We are very excited to announce we are now settled in our new home at
We’ll keep posting in both places until the end of June, but as from July 1st we will only update the new site.
Looking forward to seeing you over there!
Abby and the Completely Devoted team.
By Carole Rawley
The stone bench was hard and cold. As he looked up all he could see were walls closing him in. He hung his head in despair. He had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he was never going to see daylight again. Never….
As he sat there, he tried to recall the sequence of events that brought him here. For months he had been weighed down by guilt and shame. He owed his master so much money that he never any chance of repaying it. When it had been calculated it worked out at about 20 years wages! It was impossible! His master had ordered that he and his family to be sold into slavery so his debt could be paid.
In the prison cell, at this moment, his shame overwhelmed him and he felt physically sick.
How could he have let this amount build up? He knew the answer even as he was asking the question – he had been indulgent and wasteful. He had been greedy and manipulative. He only had one way out – he had begged his master for mercy.
And he miraculously gave it!
He couldn’t describe the sense of relief and emotion at that moment when he realized his family were saved and that he would be given a second chance. The weight lifted off his shoulders at that moment and he walked out of the room with such joy in his heart, he thought he would burst.
And then he rounded the corner!
He had bumped into that little squirt who owed him money. Why hadn’t he kept his mouth shut? But as usual, his arrogant self ploughed in and demanded that he was paid. He tried to blot out what happened next but the memories were as vivid as when it happened. There was a struggle which ended up with his hands around his neck. He hadn’t wanted to hurt him; just frighten him. Everything escalated out of control and he had grown so angry that he’d used his power to have him thrown in jail.
Now the tables were turned. And he was sitting here locked up……
Why hadn’t he joined the dots?
‘I am forgiven and released from the debt I could not pay, only to demand payment of a debt owed to me.’
Why hadn’t he connected the two?
The look on his Master’s face when he found out what he’d done was one he would never forget.
Just then, he heard heavy footsteps outside his cell, the key turning in the lock. The door was flung open and two guards stood there. They did not look friendly………
(Matthew 18: 21-35)
God has forgiven us ALL our sin; past, present and future.
What right do we have not to forgive others who have caused us pain, anguish, lack of peace, heartache, fear…..?
We might not physically try to beat them up, but we do in our minds! It might give us short term relief but our hearts will remain bitter.
Bitter roots remain in hearts where minds sustain and feed them. When my parents divorced, I was very bitter and angry towards them. I saw them with eyes of pain and deep hurt. I knew I needed to forgive them but had no strength to do so. One day, as I was praying, I asked God to let me see them through His eyes, not mine.
And everything started to change!
He showed me their own pain, their challenges, their insecurities – and also His overwhelming love for them. I started to let go of the bitter thoughts and receive God’s healing in my wounded heart.
I am forever grateful that God’s power is at hand to help us forgive those who have offended us and release them from the debt they owe. In doing this, we are truly free.
Every Wednesday we’ll be considering a practice related to our body, soul or spirit to help us completely devote ourselves to Jesus.
By Sarah Field
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11
God has recently shown me a whole new dynamic to his presence. In the past, feeling God’s presence would mostly it would result in tears for me. It would shed light on my situations and I would think of how I am doing things wrong or how He is so good and my situations just aren’t like what I am experiencing in His presence. I would automatically tune my mind to think of how I could make things better—different this time around. “I will do that and won’t do that, God. I am tasting how sweet and good you are and I want more of that and I am sorry that I can’t be better for you more often.” Sometimes I would even use those precious moments in his presence begging him to change my circumstances for the better.
Then I listened to a man preach on the healing presence of God through joy. This man was so witty making everyone laugh, so light-hearted, and was telling testimony after testimony of people he has seen healed through God’s presence bringing a fullness of joy. As he prayed for God’s joyful presence to come over these people they would just start laughing! Through their laughter these people were healed of all sorts of illnesses. He even prophetically called out illnesses and different physical pains in the church I was sitting in and people were standing up saying that he was talking about them.
Then he continued to speak on how God is a God of full joy and happiness and how God wants to remove all pain from our bodies; and everyone in the room just started laughing! Through their laughter people were able to breathe perfectly from having COPD, a man’s ankle was healed, he even had a screw in that had disappeared, and woman’s toe grew back! There was this heavenly presence in the room – laughter everywhere – even babies were laughing! It was such a massive revelation of heaven where there will be no tears or pain.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
Revelation 21:4
I know this passage is speaking about the end times but I know God wants to bring his kingdom to earth now! We can experience this kind of fullness of joy now. I realized that I haven’t been receiving fully what God wants me to in His presence. I would so often look at things that weren’t happening rather than what God was already doing. God is just so sweetly been speaking to me to “hush, and receive what has already been given to you.” It takes a great amount of faith to be able to believe that God not only wants us to have an absolute fullness of joy now but also a great amount of faith to be able to believe that we can experience it now.
