Devotion – God our saviour

He couldn’t believe what he saw: not a soul around to correct this awful situation. So he did it himself, took on the work of salvation, fuelled by his own righteousness (Isaiah 59:15,16).

Imagine being in a leaky boat off the Somali coast. There are enormous waves, strong winds and pirates – not the sort with parrots and swords – but with machine guns and explosives. You try to bail out the water, but there’s always too much. You call on the radio – it’s dead. You send out a flare – it’s wet. There is no one to save you.

It is a bleak picture. It’s a picture of the toxic destruction sin causes – not just sin ‘out there’ but in our own lives. Sin is not just what we do but who we are from the moment of birth.

It is impossible for anything you do or anyone you know to save you from yourself and place your feet on solid ground. Sin is so toxic that unless your conscience knows it has been killed, it will sink you and all those around you even as you try and patch things up.

We need more than a nice cup of tea and some Bible verses about love to cut the throat of sin. To paraphrase PT Forsyth: the great word of the gospel is not just ‘God is love’. That is too small. It produces a life unable to cope with crises. But the word is this: love reigns not as an emotion or a feel-good thought, but because God’s love is a holy and cleansing fire. It is the voice of Christ setting the universe right at immeasurable cost to himself, enduring the holy fire of love. Because of his great mercy we are not consumed, and by faith we believe his promise: ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.’ God has won the battle. Our faith is faith in his saving grace.

Prayer Points

We pray for the people who have been affected by the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey

We give thanks for the Student Support Officers who care and support our students

We pray for the Cinzah, Cohlung and Diep families

Micah Award

Sang Za for showing service to his class mates

Dolianthang for showing compassion to his class mates