Your choice. Write on any topic you are passionate about in your preferred genre. (500 words maximum)
A Devotional Piece
Living To Please God
By Ray Burton
As a 17-year-old, Ray chose to be different. He had heard God speak, “Do not fight me Ray, just love me. That is all I have for you. Just love.” While others sought the approval of people, Ray made his greatest desire; to please God. He often remembered the words of Jesus in John 8:29: “I always do what pleases Him.” If this was the focus of Jesus’ life, how much more should it be ours?
Romans 12:1 calls us to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” Like Ray, we are invited to dedicate every part of our lives—our thoughts, words, and actions—as an offering to the Lord. Pleasing God is not about perfection; it is about surrender, but it is also a command and not a choice
Of course, the journey is not easy. Temptations tug at us daily, and it is easy to fall into the world’s patterns. Scripture reminds us in Romans 8:8: “Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.” To truly honor Him, we must resist our old nature and walk in the Spirit.
Sometimes, pleasing God begins with the small, difficult choices. For Ray, it meant honoring his parents, even when it was hard. Colossians 3:20 says: “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” For us, it might be forgiving someone who continually hurts us, choosing integrity when no one is watching, or loving the unlovable. Each act of obedience, no matter how small, delights the heart of God.
As Ray grew, he anchored his life in Scripture, prayer, and service. He found joy in helping the poor, volunteering, and living with integrity. These “spiritual sacrifices” (1 Peter 2:5) became a sweet offering to God. And when trials came—false accusations, hardship, and seasons of suffering — Ray held firm, knowing God was using them to refine him.
1 Thessalonians 2:4 says: “We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” That was Ray’s guiding verse, and it can be ours too. Living to please God brings freedom from the exhausting pursuit of human approval.
The result? Peace in the middle of storms. Joy in serving. Strength in trials. And one day, the ultimate reward: hearing the Father’s voice say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Reflection Questions:
- Whose approval do I most often seek—people’s or God’s?
- What small act of obedience can I offer today as a “living sacrifice”?
- How can trials in my life become opportunities to please God?
Prayer:
Lord, help me live not for the praise of people, but for Your pleasure alone. Teach me to offer my life as a living sacrifice and to find joy in pleasing You, both in, the insignificant things and the big trials. May my life be a testimony that pleases You. Amen.
Journey to the Goalpost
By Deborah McDermott
If there was one thing Dianna had always been passionate about, it was making the Body of Christ strong. Not that it was just up to her, of course. It was all about working in partnership with Jesus and the Holy Spirit to encourage, to exhort, to prophesy and—wherever possible—to be a channel of God’s healing to the hurting and suffering.
Her second great passion—a consuming desire, really—was to finish her earthly race well but now that the goalposts were in sight, she began having doubts. Had she done enough? More importantly, had she always done what the Lord had asked her to do? A frisson of guilt ran through her. The answer to that question was an unmistakable NO. She clearly remembered seeking God’s forgiveness for her wilful acts of disobedience. Thankfully, the Lord had graciously forgiven her the moment she’d asked. But what about the many sins she’d committed unknowingly? How could she ask God to forgive her if she didn’t know what they were?
She slumped back in her chair as the thoughts of her failings overwhelmed her. “I’m so sorry, Lord,” she whispered.
“Sorry for what?” His Still Small Voice whispered back. Her heart dared to leap for joy at the sound of it. She had only heard the Lord’s Voice this clearly once before. That He should speak so gently to her now was astonishing.
“Well, why are you sorry?” He prompted her again.
She hesitated, unsure of how to answer, then said, “I’m sorry for letting you down Lord.”
“How so, Dianna?”
“I’ve disobeyed you, Lord,” she answered, hanging her head in shame.
“When?”
Tears spilled down her cheeks as the memories of her failures ran through her mind like a horror movie. “Oh Lord! Where do I even begin?” she cried.
“How about at the beginning?”
She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again as her mind suddenly went blank.
“You can’t remember how you’ve let me down, can you, Dianna? And neither can I for all your sins have been forgiven and cast into the sea of my forgetfulness where I choose to remember them no more. Instead, I continually call to mind your broken and contrite heart when you received me into your life, and how you have steadfastly loved and served me and others ever since. Your faithfulness has borne much fruit. Remember that old woman you sheltered for a night? She is now with me because you shared my love with her. And what about the young people who saw my love and hope shining through you at their friend’s funeral? They are still trusting in me because of you. This is not failure, Dianna. This is the purpose for which you were born and you have succeeded. Oh, and by the way,” the Lord concluded. “The goalposts are further than you think. There’s still plenty of work for you yet!”
Speechless, Dianna wept again, not with tears of sorrow but of joy.
A Psalm of More
By Lynda Otter
Father, you are the God of ‘more’.
I’m thirsty, I want to experience your ‘more’.
More of your presence;
More of your filling;
More of your joy;
More of your peace;
I dare to say, more of your love.
