Wed, 11 Mar 2026 10:38:08 +0000WeeblyWed, 11 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.lissara.com/devotions/11th-march-202611th March 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read - Hebrews 11:7 (take some time and read Genesis 6:1-9:28)


Message Alan Burke


Noah, in the midst of a wicked world that grieved the Lord, was to build an ark in faith of things unseen. He was thus warned of what lay ahead by God, and in response, he built the ark. He simply believed in the word of God and built an ark in response. Adam and Eve, in the garden, failed to believe the word of God, but Noah, by faith, believed and built the ark. For God had forewarned him about the judgement. In Genesis, we are given the details of that vessel, the ark that Noah built. Just like throughout Scripture, it doesn’t tell us everything we might want to know, but I tell you this much: even though the text doesn’t explicitly tell us this in the book of Genesis, it is that Noah would have been ridiculed by men for two reasons.


The first, obviously, is building an ark. Secondly, all the while Noah, though his actions, and more than likely his words, was telling people about the judgement of God and showing his faith in that word, even in the midst of the wickedness of the earth. By faith, Noah built an ark. An ark that would have spoken of the coming judgement of God because of the wickedness of the people. It would have taken decades to build and would have grown before the eyes of the people. They would have had ample opportunity to enquire about the salvation that it spoke of. The people of that day had every opportunity, like today, to repent and flee from the coming judgement of God, but what we discover is that only Noah and his family boarded the ark and were saved. 


Little has changed. Today, there are churches littered across this land that proclaim the coming judgment of God against the wickedness of man, but many are declining. Many do not want to hear the warning or repent of their sin. Instead, they choose to ignore, to ridicule, to mock the faith of those who look to the word of God and the promises of God, who by faith trust in Him and the salvation that He offers in Christ. For Christ is the true ark, and all who rest in Him will be brought safely through the coming storm of God’s judgment.  


Hebrews also reminds us that Noah did this “in holy fear”. This ‘holy fear’ that Noah had was not to do with the flood itself but with Noah’s relationship with God. The word of God reminds us that the fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom (Prov 9:10), that the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him, and His love is towards those who fear Him (Ps 103:13, 17). Not the fear of terror but a filial fear. God’s people are to fear Him, walking in His ways, keeping His commandments. They are to remember the Lord in all our ways, to fear Him and obey His commands. Fearing the Lord is to know Him and respond accordingly. 


The true fear of God acknowledges God as Lord and Saviour and seeks to honour Him above all things. The true fear of God knows God as Father and seeks to please and obey Him rather than to sin against Him. Noah feared God rightly and sought to honour Him in the midst of a wicked generation. For all of us, we should fear God rightly, seeking to honour Him in the midst of a wicked generation. We will fail, but entirely we will be victorious through faith in Christ. For Noah looked to Him, the one who was promised who would come. We look to the one who has come and will come again. We have the benefit of knowing much more of what God has done and was doing, for Christ has come. For those before He came, the saints of the Old Testament, they trusted in the promises of God, of the one that would come. Noah was saved by the work of Christ, and we are saved by the work of Christ.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q12 What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created?
A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.
​]]>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.lissara.com/devotions/10th-march-202610th March 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 1v1) 


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


The Song of Solomon has been compared to an opera or musical drama with characters coming on and off the stage and voices heard from the wings. Yet to understand the book a night at the theatre isn't necessary because the Song has an easily discerned structure.


The Song has four clear sections divided by three adjurations. Each section has an obvious purpose and after each adjuration a new figure comes into view. Section one runs from 1v1 to 2v6 and introduces us to the woman and her great longing  to be reunited with the love of her life with the first adjuration coming in 2v7. What is an adjuration? It's not a polite request but a heartfelt appeal which urges the listener to act in a certain way. We'll look at the Song's adjuration later in these devotions.


After the first adjuration the woman's beloved comes into view and the second section flows from 2v8 to 3v4. The second adjuration arrives at 3v5 before the arrival of King Solomon from the wilderness in chapter 3v6. Solomon's section is the longest running all the way to 8v3 and contains some of the spiciest language in the Song. The final adjuration can be found in 8v4 before the woman and her true love come arm to arm onto the stage to finish the Song with a flourish.


All of this may have bored you to tears but I think it is useful for us to understand the structure and flow of the book. In years gone by I found that I skipped through the Song quite quickly - it seemed a little bit inaccessible and strange. But I now realise it is neither of those things, instead it is a drama centred around a woman who has been taken to the court of Solomon far away from the man of her dreams.


