Walk With Me - Devotionals: Rowan Corrigan

Lost In Wonder, Love And Praise

Rowan Corrigan — Tue, 31 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

Lost In Wonder, Love And Praise

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 31st May 2022

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If you have ever used a microscope you will know how it helps you to concentrate on something that may be very small, leaving out other things that don't concern you at the time.

In the same way if you use binoculars to look at something far away, you ignore all that is near in order to get the focus on something far away, perhaps a special castle or a wild animal or whatever. When that object comes into view you look at it intently.

When the writer of the book of Hebrews wrote to encourage the Christians of his day, many of whom had had a hard time as they followed Christ he wanted them to have one object in view. He advised them to look to Jesus. His words are very emphatic — gaze upon Christ, cut out all the things that can distract us and discourage us — just keep looking to Christ The writer gives good reason for us to look to Jesus — he is the foundation of our faith, he is the "completer" of our faith he is the one who died for us and endured all the shame and suffering that involved; and it was all for us.

So when we feel discouraged or tempted by things that are not pleasing to God, let us focus our attention on the Lord Jesus and, as the hymn puts it, 'the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace'.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I am surely 'lost in wonder, love and praise' as I look to you. Amen.

Precious Words

Rowan Corrigan — Mon, 30 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

Precious Words

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 30th May 2022

Passage: Psalm 12:6

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For some years in Edinburgh there was a jeweller's shop which was called 'Fabulous Fakes'. Jewellery that looked a if it was studded with diamonds or rubies was in reality just studded with clever look-alikes of little real value.

In Psalm 12 the writer David felt surrounded by people who claimed great thing for themselves and made great boasts of what they could do and they seemed to pour contempt on godly people. But these people were like the 'fabulous fakes'; their words were of little value. Indeed David says, 'Everyone utters lies to his neighbour'.

But in the middle of all this evil there were words which David could trust - genuine, precious words. These were the words of God. They were precious like the purest silver because they were true and David could trust them and be encouraged by them.

God has given us his precious words in the Bible. He says, "Every part of Scripture (the Bible) is God-breathed and useful one way or another — showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 The Message)

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you that your words are genuinely precious, true words. Amen.

The Mighty Hands Of Jesus

Rowan Corrigan — Fri, 27 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

The Mighty Hands Of Jesus

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 27th May 2022

Passage: Hebrews 1:3

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When we visited Israel many years ago one of the things that struck me most was the fact that Jesus Christ actually lived and walked and worked in the very places we were able to visit — Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth, Galilee. Jesus was a real person and, we are told, he went about doing good.

Among the many good things Jesus did was to heal sick people and blind people and he even brought dead people back to life again. And one stormy night on the Sea of Galilee Jesus even calmed the strong wind and the angry waves with a word. Jesus was a real man but he was also really divine — God the Son.

It may be easy to think of Jesus as a man, even as the divine man who can do miraculous things. But our picture of Jesus must never confine him to being just a very special man. The words at the top of our page tell us the utterly amazing truth that Jesus actually holds up, sustains, the whole vast universe by his powerful word. Remember how he calmed the wind and the waves on Galilee with a word — that was the word of his power. The old spiritual song says, "He's got the whole world in his hands". That's true. And those same' hands' can hold you and direct you when you need his help. He is powerful and he is good.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, help me to trust you and your powerful word. Amen.

I've Found It!

Rowan Corrigan — Tue, 24 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

I've Found It!

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 24th May 2022

Passage: Luke 15:10

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I'm quite sure we have all lost something at one time or another and searched everywhere trying to find it. If it is something really important and valuable then we look very carefully and what a relief when it eventually turns up!

Luke chapter 15 is one of the happiest chapters in the Bible because while Jesus tells us of things and people who were lost he also tells us how they were found and how even the angels sang with joy when the lost were found.

Jesus loved teaching through stories — what we call the parables. Here he tells about a sheep that was lost and then its shepherd found it; a coin a woman lost and searched for and found, and a son who was lost and then found. The point of these parables is to show us, among other things, how God longs to find and save those who have not yet believed in him and trusted him. The shepherd searched for his lost sheep the woman searched for her lost coin, the father waited longingly for the return of his lost son. What joy and relief there was when all three were found! Jesus himself tells us that he came "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:1).

