Month: June 2016

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God Is For US

18th – 19th June

Weekend Edition

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

Romans 8:31

If God is for us, does it mean we don’t have enemies? Does is mean that everyone will like us if we profess we follow Christ. As much as the answer should be yes, unfortunately it is a no. Just look at Jesus’ life. He was murdered by a group of people that didn’t like Him. So what does Paul mean when He says ‘if God is for us, no one can be against us’? In order to understand this verse fully we need to look back to the previous verses.

Paul clearly says that God chose us, cleansed us, made us new creations and that because of the love of God, we are right before the throne of God, due to the sacrifice of His son. He adds that we can eagerly await the full inheritance of a child of God and the promise of life eternally spent in the very presence of God, with new bodies and without sin and suffering. If all of the above is true, then this means that there is no-one in the world, both physically or any other spiritual powers, that can come against us and tear us away from the blessings of what Jesus did on the cross. Paul adds in the following verses that there is no-one who can condemn us, no-one who can accuse us, and no-one that can separate us from God’s love.

Friends, God is for us. We are on His side. There is nothing or no-one that can change that. Yes we may face opposition, both spiritually and physically, yes we live in a fallen sinful world, but nothing changes the fact, that our identity and position in Christ is un-movable, because God is for us. If God is not against and doesn’t condemn us, then we can live without fear of others doing so.

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Do You See Him?

17h June

““If you had really known Me, you would know who My Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show Him to you?””

John 14:7-9

Carrying on from yesterday’s theme, it is important to truly understand who Jesus was so we can fully understand who Father God is. Jesus’ disciples were full of question about Father God. They wanted to see Him and understand His character, yet Jesus made it very clear, ‘anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!’ The disciples saw the face of God because they saw Jesus.

As we too search out the truth about who God is, we must remember that Jesus wasn’t talking in allegorical subliminal messages, He was telling the truth about who He was. He was God. Friends, we mustn’t overlook this truth. So often we think of God as one thing and Jesus as another. We picture God as a far away God, who only wants to punish us for our sins. Is that true though when we look at how Jesus lived His life? This Jesus who spent most of His time making broken people whole? Think of Zacchaeus and Matthew the tax collectors, Mary Magdalene, and the women of Samaria. This is the God we serve, that reaches out to the lost, not to condemn them but to save them. He is not quick to pass out judgement but quick to shower His mercy and love, as He did with the woman caught in the act of adultery.

As we read more about Jesus, let us understand God’s character more too. God is near to us, full of mercy, grace and love.

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Who Is God?

16th June

““If you had really known Me, you would know who My Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show Him to you?””

John 14:7-9

Have you ever wondered what God looks like, what His character is like or how He behaves? Then look no further than the New Testament accounts of Jesus’ life. Sometimes it is a truth that is so quickly overlooked, but, Jesus was the fullness of God. If you want to know what God is like, then look at Jesus’ life. That is who God is. There is nothing else added or taken away from the character of God. What you see Jesus as, is who God is. Jesus came to show us who the Father really was, a statement repeated by Himself often. So what was Jesus like?

Jesus was loving. He loved all people. His actions, His words and His miracles showed His love for the lost, broken and the desperate. He loved turning broken, hopeless and outcast lives into remembers of His family and vessels for His Kingdom growth. He showed His love by laying down His life for us. He was passionate. He was passionate for holiness, passionate for righteousness and passionate for Godliness. He, in righteous anger, overturned the tables for defiling God’s temple, challenged hypocritical living and wrong theology or understanding of who God really was. He was powerful. He command evil spirits to leave the bodies they possessed. He turned water into wine, raised the dead and made blind people see. He was a leader. His powerful, always on point words, lead many to put their trust in Him, leave their old lifestyles and follow Him. Even those despised by society, upon hearing Jesus’ life giving words, turned from their sins and followed their Master.

If you want to know who God is, then look no further than Jesus. Jesus is the complete image of God. He was kind, powerful, loving, funny, and passionate. That same Jesus calls out to us today. He is the same Jesus as He was in the New Testament. He lives forever.

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Prayer: Our Primary Source Of Interaction With God

15th June

“I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.”

