21^st November

“….. “Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals…and they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing.””

Revelation 5:5b,12

If you were to think of two clear opposites in the animal Kingdom, you would probably say the lion and the lamb. The lion is the King of the Jungle. He rules with prowess, courage and power. He is the epitome of strength. He roars and others follow. Yet the lamb, is a gentle, meek and mild animal. An animal that follows the orders of the shepherd’s call and the dog’s order. Yet isn’t it incredible that our Lord Jesus Christ, is called both the Lion and the Lamb throughout the Bible?

In truth, many of us seem to see Jesus as either one or the other. If we see Jesus as the Lion figure, we see power and strength, righteous judgement and we revere and serve Him as our Holy God. If we see Jesus as the Lamb, then our image of Jesus is as the humble Lamb that was slain for the sins of the world. We lean more on His grace and forgiveness, knowing that He paid for our sins sacrificially with His life.

An unhealthy balance of either of the two images tends to cause a mis-conception of how we see God and how we think He sees us. Leaning too much towards the Lion image, we tend to strive only for holiness. We beat ourselves up when we fall down, and are constantly trying to ‘be’ better, more holy and right before God, trying to gain His favour. On the other hand, those who lean too much towards the Lamb image, tend to say ‘everything is permissible’. It’s ok, God’s grace will cover my sins. I don’t need to keep my life in account. God loves me and that is that. Both are equally damaging for our walk with God. In order to live our lives as God wants us too, we need to have a healthy balance of the two. Both revere God as Holy, Mighty and Great, serve Him as King but also trust Him like a friend, and accept His forgiveness and grace in all we do. We must live holy lives, but knowing that when we fall, God’s grace and mercy will lift us back up. The Lion is on our side and our best supporter and the Lamb is our Mediator, giving us the grace to stand firm.

17^th November

“When God our Saviour revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”

Titus 3:4-5

Salvation is a win win situation. Not only are we saved from our sins and the subsequent judgement of them, but we are forgiven completely; not by our own good or right things but because of the mercy of God. Not only are we forgiven, but we are given a new life through the Holy Spirit, as if unrecognisable from our previous life. We are given what we don’t deserve, His mercy and grace, and spared from what we do deserve, punishment. It is an upside down Kingdom. In society, when someone breaks the law, punishment follows; and rightly so. Yet how often do you hear of someone taking the punishment for someone else. Never right!! Yet this is exactly what Jesus did for us and that is why it is such wonderful and exciting news. We are loved that much by a Father who would allow His Son to take our place and suffer what we should have. His Kindness, His love and His mercy; That is why we worship Him. We are saved!

16^th November

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

Titus 2:11-12

There are some verses in the Bible, that when you read them, you can’t help but reflect on your own life as if looking into a mirror. Today’s verse is such a verse. Notice Titus’ words do not say, ‘because you now have the title ‘Christian’ you should behave like one’. No, rather Titus says that because of the grace of God, we are saved and equipped with the tools to live with wisdom righteousness and devotion to God. Moreover, in verse 14, he continues saying that Jesus gave His life to free us from sin and to make us His own people. We are not saved and then just dumped on the sidewalk by a Father who doesn’t want us. On the contrary. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are our biggest cheerleaders, cheering us on, supporting us and helping us live lives ‘totally committed to doing good deeds’ (v14b) and honouring God. We have a responsibility to live for God in all we do and live lives reflective of the work of God in our hearts, BUT we are not alone. God is with us. His love perfects us, moulds us and convicts us. ‘God wants us to make spiritual progress even more than we do!’¹

15^th November

“ Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!””

John 5:9-10

Imagine for the first time in your life you can finally walk after being unable to for 38 years. Moreover, you are finally able to carry what has been carrying you or what you have been carried on after all those years. The joy and elation that this sick man must have felt when he was healed must have been a sight to behold. Yet there were some whose over zealous and religious attitude completely snuffed out any joy from this wonderful miracle; the Pharisees. There were so caught up in the fact that the sick man, now healed, was breaking the ‘law’ by carrying his mat on the Sabbath, that they completely missed the joy and wonder of this supernatural event.

