Month: March 2017

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The Spirit Has Come

7th March

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me..”

John 16:13-14

We are so blessed to be living in a time where the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us because of Jesus’ ascension, is stirring up people’s hearts and opening them to the person of Jesus Christ. It is because He is alive and living that we can have a personal revelation of Jesus’ salvation and His substitutional sacrifice for us on the cross. Moreover, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, reveals God’s character to us and reveals more of God’s plans for our lives. Yet there is even more; He guides us into all truth, helping us to discern right from wrong and sin from righteous living. He even reveals God’s plans for our futures, for the future of this world and His future plan in the Heavenly realms.

The Holy Spirit is not some magical trick, but part of the Triune God we serve. He is God. So when we pray, let us pray for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives. More of His revelation; of both who God is and His plan for our lives. His love, truth and guidance is available for all who ask.

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In Spite Of Persecution, Press On

6th March

“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. This is because they have never known the Father or Me.”

John 16:1-3

You may read the title of today’s devotion and the Bible verse and think this is a little heavy for a Monday morning, but persecution is a reality that many believers around the world face. Sadly, throughout church history, many Christians have too been persecutors of both those outside the faith and even those inside of it, thinking they are doing a ‘holy service for God’. However, persecution doesn’t always come in the form of physical abuse, like the early church faced. Persecution takes on many forms. Verbal abuse, condemnation, family and friends disowning you and so on. BUT, in spite of all things that surround us, we can still stand firm in our faith, because of Jesus, and because we are empowered with the Holy Spirit.

Friends, when persecution comes, don’t abandon your faith, but rather hold fast to it. For it is our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that keeps us strong, no matter what we face. We can take comfort and know that whatever we have or are facing, Jesus went through too! It is for this reason that He helps us in times of struggles, because He knows what we are going through. Let us lean on Jesus, trust in His strength, and know 100% that whatever we face, He is with us. Press on! Don’t give up!

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What’s My Purpose In Life

3rd – 5th March

Weekend Edition

“You didn’t choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using My name. This is My command: Love each other.”

John 15:16-17

Ever wondered what your life purpose is? Or perhaps why you are here on this earth?

We are all individually designed and moulded into God’s image and in His likeness. Moreover, we have all been given a plan and a purpose as both individuals but also together as the body of Christ. The exciting thing is, that because we have been created in God’s image and moulded into Christ’s likeness, we carry the commission of our Creator and King as the mandate and purpose for our life. What is that? Simply, to love as Christ has loved us. How do we know that? Because it says so in God’s word. Plain, simply and clearly; This is My command: Love each other.

Yet we have not been abandoned to struggle with this commission on our own. No! We have been given the Holy Spirit to guide us, to lead us and to work through us. We are given the fruit of the Spirit, birthed by staying connected to the vine, and we have been given the Name above all Names, Jesus’ Name, to ask for anything we need, with a promise that it will be given. Our role and purpose in life is to firstly receive God’s love and then love others with the same love we have received. That’s your primary purpose in life. Isn’t that a wonderful life goal and project?!

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Remain In My Love

2nd March

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”

John 15:9-10

For the last few days we have been looking at staying connecting to the source of life, Jesus Christ. We know that when we are connected to Him, our lives will produce the fruit of Christ-like living, both giving glory to His name, and helping others know His glory. Jesus takes the analogy a step deeper in today’s verse and encourages His disciples, and us, His children, to not only stay connected to the vine of Christ but remain in the love of Christ. Jesus said that we can stay in His love if we ‘obey His commandments’. Yet in truth, if we are loved by Him, then we will naturally obey His commandments, because we will want to do what pleases Him, just like an earthly loving relationship. We want to make our loved ones happy by doing things to please them.

Yet Jesus promises more than just making Him happy as we obey Him and remain in His love. He also promises us joy. A fact He repeats twice. ‘YES, your joy will overflow!’. But it gets better. Not only are we blessed with joy, but we are promised fellowship and friendship with the creator of this world. We are no longer slaves or puppets, but FRIENDS of God. We are chosen by God to be loved, to be friends of God and to produce lasting fruit through Him and for Him. Moreover, Jesus promises us that when we ask for anything in His name, He will give it to us. WOW. Isn’t that worth staying connected to Him? Isn’t that worth remaining in His love?

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The Fruit

1st March

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing… . When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father.”

John 15:5, 8

The man who concentrates on the root system of his life is going to bear fruit upward, but if he concentrates on the eye-appealing foliage he may end up a rootless failure.

Robert D. Foster

Bearing fruit, being a believer with Christ-like attributes and characteristics, is not something we can conjure up in our own might and power. If we could, then why would we need God in the first place? Of course you can live as a moral person, with good intentions, but true Godly fruit, only comes from being connected to the source of Godly nutrients, the Vine of Christ. Jesus tells us that apart from Him, we ‘can do nothing’. Yes we can try to be a good person, try to look nice on the outside, and even try to fool ourselves that we do look good. Yet all this is not genuine, God-pleasing fruit, because it comes from us and not from the source of ‘good fruit’, Jesus Christ. In order to make sure we are produce ‘God’s’ fruit in our lives, we need to stay connected to the source, we need to stay plugged into the root of our faith. It is only then that we can be counted as true ‘fruit bearing’ disciples of God and bring glory to the Father. Stay plugged in! Stay true to Him!