That surely lets us see that God knows our need of salvation is so important and urgent. He even sent his Son to look for us and even to die for us. And it shows us also how God rejoices when sinners like ourselves are saved — heaven sings!

Prayer

Dear Lord, Thank you for sending Jesus to find me and to save me. Amen.

One Rotten Apple

Rowan Corrigan — Sat, 21 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

One Rotten Apple

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 21st May 2022

Passage: Joshua 7:1

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People say "One rotten apple can spoil the whole barrel". Rottenness spreads and can do great damage.

In the story told in Joshua chapter 7 we read of a "rotten apple whose name was Achan. He did a wrong thing in hiding away for himself and his family some precious goods from Jericho which God said should have been destroyed. Nobody saw Achan stealing the stuff so he thought he had got away with it. He would have been very pleased with himself and no doubt he and his family made sure the word didn't spread about what he had done. So did his sin keep within the family? No. Someone did see what had happened and this did not just affect Achan and his family it affected all Israel. They failed to capture the little city of Ai and some of their soldiers were killed.

You see God had been watching over his people and he saw Achan sinfully stealing the stuff that everyone knew should be destroyed. God had already told the people that when they sin there are consequences — bad things will happen; there is always a price to pay. Not only does our sin affect ourselves; it can bring down God's judgement on families and communities as well as on ourselves. One rotten apple can create much harm.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I pray that you will help me not to sin so that others may not be hurt. Amen.

Traditions

Rowan Corrigan — Wed, 18 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

Traditions

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 18th May 2022

Passage: Mark 7:8

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"But we have always done it this way". That is a common reply when someone suggests we do things a bit differently whether it is in church, at work or at home. Of course there are usually good reasons why people did things the way they did. The great reformer John Calvin wore a hat in church — because it was draughty and there were pigeons in the building! That didn't start a tradition, but many other things that well-known and loved church leaders have done have come to be the way everyone does them, and so trying to change this can cause trouble. Jesus found this to be true when he and his disciples did things differently from the way the religious leaders of his time did them. And these leaders made their traditions (however good they may have been when they were started) to be more important than the teaching of the Word of God itself.

This danger is still with us. Sometimes the way we do things was started long ago and for a good reason but it may no longer be necessary in our day. We must never allow tradition to get in the way of the Word of God but at the same time we must not trample tradition under our feet simply because it is old. We have to be sensitive to those who have' always done things this way' and we need to have a good reason for changing things.

Prayer

Dear Lord, Help me to see how best we can worship you in our situation now. Amen.

How Bright Are You?

Rowan Corrigan — Sun, 15 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

How Bright Are You?

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 15th May 2022

Passage: Matthew 5:14

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One of the many books I have enjoyed reading was a book about the Stevenson family who became famous as the builders of many of the lighthouses around the dangerous shoreline of our country. Some of these lighthouses were built in situations that called for tremendous engineering skill and courageous workers and lighthouse keepers. The great benefit of these lighthouses was that they warned sailors about the dangerous rocks on which many ships were wrecked before the lighthouses were built. But a lighthouse is only useful if its light is working and shining out into the darkness warning sailors to avoid danger.

Why does Jesus call Christians' the light of the world' A long time before Jesus came into the world God called his people to be a light to the nations so that his salvation would reach the ends of the earth. In the same way Jesus wants our lives to shine brightly by living a godly life that will let people see clearly how God is working in our lives. God wants us to shine for him and by doing this to open up to others "You'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)(Message)

So the challenge is how bright are you? Do people see God's brightness in your life and actions? So many people live in the darkness of their sinful lives. You shine for God and that will be used by God to lead them to Jesus THE light of the world.

Prayer

Dear Lord, help me to be a light for you to help people to come to Jesus. Amen.

The Church I Go To

Rowan Corrigan — Thu, 12 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

The Church I Go To

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 12th May 2022

Passage: Revelation 1:20

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"Which church do you go to? or "Do you go to church?" These are questions we quite often ask someone and usually we mean the congregation they attend or don't attend as the case may be.

Our verse at the top of the page tells of a vision the Apostle John had and it included a' picture' of the great Church of Jesus Christ. We find that the one Church is made up of individual churches (or what we would call congregations).

