Month: May 2016

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Forgiveness: Don’t And You Won’t

9th May

“..and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us…. If you forgive those who sin against you, your Heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Matthew 6:12, 14

In the whole of Jesus’ ‘model prayer’, the theme of forgiveness is the only point He expands upon. In fact so strong are Jesus’ words, then we can’t help but analyse our lives to see if they are in check with God’s mirror (His word!). Jesus highlighted an important truth in His prayer. If we are forgiven then we too should forgive others with the same forgiveness we have received. It is a clear, strong and direct message that cannot and should not be missed.

Yes Jesus in His loving, kind and unconditional love poured Himself out to be the forgiveness of our sins. And yes we freely accept God’s grace through Jesus’ actions to be the payment for our sins so we can stand as forgiven sons and daughters of God. Yet if we do not show the same love, kindness and grace to others who do wrong to us, then we are like hypocrites, and in Jesus’ words, ‘your Father will not forgive your sins’. These are strong words, yet the reality of what Jesus was trying to say was and is so plain. Simply put, forgive others as you have been forgiven, don’t and you won’t either…

Forgiving others is a humbling experience and something that is not always as straight forward as just saying words. Forgiveness can sometimes be a process. However, if we fully understand how much we are forgiven, and view our hurts and pain through that perspective, then we can only release ourselves and our debtors through forgiveness. Un-forgiveness not only damages our intimacy with God but also spreads in our hearts like a cancerous disease, eating away at our joy and peace.

May we all search our hearts to forgive ourselves and others of any hurts that we might be carrying. May we understand the depth of how much we have been forgiven and forgive others with that same forgiveness.

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Our Provider

7th & 8th May

Weekend Edition

“Give us today the food we need…”

Matthew 6:11

Countless times in the New Testament, Jesus referred to Himself as the ‘Bread of Life’. One such example is in John 6:35. The previous day Jesus fed 5000 people using just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. As the crowds gathered again, they began discussing this wonderful miracle with Jesus, and incredibly asked Jesus, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it (that Jesus was the One sent from Heaven) and believe You? What will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”(bold words added). Clearly feeding 5000 people was not a big enough miracle to prove Jesus was who He said He was….?

Jesus’ response to the crowd’s questions was simply to emphasise that His miracle was so much more than just food. Jesus highlighted that He was Himself the ‘Bread of Life’ and that if people believed in Him, they would never go hungry again. Of course, Jesus’ statement was not solely talking about our physical needs, but rather a statement to help people with the spiritual hunger. His words are our food. When we read them, digest them and let them nourish our spiritual bodies we no longer walk around hungry, searching for something to fill our desires, but rather we become full from God’s words and His goodness fills our lives.

Moreover, Jesus also promised that He would provide all our day to day needs too. He is our provider and does provide our ‘daily bread’. He is the giver of all good gifts. He looks after the sparrow and clothes the fields with beautiful lilies. His clothes us, feed us and protects us. Is it good to pray for our needs and give thanks for all He provides. Jesus is our physical and spiritual provider. He is our all in all. He is everything we need. Let us eat from Him, and never go hungry again.

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On Earth As It Is Heaven

6th May

“May Your Kingdom come. May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:10

When Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s prayer, He included a very important statement: May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven! Jesus’ model words showed us that we shouldn’t just focus our prayers on ourselves but pray the Kingdom of God comes to this earth. What does that look like in our prayers? Praying in the Kingdom of God means that we pray for the lost. We pray for our friends who don’t yet believe in Jesus. We ask that Jesus may reveal Himself to them. We ask that God’s Kingdom may come into their hearts as it is in ours. Moreover, we pray for God’s justice and love to reach all people. We pray that there will be peace in our lands and across the world. We pray that our governments will be led by the Holy Spirit and not by their own selfish ambitions. We pray that people will be kind to each other and that all war and hatred will stop. We pray that Jesus’ love will be revealed to all who are seeking for Him.

Praying for God’s Kingdom to come here on earth, helps us to realise that we don’t just have to wait to get heaven to experience God, we too can access the fullness of God, here on this earth. We pray let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done here on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN! That means His Kingdom can come here in this earth. That means we can access a part of heaven here in our daily lives. God’s Kingdom is not a far away concept but here on this earth, in our hearts, in our homes, and in our churches. Wherever a believer is, there is also the Kingdom of God. May our prayers usher in the presence of God, His will on this earth and may we pray for heaven to invade earth. May God shower us with all His Heavenly blessings and bring peace to all mankind.

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Our Father In Heaven

5th May

“Pray like this: Our Father in Heaven, may Your Name be kept holy..”

Matthew 6:9

Jesus’ model prayer, ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ as it is more commonly known, sets us an important structure for how we should pray. Jesus didn’t intend that we all just become puppets and follow His words exactly every time we pray (although it is good to regularly pray this prayer), but rather it was a model prayer for us to help us know how and what kind of things we should be praying for.

