daily readings

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The Power Of Grace : Re-visited

28th & 29th May

Weekend Edition

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2 Corinthians 12:8-9

Today’s message is simple. There is no one else that can save us from our sin, apart from Jesus Christ. There is really nothing we can do that will lead us to salvation. Salvation is God’s work alone. There is no formula, no performance, no rituals you have to follow, because salvation is God’s free gift to us. The only way we are saved from living as God’s enemies is by accepting His gift, believing that Jesus is Lord and repenting of bad choices that lead us to live lifestyles in opposition to God! When we accept His gift to us we are adopted into His family and become sons and daughters of the most high God, no longer enemies or slaves to sin, but new creations. We become His family, His bride, and His friends.

It is God’s grace that saves us from our sins. It is His grace that paid the price that we cannot pay. It is His grace that leads us to Godly living. It is grace that empowers us to live a life free from sinful habits and grace that picks us up when we fall. It is God’s grace that turns our weakness into to opportunities for God to use us and be glorified. Yet the best news of all, as mentioned above, grace is completely free. It is not earned or bought. It is God imparting His love and acceptance over His beloved children. It’s grace that saves us and grace that keeps us.

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A Mere Speck : Revisited

27th May

“The Lord is KING. Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands be glad….The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.”

Psalm 97:1,5

It has been said that Mountain’s make up 70% of Japans land mass. Everywhere you travel to around the island, you probably are not far from a huge mountain range. These mountains and are not glorified hills but huge tall mountains, 2000 or 3000 meters tall. They bask in the sun’s glory in the summer and decorated with snow in the winter.

Yet in all of their glory, they are still nothing compared to the enormity of Almighty God. A human standing next to or even attempting to climb one of these mountains, has to pale into sheer humility at the size contrast. But compared to God, even these huge mountains are minute. Even if we could compare the earth to God’s greatness it would still be a “mere speck” in His eyes. Our planet is just one of millions of stars and planets in the thousands of solar systems in the known universe. David, in today’s Psalm, also comments on the greatness of God and how even these mighty mountains melt like wax before the Lord’s Majesty. The whole earth sings of God’s greatness.

Today, let us put our problems into perspective. The size of our problems to us might seem huge but to God they are not. God is far far greater than any of our problems. Seriously nothing is too big for Him. Nothing surprises Him, nothing scares Him and nothing makes Him worry. The best part is, is that God cares for you individually. He cares for us all individually. He knows every single hurt, pain, disappointment, financial need, and family need and HE CARES. Even if He is so much higher, bigger and greater, He still cares personally for each of us. God doesn’t look at our problems, even if they are small for Him and dismiss them. Rather He is there fighting with us, walking by our side and holding our hands through the darkest valleys, fighting to make a way out.

If you are waking up to a whole heap of problems this morning, put you life into the perspective of God’s eyes and know that He is with you. God, the creator of everything in the entire universe…

is on your side.

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God’s Love Is Powerful: Revisited

26th May

“Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise Him, all you people of the earth. For His unfailing love for us is powerful; The Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord!”

Psalm 117

There is no greater love than the love of Father God. In fact the Psalmist tells us that God’s love for us is POWERFUL. It is because of His powerful love that sin was defeated. It was His powerful love that resurrected Jesus from the grave. It is His powerful love that saves even the most hardened criminals. Because of His powerful love towards us we too can have an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. Even when we rebel against Him, His powerful love calls us back into His arms. He is faithful and just, always. His faithfulness endures forever.

