By Michael Smith

Today, I want to share some thoughts around connecting with God. Luke 10:27 in the NIV says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.”  

There are a few ways that we can do this. The most important one is by having a relationship with Him. There are many ways that we can do this too. So, I remember when I came to CFFD camp a couple of years ago, and I brought my 3 youth boys along, when I was youth leader at Henderson Baptist Church. Seeing them serve made my heart full.  

Loving God with all your soul means loving God on the good days and the bad days. For example, I was going through a rough time, and I stopped going to Church for about 2 months, and when I started to go back to Church, things started to change. To love God with all our strength means to have faith. I remember hearing in Church that loving Him with all our strength is like exercising our faith muscles and mind.  

This is plainly just thinking about how amazing, and extravagant His love for us is. A few months ago, I was asked to pick 3 songs for a day retreat, and I was reminded of the children’s song, Jesus Loves Me, and I said to the people that were attending that retreat on that day that they may have to help me sing the song because, like, I might get choked up while I am trying to sing it. Just think about it, how amazing is it that even before we had the capacity as babies, and children to understand what Jesus did for us on that cross, that still didn’t change the fact that He did it for us. Now that is love, and when we look at it in context, how can we not love God with all our mind? So, what does that mean for us today? It means that we can live our lives knowing that we are loved.  

So, to finish, I just want to encourage you to spend some time with Him, in all seasons of life. Stay connected with God. Place the things that we are struggling to hold onto Him. He faced the most cruelest death in history. He can handle it. I know what it is like to not do this, and I always feel so much more connected to Him when I do.  

 Michael Smith has been a volunteer at our National Camp, Auckland CFFD and Drop-in Centre. He has been working with people with disabilities for several years. 

By Kevin Park

Don’t we love connecting with people? I do. I love connecting with people because I receive encouragement from them and I give encouragement. It also gives me a sense that I’m not alone.

Because of our fast-paced culture, people may forget the importance of meeting others and carry on doing their tasks instead. Since I love doing life and faith with people, I always try to contact and catch up with them.

I lost contact with most of my high-school friends. But I am still in touch with my friends, who left New Zealand in 2017 to go to Sydney for work. We often catch up on Zoom to stay connected and see each other whenever they returned to Auckland.

As one of my friends studied journalism at university, she has been helping me with English when editing essays. I have been helping her with theology when she proofreads them. I appreciate our friendship and am grateful for it so much, and they think the same way.

Did you know that another friend is willing to be friends with everyone? His name is Jesus! Although He is not physically present. He loves to be best friends with everyone, no matter who they are, He sacrificed His life on the cross for us so that we may be saved spiritually. For our spiritual selves is wasting away.

There is an idea today that tells us to do everything in our own power to make ourselves righteous people and earn our way to heaven at the end of our physical lives. However, Jesus already made us righteous people worthy to go to heaven at the end of our physical lives and fit into God’s Kingdom while we are still on earth, even though we did nothing by sacrificing Himself on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross, the temple curtain was torn apart. The temple curtain separated us from God, our heavenly Father. This means that God can be known through Jesus Christ.

As God has loved us so much, He longs to bring us back to have a deep relationship and fellowship with Him through faith in Christ. God even has considered believers His children and predestined them in what they are designed to be even before the world’s creation as fellow participants of His mission.

If we believe in Jesus and pursue God wholeheartedly, He will never disappoint us.

Although following Jesus is challenging, He will always stay with us, even through challenging moments. The power of the Holy Spirit demonstrates this evidence. The Holy Spirit, also known as God’s Spirit, is given to believers in the place of the physical Jesus. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three in one, and they are called the Triune God altogether. Nevertheless, God never forces us to believe in Jesus. The choice is ours. Are you willing to believe in Jesus?

Kevin Park is studying at Carey Baptist College and finds that Christian-writing is God’s calling on his life. He writes articles for Press Service International and he lives with Cerebral Palsy.

By Jean Griffith

I have heard from people that on waking they must have their first cup of coffee before they can start the day. That zap of caffeine is what seems to connect them to become fully awake. No doubt while they’re having that stimulus, they turn on their devices to connect to the world.  These days devices have become their lifeline, they cannot function without it.  As this devotion is about Connection, it made me think about how much we rely on connecting with many things to help us in our daily lives. 

When we were in lockdown, okay, these devices did have their place, but after a while, they weren’t a means to an end. People wanted to connect to a real person face to face. The joy of doing things together, sharing laughter and food together, having a hug from someone, playing board games together and the many things that connect us when we are with each other, that is what makes us happy and alive because it’s real. 

Mark 5: 25-34 is about the woman with the issue of blood. She had a medical bleeding condition which she had had for 12yrs. She had sought healing from physicians and spent all she had. According to Jewish laws, if she touched anybody, that person would have also been deemed unclean. I can imagine that ostracized stigma would have been far more painful than the condition itself. When she heard Jesus was in town, she knew what she had to do. She wasn’t going to allow her low social status to stop what she so desired. She was pushed and scuffled along with the crowds but had only one thing on her mind. She was focused on Jesus. She was determined to reach out towards him.  

The woman’s desperation propelled her forward, she persevered, and her faith was unwavering. She became a risk taker because she was going against the rules of her time. She thrust her way through the crowds, although she could have been crushed to death.  She focused on her goal; she was trusting Jesus for her healing with outstretched arms. She wasn’t going to give up… 

 One touch of that garment was all it needed. Then it happened… she touched the source of the healing power; her faith was activated. 

 Jesus responded! Suddenly he felt power zap from him. There had been a connection with the woman who had touched him, where she had great faith that he was the one who could heal her. He responded to her faith and restored her to wholeness. 