Psalm 116:1-2

God talks to us in many ways, through His Word in written form (the Bible), through His voice, through creation, through prophetic words, and through dreams and visions. These are to name just a few. However our primary source of communicating with God is through prayer. God sent Jesus for that very reason. He wanted to have an intimate and personal relationship with each of His creations. Yet so often we can feel as if we are talking into thin air when we pray or feel discouraged that we might not hear an answer.

Yet God always hears what we have to say. His ears are always attentive to our voice. In fact He loves listening to us. What father when his child speaks would choose to ignore him? What husband when his wife shares her heart would turn away? Our walk with Christ is so relational. He wants to have a loving and fruitful relationship with us. David rightly says in today’s Psalm, that God “hears my voice and my prayer for mercy”. God hears our voice: Period. Furthermore, He even hears our groans and pleas for mercy. Even when we have no hope, or even no words to say, the Spirit intercedes for us and He even prays with us with “groans that cannot be expressed in words” (Romans 8:26).

Yet the highlight or crescendo or today’s verse is found in verse 2, “He bends down to listen”. This is the God we serve. Not a far away god that is not interested in what we have to say. Not a god where we have to earn his attention. We serve a God who bends down to listen to our prayers. This pictorial depiction of God’s loving nature is so deep and intimate. God wants to hear our voice. Do you want to hear His?

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The Grace Of God Leads To…

14th June

“And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.”

Titus 2:12-13

God’s grace does not just give us what we don’t deserve, or not give us what we do deserve. It is God’s grace that empowers us to living Godly and Christ-like lifestyles. It leads us away from un-godly living and sinful pleasures and equips us with the tools to live wisely, righteously and devotedly to a holy God in an un-holy world. When we speak of the tools God’s grace equips us with, what do we mean?

Simply put, it means that the ability to live as Christ wants, in an un-holy world, comes not from our own strengths or abilities but in the strength given by the power of God’s grace. God’s grace says, ‘yes you can’t do it on your own own, so here have my strength.’ In order to receive grace, we must first stop trying in our own strength to be holy, because we fail in our own strength, but 100% rely on God’s grace to battle for us. Once we realise that we can stop trying and just rely on God’s grace, we realise that we start gaining victory in Jesus over godless living and sinful pleasures. Not only that, but instead of looking ahead in fear or God’s judgement, we look ahead with great anticipation when Christ Jesus, the King of Kings will fully be revealed; where we can talk face to face with our Lord.

Not only does God save us from our sins, but He equips us to keep away from them, with His grace, love and kindness. He is truly a great God to be served.

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The Grace Of God Leads To…

13th June

“For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.”

Titus 2:11

Grace. Grace is one of those words, that even when you say it, it sounds loving, kind and accepting. And that is all grace is. It is the loving, kind and accepting gift of God, to turn us from our sins and lead us to His everlasting life. It is God’s revealed grace that leads to salvation.

God’s grace is unlimited and is always available to those who call on His Name. God’s grace says, you get what you don’t deserve (salvation and forgiveness), and don’t get what you do deserve (punishment). God’s grace says yes you have messed up but here, have another chance to put it right. God’s grace says, I have chosen you to be my child. It is God’s grace that sustains the universe and everything surrounding us. Yet above all, God’s grace is birthed from His love for us.

Friends, God’s grace is readily available. It is never too late to turn to Him. His grace is impartial and not dependant on if you deserve it or not. Let God’s grace lead you to salvation and fill your heart with love, kindness and acceptance.

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A Personal Encouragement

11th -12th June

Weekend Edition

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.”

1 Peter 5:7

This morning as I was praying for my non-believing friends and family members, God showed me a picture. The picture was of my friends and family, and I was praying, God was taking them into Heaven, almost like a vertical, rising whirlwind towards Him. At first, I thought God was comforting me that they will raptured in Jesus’ return, but then it became clearer as I felt like God saying, ‘Leave them to Me, they are with Me now!’ God was showing me, that I do not need to worry about them, but rather prayerfully entrust them into His hands and He will look after them.

Why am I sharing a personal reflection? Because I think that it is a good reminder, not just for me, but for those who read this, that salvation is God’s work. Our role is to prayerfully lift the lost up into God’s arms, trusting that He is the author and finisher of their/our salvation, and trust that He is faithful and will answer our prayers for our loved ones.

