Pentecostal Devotions

God's Counsel

I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel;
      my heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

I have set the LORD always before me.
       Because he is at my right hand,
       I shall not be moved.

(Psalm 16:7-8)

I wrote this scripture down some time ago and keep it in a 3x5 card loose in my bible. I did this so that no matter what I may be reading it will always catch my attention. Also, it’s easy to pop into a diary or purse so I can reflect on it at different times. I ask the Lord for a lot of counsel in the decisions I make from day to day and I have found this scripture so encouraging as I ‘bless him who gives me counsel’. That even in the ‘night seasons’ or times that prove tougher, that I still find His instruction. It reminds me to ‘set the Lord before me always’.

Recently though, in light of the topics covered in class to do with ethics, I once again thought on this scripture. There are so many theories and ideas on how to deal with ethical issues that may arise in life from time to time. I could ascribe to a certain theory, and when need be I probably will. However I was thinking that above all theories and understandings, that coming before the Lord to receive counsel is what needs to be done. He has said it in His word, and also proved Himself faithful as my counselor. I believe knowing which ethical theories there are is definitely beneficial in helping to work out a situation, but what we need more than anything is the counsel of God. I pray that I never lean on my own understanding of life to solve a problem. I hope rather that I will always find myself enquiring of the Lord as I know that He is always ‘at my right hand, I shall not be moved’.

Poverty

rby Gibson Sebastian

Through the Bible, Jesus and the prophets tell us to take care of the poor. The Ten Commandments say to love your neighbour as yourself. In the Gospels Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. In Acts 10:31 the angel said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.” All these incidents tell us that we as Christians will have to dig into our pockets to help the poor. As long as I can remember there were poor people living in our community and had on many occasions, as a kid and through the encouragement of my parents, given food or money to them. Why are we faced with these problems in our societies? What can be done to eliminate the problem?

As a Christian growing up, I was always taught to take care of the poor by providing for them. Many years later I realised that giving them handouts was not the means to an end, it just perpetuated the situation. The poor in our society need help to get them out of their predicament. Starting in 2000 the Smith Family began to publish reports on poverty in Australia on a regular basis. The Smith Family is a national, independent, social enterprise that supports disadvantaged Australian children to create a better future through education. At the Conference on Child Poverty, Education, and Health in London on February 26, 2001, Horst Köhler, Managing Director of International Monetary Fund said that the ways we nurture and equip the children of today will shape the world of tomorrow. It is through organizations like this that a nation and the world at large can address some of the issues on poverty.

In the local scene we through our churches and other organizations can participate in providing proper care to the less fortunate through organizations like St Vincent de Paul, Care Australia, World Vision and many such organizations. There is a need to teach our young the importance of reaching out to the poor. We cannot call ourselves Christians if we do not help the poor, for Jesus said, “even a drop of water given in my name will not go unrewarded.”

Hand of Hope

A picture began circulating in November. It should be "The Picture of the Year," or perhaps, "Picture of the Decade." It won't be.  In fact, unless you obtained a copy of the US paper which published it, you probably would never have seen it. The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby name d Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spinabifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Alanta.  She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.

During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby.  As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr. Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile. The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity.  The editors titled the picture, "Hand of Hope." The text explaining the picture begins, "The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life." Little Samuel's mother said they "wept for days" when they saw the picture.  She said,”The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person." Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful. Now see the actual picture, and it is awesome...incredible...The world needs to see this one!

P.S. Don't tell me God isn't awesome!!!!!

So I pretty much hate blood, pass out with needles and anything medical just turns my stomach! I received the above in an email awhile back and it moved me greatly then! Today during my ethics class on abortion I was reminded of it and challenged to think about the instinctive value we put on human life and that when we see or hear of a human life that has unfairly been taken, been hurt, rejected or despised it pulls at something deep inside saying this isn’t right.

80 million people aren't meant to go to bed starving tonight and 27000 children die from malnutrition today!

In the next twenty four hours, 1,439 Teens will attempt suicide. Did you know suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 - 24 years old, and the sixth leading cause of death for 5 - 14 year old?