Each congregation is a small but true picture of the one great universal Church of our Lord. At least that is how it should be.

In chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Revelation we find letters from Jesus to seven churches (congregations) and they show us how easy it is for a congregation to develop practices which are not really showing what the true Church is like. Or perhaps the congregations fail to do what they should be doing to show the world a true picture of Christ's great Church.

This should make us look seriously at our congregations to see if they are true to Christ's picture of his Church where his word is believed and practised where his people love each other and where the Gospel is proclaimed so that seeking sinners are pointed to the Saviour. Jesus holds us to account.

Prayer

Dear Lord, help us to be true members of your Church. Amen.

A Noble Theme

Rowan Corrigan — Mon, 09 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

A Noble Theme

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 9th May 2022

Passage: Psalm 45:1

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It does your heart good to hear a great song sung well by a big choir. All the voices are balanced so that the harmony comes through and you just feel you were there among them singing your heart out!

Psalm 45 is a great song. It is a love song, a praise song and it was meant to be sung by a good choir. No doubt there would have been all kinds of musical instruments adding to the joy of the occasion for the psalm was first written for a wedding. The psalm is praising a king on his marriage to a beautiful princess. But the psalm has an even greater subject than the marriage of a local king — the noble theme is about the Ideal King who would come at the right time to be the great Saviour of the people of God. That Ideal King is the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Christians we love to sing the praises of our Lord Jesus and so we should remembering that he is the eternal Son of God and King of the universe. Yet he humbled himself even to go to the Cross as the Lamb of God who died in our place.

Let us praise and join the chorus Of the saints enthroned on high; Here they trusted him before us - Now their praises fill the sky: 'You have freed us by your blood You are worthy, Lamb of God!' (John Newton)

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to praise you as I ought to do for all that you have done for me, and help me to crown you as the King of my life and give you all the glory, Amen.

It's Great To Sing God's Praise

Rowan Corrigan — Fri, 06 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

It's Great To Sing God's Praise

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 6th May 2022

Passage: Psalm 57:5

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Many of us know the first question and answer of our Shorter Catechism: "What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end (the purpose for which we are made) is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever."

Too often we spend much time thinking about ourselves our talents our abilities and we put God in the background of our lives. We forget who God is and we forget who we are as well! God is the eternal Creator of the universe and the great One who will one day judge each person who has ever lived. We are to live remembering that God has created us and the chief purpose for which he has created us is for us to bring glory to him and to tell others of the great God he is.

When God asks us to give glory and praise to him he is not being proud or selfish. Rather he knows that when we sing his praise it is then that we forget ourselves; we leave behind our selfishness and self-centeredness and we become truly happy. The way we do this is to remember the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself to die on the cross for us. He has been exalted to the highest place in heaven and we are privileged to join everyone in heaven and on earth to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. You will never be so happy as when you are singing the praises of our Saviour God.

To him be all the glory! Amen.

Mr Facing Both-Ways

Rowan Corrigan — Tue, 03 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

Mr Facing Both-Ways

Reader: Rowan Corrigan

Date: 3rd May 2022

Passage: Romans 6:2

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Mr Facing Both-Ways was a character in John Bunyan's book' The Pilgrim's Progress'. He lived in a city called Fair-Speech. Many people like to be like Mr Facing Both-Ways and perhaps we are often like them too. We want to be known as a Christian and yet we want to keep one foot in the world as well. By' the world' I mean things that don't really fit in to a full-hearted commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. Mr Facing Both-Ways and people like him 'talk the talk' but they don't 'walk the walk'. The Apostle Paul who wrote the book of Romans was anxious that those of us who say we are Christians really live a life that truly does what Jesus wants us to do to be the people that Jesus wants us to be.

Notice how the Apostle Paul shows us just how absurd it must look when a person who has been saved by the grace of God and has had his / her sins forgiven and washed away goes back to doing the same old sinful things again. The excuse they give is that it shows how gracious God is!

How can we who died to sin (through Jesus' death) still live in sin? That was Paul's question and Paul's answer is that we cannot honestly do that. We have to walk in the new life that Jesus has given us. If we are like Mr Facing Both-Ways it may well be that we have never truly given our heart to Jesus in the first place. Think about that.

Prayer

Dear Lord, Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Amen.