As we work our way through this Song I would urge you to spend much time in actually reading the book. It isn't long but it is different from any other book in the Bible. Take your time in each section and try and grasp what is going on. Pause at the three adjurations and take a breath before a new character appears. I'm sorry for long neglecting this book. It shows us what love should and can look like and needless to say it causes us to look to the love that Christ has for us and how we are to respond to that great love.


It as as Barry Webb once wrote "The Song of Songs is there to stop love going out of our relationships, with God and with one another. It is a splendid garment, to be worn not with awkwardness and embarrassment, but festively, with joy and deep thankfulness to him who gave it as Holy Scripture."


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q11 What are God’s works of providence? God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.
​]]>Mon, 09 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.lissara.com/devotions/9th-march-20269th March 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read - Hebrews 11:7 (take some time and read Genesis 6:1-9:28)


Message Alan Burke 


A long time ago now, I lived in a house with a view that in my mind was and still is unmatched. Since moving out, there is no view from any of the houses I have lived in that have even come close, and I was willing to give it all up to get married. On a clear day, I would wake up and look out the window to see rolling countryside down to the sea. You could see the Bann River, then the sand dunes at Portstewart with the links course, behind that Portstewart Promenade, behind that Portrush, you could make out the causeway in the distance, there was Isla, Jura to the left. If I had built a boat when I lived there, most people would have thought that reasonable enough; imagine though that I was building a vessel of enormous proportions, the size of a modern battleship in the back garden, and the Mrs was giving me a hand, and I’d kept the kids from going to school to help, and we were cutting down every tree we could get to use; most people would think I’d lost the plot. But that is exactly what God called Noah to do. 


Before we think of the faith that led Noah to build the ark, do this a few things. Since the fall, things had got bad; it shouldn’t surprise us for they were never going to improve until the Serpent Crusher comes finally. The world, and in Noah’s day, we are told that the earth was incredibly wicked; God saw “how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Gen 6:5). Things were bad; the spiral into sin was so that the Lord looked upon the earth that He had made, and no longer is it good or very good as He had declared at the beginning (Gen 1:31); instead, things had got so bad because of sin. Notice what we are told in v6, how the Lord was grieved. 


Sin grieves God, don’t miss that, sin grieves a holy God. The Lord looked and saw and was grieved that He had made them. Just so we don’t miss the issue here, the reason for the judgement of God that comes, we are told again at the end of v7 that God was grieved. In the midst of this incredibly wicked place, God was bringing His judgement because He was grieved at the sin of the people of the earth. He was bringing about His judgement to “wipe mankind, whom He has created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air” (7) because of the sin of man, God was bringing and brought judgement upon the earth. Noah, though, he found favour in the eyes of the Lord. Noah and his family would escape, Noah was to build an ark. 


In Hebrews 11 in this section that the apostle is teaching us about faith, and the faith of those of old reminded us as it begins in verse 1, that “…faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”. (Heb 11:1). For Noah, what is remarkable is that He is an illustration of this, for faith looks to that which is unseen, being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see. Noah had to live in a way that none of us have had to, for Noah had to show His conviction of things not seen and it was shown in Him building an Ark. We like Noah are in a similar position, we by faith are sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see, not of a flood but that Christ will return (Heb 9:27-28). He will return, but for many people they believe in something based on their own imagination but Christ Jesus is coming again and this time it is to judge the whole earth and make all things new. For all of us we should be asking that the Lord would enable us all the more to live accordingly, having faith, being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q10 How did God create man?
A. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
​]]>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.lissara.com/devotions/7th-march-20267th March 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 1v1) 


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


It is taken me nearly twenty years as a preacher to finally open the Song of Solomon in my pulpit. I'm not afraid of the book but I never quite got round to it and there were always much more straight forward books to preach. I once met a man in Larne who believed the Song should not be in the Bible. He had read the Scriptures front to back and he couldn't reconcile the language and eroticism of the Song with the rest of the good book. I didn't agree with that chap, but how are we to understand the Song?