“The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person."- a little person who was made in the image of God for the will of God. I suppose I was challenged to look at how I value human life and out work this in my day to day living. How do you value human life and outwork this in your day to day living? Are you like the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) filled with the love of God who is able to put aside surface differences and love and value each man as a child of God?

Salt, Light, Ethics and ‘the Least of These’

by Elizabeth Langton

‘The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

Matthew 25:40-43

As Christians, we have a God given responsibility to care for those who are less fortunate then us. We have a responsibly to speak up for those who don’t have a voice. We have a responsibility to provide for those who need provision. We have a responsibility that needs recognition. We need to understand the power of our voice, the power of a Godly community. Robert Wennberg, in Readings in Christian Ethics wrote, "Our culture does not understand the biblical ideal of a community of people who willingly give up their own rights to serve others." God is calling us to stand up and speak in order to truly serve those who need our help.

Mr Kevin Rudd, in his address at the Australian Christian Heritage Forum said, "Our challenge is to respond to the great ethical challenges of our age - consistent with the dictates of a properly informed human and Christian conscience." Isn’t that what Christian ethics is all about? Maybe its time we started responding accordingly. After all, Jesus told us in Matthew 5:13-14, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." The responsibility is in your hands - what will you do with it?

Ethics: Acceptable for Whom?

by Adam White You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51:16-17). Our ethical decisions are generally determined by a desire to please someone else. For example, a person will abide by the laws of society in order to please the official authorities in order that they do not get into some form of trouble. Again, a person will abide by unwritten or unofficial laws of a social setting such as a neighborhood or a club in order to please the other members of the group and in turn be accepted. We do this in order to not be labeled as ‘unlawful’ or ‘unsocial’ and ultimately be accepted so that we can participate in the community. The Christian community has similar principles of social ruling that define it and its members as being unique from the world. These rules are the laws and commands found in the bible, they are common to all Christians everywhere, ie. the Ten Commandments. While it is true to say that churches within different cultures and periods of time differ on contextual cultural issues such as T.V., alcohol, movies etc, the overarching universal principles and commands found in the bible remain the same regardless of cultural persuasions; for example, gossip, sexual immorality, drunkenness, jealousy, idolatry etc are universally deemed by the church as sin. So within this context and social setting, a Christian will abide by these various rules and social and moral requirements in order to please the community and in turn be accepted as a family member. But is this what a Christian is supposed to be? Why do we do the things we do as Christians, who should we be trying to please? God is quite clear that the purpose of the Christian life is worship, which is demonstrated through humble obedience. We are not here to please humanity and win their approval; we are here to first and foremost please God. This should be the foundation for our ethical framework. This should be the reason for our obedience to His commands and decrees and in doing this will result in our being accepted into the Christian community as first and foremost a child of God, accepted by Him.

God's Input

by Carissa Miller

Ethics is the study of morality and putting into practice what we think is morally right and just. There are a number of ethical approaches that have been formulated and defined throughout the passed few centuries to say the least. There is the teleological ethic: a moral decision that is focused on the end result; the deontological ethic: a moral decision based on a strict sense of right or wrong and is done mainly out of a sense of duty to a defined set of rules; the utilitarian ethic: a moral decision that is focused on creating the greatest good for the greatest number of people, where the means justifies the end; and so on.

Each defined ethical approach has its good and bad points. When it comes down to it, each moral or ethical decision we make is context dependent. We waiver between the type of ethic we function in when making moral decisions based on the context and content of the decision and action to be made.

How do we ever know then, which compromises to make or how to make wise and morally just decisions? Steve Fogarty said in class today, "We need data, we need input… but I’m not sure that we need rules." I agree. We don’t need to be legalistic. Where the Bible is concerned, we can’t formulate a definite set of rules for any given situation based on specific words of instruction within it.

