by Jonathan Krause
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The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold (Acts 28:2).
Read Acts 28:1–16
There’s a lady I know who came to Australia as a refugee from Vietnam.
She arrived on a boat, huddled with family members, at a time when Australia open-heartedly welcomed in those who had lost all.
(I know there’s a political conversation these days about that subject, but let’s leave that to the side.)
The lady was resettled in Tasmania. When the plane arrived, she only had light clothes after coming from the tropical heat. As she and her fellow refugees stepped off the plane into their new life, there at the bottom of the steps was a group of volunteers, waiting for them with army blankets to ward off the cold.
The love in that kindness brings me to tears.
It takes me back to a refugee camp I visited in Ethiopia on the border with Somalia. The main building was a corrugated iron hut. On it was taped a sign that said, ‘Welcome’. Then, the first words each refugee heard were: ‘Welcome. You are safe now. This is your new home. We will take care of you.’
In Poland, where church communities welcomed families fleeing as refugees from Ukraine, instead of calling the people refugees, they called them guests.
It can be hard to be kind. Those who need our kindness may not always be neat and tidy or easy to care for. These people may need more than we feel we can give. Perhaps that is why kindness can often seem ‘unusual’.
Yet, as Christians, we are often called to live in a way that is unusual and makes no earthly sense. To unfold an army blanket. To build a fire. To offer shelter. When we do, just like those islanders, we can take heart from what Paul (a survivor of the shipwreck and seated at the fire the islanders built) said:
‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it’ (Hebrews 13:2).
Thank you, Jesus, for your unusual kindness to me and your love that took you to the cross – for me. I am so blessed by the comfort of your grace. Thank you. Amen.
Jonathan lives south of Adelaide with his wife Julie. Blessed by children and grandchildren, Jonathan enjoys reading and writing, walking by the beach, and watching Collingwood win. Author of many devotion books, Jonathan is the Community Action Manager for the Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS).
by Jonathan Krause
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away (Acts 27:32).
Read Acts 27:27–44
Do you ever get tired of all those ‘super’ ads on TV?
You know the ones, where they compare two people and show how the ‘smart’ one can get much more money than the less nice-looking one?
These ads pitch money as security.
And yes, you and I do need to plan carefully. But do we need to live in fear so that money drives all our decisions? That’s something we Christians wrestle with. In following Jesus, we know we are called to serve the poor, be prepared to give away everything and put our neighbour first … Yet the world teaches us that money is safety and security and that the more we get, the safer we will be. It’s made out to be our lifeboat in stormy seas.
When Paul tells the sailors that the only way to save their lives is to cut the lifeboat and let it drift away, it’s a huge step of faith for them to follow that instruction. In the same way, it can feel a huge step for you and me to purposely cut ourselves from the lifeboat of money and the safety and security it seems to offer.
I don’t have an easy answer on how to do that.
I think God gives us wisdom, responsibility and opportunities. We are blessed to be able to bless. It’s not so much what’s in the super account; it’s what’s in our hearts. I recall a widow I met in Bangladesh who begged for rice each day to survive, yet when she had a few cents, she gave it to help ‘the poor people’. I shared her story in a magazine, and that widow’s example inspired a teenager in Australia to change her career plan and become a social worker instead, so she, too, could help ‘the poor people’.
You know your life. Is there a lifeboat you can let go of so you can be close to the One who promises to be with us through life’s stormy seas?
Jesus, you know how I hold on to things I think will protect me and put my trust in things that will let me down. Help me let go of those fake lifeboats and simply hold on to you. Amen.
Jonathan lives south of Adelaide with his wife Julie. Blessed by children and grandchildren, Jonathan enjoys reading and writing, walking by the beach and watching Collingwood win. Author of many devotion books, Jonathan is the Community Action Manager for the Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS).
by Jonathan Krause
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island (Acts 27:25,26).
Read Acts 27:9–26
I am no sailor.
I once got seasick on a houseboat on a lake while we were still attached to the wharf.
And I’ve never been on a cruise. Not only am I scared of going cabin-crazy from being confined, but I worry I will eat too much, exercise too little, and come home twice the man I was when I set sail.
So, I don’t know how I would go on a boat in a storm.
And if some smart fella stood up and told me to have courage, as Paul did in the Bible reading, I’m not sure I’d want to listen. Especially when he said in the next breath that we were going to be shipwrecked even if we did exactly as commanded!