I find it so interesting that so many people are just looking to laugh. They go to so many other things in order to make that happen. How about having the church be known as a place of laughter and joy?! God wants to use us to bring this kind of heaven wherever we go. Let us bring joy and laughter to people’s lives! Let us live joyfully in His presence and receive what God has given us to work with today. Let us experience his presence for that it is worth. We are forgiven completely and He has such joyous gifts to offer us today! It’s not an emotion we have to try to conjure up, even though we don’t really feel it. It starts with asking God — soaking in His presence — the source of joy. Focus on His goodness and the pieces of heaven He has and is bringing to your life where he is removing all pain and fear.
Oh, Beautiful One I adore you!!!
By Mary Bea Miller
Whenever we screw up our courage enough to step out of our comfort zone towards another human being, chances are that we won’t have to wait long for one of the parties to notice something is not quite right in the actions or attitudes of the other.
In Britain this event might pass unmentioned.
In America this would more likely be addressed in a form resembling ‘a bull in a china shop’, unless you have friends who walk more in the culture of the Kingdom of God than the culture of the nation in which they were brought up.
And since we are all endeavoring to do just that, we all need a response based on the heart of God, as expressed in His Word.
As a new Believer, I was part of a church where fault-finding was seemingly elevated to the status of a TREASURE HUNT. Anytime anyone noticed something perhaps not quite right in someone else, it was reported to the leaders who would then call you in to a “meeting.”
Instead of provoking one another to love and godliness, this resulted in everyone hiding behind the most spiritual masks they could find, so as to get invited to as few “meetings” as possible!
At the meetings, inevitably the Scriptural basis for it would be Eph 4:15 but it was never quoted in its context. Chances are that this partial verse, sharpened into a dagger, may have been used as a weapon against you once or twice as well.
But the whole of it tells a very different and very beautiful story!
And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the Head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (ESV)
I love the way this verse puts our personal relationships into the larger context of being part of God’s divine plan of building the church, right along with the gifted leaders.
The Greek word used here is the same one that Jesus used in John 14:6 when He said,
“I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life…”
In no way can this be construed to refer to anyone’s honest opinion or true feelings. This is THE TRUTH!! God’s Truth! Not merely the way I feel, the way we do things around here, or the way my mama raised me.
Next, if you look up the word used for “love,” it pretty much nails it. It is, of course, ‘AGAPE.’ Perfect, unconditional, divine love.
So not only is this verse NOT grounds for telling someone how they hurt my feelings, it is a relationship recipe, divided into two parts: “NO LONGER…” and “RATHER…”
NO LONGER: Any time we ‘FEEL’ the need to tell someone how they hurt our ‘FEELINGS’ that should be an alarm to us that our ship is being directed by arbitrary waves and wind, like a child who only knows and sees what is immediate, totally driven by the feelings of the moment, selfish, no larger context, unable to see past the current desire, fear, anger, hurt, etc.
RATHER: Grow up. Speak the TRUTH because you are motivated by PERFECT LOVE for one another.
We cannot call our honest opinion ‘God’s Truth’, and we must never be too eager to justify our own feelings at someone else’s expense.
Just a thought, but you know, it doesn’t actually say in the verse that the “speaking” is to another person. What if it doesn’t refer at all to us sharing something with another person? What if it is an encouragement to us to speak the TRUTH to OURSELVES?
………just a thought……….
Each month, our Friday posts centre around dealing with a particular issue. This month we are considering how to tame our tongues.
By Micki Magee
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14
I haven’t been the most self-confident person in the world, especially when it comes to my physical appearance. (Maybe it’s my Catholic upbringing?… oh the guilt…) But I recently had a revelation about my own sense of beauty:
As a writer and artist I know how it hurts when someone criticizes my creations, especially when their insults are unfair and uninformed. When I look in the mirror and hate what I see, that’s exactly what I’m doing to God! I’m insulting his creation without really understanding why or what I was created for.
That blew my mind.
Let me explain further.
I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3
In the garden, Satan told Eve a life-altering lie and she fell for it. How often do we do that? How often do we women believe lies about ourselves and allow those lies to alter our lives?
I’m not good enough.
I’m not smart enough.
I’m not pretty enough.
I’m ugly.
I’m boring.
I’m worthless.
But the bible says that we were “fearfully and wonderfully made”. How can this be so? I don’t usually feel so wonderful…
In the dictionary, the word “wonderful” means “excellent, great, marvelous”. But more astounding to me than that, the third definition of the word “fearful” is “full of awe or reverence”. Ladies, this is how God made us. He made us with excellence. He made us with awe. He made us with reverence!
Wow.