It is because we are loved with such a powerful love, that we can praise Him, we can love Him, and we can love others with the same love He loves us with. His powerful love breaks the chains of addiction, fear and bondage. His powerful love is liberating. His powerful love is constantly repairing brokenness, restoring families, uniting relationships and bringing hope and justice to the world. Let us also unite in praise to the Lord, because of His Powerful love towards us and because of His faithfulness that endures forever

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The Message Of Christ: A Fresh View

25th May

“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”

Colossians 3:16

What is the message of Christ that Paul writes about here in the letter to the Colossian church? Well, Jesus’ own message about Himself. Jesus said of Himself that He ‘was the way, the truth and the life’. He said that ‘no-one could go to the Father except through Him’. He said that it was because God ‘so loved the world’, He was sent so that ‘everyone who believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life’. Jesus said that ‘there is no greater love than someone laying down their life for their friends’ and if we follow His commands then we ‘are His friends’. He encouraged His disciples that He was and is ‘the bread of life’, the sustainer and provider, for both our physical and spiritual needs. He is our place of refuge as He lovingly said, ‘come to Me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest’. And there is so much more….

In Jesus we find hope, grace, love, acceptance and provision. This is the message of Christ. We are loved, accepted and forgiven. Each new day holds a new blessing, a new portion of grace, a new dose of His everlasting love for us and the best part, we can have as much of Jesus as our hearts can contain. There is something special about being around believers who have opened their hearts fully to Jesus and everything about them radiates His beauty. That is the type of believers Paul was encouraging the Colossian church to become and that is the type of believer we ought to be. May we teach, counsel and encourage each other, building each other up for His Kingdom and may the message about Christ fill our hearts and lives.

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True Worship

24th May

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father…..work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”

Colossians 3:17, 23

Often, worship is only thought of as something that is done on Sunday mornings, as a singing offering to God. Of course that is partly true, but worship is so much more than just singing songs on a Sunday morning. Worship is a lifestyle. It is a decision to include God in everything we are doing through deed, action and in all we say; we glorify God and give Him praise by living for Him.

We must remember that we are Christ’s ambassadors in all we do. We are His hands and His feet on this earth. We are His spokesmen to tell the world about Him. We are the light to direct people back to Jesus. These attributes are not bound by the four walls of church. We are all these things in everything we do, in every place and in every situation. If Christ is at the center of what we are doing, then that is true worship. And that is how God wants us to live.

As we go to work, school, university, or at home, in all we do, let us remember that we are living for Christ. May we include God in everything we do and allow Him to lead, guide and provide us with all the tools we need to do whatever we are doing for Him. Christ in everything we do and say.

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But Now Is The Time….

23rd May

“You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behaviour, slander, and dirty language.”

Colossians 3:7-8

Friends now is the time to get your life right with Christ. It is time to stand in who you are in God’s eyes. It is time to reject the lies about who the devil says you are and start accepting the truth of who God says you are. We are longer slaves to this world. We have been set free to live in holiness, in truth, and in victory. We no longer have to stare life’s problems in the face with fear or defeat but from standing in victory. Let us identify the areas in our lives that we need to walk in victory over, recognise them, repent of them, rebuke them and replace the emptiness with God’s truth and what His word says about us.

Friends, we are called to be the “holy people He (God) loves..”(v12). We are chosen to be loved. We are chosen to be His children. We are set apart to be holy. We are forgiven by Jesus. It is a free gift of grace. We are loved. We are equipped and we have Jesus living in us and we are living in Him. That is our identity. That is our position in Him. That is who we are. Now is the time to walk in that truth.

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The Colours Of Spring

21st & 22nd May

Weekend Edition

“And why do you worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all of his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.”

Matthew 6:28

Spring is in full flow. The trees are adorned with green leaves, the flowers are blossoming, mornings are greeted with the sound of birds chirping and the earth is filled with new birth. It is a wonderful time of the year to celebrate God’s goodness and the joy of the beauty He has given us to enjoy. Moreover, it is a reminder of how much God cares and looks after us.

Jesus in the ‘sermon on the mount’ tackles the issue of worrying in the believers life by encouraging His listeners of the deeper truth behind the earth’s beauty. Jesus comments that ‘even Solomon in all of his wealth’ could not dress himself as beautifully as God dresses the fields with the lilies. In fact Solomon was the richest King ever to live in Israel. It was his accumulated wealth that helped fund the building of the temple, and his own magnificent palace. Jesus concluded that if God takes so much care in making the lilies of the fields so beautiful, how much more will He take care of us His children.