Some have taken an allegorical approach. What is allegory? An allegory is a story, song or poem which when interpreted has a hidden meaning. One of the world's famous allegories is George Orwell's "Animal Farm" wherein the pig Napoleon is supposed to represent Josef Stalin and the farmer Mr Jones is a picture of the Tsar Nicholas II. You've maybe read the Christian allegory "The Pilgrim's Progress" written by John Bunyan where the main character "Christian" goes on a journey to the heavenly city painting a picture of what a real life Christian might experience on their walk with Jesus.


I listened to the great Sinclair Ferguson preaching on the Song of Songs and he made the claim that every single one of his Christian heroes preached the Song in an allegorical manner. That's a list of majorly influential figures and each one of them looked for the hidden meaning in the Song of Songs.


It would be an act of sheer arrogance for me to say that I know better than those who have gone before but humbly I will not be preaching the Song as allegory. I'll not be trying to find a reasonable allegorical explanation of "your rounded thighs are like jewels" (7v1) or "your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate" (4v3). Instead I will preach the Song of Solomon as a song which primarily deals with human love and affection. Like all songs the language used isn't necessarily the language of the day to day - I suspect you don't speak to your other half the way the woman speaks of the man or he of her. With that said I think whilst the song isn't an allegory we would be foolish not to consider the love that Christ the bridegroom has for his bride the church and see glimpses of that greater love in this song.    


Is any of this important? Well yes. The Bible is so important that we need to handle it carefully. We can't read and interpret the Song of Solomon in the same way as we would consider one of the Gospels and tackling one of Paul's letters requires a different approach than launching into Haggai. Even so, all Scripture is God breathed and none of it should be off limits. The Song of Solomon might intimidate us and some of it's language might even make us blush but it is truly worthy of our time and attention because it comes from the mouth of God. I pray that even though it has taken me nearly twenty years to preach it, this would be the perfect and God appointed time for us to consider the greatest of all songs. Pray that your ears will be open to hear it and may our fellowship be marked by greater faithfulness in all that we say and do.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q9 What is the work of creation? The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
​]]>Fri, 06 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.lissara.com/devotions/6th-march-20266th March 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 4:16-42 focus v31-41)


Message (Alan Burke)


World means different things depending on how they are used. For example, we could say that someone has travelled all over the world. I’d say that my sister has travelled all over the world. She even has one of those maps with countries that you get to colour in when you’ve been there. My travelling is much more limited than hers. I hate flying; I’m almost as bad as BA from the A-Team. If only I could get tranquillised before I was put on a plane and wake up at my destination. In a sense, though, my sister has been all over the world. While she has been to Russia, she has never been to its neighbour Mongolia. While she has been to Egypt, she has never been to its neighbour Israel. While she has been in Australia, she has never been to Papua New Guinea, but she has travelled all over the world. 

Here we are told how Jesus is the saviour of the world. It is not that Jesus is the saviour of the entire world, that he has atoned for the sin of every person who has ever lived. Then the salvation is universal, salvation is without exclusion, everyone who has ever lived has been saved, they are with God right now. Rather, the world, for example, when we are told “ for God so loved the world” (John 3:13&), means not every single person who has ever lived without exclusion. Instead, it means that there isn’t a nation where God’s love does not extend. It is universal in its scope as in worldwide, but not in the sense of universal as in each and every person being saved.


It is not the reaction of the disciples to Jesus and what he says that I’ll focus on today, but what happened in response to the conversion of this Samaritan woman. She could not help but take the good news to others; she did not care about their response to her, such was the impact that Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, had upon her, and as a result of her testimony, there were many who came out of the town to meet Jesus that day. He stayed for two days and as a result, there were many more who came, believers, believers not who believed in miraculous signs like those in Jerusalem who had seen the signs of Jesus, but because they came to know the truth of who Jesus was and is for themselves. Hearing things second-hand is no substitute for a personal encounter with Jesus. While many had believed on account of the woman’s testimony, many more believed because of the words that Jesus spoke, acknowledging that this Jesus is the saviour of the world. 


The saviour of the world, the emphasis is on the universal offer of the gospel to all people, of every tribe, people, and language, salvation is offered to all, the scope of Jesus’ saving mission is to see a Revelation 7 fulfilled, where a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, will stand before the throne and before the Lamb, crying out “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev 7:9-10). I long for that day, but until then, Jesus is calling sinners to himself through the preaching of the gospel, for all who will like the woman and many others who believed in him there in Sychar, he is their saviour, for they have drank of the water, the living water that welled up to eternal life and are enabled to worship the Father in spirit and truth. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q8 How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.
​]]>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.lissara.com/devotions/5th-march-20265th March 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 1v1) 


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


It might surprise you to know that the Song of Solomon may not actually be from the pen of Solomon. Why not? Well, the song isn't necessarily positive about the wisest of all Kings. It all depends on your interpretation of this book - for some Solomon is the hero of the song and the love of the woman's life but for others Solomon isn't portrayed positively in the song and therefore it might seem odd that he would write negatively about himself.


