It’s no secret that God’s people are to be a people of prayer.Jesus taught us to pray with the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).In the book of Acts the early church devoted themselves to it (Acts 2:42). Paul taught to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and to be “faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12). Another translation of that … Continue reading As wings burden the bird in flight
devotional
Save Your
When we think of Jesus as “Saviour” we tend to think about his role after our time on earth. That makes sense. After all, he saves us from the consequence of sin and from being on the wrong side of eternal judgment. As (very!) important as those things are, we can sometimes forget that he … Continue reading Save Your
You are like a house
You are like a house. Let me explain. Think of a normal house. If you leave your front door open at night a robber might break in. Will it definitely happen? Not necessary. But if you do that, you’re certainly increasing the chances of getting robbed. Here’s how you are like a house. When we … Continue reading You are like a house
The ‘unforgivable sin’
I sometimes get asked about the ‘unforgivable sin.’ It’s found in Mark 3:28-30. Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—for they were saying, “He … Continue reading The ‘unforgivable sin’
The protection of our big brother
We’ve been thinking about Jesus as our big brother. He is described in those terms in Romans 8:29, and he calls disciples “brothers and sisters” in Mark 3:35. One of the things an ideal big brother does is protect his younger siblings. ‘But,’ you might be thinking, ‘Jesus doesn’t protect me—at least not in a … Continue reading The protection of our big brother
He is interceding for you
In the previous devotional I encouraged you to think about Jesus as your big brother. After all, he is described in those terms in Romans 8:29, and he calls disciples “brothers and sisters” in Mark 3:35. One of the things an ideal big brother does is intercede for his younger siblings. Picture a student in … Continue reading He is interceding for you
Big Brother Jesus
Jesus is my… How would you finish that sentence? Lord? Saviour? Friend? What about big brother? We don’t tend to think of Jesus in this way. However, Romans 8:29 says that Jesus is “the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Then there are passages like Mark 3:35 where he says: “Whoever does God’s will is … Continue reading Big Brother Jesus
We do what he does, but slower
Hello! After some vacation time, The Up Devotional is back. Before I begin, let me first say welcome to our new subscribers on email, social media and on the podcast! Let’s start. My family is quite particular about the movies we watch. As you probably already know, there’s a lot of junk out there. But … Continue reading We do what he does, but slower
Integrity blesses others
We’ve been spending some time talking about integrity. This virtue is about living wholeheartedly for God no matter the situation. Not only does your integrity honour God, but it blesses the people around you. Proverbs 11:30 says: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life…” When someone lives in a way that is … Continue reading Integrity blesses others
Disgrace, dignity and wine
John 2:6-7: “Nearby stood six stone water jars… each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim.” One of Jesus’ most popular miracles is turning water into wine. We like a party, don’t we! And it’s not like it was … Continue reading Disgrace, dignity and wine
