Month: July 2017

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Don’t Be Afraid!

6th July

“Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent!”

Acts 18:9b

Fear of man, and fear of the possible consequences that await us, often stop us sharing the Gospel with confidence. We sometimes shy away from challenging immorality, from speaking up at injustices and sharing the message of hope with people who need it, solely because we are afraid of what they might ‘think’ or ‘do’. Yet the words Paul received in a vision from God, whilst in Corinth, stand true for us today: Don’t be afraid.. God is with us.

Yes there are many who do face severe persecution for their boldness to share the message of Jesus, but that doesn’t mean God has left them. Rather it is God in them, that gives them the boldness to speak, in spite of the persecution they may face. Let’s not let fear stop us from standing up and boldly sharing about Jesus. Speak out! Don’t be silent. If we don’t speak, who will?

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The Church Of Berea

5th July

“And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many prominent Greek women and men.”

Acts 17:11-12

What would the church of Jesus Christ look like if all people who listened to the Word of God being preached, took the approach of the Bereans and searched the scriptures, in hunger of the truth? Listening to ‘preaching’ or ‘teaching’ isn’t just an opportunity for us to be fed, like going to a spiritual petrol station. Rather it is so much more than that. It’s an opportunity for us, individually, to allow God’s Word to penetrate our hearts and transform us completely.

As we search the scriptures for a deeper understanding and affirmation of what is being preached, we further allow the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to us and implant the ‘word’ into our hearts. If we just listen to a Sunday service message and don’t prayerfully re-visit what we have learnt, how can we possibly expect our lives to be transformed? We will just end up being attracted to emotion driven sermons, that satisfy our feelings, but do not transform our lives! Look what happened with the Bereans, ‘as a result, many Jews believed, as did many …Greek women and men.’ When we actively are pursuing God, His Word becomes a necessity for our lives. It has the power to save and transform us completely.

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To The Known God

4th July

“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since He is the Lord of heaven and earth, He doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve His needs – for He has no needs. He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need.”

Acts 17:24-26

As Paul was walking around Athens, he noticed many shrines, temples, idols and altars that deeply disturbed him. He even saw a sign to ‘the unknown god’! Yet he did not dismiss their ‘false worship’ but rather saw in their hearts a desire to worship or at least know the One True God!! Paul went on to share the Gospel with them; to show them that God is more than just an idol, but the creator of the world, who wants to make Himself known to all. ‘His purpose was for the nations to seek after (Him) …..though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and love and exist…’ (v27 – 28).

Friends, we too are faced with the same challenge. Rather than put our hope and trust in idols and false gods, let us lean on the God who created our very breath, who gives purpose to us and who leads us to Himself. He does not try to hide Himself from us, but He wants us to find Him and know Him. As Paul said, it is in Him we live and love and exist. He is not an ‘unknown’ god but the God we can know. He is Emmanuel – God with us.

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Pray For The Persecuted

3rd July

“But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.”

Acts 12:9

Persecution for your faith can come in many different forms and from many different places. We are blessed in the Western church to boldly share and practice our faith in most countries without fear of physical persecution. Yet sadly, across the world, there are many who do not share that privilege. The early church, in the book of Acts, also went through severe persecution, not just from the ‘Gentiles’, the ‘outsiders’, but from those they would call brothers, ‘fellow Jews’!

Peter, as one of the early church leaders, had to bear the brunt of a lot of persecution, as he was often the one boldly standing up for his faith, and preaching the message of Jesus Christ. Yet what is so clear throughout the book of Acts, is that the believers did not pray for Peter’s release, but rather for him.

Often we think that praying for freedom for persecution, or from hard situations is the answer, but when we read of the prayers of the believers, we are challenged to perhaps refocus our prayers. Perhaps we should pray instead, that God may give the persecuted strength to endure, because even in the midst of persecution, something beautiful can be birthed. Take for example, Paul and Silas’ imprisonment in Philippi, in Acts 16. Through their imprisonment and an earthquake, the prison guard and his whole family were saved, baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Today, if you are going through some hardships, persecution, or you know of someone who is, why not try and pray, that God would give them the strength to endure it and birth something beautiful from it. After all, ‘in all things, God works good for His glory’. We might not always see the fruit of our suffering, but we can rest in the knowledge and peace, that God will always get the glory. Don’t give up. Something great is about to be birthed.