I've thought a lot about this particular question and I come down on the side of believing that Solomon isn't the hero of the song. But does that stop Solomon from being it's author? Not necessarily. Another one of Solomon's books is the wonderful book of Ecclesiastes. It is thought that Solomon is "the preacher" of Ecclesiastes and if so he tells us his sad tale. He withheld nothing from his hand, he tried everything under the sun and he even admitted that he had many concubines (Ecclesiastes 2v8). A concubine was not one of the King's wives but she was a woman who the King could have sex with whenever he wanted. Solomon had three hundred such women under his roof and we can only imagine how often he called for them to come to his bedroom.


Yet in Ecclesiastes, Solomon is open and honest about this situation and admits that despite his actions his wisdom never left him (Ecclesiates 2v9) and it taught him that all was vanity - not least a life of unrestricted sexual adventure.


Therefore I don't think it is inconceivable that Solomon in his wisdom wrote the greatest of all songs, the song of songs. Perhaps as an old man when his sexual deeds were done he looked back and realised that there was something greater than having one thousand women at the click of his finger and, as we will see, I think we get this impression in chapter eight and verses eleven to twelve.


I can't tell you for sure who the human author of the song was - perhaps it was a reflective aged Solomon or perhaps the Lord inspired another to write a critique of Solomon's foolishness. Ultimately the Lord is the author of all Scripture and because He is endlessly faithful we can read and trust His Word. The Song of Solomon is actually God's song and it is a celebration of love and covenant faithfulness. May we learn from it, may we grow more faithful in word and deed and may the Lord make us wise as we listen to the song of all songs. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q7 What are the decrees of God? The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.
​]]>Wed, 04 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.lissara.com/devotions/4th-march-20264th March 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 4:16-42 focus v27-30)


Message (Alan Burke)


Attitudes change. If you have a Kenwood Chef in the house, apparently it is the king of mixers. We have one, which was bought as a wedding present, and the lady who bought it for us was of the mind that my wife needed a good mixer for all the baking she’d do throughout our marriage. Maybe she took literally the 1960s advertising campaign by Kenwood that said “The Chef does everything but cook - that’s what wives are for!”. If they tried such a campaign today, there would be a media outcry because you can’t say things like that. In Jesus’ day, there were Rabbis that taught some what we might see as extreme views, but they were pretty standard. Like in the Pirkei Avot 1:5 (Pirkei Avot in English is Ethics of the Fathers). It contains sayings that are attributed to sages from Simon the Just (200 BCE). Simon the Just was a high priest at the Temple, and he taught that; “And do not engage in excessive conversation with a woman. This is said even regarding one's own wife—how much more so regarding the wife of another. Hence, the sages said: One who excessively converses with a woman causes evil to himself, neglects the study of Torah, and, in the end, inherits purgatory”. Not sure how well he would fit in in Britain in 2026. The reason why I brought all this up is that, yes, attitudes change; they have changed immensely over the past number of years on this island, but for the disciples seeing Jesus talk to this woman was a surprise to say the least. 


That is what we are told. When they returned, they were surprised to find Jesus talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” The disciples were surprised, but they said nothing; there were plenty of times that the disciples just jumped into questioning Jesus about what he was doing, but for whatever reason, they did not this time (see Matt 19:13 for example). If only these disciples had known what Jesus knew about this woman, I’m sure they would have been in there with their two left feet. In Jewish culture at the time, they had a fairly low view of women. I know that this isn’t the thrust of the passage, but when God made man in his image, male and female, he created them, two distinct genders, both equal in status and worth, yet they are both different, given different roles in God’s ordained order of life; they are distinct but equally resemble and represent God and have equal value to him. Men and women are both different, yet are both the same; we are image bearers of God.


