3^rd April

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.”

2 Corinthians 4:16

Friends we have an eternal hope in Christ Jesus. Our hope is that one day all our fears, worries and cares will be eternally swept away by the power of Christ’s love forever. We will be in a place where our bodies will not grow old and weak, where we don’t have to live in trials and tribulations; a place of complete peace and joy.

Perhaps as you read this, you are yearning for that place. You may feel like your body is dying, problems are mounting up, bills need paying, kids need feeding, and job stresses are rising. THEN STOP! You don’t have to give up. God is with you right now! The same God of eternity, the same God who promises us eternal peace and joy, is the same God who offers those blessings now!

Although our bodies grow old and weak, and our cares and problems rise, God is renewing our spirit every day. His blessings are new every day. We do not have to live in yesterday’s blessings, feeding off every last drop of it, we can have a fresh anointing today! He is with us now, willing us on, filling us once again with His blessings and increasing our capacity to receive His love and all He has for us! Re-charge in Christ. Don’t give up!

30^th March

“For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him and how you have shown your love to Him by caring for other believers, as you still do.”

Hebrews 6:10

There truly are some warriors for Christ amongst us. Those people, who it’s never too late to share hospitality with a brother or sister. Those who continually and prayerfully support the needs of God’s church. They serve without reservation, give without expecting return, love with an open heart and don’t need recognition for sacrificially giving of themselves. These people are the pillars of the church. No doubt you know someone like this. Perhaps that person is you. Well, as the writer of Hebrews says, God has not forgotten about you. He has seen the sacrifices you have made for His bride and Kingdom, He has seen the love and care you have shown to the believers. He is a just God and will reward you accordingly.

Sometimes when you are constantly giving out, it feels as if you are emptying yourself, running low on energy. But God wants you to know, that He sees and will reward you. He will fill you up with more of His love and strength, so that you do not become ‘spiritually dull and indifferent’ (v12), but rather you will be an example for those inheriting God’s promises. Keep going with faith and endurance. Don’t give up serving the people of God. God sees and He is pleased.

29^th March

“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know Him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Isn’t it encouraging to know that in Christ, our old life has gone and a new life has begun! We are born again, new creations, with a new identity and purpose, not for sinful and worldly living but for Christ-like, Godly living. Jesus now, is no longer just a character from the Bible, or ‘theory’, He is our God, our Friend, and our King. We know Christ deeper than just through a humanistic point of view. We have a relationship with Him.

We can take courage that whatever our past, whatever our sins, Christ is ready to give us a new start. He is waiting patiently for us to turn to Him, to be transformed into His likeness. That is why we were created. We can rejoice in the fact, that our old lives have gone, and look forward to living a new life in Christ. Be encouraged. Your new life is here. God has a great plan for your life. Go and live it!

21^st March

“Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. A vast crowd brought to Him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and He healed them all. The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.”

Matthew 15:29-31

We worship the same Jesus that we read about in the Bible. He hasn’t changed. He is still the same compassionate healer as we read about in today’s passage. Moreover, when Matthew makes mention that Jesus healed ‘all’ who were brought to Him, he is showing that no sickness or illness was too much for Jesus to heal. He healed them all! And He still makes the blind see, the crippled well and the lame to walk again today as well! Yet even more than our physical healing, Jesus saves our souls too.

Let us rejoice today that firstly, Jesus is a Healer. He can heal our sickness no matter how great. Secondly, and more importantly, Jesus heals our souls. He cleanses us from all unrighteousness and leads us into life everlasting.

Let us rejoice that Jesus is our healer. He is the source of our healing, both physically and spiritually. If you need physical or spiritual healing then just call out to Jesus in faith and trust that His healing will make you whole. There is no sickness too great, nor any amount of bad news too overwhelming for Jesus. Trust His healing. He is our HEALER!

20^th March

“… “The he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.”… Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring Him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find Him not guilty.”… “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him,” Pilate said. “I find Him not guilty.””

John 18:38b, 19:4, 19:6b

According to John’s account of Jesus’ last days, Pilate, the governor in charge of Jerusalem, found nothing whatsoever wrong with Jesus, that would have made Him worthy of death by crucifixion. The cross was reserved for actual criminals who had wronged Rome. It was reserved for murderers, thieves, and rebels. We see time and time again that Pilate saw Jesus as an innocent man, not worthy of that death penalty. But as the crowds grew louder and persisted even more fervently, Pilate decided that the only way to gain favour with the crowds, almost as if negating any responsibility on his behalf of condemning an innocent man to a criminal’s death, was to follow the custom of releasing a prisoner in place of Jesus.

Do you ever wonder at this point what Jesus must have been thinking? Firstly, to hear the words that He was ‘innocent’ time and time again, knowing that He would still be crucified, then additionally, to hear the angry crowds begging for a murderer and rebel to be released back to them instead of Him; the man that had healed the sick, raised people from the dead, delivered people from oppression, showed compassion and kindness to all He met and so much more. Yet not only did they beg for Barabbas back, but begged Pilate to crucify Jesus. What must have been going through Jesus’ mind at that point. The answer. YOU, us, and all of humanity. Jesus did all this to show His love for us. He gave Himself, a free man, guilty of no crime, for our sins, for our bondage, for our crimes and wrongdoings. That is what Jesus was thinking about! Moreover, the Bible tells us that it was ‘for the joy set before Him that He endured the cross’, the joy of us receiving His love, being forgiven and reunited with the Father.

17^th March

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.”

Psalms 73:26

Are you feeling at the end of your strength? Is your faith running low and body feeling weak? Well, if that’s you, then it’s ok. We all have days when our faith is stretched. Sometimes we even feel like giving up. Look throughout the Bible, and you will see plenty of examples when men and women of God, had a ‘wobbly day’ and felt faithless and weak. Yet God is faithful. He doesn’t judge us for this but rather scoops down and catches our falling souls in the palm of His hand, dusts us off, showers us in His love, empowers us in His Spirit and strengthens our hearts to keep on keeping on.

When tough times come, when you feel like giving up, know this simple yet life changing truth, ‘GOD remains the strength of your heart’. He is with us and promised to never leave us, even when we feel like He has. He is there. Take courage and strength from this. The writer of this psalm had the confidence to believe so, and so can we know for sure. He is ours forever. Be at peace.