As Peter encouraged the elders and young men in the early church to stand firm in times of persecution, trusting God with their deepest worries and fears, so that same advice is a timely reminder for us too. God cares about us. He cares about the burdens we carry for our lost friends and families, He cares about our lives, our jobs, our education, what we eat and drink, our financial situations; He cares about everything. So instead of worrying, prayerfully entrust them into the hands of our caring Father, and watch as your cares and worries are lifted from you and presented in the throne room of Heaven.

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Beyond Time

10th June

“In the beginning God……”

Genesis 1:1a

Have you ever thought what was before time? What was there before the earth? These questions are completely valid, and make up many thesis and doctorate subjects. Hundreds and thousands of words have been written on these subjects, thousands of debates, and numerous movies have been made to try to answer these questions, and yet the simple answer of what was before all things is written clearly in Genesis 1:1. You may say that is a cop-out answer, yet the reality is, is that the word of God is where all truth comes from. It is our starting point and God’s word will never change, grow old or become dormant. It is alive and is truth.

As humans, we only use a limited part of our brains full capacity. Some scientists say around 15%. Of that 15%, we try to fit the vastness of infinity and time. We put God in the box of our understanding and fit him into our pre-conceptions of time and space. Yet God is so much bigger than our brains comprehension of Him. Does that mean we shouldn’t try to understand? Not at all. What it does mean is that we should firstly, use God’s word as our source for knowing God, and secondly, we should not limit God to our human understanding of Him.

If our idea of God is just limited to the box we put Him in, when we pray for needs, worries and for His will, it will always be within the context of our idea of Him. Yet when we think bigger, we dream bigger. As our concept of how big God is expands, so our expectations of what He can do increases. When we take God out of the box we put Him in, He becomes greater. Let God be in the place He ought to be!

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God’s Mercies Are New Every Morning:

9th June

“Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting in you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.”

Psalm 143:8

It’s amazing, that just as the dawn brings a new day, so the mercy of the Lord is new every morning. Yesterday sorrows are gone and today is a new day. The past is behind and we look to the future.

It’s so great to remind ourselves in the morning of God’s greatness and unfailing love. It gives us such a boost to know we are supported by a God whose love is unfailing. Furthermore it’s so great to know that we can start our day off with the trust and security that we are in the hands of Almighty God. Even when we feel like we are boxed in by life’s problems, or surrounded and knocked down by enemies, as was David in this Psalm, we can take full courage and assurance that God is fighting for us and if our trust is in Him, He will show us where to walk.

It’s so important to remind ourselves of the unfailing love of God, early in the morning. It’s more important than breakfast or our morning cup of coffee. It is what truly sets us up for the day. It gives life to our bodies knowing that we are loved by the creator of the universe. It encourages our souls to know that we are forgiven by the love of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. It gives us energy to know that God’s mercies are new every morning because He is a faithful God.

Before you start your day each morning take some time to think on God’s love. Let the knowledge of His love be your spiritual breakfast that feeds your soul and guides your steps.

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Don’t Worry

8th June

“Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”

Matthew 6:27

Sometimes Bible translators can’t agree on the meaning of a text. For instance, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus advises against worry. It’s the practical reason He gave that translators can’t agree on. He either said that worrying won’t add to your height (NKJV, The Message) or won’t add to your lifespan (NIV, NASB). Fortunately, both translations mean the exact same thing: Worry changes nothing and accomplishes nothing. You can’t grow taller or live longer by worrying.

Actually, worrying does accomplish something in a Christian’s life: Worry calls into question the sincerity of one’s profession of faith. Worry is not only ineffective, it seem irreligious. It gives the appearance that the “worrier” is indifferent to the role of a sovereign God. If we profess our faith in a loving God who cares for our life, and then worry about how life might turn out, what does that say? That’s why Jesus said, instead of worrying, to focus on God and His kingdom. When we focus on what we know about God, what we don’t know about the future pales in significance.

Are you worried about anything today? If so, put your faith in the One who cares for all His creation—including you.1 Don’t worry about anything but instead put your hope in Jesus Christ!

1Taken from Turning Point’s Daily Devotionals