Today as you look around at God’s natural beauty, be reminded that God has His hand on your life. Be reminded that there is no need to worry. He is for you and wants to give you His every good gift. The situation you may be going through, may be tough and hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But be encouraged for your ‘Heavenly Father already knows all your needs…’!!

 

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Christ Is All That Matters

20th May

“In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us.”

Colossians 3:11

In today’s world there is so much trying to create disharmony. Be that political elections, a rise in racism and sexism, and a massive increase of disharmony and dis-unity; even in the church! Yet it is in the church that unity should be increasing. We so quickly forget that if Christ lives in us, then we are brothers and sisters of the same family. There is no separation. As Paul rightly says, ‘it doesn’t matter who or what you are….Christ is all that matters!’

Yes we may have different worship styles, we may speak different languages, we may have completely different characters and views about life, but we should be united because of Christ. Our prayer should be that we can love the bride of Christ, Jesus’ body, the church. Not the four walls that make a building, but the people that worship inside. Christ is all that matters. Our prayer should be that we can live in harmony with all types of people and be united in our worship to and of Jesus. Friends, brothers and sisters, let us put to death feelings of dis-unity and disharmony and allow Jesus to bond us and bind us together for His Kingdom. He is all that matters.

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A New Life In Christ

19th May

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of Heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. Think about the things of Heaven, not of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Colossians 3:1-13

What does new life in Christ look like? Do we physically change.. Sometimes yes! But the biggest change is in our values and our priorities in life. We stop living for self and start living for Christ. In other words, Jesus becomes the captain and lead sailer of our ‘life boat’. He steers us through life’s storms, He comforts us during times of loss and mourning, He leads us when we don’t know what way to go and gives us a sure anchor in moments of peace.

As we grow in Christ, we realise that the things that truly matter are birthed from Heaven’s throne. That is not to belittle life on earth, as it is a gift, as is all that lives on earth. Yet instead of getting caught up in the day to day struggles of life, Paul advises the church, to focus on Christ and the things of Heaven. That is to say we should invite Jesus into every part of our lives, not wasting time worrying about our problems, but rather in complete submission, surrendering them to God and allow Him to steer us through them. After all, as Paul says, our real life in hidden with Christ. Let us not concern ourselves too much with building empires for ourselves here on this earth, but rather let us invest our resources and gifts in building the Eternal and Everlasting Kingdom of God.

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I Come To You In The Name Of The Lord

18th May

“.. “You come to me with sword, spear and javelin, but I come to you in the Name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies – The God of the armies of Israel, who you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you….””

1 Samuel 17:45-46a

David knew that God was bigger than Goliath. He knew that Goliath was defeatable. He did not fear his enemy because he had full hope and trust in the victory of his God. Yet knowing and taking action are two completely different things. Although both take an incredible amount of faith, actions put faith to work. David could have easily just said, I know God will defeat you, so he will strike you down will a lightning bolt. But instead, David worked in partnership with God, using the strength and wisdom that had been given to Him by God to defeat Goliath with a sling and a stone. David’s victory came not because of his military know-how but because of his trust in God Almighty. He didn’t fight in his own strength but in the power of the Name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

We like David, have full access to the power of God’s greatness, maybe even more so than David because we live in Jesus’ resurrection power; the power that defeated sin and death. We no longer have to fight our ‘Goliaths’ with weapons fashioned by man, but call on the power of the Lord to slay anything that causes us to stumble or gets in the way of our intimacy with Jesus. However, just like David, we too can practically equip ourselves with the gifts and tools God has given us to stand against the enemies schemes. Whether that is memorising scripture, soaking in God’s presence, creating accountability groups, or practically safeguarding our intimacy with Christ. Things done in our own power and ability, outside of God’s leading and empowering will end in defeat for us, but when we are equipped with the power of the Lord God Almighty and the armies of Heaven, we can have victory. No ‘Goliath’ is too big for the Lord to defeat. He has already won the victory!