Ezra Devotionals Archives

A Life of Abundance

By Andrew YoungJune 28, 2019Devotionals: Miscellaneous Insights

“…I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b) Bible Reading: John 10:7-10 Tomorrow I am due to leave New Zealand for the USA and later, Brazil. Given the flurry of tasks that always clutter last-minute preparations for travel, it is best for me to bring this brief series of reflections on discipleship to a close. It began, you may recall, with mention of a widely recognised problem in the church today, namely, that of non-discipleship Christianity. It is the idea that you can be a Christian without having to do what Jesus said we must do. Put […]

Lowly in Heart

By Andrew YoungJune 27, 2019Devotionals: Miscellaneous Insights

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart…” (Matthew 11:29) Bible Reading: Matthew 11:28-30 There is another feature of Jesus’ life that is to shape the way we live as his disciples, namely, his humility. The apostle Paul alludes to this in his letter to Christians in Philippi. There appear to have been tensions among some of the believers in that city, a spirit of contention arising out of “selfish ambition and conceit” (Philippians 2:3). To those guilty of this, the apostle writes, “Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ […]

Total Dependence

By Andrew YoungJune 26, 2019Devotionals: Miscellaneous Insights

“…the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing…” (John 5:19) Bible Reading: John 5:19-20 There are at least four things that belong to the basic shape of Jesus’ life. The first is his “heavenly-mindedness,” the second, his love for his Father, the third, his obedience to the will of his Father, and the fourth, his utter dependence upon his Father. It is the last of these we are to consider today. In being sent by his Father into the world, Jesus did not choose to live out of the resources of his own […]

The Obedience of Love

By Andrew YoungJune 25, 2019Devotionals: Miscellaneous Insights

“…I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” (John 14:31) Bible Reading: John 14:15-17 We are taking time in these current devotionals, to reflect on what it means to be like Jesus – to be one of his followers, his disciples. And we are doing so by looking at the general shape of Jesus’ life rather than the details of what he did. So far we have considered that Jesus was always aware of the invisible spiritual kingdom of God and that his life was entirely controlled by his love for […]

Loving God

By Andrew YoungJune 24, 2019Devotionals: Miscellaneous Insights

“You shall love the Lord your God…” (Matthew 22:37) Bible Reading: Matthew 22:34-40 We are looking at the general shape of Jesus’ life as the pattern we need to conform to as those who have been taken up by him into himself. This does not mean, remember, that we are to do everything that Jesus himself did. Jesus was Jesus, the Son of God in human form. His work was uniquely his own, and not ours. Our lives are to be lived where we are now, today and every day, as Jesus would live them if he were us. They are […]

The Shape of our Lives

By Andrew YoungJune 23, 2019Devotionals: Miscellaneous Insights

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Romans 13:14) Bible Reading: Romans 13:11-14 Some time ago, I read a statement that has deeply influenced the way that I see how I should live and the person I am to become. It went something like this: “Because Christ has taken us up into his own life, the shape of his life must be the shape of our own.” It was particularly the term “shape” that caught my attention. By it, the author was meaning the overall nature of a life, in this case, Jesus’ life. They were saying that because, in receiving us […]

Learning a Different Life

By Andrew YoungJune 22, 2019Devotionals: Miscellaneous Insights

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…” (Matthew 11:29) Bible Reading: Matthew 11:28-30 As those united to Christ, we enter into a new kind of existence. It truly is like beginning a new life – life in the kingdom of God, the realm of God’s active rule over all things (John 3:5). And life in that realm is different from that which we are born into by physical birth. It is a life that centres on God, living for God and doing the will of God. How are we to learn this new kind of life? One way is by […]

More than Just Forgiven

By Andrew YoungJune 21, 2019Devotionals: Miscellaneous Insights

“…God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life…” (1 John 5:11, 12) Saving faith involves receiving, resting and relying upon Jesus to be made right with God. Just as a drowning man clings to a life buoy, so we cling to Christ, entrusting ourselves entirely to him to be saved from God’s just judgment. When we do that, something marvellous happens. Christ receives us to himself. He does not merely nod approval and dismiss us but takes us to be his very own. “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks […]

Non-Discipleship Christianity

By Andrew YoungJune 20, 2019Devotionals: Miscellaneous Insights

“It is almost universally conceded today that you can be a Christian without being a disciple.” Dallas Willard In the few days that remain before I embark on the “life-altering” journey that I wrote about yesterday, I want to share with you a number of thoughts that have been running through my mind in recent days in connection with lectures I have been delivering at Grace Theological College. One of the courses I have taught this past semester has been called “Spiritual Development and Discipleship.” The latter part of it has concentrated on the “discipleship” aspect. We have explored how being […]

The Glory of God

By Andrew YoungJune 18, 2019Devotionals: Romans

“Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33) Bible Reading: Romans 11:33-36 Paul ends this section of his letter to the Romans with an exclamation of wonder. God’s ways with Israel and the Gentiles leave him overwhelmed with his greatness. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” he declares. “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33). We commonly associate “depths” with oceans, or even the earth itself. The “depths of the sea” refers to the very deepest, unfathomable regions of the oceans. Similarly, “the depths of […]