Daily devotion – April 27, 2021.
Act 20:28 “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
No ANZAC Day services, no gathering allowed in Church. What is going on in our state? Some are asking, why is God allowing us to be prohibited from gathering as His Church?
Firstly, it is simply following the advice our Chief Health experts, to attempt to restrict and contain any further community spread of Covid.
But could it also be God allowing such things to continue, so as to allow His ongoing sifting, His refining of His Church in these Last Days?
Throughout God’s Word, we see God is continually sifting, refining, correcting, purifying and ultimately strengthening His Church.
The Apostle Paul exhorts us we are to take heed first to ourselves and the flock, because if we are in a right relationship with the Lord, blessings will flow through you to the flock of your family, the Sunday school kids you teach, and the people to whom you witness.
Towards the end of his life, David was surrounded by a group of men who are recorded as being men who killed giants (2 Samuel 21:15-22).
If you want those around you to be giant killers , you must kill giants yourself!
If you are not worshipping or witnessing, chances are, your family, congregation, and friends won’t worship or witness because, as seen in the life of David, what you are is what those around you will become.
This last weekend you could not “attend” Church so how did you spend your time?
Did you connect to the live streaming services that were made available in place of our public gatherings?
Did you still gather either by yourself with God and His Word as you normally would as normally by attending Church at that time?
Did you gather your children together to still worship God and study His Word?
Or,
Did you easily not bother with the Bible? Not spend any time with the Lord intimately at all. Not give Him any thought or time whatsoever?
You be the judge, you take heed to yourself…..and it will reveal your walk with God succinctly.
During the time of the ‘Iron Curtain’ in Russia when being a Christian was a dangerous confession, a group of believers gathered in secret one evening to have a Bible study.
Midway through the evening two Russian fully armed soldiers burst into the room where the study was underway and with guns pointed said, “If you are a Christian you are ordered to remain. But if you are NOT a Christian you are free to go!”
Some people hurried out of the meeting leaving those remaining, with their hands in the air, thinking they were about to be killed for their devotion to Christ.
Once the room had been cleared, the soldiers bolted the door from inside and the much to the relief of the believers standing thinking they are about to die said, “Now that the unbelievers have left we know that you here with us truly are devoted to Christ Therefore it is safe for us now to ask you to help us tonight to receive Jesus Christ as our saviour please!”
If the pressure came, if the heat was turned on your relationship with Christ, would you rush out of the room to save yourself or would you remain to make a stand for He who died for you on the cross at Calvary?
More and more this year God will be refining His Church….., “Take heed to yourself first!…..”