God’s word for today

by

Faith To Love God Comes From God

1st & 2nd August

Weekend Edition

“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not!!”

Romans 6:1-2a

The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. This doesn’t mean that God is constantly angry with us if we don’t have faith, it is actually the nature of the gospel. Without faith, without believing in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ the Lord, and His ransom for our sins, we remain enemies of God. Yet the good news is, is that it is not a secret, not exclusive and is a free gift. His love, grace and mercy is not just limited to an elite few. Jesus died so that we all may have life. He died for the sins of the world, that means everyone and that includes you!!

Yet the amazing thing, is that God actually gives us the faith to believe in Him, accept His love, repent of our wrongdoings and live a life in the very centre of His love. When God sent His only Son to die for us, He didn’t just send Him to endure the physical beating, Jesus actually took our place, a punishment we should have had to pay. Yet He who knew no sin (Jesus), became sin to make us right before God. That means He paid the price we should have paid so that when we accept the finished work of the cross we can experience being lavished with God’s unconditional and eternal love every minute of the day.

It is from that love that we can love Him back, love ourselves and love others. Even more amazing is that God gives us the faith to accept His love, grace and mercy. It is God’s love that stops us from sinning, the Holy Spirit’s love that warns and convicts us of our sins and Jesus’ love that beckons us back when we do sin. This does not mean we can take the grace and faith of God for granted. Rather it is because we are so loved, that He forgives and reconciles us back to Himself.

Jesus’ love is free. It is eternal. God gives us the faith to accept it. Let us ask for faith to accept more of His love. For when our hearts our full of His love, it overflows out of us and more people can know of His great love for them too.

by

Sin Leaves A Stain But God Is Wipes It Out

31st July

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of Your unfailing love. Because of Your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognise my rebellion…”

Psalm 51:1-3a

David will always be remembered as a man after God’s own heart. Yet he, like most other men in the bible, had his faults too. One day as he was standing on the rooftop of his home, he spotted the beautiful Bathsheba bathing. In an act of what can only be described at selfish lust, he ordered her to his palace, impregnated her and killed her husband to cover it up. It almost sounds like something from a Romantic Thriller Movie, yet it really did happen. In fact so real was the guilt of David’s actions, it led him to write this repentant psalm to God.

The emotions David expresses here in this psalm are so very real. If we are honest, we too can relate to the pain and the guilt that personal sin has in our lives. Sometimes sin can feel like a big concrete wall between you and God. In fact that’s what the enemy wants us to think. His desire is that we feel so bad about our sin, that we feel we cannot even talk to God. Yet that is a lie. Yes sin is bad, yes it does create a barrier between us and God and yes there are consequences to our sins, but God does forgive and He does want to renew His relationship with us daily.

David knew that guilt and the consequence of sin can haunt ‘day and night’. He knew that if he didn’t repent, it would crush him, ruin him and even destroy him. However, thankfully David recognised his rebellion, repented and enjoyed the fruit of God’s forgiveness. He knew that he could rely on the unfailing of love of God, on His great compassion and that through the grace of God, his sin could be wiped clean.

Today let us come before the throne of God with the confidence that Jesus has paid our debt, that God is gracious and compassionate and that He can remove the stain of our sins. Thank you Jesus.

by

The Troublesome Sons

30th July

“Then Jesus explained His meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did.”

Matthew 21:28-32

Jesus often used questions to present His listeners with a powerful teaching. Today’s passage is no different. In the preceding verses, the Pharisees approach Jesus and question by what His authority He was able to teach others and to do the signs and miracles that He was doing. He never directly answers them but instead, in the next passage, throws a question back to the Pharisees in the form of a story.

He explained that there were two sons. The father was an owner of a vineyard and asked his older son to go out and work in the vineyard. He flatly refuses and says ‘No, I wont go!’ After a while the older son changes his mind and agrees to work in the vineyard. The same question is asked to the younger son who gladly agrees but never goes. Jesus asks His listeners the question, “Which of the two obeyed his father?” They all answer rightly, “The first”.

Jesus explains His question but highlighting a simple truth. The tax collectors and prostitutes obeyed and will enter the Kingdom of God, but those who don’t, won’t. Although there is a much deeper meaning to this statement, there is also a simple truth. Jesus doesn’t differentiate between tax collectors and prostitutes (sinners) and the so called Pharisees (hypocrites). He is more interested in those who although may refuse the Gospel at first, turn from their sinful ways, acknowledge they are wrong, repent and enjoy the blessing of a redeemed life. However there is a strong warning for those who agree to following the Gospel in word, but in reality their lifestyles and actions are contrary to what the Gospel teaches.

Let us take the opportunity to turn from our rebellion, put our trust in Jesus, rely on His grace and not just be followers of Jesus in word but also through the way we live our lives.

by

He Must Be Greater And I Must Become Less

29th July

“He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. He has come from above and is greater than anyone else.”

John 3:30-31a

Jesus and John the Baptist had many similarities. They not only were cousins but shared a passion for holiness, righteous living and were marginalised by society yet popular at the same time. A lot of people expected John the Baptist to be the Messiah, a claim which he avidly denied. John’s teaching caused much division and was hard to hear because of the convicting truths, of which eventually led to his execution by Herod.

Yet John the Baptist knew who he was. He knew that he was only a sign post to the true Messiah. He was, as he said in his words, the best man at the wedding feast glad to hear the wedding vows. In fact John often passionately denied the claims that he was the Messiah, even stating that he was not worthy to tie the sandals of Jesus. He was aware that Jesus was someone special.

In today’s verse John declares a truth which was not just powerful when he said it 2000 years ago, but even more so now in a Godless and selfish society. He declared that he should become less and less and Jesus should become greater and greater. This is such a powerful statement. So often we try to dictate our own lives, live in our strength, and try to include God as an after thought. Yet our prayers should be that our own desires and selfish ambitions should become less and less so that God can be greater in our lives. When He becomes more in our lives, we hand over the reigns to way we live so that He drives, He leads and He guides. We become less fixated on ourselves and more on Jesus and His Kingdom purposes. We realise who He is and live our lives accordingly.

Let our prayer be that we may decrease so He can be greater in and through our lives.