Battle Drill Devotional

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR OUR PODBEAN SUBSCRIBERS

Hello. This is a special message for those who listen and subscribe to the Battle Drill Devotional podcast directly via Podbean.
 
With immediate effect, this podcast has moved to another podcast hosting service, named Castos. No further episodes will be added on Podbean after today.
 
If you would like to continue listening, then the very best thing you can do is head to www.equippinghispeople.com/devotional and subscribe to your preferred podcast service. You will find us on all major podcast services from Apple to Spotify to Google and to Amazon.
 
If on the other hand, you prefer to use Podbean, either via their app or on the web, then from the www.equippinghispeople.com/devotional page you can right click the RSS button and copy the RSS feed address. In the app, choose Search and then choose +Feed and paste the RSS feed address in there. Alternatively, in both the Podbean app on on the Podbean website, you can simply search for Battle Drill Devotional and find the new version. The new version will include new episodes starting with one for 22 May 2023 called, Eve: A Lesson for All of Us.
 
I do hope you will join me in our new home and continue to listen to Battle Drill Devotional.
 
Thanks for listening, and God bless you!

Assignment: Be a Living Stone - Build His Church

Read 1 Peter 2:4-10. Have you ever represented someone on their behalf? As a Salvation Army officer, I have represented my corps at many events. I think especially of funerals of former members - those who were no longer able to attend through ill health or who had transferred to another local church.
Peter reminds us that we have each been chosen by God, and we have been called to represent him to others. This is the very essence of our being. The importance of our relationship with Christ goes way above our job, our success, our wealth, or our knowledge. We are God’s children. We are valuable to him.
Our self-worth comes not from what we do, but from what God does for and in and through us.
We each have the responsibility of bringing others to Christ. We must be united with Christ. As members of his body, we are called to build his church by helping to reconcile God and humanity.
Let’s be living stones and help build his church, being the absolute best representative of Christ wherever we find ourselves today and beyond.
Think It Over
Think about the following:
Who could you introduce to Christ today?
 
You can listen to an audio of Battle Drill Devotional every Monday through Friday. Click on the link - https://linktr.ee/battlefieldresources - to listen, watch or subscribe to this podcast.
 
Unless otherwise shown, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jesus: The Most Important Part of The Church

Read 1 Peter 2:4-10. I grew up at Norwich Citadel Salvation Army. Every Sunday, on my way into the main hall, I would pass several foundation or dedication stones that were memorials to those who played a special part in opening the building for Salvation Army worship. I often used to wonder who they were and what part they played. But many of them were long forgotten.
Peter describes Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of the church, the most important part of God’s building. Peter tells us that he is totally trustworthy. A cornerstone that could give way at any minute, would be no good in a building. Likewise, we need the solid foundation of Jesus Christ himself to help us build the church.
He is precious to us as believers. We recognise we are his chosen people and that we belong to him. It is he who enables and empowers us to show his goodness to others.
Though many have rejected him, Jesus Christ is the most important part of the church. He saves us. He gives meaning to our lives.
Let’s ensure we are building our lives and the life of our church on Jesus Christ. The church rests on him. And he will build us together, creating a place where God lives by his Holy Spirit.
Think It Over
Think about the following:
•        What is the most important part of your church?

Is Your Church Too Reliant on Structure, Routine, and Rules?

Read 1 Peter 2:4-10. What is the church? Many people think of the church as a building. People speak of the local church or the church down the road, and what is in their mind is the building. Peter portrays the church not as a building but as the living, spiritual temple of God.
Richard Rohr has mapped out the journey of many Christian denominations. A man or woman sees a unique way of doing and being church and starts something. Think William and Catherine Booth and their calling to the unchurched working classes in the Victorian slums of the East end of London. If this succeeds, then it grows into a Movement as people join the cause and feel part of something that is dynamic, creative, and purposeful. That is how Peter describes the church.
Unfortunately, at this point, human nature often takes over. We mechanise, add structure, organise, create routine. Suddenly, the dynamic, free, and unstructured Movement becomes weighed down by rules and regulations, strangled by bureaucracy.
Sadly, as more people realise, they are no longer participants in a Movement but supporters of a Machine, the Machine becomes a Monument. The Machine becomes the object of focus and attention. What becomes most important (in our context) is that we love The Salvation Army. It is essential that we belong to it (rather than whether we belong to God). That we - and others - are taking part in its activities, rather than on ensuring we are taking part in God’s work.
All is not lost. There are many Salvationists who realise this isn’t what we’re about. Salvationists who realise our calling is to be living stones, not monuments. Let’s work with them. When we do so, God will multiply our efforts. Together, we can build a beautiful house for God.
Think It Over
Think about the following:
•        Is your church or denomination a man or woman, movement, machine, or monument? What part can you play to ensure it is made of living stones?