Ok one last thing, this woman had come to get water that morning, and she goes as they arrive, leaving her water jar behind. This woman had gone to tell others of the wonder of what has happened to her and the message that she has heard. So she goes to tell anyone who will listen to her about Jesus. She could not help but take the good news to others; she did not care about their response to her, such was the impact that Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, had upon her, and as a result of her testimony, there were many who came out of the town to meet Jesus that day. I suspect that there were many that still met this woman with cynicism, even distain, but for her, the encounter with Jesus is one that she wanted others to know the wonder of. Who is the gospel for? It is for all who will hear and respond, who will repent and believe; it is open to all, the respectable, the outcast, those whose lives are a mess, and those who seem to have everything together, are not. Salvation comes through God's grace alone, by faith alone, through Christ alone; this woman was a woman we’d probably not have near us and hoped no fella was foolish enough to ensnare, but she needed the water Jesus offered; we all do, and all who will drink of it will have living water that wells up to eternal life. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q6 How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
​]]>Tue, 03 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.lissara.com/devotions/3rd-march-20263rd March 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 1v1) 


Message (Scott Woodburn)
 
How does an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God interact with limited creatures such as humans? Paul would say in Romans "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor?” “Or who has given a gift to him    that he might be repaid?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11v33-36. Similarly Elihu would state in Job 36v26 "Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable." So how can anyone have any meaningful relationship with such an awesome God? The answer is covenant.


The Westminster Confession says "The distance between God and the creature is so great that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of him as their blessedness and reward but by some voluntary condescension on God’s part, which he hath been pleased to express by way of covenant." (WCF 7.1).


The Lord deals with us by way of covenant and by means of His own gracious "voluntary condescension" or in other words, He willingly lowers Himself in order to have a relationship with us. We spent last weeks three devotions considering the Bible's two main covenants - the Covenant of Works & the Covenant of Grace (part of which is the Covenant of Redemption). I'll not go deeply into the covenants again today aside from saying that the Covenant of Works was ripped up by human rebellion - the Lord kept His Word and we did not. The Covenant of Grace remains in place to this day and by it everyone who has ever or will ever be saved will come to know Christ as Lord - again the Lord will keep His Word.


It might seem odd to you that we are starting our look at the Song of Solomon with a look at the Biblical concept of covenant but it is at the heart of Solomon's love song. The Song is a story about a woman who passionately loved a man. She wanted to marry him and enjoy passionate physical intimacy with him but she was beautiful and had been brought into Solomon's hareem. What was a hareem? In the ancient world a King's wives and concubines would be kept behind lock and key and it was the King's right to sleep with any of his women whenever he liked. Life in the hareem offered a higher standard of living for the King's women but they were not free and had no right to deny the King his "rights."


Solomon famously had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings 11v3). His heart was turned away from God by his wives and the wisest of all Kings became a fool driven by his insatiable sexual desire. The woman we meet in the Song of Solomon was presented with a life inside Solomon's hareem or a life of covenant faithfulness with the man she called her "beloved."


We'll discover what way she decided to go but I'll finish today by simply reminding you that the Lord is faithful to all that He promises. Indeed Christ's relationship with His church is described in terms of a marriage - the church is the bride and Christ a faithful bridegroom. This is good news. God does what He says, always. This world might be faithless but He is always faithful and how we need such a God!


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q5 Are there more Gods than one? There is but one only, the living and true God.
​]]>Mon, 02 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.lissara.com/devotions/2nd-march-20262nd March 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 4:16-42 focus v16-26)


Message (Alan Burke) 


I’m not often topical, but here, did you see that photo of Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor in the back of the car when he was arrested? Of course you did, unless you were living under a rock; it was everywhere for a few days. The picture is one of someone who has had the foundations of his world shaken. I’m not going to get into the ins and outs of what Andrew has done or not done, but there are lots of things in our past that we wouldn’t be happy for the world to know. Maybe not you, because I know you’re like Mary Poppins and practically perfect in every way, but there are lots of things in my life that I look back with regret. Before you’re panicking that I’m going to like Andrew get lifted by the police, as far as I know there is nothing that would get me a custodial sentence, but the sin within me is such that even my best intentions have hurt others. We come to a passage that Jesus displays as he displays his supernatural knowledge of this Samaritan woman’s life. 