Praise God in all His glory and wisdom, because He has given us a Bible that provides the data and input we need to be ethical and morally just decision makers. His Word enlightens us spiritually so that we can continue to walk, move, learn, teach, speak, decide, and act in the power, wisdom, and guidance of our All-knowing, All-powerful L

ORD

, Jesus Christ. Thank you God for your ethical excellence, your moral support, your encouragement, and your guidance. I ask that you move in our lives and our minds. That you would be our greatest authority and that we would choose to appease you first, upholding your character and very nature of love in our own lives through an outpouring of Your righteousness in our decisions and actions in our world and in our relationships. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

God of Politics

by Caroline Quek

It is common for us to hear that Christianity and politics do not mix. Several years ago, a comment made by a Christian minister was that ‘everyone plays politics, but we can choose to play good politics’. The simple statement challenged my worldview, and it made me think through this issue.

My immediate response to the statement was one of defense. The knee-jerk reaction was that I do not like politics, not even within the small scale of ‘politics’ at the office. Upon reflection, my ‘ideal’ of not engaging in politics of any sort was crushed. In an office setting, whether I actively seek to impress my superior or choose to sit quietly in a corner doing my work, either response reflects that I have chosen my way of engaging in the politics within the office at that time.

At a larger scale, are the State and the Church always opposing each other? The book of Ezra gives us a good example of the state and church. Many decrees issued by the Persian political policy were recorded in the book of Ezra. Some decrees aided the rebuilding of the temple, while others hindered it. Finally in Ezra 6:14b "They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia." This serves as a good reminder that God’s wisdom and guidance is behind everything, including the church and the state. Therefore the state is not necessarily evil.

Perhaps the dichotomy between Christianity and politics was to prevent Christianity from being downgraded, but the irony is that it is resulting in the very thing that it set out to prevent! To view Christianity as anti-political is to delegate God only to the realm of the spiritual.

God is the God of everything, be it spiritual, intellectual or political. There is no area where God’s reign does not extend. Christians ought to engage in politics (good politics - if there is such a term), not because politics is great or it gives us power, but because God is the God of all!

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

Ethics of Building

by Neil Castro

When it came to Christian ethics, especially public-related issues, I initially believed that there were certain things that were straightforward; black and white. During the weeks of being in lectures and through the weekly readings this semester about certain matters of public ethics I realised that the things I believed to be black and white were also grey areas, with no set formulas so to speak. I am sure that some people have also come to this realisation at some point in their lives. Mixed feelings of frustration and confusion come into play, and we wonder that since there seem to be no solid answers to certain issues then how are we to know what God’s will is in these matters as well as what we should do.

In obeying the word of God and bringing glory to His name and kingdom, what is our motivation? What is it that influences our obedience to God’s will in our issues in life, both personal and public? In the grey matters of life, which seem to be a lot, how are we supposed to handle them, and how are we to conduct ourselves or treat each other in the midst of varying or conflicting views and possible solutions?

Romans 14:17 – For the kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God. And other people will approve of you too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

To give a bit of background to this text, Paul cautions the people in Rome about the dangers of criticising or judging other Christians who are weak in the faith. He addresses those who are strong in the faith about their actions, such as eating certain food which may bring offense to those of weaker faith or conscience or cause them to stumble, even though they may not see their actions as offensive or sinful acts. Paul strongly suggests then that those who are stronger should not look down on those who may not be and, for the sake of unity and out of love, respect and consider them in our actions. 

In the same way, first, we as God’s people should live in a way that does not cause other Christians to stumble in their faith. We may think that they should grow up, mature and get over it, but God calls us to, out of love, not do something that will ruin the other person’s own conscience or convictions. Indeed, it is not about what we do that matters but living a life in the Spirit. It is not about living in a way to please people, but to please God in having a humble attitude and to consider others above ourselves, which Christ exemplified so evidently in his own life. Secondly, in our conflicting views, and different ethical approaches to certain issues, whether it is to do with big matters in life like sex and abortion, or small matters like eating and drinking, our motive should be the love that Christ modelled for us. Our actions should be influenced by the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is not for us to judge what another’s conviction or conscience is. It is also not our place to criticise or condemn people’s actions, or whether we approve of them or not. Let God be God in our lives. We may not always agree in our ethical methods or viewpoints about what God’s word says or doesn’t, but our goal is to build each other up and bring harmony in the church.