What is courage anyway?
I’m not sure that it means you’re not scared. Your greatest courage is when you are scared – but you carry on anyway. (Those of us blessed to be Collingwood supporters know that feeling well – we are always scared we’ll lose, especially when it comes to finals, but we have the courage to keep hanging in there anyway!)
I don’t know what your life is like right now.
Maybe the cost-of-living crisis or high mortgage interest rates are causing you stress. Perhaps you’re worried about a loved one or have lost someone dear to you. Maybe the black dog of depression is barking at your ankles, or the chill of loneliness is wrapping icy fingers around your heart.
We shouldn’t be surprised. The storms will come. We may even run aground and suffer in ways that feel unfair or overwhelming.
That’s when we need the courage to hold on to our faith. Maybe it’s by our fingernails. Perhaps we feel too weary and worn to hold on a moment longer. That’s when we lift our eyes to Jesus, focus only on him, and – rather than holding on – let ourselves be held.
That takes true courage. I pray that for you.
Lord, you know me. You understand the life I lead, the challenges that confront me, the joys that delight. I know no life goes by without storms. Give me the courage to hold on to you. Amen.
Jonathan lives south of Adelaide with his wife Julie. Blessed by children and grandchildren, Jonathan enjoys reading and writing, walking by the beach and watching Collingwood win. Author of many devotion books, Jonathan is the Community Action Manager for the Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS).
by Jonathan Krause
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’ (Acts 26:28)
Read Acts 26:24 – 27:8
Do you ever get scared of your phone?
Especially around five in the afternoon, when a strange number pops up on your screen. Or rings and rings on the landline while you’re trying to get dinner ready.
You know it will be someone who wants to sell you something.
They pretend they have a connection with you by mentioning your power bill or credit card or a deal too good to be true that they don’t want you to miss out on.
If you make the mistake of being polite and then give them the chance to continue, your next 10 minutes are lost. They have a script with a tailored answer for any question or comment you might make. They pretend they’re your friend, and you’d like to believe them … but, in the end, you know they’re only out to make a profit from you.
They’re trying to persuade you to buy something you don’t want … or didn’t want until they convinced you that you did – or desperately needed it or would be left behind if you didn’t have it.
Do you find it interesting that King Agrippa suggests that if Paul had more than a ‘short time’, perhaps Agrippa could be won with words?
Paul is a brilliant orator, so perhaps he could.
For me, I’ve always understood faith to be the gift of God through the Holy Spirit. Faith may come in a flash (perhaps in a blinding light like it did with Paul himself) … or it may take a lifetime. A death bed. A tragedy. The good news is through the bad news.
So, I don’t think I can write anything in these devotions that will persuade anyone of anything.
All I can do is share my experience and journey and pray the Spirit may use that to touch someone – or may not.
What do you think? Persuaded?
Lord, today, I open my heart to you. Lay myself bare. Stop my talking so I can hear whatever you want to share with me and follow wherever you want to lead. I’m in your hands. Amen.
Jonathan lives south of Adelaide with his wife Julie. Blessed by children and grandchildren, Jonathan enjoys reading and writing, walking by the beach and watching Collingwood win. Author of many devotion books, Jonathan is the Community Action Manager for the Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS).
by Jonathan Krause
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You have permission to speak for yourself’ (Acts 26:1a).
Read Acts 26:1–23
I sometimes get a bit grumpy with Paul. Yes, his ministry is amazing. His conversion is a miracle. His suffering for his faith is immense. That’s not what I get grumpy about.
It’s his way with words. Read a verse or two of Romans or his response to King Agrippa here, and straight away, you can see Paul has a lot to say. And he can say it in a way that those of us who stumble over words or wrestle with shyness can only admire. (Or get grumpy at!)
Speak for yourself.
What an invitation! When was the last time you had someone ask you to share what you believe or sit across the table from you and listen as you declared what’s in and on your heart?
It doesn’t happen too often, does it?
And if you did receive that invitation, what would you say? Where would you start?
Perhaps you could look to Paul for guidance. But when I do, I feel like a tongue-tied nincompoop instead. Paul argues the case for faith in a logical, precise, well-reasoned way. He quotes history with authority, shares his Boys’ Own story of the blinding light on the road to Damascus and provides the classic before and after story of his transformation.
Not all of us have such rich stories to share or the confidence to speak them out loud, let alone in a king's court.
So, what do we do?
