns of life consume me at times, prompt me always to “Return” to You.  That I will be restored and continue to serve as You have called me to be.

I can see!

Scripture:  John 9:35 ‘When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”’

 

Observation:  The man born blind has encountered Jesus and has been given his sight– what an amazing miracle – but it’s brought him nothing but persecution from the Authorities, including excommunication from the synagogue.  Why?  Because he has stuck to his conviction that Jesus, the do-er of this miracle, must, indeed, be from God!!  But Jesus has heard of his distress – and He has sought the man out to bring full revelation of who He really is, the Son of God, to draw him close, to confirm that his faith has not been misplaced, so that the man born blind may truly worship Jesus in spirit and in truth.  

 

Application:  An encounter with Jesus – no matter how miraculous – doesn’t mean that life will be easy from that point on.  Persecution may – in most cases will – come from those who cannot – will not –recognize the Son of God.  But in the midst of persecution for Jesus’ sake, He will seek us out to confirm our faith is not misplaced, that He truly is the Son of God, to draw us closer to Him.  To confirm that a life lived with the full 20/20 spiritual vision He gives is far better, even with persecution, than a life lived in spiritual darkness. Instead of asking “what am I doing wrong?” when persecution hits, or doubting faith in Christ, my expectation must be that He is seeking me out to bring confirmation that I no longer walk in darkness, but in His pure light – and what better place can I be??

 

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father, Thankyou that You have shown me Your light, that You have opened my blind eyes, and that I can confidently declare that Jesus is The Son of God.  Lord, I ask that I will always be prepared – even in the face of persecution- to continue to declare this truth, knowing that You will seek me out, to bring even deeper revelation, and draw me even closer to You.  You will never leave me to “face the music” of persecution for Your sake by myself.

 

Thankyou, Lord.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen

 

Sue Otto

 

The Power of One

Scripture:

John 8: 10 & 11.   Jesus straightened up and ask her, ‘Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?”  “No one, sir” she said.  “Then neither do I condemn you,”  Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

 

Observation:

 

The power of one person spoke of forgiveness and a second chance at life.  The Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus and expecting to trick him about deciding if she should be stoned or spared.  The power of one person changed the life of the adulteress.  She walked way not condemned – who should have been stoned according to their laws.

 

The person who truly knew all she had done did not condemn her – did not take her life.   But Jesus declared her ‘uncondemned’, forgiven and to go and sin no more.

 

Application:

 

The power of one person speaks of forgiveness for me.  I also have a second chance. My accuser – satan – tries to put me down and keep me down.   So blessed am I that the Saviour is standing in the gap so all that is seen is not a condemned person but forgiven, cleansed and able to go and live life.

 

Prayer:

 

Lord,  The power of one man – your son – is so wonderful.  I need not receive condemnation and but receive your grace and mercy. 

 

As I declare that “there is therefore now NO condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” – I can lift my head, reject what the enemy is trying to accuse me of, and walk on.

 

Terry B