While we know who Jesus is, we have already been confronted in John’s gospel of his divinity, how he was True God, and that as a result, he knew all people; he himself knew what was in man (Jn 2:24–25), so the supernatural knowledge that Jesus has of this woman and her circumstances isn’t surprising to us. But think of the surprise that there would have been within her, as she responds to Jesus “I have no husband”; it was an attempt by her to keep her privacy and a semblance of respectability. Yet as Jesus speaks, he reveals knowledge about her that from a human point of view was impossible and tears away the facade: this woman had five husbands, and the woman that she was now with is not her husband. This woman would have been through the mill. The question of Jesus was not to attach blame to her, it was not to point the finger, but to confront her with the shattered hopes of her life. She need not hide it though, not from Jesus; he knows the ins and outs of her life; she perceives that Jesus is a prophet for he knew her life circumstances. 


It helps us to understand why she was there, drawing water at the hottest part of the day, and the words of Jesus would have left her feeling vulnerable. After all this, the man whom she had never clapped eyes on before a few moments ago knew her; he had knowledge of things that she would not have been able to explain away. Hence, she recognises that he is a prophet. But notice she tries immediately to move the topic from herself to worship. She might have actually wanted an answer to this, but it’s more of a smoke screen to distract. Without getting into the debate between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus takes her to how someday soon that it will not matter. The hour is coming, the hour being when Jesus would be crucified for the sins of many, that worshippers would worship in spirit and truth (see Jn 12:27). At that time, debates between Jews and Samaritans will not matter. 


To worship in Spirit is to worship in the Holy Spirit, worship in his power; when this happens, the place becomes irrelevant, for we are in Christ, united to him by the Spirit of God within us. We can only worship in Spirit if we are in Christ, if we have been born of the Spirit as Jesus had already told Nicodemus (Jn 3:1-8). To worship in truth, well, if you fast forward to John 14:6, Jesus says I am the way, the truth, and the life. To worship in Truth is to worship through Christ. True worshipers, those who worship the Father, worship in the Spirit through Christ. This is the kind of worship that God had always wanted from his people, that he would be worshiped in Spirit and truth (Is 29:13-14). Our God knows us better than we know ourselves; he knows the very hairs on our head or the increasing lack of them in my case, and if we drink of the living water that Christ offers, then we worship him in Spirit and truth, born again, able to approach our heavenly Father through what he has done on our behalf. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q4 What is God?
A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
​]]>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.lissara.com/devotions/28th-february-202628th February 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Hebrews 11)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


Did you know that Adam and Eve were the first members of the church of Jesus Christ?  They were and their son Abel was also a man of faith and even though he died at his brother's hand, he will one day stand again upon this earth. The Covenant of Grace did not begin with the coming of Christ just as the Church did not begin at Pentecost. 


As we read Hebrews 11 two words constantly jump out as the Apostle discusses Old Testament believers "by faith." From Abel (v4) to the unnamed saints of the final verses the passage is clear, that all of them found their commendation (the favour of God) by faith (v39). Certainly Christ had not yet taken on flesh but He was on His way and the saved in the Old Testament looked forward to His arrival. 


In the Old Testament, the Covenant of Grace was active and effective, yet it was administered differently than today. Back then it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the passover lamb, and other types and ordinances. All of these pointed forward to the Christ who was to come. Paul speaks of the baptism of those who followed Moses and the fact that such men and women drank from the spiritual Rock who was Christ (1 Corinthians 10v1-4). There is a unity among God's people. We are not divided between Old and New Testament, instead we are united by the Covenant of Grace. 


As the Gospel was proclaimed to the nations and Jew and Gentile alike came to know Christ as their Saviour, there was great tension within the church. Even Peter was dragged into the controversy and would refuse to eat with Gentile Christians when Jewish Christians were present (Galatians 2v11-12). Should Christians follow the practices of the Old Testament? Paul's answer was no. Such conduct would not be in step with the Gospel (Galatians 2v14). Christ has come and everything has changed. The types, signs and shadows have found their substance in Jesus (Colossians 2v17).


Gentiles may have at one time been separated from Christ (Ephesians 2v12) but that is no longer the case. Christ is the peace of His people (Ephesians 2v14) and has reconciled both Jew and Gentile to God by His cross (Ephesians 2v16). If anyone has ever been saved, it is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The Covenant of Grace stretches from Eden to this present day, from Adam and Eve to the last person who will ever be saved. One church for whom Christ died. Men and women from every corner of this world and all of them, every single one, a recipient of the unrivalled and unparalleled grace of God. 


Pray (acTS) 


Sing 


WSC 


Q3 What do the Scriptures principally teach? The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.
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