Right about here, I could give you the stock phrase to pray, and it will all turn out all right. That’s true, but perhaps it may also make it too easy. I know it does for me. If I did only that when preparing a chapel for school, a message for church or a presentation for Australian Lutheran World Service, I think I’d fall in a heap.
Instead, I read and research, prepare, practise, explore, and edit …
… Then get utterly nervous and spend more time in the loo than looking forward to sharing!
So, please forgive me for getting grumpy with Paul. I hope you may extend as much grace to me when asked to ‘speak for yourself’ as God does with us all.
Father, when I read about Paul, I sometimes feel very small and low. Help me instead to be inspired and excited about what you can do in the lives of people like me. Amen.
Jonathan lives south of Adelaide with his wife Julie. Blessed by children and grandchildren, Jonathan enjoys reading and writing, walking by the beach and watching Collingwood win. Author of many devotion books, Jonathan is the Community Action Manager for the Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS).
by Jonathan Krause
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? (Mark 8:36)
Read Mark 8:27–38
That’s the trouble, you know.
You work and work to get and get and get … and everything is lovely, and you’re having a wonderful time … and then real life sneaks up on you and smashes you in the head.
You lose a loved one. You are disappointed at work. You make a mistake you can’t get past.
Someone lets you down. Someone uses you up. Someone isn’t who you thought they were.
Suddenly, a hole opens up inside you. A yawning gap you thought you had filled with things that promised happiness. Success. Admiration.
Do you know that feeling?
The darkness of that hole can settle over you. It is infecting every day with gloom so that it’s hard to see light anywhere. Even a grandchild’s smile can struggle to find its way through.
Read further in today’s Bible reading, and you might be disappointed Jesus does not offer a quick, easy fix. (If Jesus were a TV salesperson, he would have spun a whole series of promises with an easy payment plan and a set of steak knives if you got in quick.)
But, no, what Jesus says is this: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’ (verse 34).
We’re not used to being asked to deny ourselves.
It’s the opposite. Each day, we’re pummelled with products to make life easier. You may feel challenged that receiving the gift of faith doesn’t guarantee a whole array of earthly benefits.
What we do know for certain, though, is that whatever happens in our lives, we are not alone.
So, if a hole of fear, despair, shame, loneliness, heartbreak, grief, or loss opens up inside you (as it will), hold on to the promise that you can turn to Jesus and be sure that hole will be filled with hope.
And that’s worth a whole lot more than the world.
Lord Jesus, you know me inside and out. You know my hurts and hopes, my faith and fears. Complicated, aren’t I? Give me the strength to see my whole world in you. Amen.
Jonathan lives south of Adelaide with his wife Julie. Blessed by children and grandchildren, Jonathan enjoys reading and writing, walking by the beach and watching Collingwood win. Author of many devotion books, Jonathan is the Community Action Manager for Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS
by Kathy Matuschka
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I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy (Psalm 116:1).
Read Psalm 116:1–9
This week, we have heard stories of rescue. First, Jesus healed the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter, and then Paul was rescued from death. In just five days of readings (two-and-a-half chapters of Acts), God has used Paul’s nephew, a Roman commander, 470 military personnel, two Roman governors, Paul’s Roman citizenship and Paul’s rhetorical skills to keep him safe from harm.
We have been following the missionary activities of Paul and others for weeks in our daily devotions. It would be interesting to list all the ways God provided for the early church, as recorded in Acts.
It reminds me that I ‘should’ keep a journal and that I ‘should’ organise my journalling well enough to keep looking back to recall what God is teaching me and how God is providing for me each day.
Some people consistently keep journals, but I don’t. I may not be able to recall all the details of my life and the ways God has answered my prayers, but I find that the Psalms remind me of God’s presence and provision for me throughout my life. Not only do psalms remind us to give thanks to God, but they remind us of our interconnectedness as people. When we recognise our own emotions, thoughts and experiences in the words of the Psalms, we notice that the difficulties we experience are not unique. Others have experienced similar things, looked to God for help and known God’s deliverance in times of need.
From the Syrophoenician woman who cried, ‘Lord, help me’, to the Apostle Paul, who followed the Spirit’s lead to Jerusalem, trusting his life and the number of his days to God’s hands (Acts 20:22–24), to you and me, our emotional heights and depths have been described in the Book of Psalms. Furthermore, through Jesus Christ, who lived, died and rose from the dead, there is no trial we can face and nowhere we can go where God is not present and ready to help.