We too can sometimes get so caught up or even take for granted what we have, the small daily miracles of having food on our tables, clothes to wear and a roof over our head, that we can forget the miracle of it. Moreover, if we allow these complacencies to settle in our lives and in our thinking, we can also miss out on the miracles that are happening around us in the world and in other people’s lives. Let us not hinder the work of God, nor take for granted His every blessing. But rather let us come to God daily in thanksgiving, rejoicing in all we have and in expectation of all He will continue to do.

15^th November

“ Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!””

John 5:9-10

Imagine for the first time in your life you can finally walk after being unable to for 38 years. Moreover, you are finally able to carry what has been carrying you or what you have been carried on after all those years. The joy and elation that this sick man must have felt when he was healed must have been a sight to behold. Yet there were some whose over zealous and religious attitude completely snuffed out any joy from this wonderful miracle; the Pharisees. There were so caught up in the fact that the sick man, now healed, was breaking the ‘law’ by carrying his mat on the Sabbath, that they completely missed the joy and wonder of this supernatural event.

We too can sometimes get so caught up or even take for granted what we have, the small daily miracles of having food on our tables, clothes to wear and a roof over our head, that we can forget the miracle of it. Moreover, if we allow these complacencies to settle in our lives and in our thinking, we can also miss out on the miracles that are happening around us in the world and in other people’s lives. Let us not hinder the work of God, nor take for granted His every blessing. But rather let us come to God daily in thanksgiving, rejoicing in all we have and in expectation of all He will continue to do.

14^th November

“Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed!”

John 5:8-9a

Jesus has the ability to completely heal our bodies and situations. Sometimes if we have a headache we take a paracetamol and perhaps we may feel temporary relief. But more often than not, the pain returns and so does the discomfort. When Jesus heals however, it is permanent. The sick man in today’s story couldn’t move or walk for 38 years. Yet after a touch from Jesus, he was instantly, permanently and completely healed! Jesus can do the same in your life too!! If there is something that is causing pain or heartache in your life, ask Jesus to specifically heal it and watch and see His instant miraculous healing. Granted, sometimes our prayers might not always get the immediate and instant answer we want, but that shouldn’t stop us trusting God for instant healing. He can do it. Perhaps Jesus chose the sick man from the crowds of people because he was ready to exercise his hope in faith of Jesus’ healing. May we too, trust God for the supernatural. He can do things beyond expectations. Be healed.

11^th – 12^th November

^{Weekend Edition}

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”

MATTHEW 7:1-2

There was once a businessman who, before departing for his domestic flight, stopped to get some doughnuts. As he sat down at a table and started reading his paper, waiting for his flight to depart, he heard the noise of the doughnut bag being opened. To his horror, the man sitting opposite had reached into the bag and was already munching on the doughnuts. ‘This man is probably homeless,’ he thought, ‘so I will just let him have one’. He then reached for a doughnut and started eating one himself. As he carried on reading his paper, he again heard the ruffling of the paper bag and realised the man opposite him was eating another doughnut. Shocked, he reached into the bag and more aggressively pulled out a doughnut and again started to eat it himself. ‘What cheek,’ he thought to himself. Moments later the man opposite reached into the bag again and pulled out the last doughnut. He looked up at the man reading the newspaper, and broke the doughnut in half, gave the businessman the other half and walked off. The businessman thought ‘how rude!’ When the businessman’s flight was called, he quickly folded up his newspaper, picked up his laptop bag that was on the chair next to him, and in his shame and embarrassment, he saw the pack of doughnuts he had bought for himself. All along he had been eating the other man’s doughnuts, and he even broke his last one in half.

Don’t be quick to judge. Remember by the same judgement we judge with, the same finger will point back at us. You never know the story behind someone’s cover.