Davy's Devotions

 Deuteronomy 29 :26 They went off and worshipped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. Some people find it weird that I have liked many different bands and trpes of music. Through Sex Pistols & Buzzcocks, Boomtown Rats, The Jam, Elvis, Stevie Wonder, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Carpenters, Coldplay, Phil Collins, New Seekers and onto present day, Christina Perri, Taylor Swift (That one gets me a lot of comments), Griff, Holly Humberstone. I didn't get attached tomany bands or artists from the mid 90's will more recent years but things seem brighter for vocalists again. I way prefer songs and ballads to instrumentals.   Anyway the point is that some people expect me to follow a certain style or path in music when actually Ilike all kinds and I am sure most people do, even if they do not admit to it. I like many different meals so why can I not have mixed taste in music I would ask. In fact variety as they say is the spice of lif...

Luke 5: 27  After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth.  “Follow me,”  Jesus said to him,   28  and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 29  Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.    I listen to music a lot, when I am driving, running, relaxing. I was listening to Hot Chocolates' Emma, a big hit for them in the 70s. It has always seemed to me a sad song about a woman who never really got a chance to prove herself on the big stage and a doting husband who desperately wanted to see her succeed. While all that is true. it also speaks of a young woman who is not content in herself. She lacks identity without the need to be recognised and loved by others. Her whole being has centred around this idea that somehow stardom would bring her the joy and fulfillment she needs. It is not an unfamiliar story a...

 1 Tim 6: 6   But godliness with contentment is great gain.   7   For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.   8   But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.   9   Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.   10   For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. I once heard a preacher speak on prosperity. He said: "you have come a long way. You have your holidays, your furniture, you now sit contented with your lot. But I want to tell you there's more. You need to move on to the land of more than enough, go claim your first million dollars.  Paul in this passage from Timothy reminds us that the things of the world are not our concern. We have been cal...

  John 11:32   When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33   When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.   34   “Where have you laid him?”  he asked.  “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.  35  Jesus wept.  36   Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” Why is it that young boys are told to deny aspects of their emotions or actions assumed to be feminine? We tell our child, real men don't cry. Yet here we see Jesus cried. Leave the cooking to the girls. Yet some of the worlds greatest chef's are men. Flowers are for girls. Yet men often make the best gardeners. We give our children toy guns as if it is somehow more manly to play with a gun, that to play at nursing. Jesus spent much of his time healing and none of his time destroying life. ...

  Acts 9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest   2  and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.     I have been reading a book on how to think like a psychologist. There is mention that one of our human reactions is to wrap our self up in our ego and hold firmly to that in order to find an identity we can be happy with. I recognised myself when reading this, whether it was associating with my favourite football team, or  identifying with my favourite type of music or bands or trying to act like how I felt I should as a Father. For most of us we go through periods like this and they may only last a short time or vary in how much we wish to identify. In the last few months I have noticed something really troubling. Donald Trump...

2 Pet 2:1 But there were also false prophets  among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord  who bought them —bringing swift destruction on themselves. I used to read a lot about other religions and the cults who claim to be Christian but do not recognise neither the Trinity, the deity of Christ or the atonement. I figured if I studied other teachings I would be better placed to see the genuine. This may have some merit, however pre-occupation with different doctrines may also eat away at the time you could be using to study the genuine, to get to know the character of God and understanding of his ways. I was told by a Christian friend who was also a banker that on his first day of work at the bank, he was given several bank notes. They were all legal tender. He was taught to get to know the feel of the notes, the weight, the colours, the watermark, the printing and gra...

   Gen 37:23   So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— 24   and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.  Pride takes many forms. However much we think we can avoid it, there is always something we feel pride in, whether it is an achievement of ours, or our children or a sports team, or music group we follow. I have seen "pride comes before a fall" quoted often. This saying is based on Proverbs 16:18, and like so may other quotations, slightly misquoted. The actual wording in the NIV is  " Pride   goes before destruction,    a haughty spirit before a fall" Yet can we truly live without some sense of pride? Even a monk in a monastry might have some pride at the work they complete, or their dedication to ritual. I would imagine Jesus as a young carpenter felt at least some pride in his workmanship. The real issue to me...