Dear Lord, you are gracious, righteous and full of compassion. You hear my cries for mercy and are ready to protect and save. When things look grim or don’t make sense, help me rest in your care. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Kathy Matuschka and her husband, Mark, live in Brisbane and worship at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Rochedale. Kathy continues to discern her ministry calling through her employment as a hospital chaplain and voluntary LCANZ activities. This year, she has contributed to the Way Forward Pastoral Care Working Group as a member.
by Kathy Matuschka
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him (Acts 25:27).
Read Acts 25:13–27
Paul appeals to Caesar, but it’s not yet time for him to leave for Rome. Today, Governor Festus invests in another strategic partnership as King Herod Agrippa II and his sister Bernice arrive to welcome Festus to his new role.
Once more, Festus demonstrates his collaborative, consultative skills. He asks Agrippa and local leaders if they will help him write a covering letter explaining why Paul has been imprisoned and is being sent to Caesar. One of the reasons Festus asks is because he is having difficulty making sense of the case.
Festus was undoubtedly aware that a well-written letter to Caesar could significantly impact his reputation and future career. But there was more to it than that. Festus also observes: ‘I found he had done nothing deserving of death’ (verse 25a).
Festus is concerned about being reasonable and just, but he doesn’t consider himself to have the corner on reason. So, he gathers a team to hear their perspectives and talk it through.
Do you have a support team – people you trust to help you process your thoughts, who share their perspectives and stretch your thinking? They may be people who see gifts and capacities in you that you didn’t see yourself.
Sometimes, when we support and encourage others, we may say a few words that we quickly forget but which stay with the other person for life. Can you recall people whose words and perspectives have stuck with you, who helped you achieve more than you could have imagined?
Dear loving God, thank you for the people who sharpen my thoughts and understanding. Thank you to those who have challenged and encouraged me to keep growing in my faith in you. Help me notice opportunities to help others grow into who you have made them to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Kathy Matuschka and her husband, Mark, live in Brisbane and worship at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Rochedale. Kathy continues to discern her ministry calling through her employment as a hospital chaplain and voluntary LCANZ activities. This year, she has contributed to the Way Forward Pastoral Care Working Group as a member.
by Kathy Matuschka
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: ‘You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!’ (Acts 25:12)
Read Acts 24:24–25:12
So, there was an undercurrent to the delays in resolving Paul’s case – we learn that Governor Felix hoped to receive a bribe payment to set Paul free (verse 26). Meanwhile, by keeping Paul in prison, Felix earned ‘brownie points’ with the Jewish leaders. This, in turn, contributed to Governor Felix's and his team's safety as the tension and unrest in the region increased. As a new scene begins, Paul has been under guard in Caesarea for two years …
Exit Governor Felix. Enter Governor Porcius Festus. Enter Jewish leaders who campaign to have Paul moved back to Jerusalem (so they can have another try at ambushing and killing him).
According to the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus, Festus was a good leader who inherited more than one problem from his predecessor. Festus appears to be a ‘get things done’ leader, but his issues are complex.
Festus proposes a solution: that Paul return to Jerusalem and face the Jewish judiciary system. In response, Paul, again, ‘names the thing’: ‘I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you know very well … I appeal to Caesar!’ (verses 10 and 11).
Once more, Paul plays his trump card as a Roman citizen … appealing to the top this time! How different would things have been if Paul didn’t have Roman citizenship? But as it turns out, two men – Festus and Paul – each play their part, contributing what they have to develop a satisfactory solution to a complex problem. Two people achieving together what neither could have achieved alone.
Festus now gets Paul ‘off his books’, which means one less issue with the Jewish leaders. Festus’ conscience and Paul’s safety are no longer threatened by the prospect of a sham trial in Jerusalem. And Paul gets the opportunity to proclaim the gospel in the centre of the Roman Empire, maybe even to Caesar!
Dear God, thank you for creating us to exist in relationships and communities. Thank you for unlikely partnerships that achieve good things for your kingdom. Bless our communities and fill us with a vision for your mission among us. Through your Spirit, unite us to share our gifts, passions and skills for your glory and the common good. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Kathy Matuschka and her husband, Mark, live in Brisbane and worship at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Rochedale. Kathy continues to discern her ministry calling through her employment as a hospital chaplain and voluntary LCANZ activities. This year, she has contributed to the Way Forward Pastoral Care Working Group as a member.