Month: February 2016

by

God’s Word

8th February

“For the Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

Hebrews 4:12

Often today’s verse is used to explain how we can fight the enemy using God’s word – which as Hebrews tells us is a double edged sword. Now while this is true, God’s word truly is our weapon to stand firm against the enemy, it is also a reminder for ourselves too. Notice that at the end of verse 12, the writer indicates that it also ‘exposes our innermost thoughts and desires’. Moreover, in the following verse, the writer of Hebrews tells us that nothing in all of creation is hidden from being accountable to God through His word.

For example, have you ever had the experience where you have read a passage of scripture and your hearts starts beating, you begin to read it over and over again, and realise that God is actually talking to you through His word. This is what it means when it says God’s word is as sharp as a sword. It also cuts through our pride and sin, helping us to realise where we have fallen short and gives us a way to turn back to Jesus and the comfort and reconciliation that that brings.

Today, may we open our hearts to be receptive for God’s mighty word. May we be accountable to Jesus through the revelation of scripture and indeed, welcome God’s speaking to us through His word. His word is alive and powerful.

by

Thankfulness

6th – 7th February

Weekend Edition

“Acknowledge the Lord is God! He made us, and we are His……Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His Name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.”

Psalm 100:3a,4-5

Praise God, that we are not only His, but that through Jesus Christ we have a way to literally enter into His very throne room and to worship Him freely without the weight of guilt and shame, which has been washed away through Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We are now seated with Christ in Heavenly places. God’s presence is no longer confined to a building with four walls, or a High priest who mediates for us, but rather our High Priest lives in us and ever stands a mediator between us and the Father.

When we enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, it is an attitude of prayerful worship and thankfulness for His goodness, rejoicing in song and praising in His Name. Why? Because the Lord is good and His unfailing love continues forever. When we wake, thankfulness should be on hearts. When we sleep praise should be on lips. There is so much we have to be thankful for.

Moreover, we can enter His presence because we are thankful; Thankful because of all He has done for us and thankful because we can enter His presence. The Lord is good and deserves to be praised.

by

Once And For ALL

5th February

“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but He was raised to life in the Spirit.”

1 Peter 3:18

Rejoice. Your sins are forgiven. Picture this; In the story of Jesus’ crucifixion in the gospels, the writers tell us that when Jesus breathed His last breath, the curtain that separated the ‘most holy place’ from the rest of the temple was torn into two. The significance? It physically demonstrated to us that the separation between God and man was no longer bound by religious works but that by Jesus’ substitutional sacrifice, we could and can enter freely into His Holy presence.

Peter describes it as Jesus making a way for sinners to come home. What a great picture. When Adam and Eve sinned, it is like humanity took a wrong turn in life’s journey, yet when Jesus came, He re-routed us back on the right path and showed us the way home. Notice that Peter says that Christ suffered for sin ‘ONCE’ and ‘FOR ALL TIME’. It wasn’t a sacrifice for that day, or for a specific moment in time, it was for all time. Christ came, died in our place, was raised to life again by the power of the Spirit, once for all time, so that we might be forgiven and find our way home… Praise be to Jesus.

by

The Holy Sanctuary Of God

4th February

“Who may worship in Your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter Your presence on Your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking truth from sincere hearts.”

Psalm 15:1-2

In David’s time the ‘temple or ‘holy sanctuary’ was the sole place that God’s tangible presence could be felt and was a place where people would gather to pray to God and worship Him. It was a place that travellers and worshippers a like could find rest, peace and a place of shelter. For us living in the age of the resurrection power of Jesus, we can too experience this awesome sense of God’s presence, yet the amazing thing is, is that it is not limited or confined to a building. We have the very presence of God living in us. When we call on His Name, He is with us.

When David asks the rhetorical question who can enter “Your sanctuary” or enter into “Your presence”, he simply is stating that those who have acknowledged their faults and confessed their wrongdoings can experience the fullness of all God has for them and enjoy the beauty of intimacy with God. He is not saying that those who have not confessed theirs wrongdoings, can’t enter a “church building”. On the contrary; God never pushes people away but rather gives us all an opportunity to receive His love, grace and acceptance. However, it those who are aware of who God is and who live in His grace and mercy, that will fully experience the fullness and nearness of His presence.

Come as you are into His presence and let His grace lead you to live blameless lives, doing what is right and hating what is wrong! Accept His love and forgiveness and be transformed by His endless grace. Who can enter His presence??? YOU can!

by

A Blessing From The Book Of Psalms

3rd February

“But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread Your protection over them, that all who love Your Name may be filled with joy. For You bless the Godly, O Lord; You surround them with Your shield.”

Psalm 5:11-12

David knew the benefits of God’s gracious love. He knew that he could call upon the Lord in both his time of need and in peace. He had full security in who he was in the Lord. Moreover he had full assurance that because of God’s unfailing love towards him, he could enter into God’s presence and rejoice in the fullness of God’s love.

We too can have that same assurance, security and peace knowing that we are loved by the creator of the universe. We are protected by the Saviour of the world. In addition, we can find rest for our weary souls, in the refuge of our Father’s loving arms.

May David’s blessing, in today’s verse, be relevant for your life. May God truly bless you. May you find refuge in God’s presence. May joy fill your heart. And may you find protection from the enemy as you are surrounded with the Lord’s shield. The Lord is for you and not against you.

May “all who love Your Name may be filled with joy.”

by

Goodbye World – I’ll Stay No Longer With You

2nd February

Goodbye World – I’ll Stay No Longer With You

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you the love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from the world.”

1 John 2:15-16

There is a famous song people sing at their baptism and the words are as follows:

“Goodbye world, I’ll stay no longer with you,

Goodbye pleasures of sin, I’ll stay no longer with you,

I’ve made up my mind to go God’s way for the rest of my life.”

Much like today’s verse, it is a declaration to move away from a lifestyle of saying yes to sin and it’s cheap and superficial pleasures, and instead, saying yes to a life of fullness in Jesus Christ. Let us be clear that the word ‘world’ is not talking about the people in it, otherwise that would contradict Jesus’ words to love the world. Rather, the word ‘world’ is more the system of living for self-gratification, pride, and selfish ambition. It a system that denies who God is and lives in the opposite spirit to Godly living.

When John writes, do not love this world, he is not saying don’t love people, but rather saying don’t love the things that offer temporary pleasure. These things only lead to disappointment and a separation from intimacy with the Father. As John writes, the world‘s attractions are cheap frills that promise to satisfy our cravings for pleasure, yet all they do is leave us empty. Moreover, they are in conflict with how our Father wants us to live. Friends, only God can satisfy. Only God can fill our hearts with acceptance, joy and love. Will you reject the enemy’s cheap lies and say ‘goodbye’ to the world and the pleasures of sin?! Will you make a decision to live for Jesus and go God’s way?!