A Pool of Grace from The Darkest Places of Life

Read Genesis 28:11-18. As you think back over the history of your corps, church, or place of worship, I am sure you are aware of both ups and downs in its life.
There will have been incredible high points - when all was good, when people were being saved, and when you could really sense the Holy Spirit moving - and some low points - when times were hard, when people drifted away, when there was conflict and difficulty.
When we are travelling on stony ground, when all is helpless, we often feel as if God is hiding from us. Where is he in all this mess?
Jacob had deceived his father Isaac into giving him his brother Esau’s blessing. He had fled for his life, travelling more than four hundred miles to escape his family. His life had turned to stone, just like the stone he laid his head on to sleep. He had not thought of God. Whether he had abandoned God or God had abandoned him mattered not. He was all alone.
But his deep, exhausted sleep became the place of God’s revelation. Suddenly, Jacob experienced the very real presence of God.
As Margaret Silf has pointed out, “we cannot manufacture the ladder ourselves”. We cannot conjure God out of thin air. But when we have sunk down into stillness and despair, God touches our hearts and we hear his still, small voice.
As both bodies of God’s people and as individuals, when we feel we have reached rock bottom, that is the very place that God can transform into a pool of grace.
Think It Over
Think about the following:
•        Have you ever experienced the presence of God when you felt bereft, lonely, frightened, or exhausted? What was your response?

You Can’t Rely on Your Past - Start Living Your Own Faith Story

This week on Battle Drill Devotionals, we reflect on the awesome privilege of being God’s people. Each weekday we share hope and encouragement as we read and study the Bible together.
Read Genesis 28:11-18. How many generations of Christians have there been in your family. Salvationists often talk about being third, fourth, or even fifth generation. They are proud of the history their family have in The Salvation Army.
But you cannot rely on the past, nor can you rest on the reputation of your family. God had made a covenant promise to Abraham and Isaac. He had promised them both land, many descendants, and blessings. But it wasn’t enough for Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, to rely on the covenant God had made with his family. He had to establish his own personal relationship with God.
It is not enough for us to rely on our family history. It is not enough for us to rely on our upbringing. Our surname will not save us! We must each have a personal relationship with God too. We must take our own place in God’s story. We must grow in faith and in spiritual maturity.
Abraham was saved by his own faith in God. We now share his blessing and will be saved by our own faith in Jesus Christ. That is the great heritage we have. That’s a solid foundation for living. Put your faith in God, not in your past.
Think It Over
Think about the following:
•        What wonderful story of faith does your family tell themselves? What is your place in that story?

You Will Never Be Truly Happy, Until You Serve Others

Read Mark 9:33-37. I wonder if King Charles III Coronation made him happy. Certainly, it was good to see him, Queen Camilla and other members of the Royal Family smiling as they returned to Buckingham Palace after the Service.
Jesus says that true happiness comes from loving God and loving others, and by giving our lives away by serving them. In many ways, it’s amazing his disciples were arguing on the journey through Galilee to Capernaum about who was the greatest. Only a few days before, Jesus had told them:
Mark 8:35 LBP
If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.
The abundant and full life Jesus longs to give us - the happy life - comes from serving and giving. Jesus promises that the more you give yourself away to others, the more blessings God gives you in return.
To be happy, we must practice serving and generosity every day. If we are not moving forward in this way, then we will be going backwards. There is no standing still when it comes to serving and giving! Are you more generous to others than you were this time last year? Are you serving others more than you were this time twelve months ago?
Jesus calls us to sacrifice and to serve God by serving others. Look for ways to do that today and you will find the happiness you crave.
Think It Over
Think about the following:
What makes you happy?
 
You can listen to an audio of Battle Drill Devotional every Monday through Friday. Click on the link - https://linktr.ee/battlefieldresources - to listen, watch or subscribe to this podcast.
 
Unless otherwise shown, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Seize the Opportunity to Serve Right Now!

Read Mark 9:33-37. Are you a procrastinator? I know people who can’t act to do something unless they are under a stressful deadline! But many of us can be guilty of waiting to do something until the conditions are right, or until it’s more convenient for us to do it.
When it comes to serving others, Jesus didn’t envisage his followers putting it off until they were ready to do it. He told his disciples that “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else” (Mark 9:35) and he meant straightaway!
You have God-given gifts you can use today. You can help someone with the skills you have today. You have talents you can use to serve others today. You have abilities that can meet others’ needs today. You have resources you can use to help those around you.
The world is full of people weighed down with care, lost and alone, drifting through life in fear and pain. They have physical needs. They have mental needs. They have emotional needs. They have financial needs. They have spiritual needs. And they need you, and they need Christ. They need your love. They need you to show them his love.
Don’t procrastinate! Seize the moment and serve them today. God will be with you!
Think It Over
Think about the following:
•        Who do you know in your life who is hurting right now? What can you do to show your love for them today?
There's a new episode of Battle Drill Devotional every Monday through Friday.
Click on the link - https://linktr.ee/battlefieldresources - to listen, watch or subscribe to this podcast.
 

