4-minute Devotions - the Podcast

Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (Ex 4: 10...

“Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph” (Ps 77: 13 – 15). This is a really good question to ask: What god is as great as our God? Gods (with a small ‘g’) in the Bible were, of course, not gods at all. They were man-...

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prov 3:5-6). Sometimes when I am finding it hard to find a place of peace and trust, it is because I have started to imagine all sorts of possible scenarios that might play out. I see in my minds eye all the worst things that can happen. All the unpl...

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prov 3:5-6). In the first 4-minute devotion in this series, we said that our trust in the Lord during difficult situations, sometimes needs to move from our heads to our hearts. It is one thing to declare our faith in God and meditate on His promises...

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prov 3:5-6). Christians can, on occasion, find it hard to trust God in the situations that they face. It is not that God is not trustworthy, more that we can sometimes struggle to look away from the things that make us anxious, to a place where we re...

“If the Lord had not been on our side— let Israel say — if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird f...

“Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long” (Ps 25: 4 – 5). I don’t know if David intended this when he wrote Psalm 25, but it seems to me there is a big difference between God’s Ways and His Paths. The phrase “God’s Ways” in the Scriptures can refer to several things. It might be His plans or hi...

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he famously lists the essential offices that leaders carry in churches under his care – people who serve as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Their purpose? “To equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attai...

After Joseph (of technicolour dream coat fame) had been in an Egyptian prison for some time, we read that he had an unusual conversation with two of Pharaoh’s officials. Both had been forced into custody following an offense with their master and one morning they woke up, each one remembering a vivid dream. As they relayed their dreams to the young Hebrew, Joseph was able to interpret them. With c...

“Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions” (Gen 15: 13 – 14). 400 years is a long time. I have problems waiting 20 minutes for an ove...

When was the last time you had a day when you felt like something of you was coming apart? Unravelling. It had taken every effort to keep things together throughout the ordeal and now you are scrambling to work out how to put your brain and heart back in order. When David wrote Psalm 23, the great king and war hero likened himself to a sheep! I have to admit - not the first animal I would think of...

​“When he (Jesus) came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. Right away a man with leprosy came up and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matt 8: 1 – 3). “Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with...

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt 7: 13 – 14). I used to think that this was about people becoming Christians and not pursuing other religions. I think it includes that interpretation, but I also believe there is...

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbour. There...

“Keeping a close watch on (Jesus), they (the teachers of the law and the chief priests) sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. So, the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of G...

Jesus said, “…you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white o...

Have you ever wanted Payback? To get even with someone who has wronged you; or hurt you? There are literally hundreds of movies about revenge. In fact, IMDB (the go-to website for info on any film) has even created a list of the “50 best Revenge movies of all time” – including several that many would call classics. People love to hear stories about someone getting what they deserve. But I wonder w...

Prov 4: 23 (in the modern NIV) says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” The CSB says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” An older version of the NIV says, “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life”. Above all else. Above everything. The first 6 verses of the book of Proverbs tell us its purpose. The variou...

“The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him. The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him” (Nahum 1: 5 – 7) This is such a thing as a health...

Nobody likes failing. We enjoy success; we like to achieve things, especially if others notice and cheer us on. So, what does the Bible teach us about success or being successful? In the Old Testament, we learn of individuals finding success as they prayed and trusted God for help. Abraham’s servant found success in finding a wife for Isaac. We are told that Joseph was successful in everything he...

Today’s story, written by the disciple John, takes place just after Jesus has risen from the dead. “Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will no...

There is no denying that the first king of Israel, Saul, failed to model humble obedience to God. After the prophet Samuel had given clear instructions to wait for him in Gilgal, the impatient king presumed to take on the office of priest and offer a sacrifice, something only Samuel should do. Then, following a victory against the Amalekites, Saul failed to follow simple instructions concerning th...

“ Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time” (Jer 37: 16) “When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favour to the Jews, he left Paul in prison” (Acts 24: 27). “Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined” (Gen 39: 20). “When two full years had p...

There are an infinite number of reasons, of course, but let me share four - the Four I’s. First, because we are Impressed with Him.   Alisa Camplin is an Australian aerial skier who won gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics. An excerpt from a newspaper article at the time said: “Camplin’s passage to the Olympics involved seven years of hard labour, with a procession of increasingly difficult somersault...

We all know that prayer is important; that regular time in the Lord’s Presence is as vital as food or oxygen. But occasionally we might find our minds going blank and wondering what to pray about. If that ever happens to you, Scripture – God’s Word comes to the rescue. Today, we are going to look at two occasions when the Apostle Paul allowed us into His prayer closet. In each case, he tells us wh...