Jesus starts off His prayer, with the following words, “Our Father in Heaven, may Your Name be kept holy..”. Why did Jesus start with these words? Because every prayer we pray should always be centered on who God is. It should start with God, include God’s will and finish with God. ‘Our Father in Heaven’ gives us a clear indication that when we pray, although we are petitioning the Father for our requests, more importantly, we are acknowledging the authority of who we are praying to.

Our Father and our God, of course is the giver of all good things. He wants to shower His blessings upon us His children. Yet we should also remember that He is a Holy God and deserves the respect a Holy God should be given. ‘May Your Name be kept holy’ is a call for us to keep His Name holy by living lifestyles in accordance with His holy standards and always leaning on Jesus’ forgiveness and grace when we stumble. It is also a call for us to intercede for the nations, so that God’s Name may be kept holy throughout the world. Finally it is a commission for us to keep God’s Name holy, not just in the comfort of our own homes but in our workplaces, school and even in our churches.

May we remember that the God we serve is our loving Heavenly Father, the Creator of the world and our Shelter. He is holy and deserves to be treated as a Holy God. Yet His holiness doesn’t mean He is inapproachable. His loving arms are always wide open, beckoning us into His Holy presence, because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

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In Our Father’s Arms

4th May

“Praise the Lord; praise God our Saviour! For each day He carries us in His arms.

interlude”

Psalm 68:19

Thanksgiving is such a great way to start the day. Thinking upon and remembering the goodness of all God has done for us, encourages us to exercise an attitude of gratitude in our lifestyles, as part of our daily devotion to God. It helps us to put God in the place He deserves to be in our lives. He truly does carry us in His arms each day. He lifts our burdens and loads us with His goodness. He exchanges our ashes and mourning for songs of praise and dancing. He is a good good God.

David, in Psalm 68, reminds his readers of God’s redemption for the nation of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. He recalls when they were rescued from slavery in Egypt, fed in the barren and dry lands as they went through the wilderness, rescued from the charging chariots (when Pharaoh realised he had made a mistake by letting the Israelites go free), and finally how God saved them by parting the seas so they could walk freely, then lavishing them with the wealth of their enemies.

It is only when we recognise God’s goodness in our lives, that when faced with trails and tribulations, we can find strength and courage to persevere through and not to give up. We can be assured that just as God has helped us in the past, so He will help us in the future.

It’s so great to see the ‘selah’ or ‘interlude’ and the end of this verse. It is almost like David is saying to his readers, just pause. Just take a second to really think about Gods goodness. Think about the times He has helped you and thank Him, praise Him. Think about the times He has carried your burdens, remind yourself of the times when He has saved you, remember the moments He carried you in His loving Fatherly arms. Let us take time to remember God’s goodness and be filled with thanksgiving and praise.

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The Father Heart Of God

3rd May

“The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him..”

Psalm 103:13

Quite often it is difficult to imagine God as a ‘Father’, yet it is a term that cannot be escaped when reading the bible. Jesus Himself used the example of God the Father many times. Even when He prayed, He prayed to God the Father. So why does the bible use ‘Father’ so often to describe God?

When we accept Jesus in our hearts and lives, we are adopted into His family. We are born again and no longer live as children of the world but as children of God. God becomes our Perfect Heavenly Father. This personal relationship with God defines who we are and His guidance, tender care and limitless love nurtures us to be become mature in Him and grow in our relationship with Jesus and with others.

Yet just as an earthly father would discipline their children, so it is with God. That is not to say he beats us with a naughty stick when we do wrong but instead, as David says in todays’s verse, corrects us with His tender love and compassionate heart. However, when we do stumble and fall from His best for us, He is always waiting for us with loving open arms.

God the Father wants the best for us according to His will for our lives. We need to respect and obey His guidance, follow His words and honour Him with our lifestyles.

Be encouraged today that God the Father is beckoning you home with arms wide open, unconditional love to give and His tender mercy to greet you.

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Persecution Grows The Church

2nd May

“A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the Apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria…..But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went.”

Acts 8:1,4

After Stephen’s death, by the leading priests and Pharisees, a great wave of persecution began in the church. Many lost their lives, many were beaten and tortured and many scattered across the world as it was known. Living in a country where the Gospel is freely preached, it is hard to comprehend the magnitude of this persecution. Yet just ask believers in Iran, North Korea and other anti-Christian countries. However, the incredible thing about persecution, is that it makes the church grow, not just in numbers but in complete trust in Almighty God. Of course it would be great to live in a world that is free from persecution and that day will come, yet the persecution of the believers in the book Acts, actually helped the Gospel to spread.

Our brothers and sisters who were scattered across the world, didn’t just leave in fear, but took the Gospel to the nations. They took the Great Commission literally and made disciples of all nations. It is because of them the Gospel reached so far. In the midst of persecution, God still had a plan to rescue His people from their sins.

Persecution is hard to bear. It is unfair. It is painful. It creates many why questions. BUT persecution can also increase our ability to fully rely on God. It also gives us an opportunity to show Christ to the world. Let us pray against persecution for believers but also strength to persevere it if it comes.