Slow Down to See People Better

Read Mark 9:33-37. Have you ever been guilty of conducting a “man search”? You go to a drawer looking for something, and because it’s not right in front of you, you can’t find it. You complain to your wife, who looks in the same drawer, moves something, and at once finds what you’re looking for! Perhaps that’s just me!
If you want to serve others as God has planned for you, then you need to slow down, open your eyes, see what’s happening around you, and become sensitive to the needs of those around you.
I wonder how many opportunities to serve Jesus’ disciples missed as they walked through Galilee to Capernaum arguing over which one of them was the greatest.
Some people seem to have an automatic sixth sense that alerts them to people who are hurting whether that’s physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. The rest of us must try harder to discern these things!
For many of us, it is easy to become distracted. We’re too busy. We’re too task focused. Our schedule is already over-full.
But if we just slow down and focus on God’s call to serve others, then we will see the needs of those around us more easily.
What might you need to add to your “not to do list” to serve others today?
Think It Over
Think about the following:
•        Who do you find most difficult to notice? Are you willing to ask God to open your eyes to them today?
There's a new episode of Battle Drill Devotional every Monday through Friday.
Click on the link - https://linktr.ee/battlefieldresources - to listen, watch or subscribe to this podcast.

How to Find Your Self-Worth in God

Read Mark 9:33-37. Where do you look for your self-worth? In the make of car you are driving? In the logo on your tee-shirt or trainers? In the amount of money you earn? In a relationship?
Jesus’ disciples were looking for their self-worth in their status. They were arguing over which of them was the greatest! They were consumed by ambition, pride, and even insecurity.
When we look for our self-worth in the wrong places, then obedience to God and service to others can easily be pushed aside. We can come to overvalue our position and prestige. The wrong motives are destructive.
Jesus says that our self-worth comes from service. It comes from thinking about others more than we do ourselves. It comes from using our God-given gifts, skills, talents, and abilities not for our own benefit but for the benefit of those around us.
When we do that, then our self-worth is found in our place in God’s Kingdom, and our ambition is properly directed towards advancing it rather than ourselves.
It is always painful to measure our motives against those of Jesus. That is why his disciples were so embarrassed to answer Jesus’ question about what they were discussing on the road. But each of us must examine our hearts and renounce any pride or status-seeking we might have, even our insecurity.
We are meant to serve God by serving others. Let’s find our significance in that today.
Think It Over
Think about the following:
•        How are you using your God-given gifts, skills, talents, and abilities to serve others?
There's a new episode of Battle Drill Devotional every Monday through Friday.
Click on the link - https://linktr.ee/battlefieldresources - to listen, watch or subscribe to this podcast.

How to Serve God by Serving Others

This past weekend, many in the United Kingdom and around the world have enjoyed watching the Coronation of King Charles III. Amid all the pomp and circumstance, this week in Battle Drill Devotionals, we are reminded Jesus described leadership from a new perspective - of serving people.
Read Mark 9:33-37. When it comes to leadership, who do you admire? Your answer will reveal much about how you view leadership.
Real leadership is about serving others. That’s what Jesus taught us. He told the people around him that his mission on earth was to serve others and give his life away. He wants us to have the same servant heart. Servant leaders appreciate others’ worth more than their own and realise they are not above any job. If they see something that needs doing, they simply get on with it. They don’t feel entitled to high positions, honours, and special privileges. Instead, they look for ways to help others.
Whether you find yourself with leadership responsibilities or not, each one of us is called to serve God by serving others. One day you will serve God forever in heaven. In the meantime, he wants you to practice serving him by serving those around you.
You can use whatever you are good at - whatever gifts, talents or abilities God has given you - to serve others. What needs doing today?
Think It Over
Think about the following:
What do you look for in a spiritual leader? What does that say about how you view leadership?
There's a new episode of Battle Drill Devotional every Monday through Friday.
Click on the link - https://linktr.ee/battlefieldresources - to listen, watch or subscribe to this podcast.

We All Need More Than Enough: A Guide To Life In The Fullness Of God

Read Psalm 23:1-6. Are you a “glass half full” or “glass half empty” person? The answer is an important indication of how we experience life.
If you are a “glass half empty” person then you will run around thinking you don’t have enough time to get everything done. You will never have enough money, which might mean you overwork to earn more, or over extend on your credit card, for example. You will feel you never have enough energy, which means either your work or your family and friends never get the best of you. A shortage mindset like this focuses on our limited resources, leaving us feeling overwhelmed and short-changed.
On the other hand, when our “glass is half full”, we focus on the goodness of God and all he provides for us. We recognise he has unlimited resources and that he has promised to give us everything we need. We can see that God has more than enough to supply our needs and the needs of everyone around us. We don’t have to worry about running short. He will provide all the blessings, all the goodness, and all the unfailing love we will ever need.
God wants to meet all our needs. He wants us to overflow rather than be overwhelmed. Let’s make the Good Shepherd the source of our life and enjoy the abundance that brings.
Think It Over
Think about the following:
Why do we worry about “keeping up with the Jones’s” instead of focusing on all the many good things God has given us?
There's a new episode of Battle Drill Devotional every Monday through Friday.
Click on the link - https://linktr.ee/battlefieldresources - to listen, watch or subscribe to this podcast.
Unless otherwise shown, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.