Wow what a lesson for us to learn! How desperate are we to connect with God? Jesus is our ultimate power source that can get us going in the morning, he is the one we can reach out to and to guide us through the day. He is the one who restores us, gives us fulfilment and complete wholeness! 

Jean Griffiths is a wonderful volunteer based in Auckland. She’s the communication liaison for CFFD branches as well as serving on Auckland CFFD committee.

Faith Journey

By Jean Griffith

I gaze at my “Steps”, yet again. What a wonderful way to meditate on the journey God has for me.

I have this beautiful glass sculpture representing a flight of steps which has much significance to me. This piece stands at 180mm x 110mm. It has 17 steps curving upwards. It starts off wide and narrows to a point as it distances off. It is made of translucent glass and is a golden colour. The steps are cobbled looking giving the impression of a Middle Eastern /European location.

My first thought when I first saw it, was “Steps to heaven” and then so many other images floated in, and I got excited at how God was speaking to me through this art piece.

There are many scriptures pertaining “steps” in the bible.  One of them is Prov.16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps”.

We plan our lives to a tee sometimes without a thought of asking God for his guidance and that can surely lead us the wrong path.

What can these steps be and how can they be turned around for good when we ask him? They can be step of despair turned to step of hope. Step of doubt to step of assurance. Step of unbelief to step of faith.

Another verse is Prov. 20:24 “Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way” This scripture speaks about trusting the Lord, as some things are just too difficult to fathom out. To step out in faith means to take a risk for God, knowing that He is going to catch you and be there with you if anything should happen. As we step out, we are letting God know that we want change.

It signifies our journey, our character building, our hopes, dreams, trials, sufferings, joy and relationships. The journey of our life has been developed into whom we are now.

I love the word “faith” because it challenges me to get out of my comfort zone. I have the assurance that Jesus will help me through the valleys and over the mountains.  We can triumph when we fix our eyes on the next step and upwards.  This is why I have called this sculpture “Faith Journey”.

Another image reminds me of the empty tomb with the backdrop of the sunlight filtering in, with the glory of God shining through.  Jesus didn’t stay in the tomb, he climbed those steps and made a way of salvation for us and giving us a purpose to live.

Acts 4:12 says “Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

He gave us life – eternal life.

And of course, my favourite scripture is from Rev.21:21 “…The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.”  Every time I look at my “Steps”, I imagine walking those steps in heaven – walking the golden pavements, the purest of purest – wow!

This is something to look forward to because this is where we will spend eternity.

Jean Griffiths is a wonderful volunteer based in Auckland. She’s the communication liaison for CFFD branches as well as serving on Auckland CFFD committee.

Spirit of Power, Love and a Sound Mind

By Teremoana and Aukilani Va’a

Teremoana

Today we are doing the devotion and we are going to be using the example of a tree.

People often look at trees for their beauty. However, trees are important in a number of ways. Trees are used to represent life & wisdom like us trees grow and change with every season, just like me I grow in resilience and strength.

Like you have leaves on a tree, the righteous man shows evidence of being alive like the fresh green leaves on a tree that has been nourished. Leaves are like people. They come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and they change colours according to the seasons.

And just like the roots of a tree as well, people cannot see what is going on under the ground, but there are unseen roots that are firmly planted below the soil. Roots serve a very important purpose. They hold water and nutrients and disperse them to all parts of the tree. The righteous man, the righteous person thrives the same way as a tree does because of strong roots.

The tree that you see standing tall above the ground can endure storms and strong winds because of its underground work. In the weather and conditions, trees might bend, but they do not break because of their strong roots. The Godly man is strong and stable with roots that grow unseen. When we look at people, we cannot see what is going on underneath. However, that is where the real work takes place.

Aukiani

I’m going to share about the verse 2 Timothy 1:7, it says that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” You see people, God does not give us anything that we can’t endure or is not good in our life, but God will bless us with the spirit of power, the spirit of love and the spirit of a sound mind. So, we going to share about the sound mind.

I thank God my Lord Jesus for blessing me with a sound mind. A sound mind that is in me that knowing when a storm or problem that will come my way, I am ready for it. The reason. It’s not because of me but my God is for me. The Bible says that if God is before you or before me who can be against me. So, people take that and apply that into your life. Because you know that whatever situation or problem or storm that comes your way you know that God is for you.

So have no fear, don’t fear the world or fear what’s happening around you. But apply what God has promised you because you know Gods’ promises are yes and amen. So, when God says I’ll give you a spirit of power, love and a sound mind then glorify and ‘say yes Lord please I receive that’ because that can be powerful in your life. But to have that you got to want it, you know, it’s like serving God not because you must, but serving God because you want to. So, if you really want what God is applying to our lives, please just open your heart, open your hand and say Lord I receive that because that really can play a big part in our lives.

Like I say people, God’s promises are yes and amen. So, if God says He’s going to give that to you and me, hey, rejoice and praise the Lord, and say amen thank you God I receive it. So people, don’t fear what’s happening around the world, don’t fear because what happening in your situation now but just glorify God and praise Him and say thank you Lord. Thank you for the power, for the spirit of power. Thank you, Father God, for the spirit of love. Thank you, Father God, for spirit of sound mind. Now I don’t fear nothing because I know God is for me and you know God is for you. So, people, have a blessed day and know that God loves you so much and God’s promise are yes and amen.

Teremoana Va’a Is our receptionist who loves welcoming people into our Centre. She is also the Volunteer Coordinator for the Drop-in Centre.
Aukilani Va’a is a general volunteer in Auckland. Everyone enjoys his joyful spirit.