Beauty

, ,

Devotion Day 10

, ,

Ants

by Pastor Karen Runjo



How determined are ants?! They have a direction planned and they will go around, over, through obstacles in a one-track mind to get to where they want to go, and they are not easily deterred! They have set their eyes on a destination and they are sticking to it. Are we as one-eyed? Are we one-eyed for Jesus?

Hebrews 12:1,2 speaks of setting our eyes on Jesus; of throwing off all the sin that so easily entangles (obstacles) and running with perseverance the race marked out for us.

(Like ants!) When I think about ‘setting our eyes on Jesus’, the words of an old song come to mind:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace”.

To look at Jesus; to be captivated by His beauty will make the obstacles seem surmountable. This world will feel more fleeting, and the next will beckon louder. We just need to turn our eyes to His beautiful face – often.

Prayer thought:

If you know that old song, why not sing it through a couple of times? Look it up online if you aren’t familiar with it. May the words become our reality today and so many other days to come.

, ,

Devotion Day 2

, ,

Living Waters

by Pastor Karen Runjo

When Jesus met the woman at the well, he starts by asking her for something. It was something ordinary, but important to her and something from her everyday life – a cup of water.

When we are spending this time in prayer and fasting, God will ask us to give up something ordinary but important to us, from our everyday life – a meal or meals, watching TV, looking at FaceBook, eating sweets or chocolate, drinking coffee… whatever it may be that God speaks to you about.

From the conversation that started with a cup of water, came the promise of something great – a spring of living water welling up to eternal life. From the ordinary, it opened the way for something much more valuable.

As we hand over our ‘cup of water’ to God, it will leave room for something greater – time with God, giving our undivided attention and an openness to His living waters flowing more freely within us.



Prayer thought:

Water flows, washes/cleanses, infiltrates. Pray for rivers of living water (the Holy Spirit) to flow up from within your very being during these 21 days that have been set aside for us to seek God more intentionally.

Read John 4:1-42

, ,

Devotion Day 1

, ,

Pruning Roses

by Pastor Karen Runjo

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple” Psalm 27:4

One of the ‘rules’ when pruning roses is to cut off any branch that will, or has, crossed into the centre of the bush. This allows air to flow up through the middle of the bush, lessening the incidence of mold and so creating a healthier plant. Like roses, we function better when we have created room for airflow in our lives.

As we spend these 21 days in prayer and fasting, essentially that’s what is happening. We are pruning some things in our lives, cutting back to create room at our very core – our spirit – for the life of God to flow more easily within us. We are lessening the growth of our flesh-wants; quietening the voice of the flesh that we might create space to prioritise our spirit life.

Prayer thought:

Let’s pray for God’s help, strength and guidance as we set aside the next 21 days to seek Him, love Him and discover his priorities for this new year. I pray for God’s voice to reach our very inner beings with all he longs to say to us.