Moving Beyond Permissible to Profitable

by Katie Elmore

Why do we want someone or something to tell us what is right in regards to our sexual behaviour?

Often, since we are unsure and lack conviction about the subject, we look for and seek to implement universally applicable laws declaring that it is okay to hold hands, but not okay to kiss or touch like that. However, the sexual ethic presented by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6 offers fewer legal qualifications in exchange for more responsibility placed upon the individual. Instead of detailing what is appropriate and what is not, Paul simply and clearly sets out a guideline:

“You may say, ‘I am allowed to do anything.’ But I reply, ‘Not everything is good for you.’” (1 Cor. 6:12, NLT)

It is a paradigm shift requiring each one of us to submit that which is permissible to that which is profitable. This sexual ethic prioritises the health, wholeness, and well-being of ourselves and the other person we are involved with above immediate gratification—and that is not easy!

So when it comes to our interface in romantic relationship as Christians, and how we choose to relate to one another [sexually] before we are married, the specifics are undefined but the responsibility is defined – and it is weighty. Instead of an ethic which continually presses the boundaries, the Message Bible makes a clear point in its version of the above verse: “Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it is spiritually appropriate.” We dare ask ourselves – not anyone else – ‘what is most helpful [for both of us] in this situation, both spiritually and physically, both now and in the future?’ It is a high call for you and me – a high price to pay. Then again, Someone paid a high price to purchase our bodies and spirits already, and we are therefore not permitted to do whatever pleases us whenever we want, (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20).

So let us seek His grace to help us avoid selling ourselves, someone we care for, and our Saviour short of true respect and holiness.

What does that look like? You decide.

Understanding God's Love and Grace in Every Circumstance

by Louise Russell

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

“David I’m Pregnant!” These words from Bathsheba not only sparked concern in the king’s mind but thoughts of irrationality and senselessness. In Ethics class, (week 7) we discussed the idea of abortion and the pro life movement. Within this great debate of “right and wrong”, it sparked something else in my mind.

Irrationality, situational and circumstantial is nothing new to the world we live in. Even when we read the story of King David and Bathsheba (which we did that day in class) I learnt that emotions sparked by sin and insecurity were just as destructive and real as they are today.

When Bathsheba confronted David with her “problem”, his reaction was ever so memorable. The mighty man of God, chosen by God, ordained by God as King and chaser of his own heart when faced with crisis rather than turning to God as such, he lied, he murdered, he conceived hatred in his heart and then when all that failed – he fell on his knees.

What do we learn from this? I’ll share what I learnt.

When faced with a situation I can’t control, whether it is brought about by sin or disobedience, my first reaction like David is irrationality. Is becomes about what I can do to hide or cover my mistake. How can I run away?  Sin is nothing I can hide, yes maybe from my friends or family, but not from God. God is all knowing, all seeing, all powerful. His presence is everywhere and to believe I can run away from him is an error on my part.

Repentance is often our secondary reaction rather than our first and this often leads us to more mistakes and blunders.

I’ve learnt through David’s experience that is if we as Christians and lovers of God truly understand his Grace and forgiveness; we can then walk in it faithfully and justly. Our God will never turn his back because “our sin is too Big”, no sin is too big for God, no shortcoming so short that God will ever reject us. For his love is everlasting and his mercy never ends, he is our father and he loves us deeply.

Although the class was specifically directed towards abortion and the how’s and why’s, I realized that were not so different from God’s people back then, they weren’t perfect either and situations and circumstance will always be here, and if I can leave anything with you, its not about how good a person you are, it’s about how well you deal with your situation, how does your circumstance affect you? How do you react in the face of crisis? Do we honor our Father in our choices?  Do you become like David’s first reaction and dig a deeper pit of destruction, or do you turn to God and allow him to lift you out in his grace and forgiveness?