He wasn’t goofing around with crayons and construction paper. He had a reason for making each one of us, he did it with care and he loves the results! So why do we insist on insulting him by thinking that somehow we’re not beautiful enough?
We see images of what our culture tells us that beauty is all the time. Magazines, billboards, television, movies, music videos, the internet – it’s everywhere. “THIS is how you should look!” “THIS is how you should wear your hair!” “THESE are the clothes you should wear!” And we are told that if we don’t follow those rules of beauty, we are somehow less lovely, ugly, unworthy.
Those lies REALLY make me angry!
Do you know how those supermodels and actresses look that way? It’s not God’s natural handiwork. It’s this:
For mine eyes are unto the, O Jehovah the Lord: Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, let the wicked fall into their own nets. Psalm 141:8-10
Please don’t believe the lies that we’re told about “true beauty” in our society. These marketing ploys not only try to tell us how to be beautiful, but that somehow this superficial beauty will fulfill us and make us happy. It’s not true! And it is an expectation of beauty that we will never be able to live up to because each of us looks so very (purposefully) different!
Listen to what Peter tells us about how to please the Lord with our beauty:
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3:3-4
There’s nothing wrong with wearing a cute outfit and having some makeup on. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a stylish haircut. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel cute. But it shouldn’t rule us. Because our outward appearances are not true beauty.
Let me ask you this. When you think back on your life and envision “beautiful” people who’ve moved you, is it their heart or their hairstyle that you find beautiful? Is it the fruit of their labor in a beauty regiment that makes them lovely, or the fruit of the spirit?
In fact, what does beauty even mean? The first definition in the bible is “pleasing excellence”. Did you read that? Pleasing excellence! So who, exactly, are we trying to please with our excellence, and where should that excellence come from?
There are two ways to view the world: through the lens of society and through the lens of the Kingdom.
Society puts value on physical beauty, sets standards that we can’t possibly reach and is unforgiving to those of us who fall short.
God, however, created us uniquely on purpose! He puts value on spirit and soul, sets standards of beauty (pleasing excellence) that we’re specifically created to meet, and always forgives us when we fall short.
Always.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Galatians 5:22-23
Do these things, ladies. BE these things. And not only will you positively GLOW with the radiance of the Kingdom here on earth, you will please God with your true beauty!
Because you are beautiful. Believe it.
Every Wednesday we’ll be considering a practice related to our body, soul or spirit to help us completely devote ourselves to Jesus.
By Abby King
All these tears, all this rain. And yet… there is sowing, there is planting.
True, we may cry, but we press on for the crop.
… we still sow though in tears, and let go of every seed, burying hopes and hurts in faith, and out of loss, new life will unfurl, our tears watering rows. Ann Voskamp
What do you hold in your hand?
Each hurt, each disappointment, each hope, is a seed to be let go of, pushed down deep into the nutrient-rich soil of faith – the soil of I will never leave you or forsake you; and my grace is sufficient for you - the miracle-grow place of beauty and ashes; prodigals and homecoming; death and resurrection.
And we wait while the Spirit weaves together His mysteries and works all things together for our good in the unseen places. We water our faith as we trust that out of the dirt and the mess and the chaos something beautiful is being grown; that “those who go out weeping carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them” (Psalm 126:6).
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed…” John 20:29
What about you? What seeds are you burying in faith?
By Abi Burton
I’ve been thinking lately about just how amazing God is at encouraging us. It has always been a mystery to me how we can be truly made in God’s image and yet completely flawed in so many areas! Countless times I have lacked insight, sensitivity, love, patience, kindness, grace, faithfulness (I could go on) but the Bible tells me I am created ‘in the image’ of a God who is the master of all those attributes and more!
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul shares revelation about how our ‘human-ness’ is seen to God:
And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12 v 9)
Talking this through with a friend last weekend, it became clearer as to how the two could marry up: we are here to reach and connect with a broken world, so how can I do this in any other way than if I myself am broken too? I can speak to a friend about broken-heartedness because I have had my heart broken; I can encourage a colleague who feels useless at their job because I have been overlooked for promotion; I can pray for someone suffering physical illness because I have felt this vulnerability in my own life.
The greatest possible example of a life that knew weakness and yet was made in the image of God is Jesus, who came to earth as a fragile baby, to connect with our world and transform it for eternity. We can now come to our Saviour with any circumstance, knowing that he himself has experienced it too. Sometimes, despite how we feel, we need to see ourselves as the Psalmist says in the Message: “I thank you, High God – you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration – what a creation!” (Psalm 139 v 14)
In this way we see God at work through our weaknesses, not in spite of them. If boasting in the many times I fall short will mean that God’s power reigns down on me more freely and frequently then I think it’s time I swallowed my pride and did just that!
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