Unfathomable, compassionate, merciful,
Unconditional love—with an invitation to respond.
I walk in the park and perceive your presence,
Your love surrounds me,
And yet? I want more.
More intimacy.
Open my heart to receive your ‘more’.
You invite me to drink from the well of living water
So I will never be thirsty again; you refresh my soul.
You are the God of more.
Overflowing with more than I can imagine
I drink deeply, expectantly.
And there is always, more.
A Passionate Lifestyle
By Bruce Tregonning
I am a person of many passions. You could say that I am very passionate about life. But where do you start? Well, God, my Maker has gifted me as the person I am, and you will discover that as I unleash those details: Firstly, my family has given me the stability and love to overcome my early cripple years. Also, I thank their endearing understanding of my slower physical and learning development which triggered a passion never to quit and try everything that life had challenged. I would in addition be thankful for the church culture that enabled the favour and seed of good Christian meaning, values and purpose which I hold unswervingly to this day.
Secondly, my passion for education particularly teaching as a career has given me great reward and the welcome “feed-back” comments of things well remembered and learned. After 27 years of permanent, full-time positions from probationary to sole charge principal, deputy and senior teaching roles and 23 years of relieving in country and city schools, I have enjoyed the many different faces and changes in education. I am well pleased to inject my passion into the exposure of sharing an almost endangered specie of native green gecko to over 30 schools in Hastings, Napier and environs.
Music has always been a passion of mine from conducting little improvising sessions at home in the kitchen-dining room and leading little concerts in my very early years. I loved whistling, singing, even conducting school choirs, playing the bugle at Boys Brigade, the cornet in the high school brass band, trumpet in my later years as a soloist in private quarters and the shofar in special rallies and church events. I have cultivated a great passion for listening to Classical music with an especial favourite of Beethoven in the romantic era plus the baroque period of Bach. Also, the pop-hit songs of the 60s.
Nature and more particularly the passion for bird watching inspired me to study Ornithology at Teachers College and the bush around home in Macandrew Bay on the Otago Peninsula. This led to a science thesis on the influence of bush, farmland and country settlement upon the migration patterns of native and introduced birds. My uncle, a Science lecturer, followed me on the project area to various stations. I naturally enjoyed the bonus of scoring a high mark. Thanks, Uncle Fin.
Travel had always intrigued me when travelling with family on the steam train and then the railcar to our crib in Blackstone Hill, featured in two of my six published books. Biking on my mini sized bike that only cost 10 shillings graduating to a motor bike and car later in my early bachelor years. My passion widened considerably when boating across to the UK on a Greek ship. Then, on the Tubes of London, high speed trains on the West Midland to London line, I purchased a mini to enable me to teach in S Wales and Wolverhampton and travel to all the home countries of Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland. With the passion of travel in my blood, I coached with a group of Anzacs of my age to Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and another tour to Spain, Portugal and North Africa. I have overstepped my assigned word count. But thanks for sharing my passions.
The Power of God’s Word
By Sue Shelton
I have always been passionate about books. From a very young age I experienced the joy of being curled up with a good book. I remember particularly Christmas time and the sense of anticipation upon seeing a book-shaped parcel with my name on it. Little did I know at that time how much more I would receive from a deep encounter with the book of books, the Holy Bible.
My school met every morning for prayers, so there have been parts of the bible that I have memorised from these early years. The daily praying of the Lord’s Prayer for instance have embedded those words into my heart, and I was familiar with many of the bible stories. I have long regarded this book as an interesting source of all kinds of information.
However, this all changed on the day that I made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. All of a sudden, that interesting source of information became something completely different in my life. The words of Holy Scripture became living and active (Hebrews 4:12). What does this mean? Well, it has been to me as if a light has been thrown onto the words that I read. They have become a source of truth, of power, of comfort and of wisdom. If I am wrestling with an issue in my life the Holy Spirit will often bring to mind a scripture, or lead me to a part of the bible and my heart leaps with joy as I receive the wisdom that I need. I know that what I need is God’s perspective which may be quite different to my previously habitual ways of thinking.
There are some scriptures that are so precious to me that I have learnt them by heart. One of these if Psalm 23, familiar to many people beginning “The Lord is My Shepherd….” This is one of the scriptures I have known from a young age, but as the years have passed, this psalm has brought so many benefits to my life.
If I am lying awake at night wrestling with a problem or anxious about a situation, I need only to remember that the Lord is My Shepherd. He cares for me. He leads and guides me. He seeks me out if I become lost. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. I can picture the lush soft grass and sink into it. The reassurance of this fills my being and I am soon asleep.
Another occasion brought this Psalm to mind. I was having surgery on my eye under a local anaesthetic. A nurse held my hand. As I remembered the words in Psalm 23 – thou art with me. I immediately sensed the presence of the Lord holding my other hand and was filled with an inexpressible joy. Whoever thought surgery could be so wonderful! I encourage you to read the Bible, be guided by the Holy Spirit and treasures beyond measure will be yours.