8^th November

“Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed.”

PROVERBS 23:17-18

Envy can be so detrimental to firstly, ourselves and secondly, to all those around us. Envy eats you up with an unquenchable desire for what you don’t have and perhaps never will. It takes away the satisfaction and contentment with what we have and always leaves us wanting more; an empty hole that can never be filled. Yet as the writer of Proverbs says, rather than envy the empty pleasures of a sinful lifestyle, fear God. Live for Him. Seek after Him and everything else will be added. God blesses and rewards us beyond what we can imagine. Sin may be appealing for a time, but it only leads to death. However, hope put in the Lord, leads to satisfaction and contentment.

7^th November

“The rich and poor have this in common: The Lord made them both.”

PROVERBS 22:2

There is no difference between the rich and the poor in the eyes of Christ. In fact, there is no difference between anyone in the entire human race. Black, White, Asian, European, Tall and Short. God made everyone of us. We all have a beating heart and a soul. More importantly, God wants that all mankind be saved from their sins and accept the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. If God sees no difference in mankind, then why do we create so many big gaps between us? Our challenge is to break down those barriers that society has made. Embrace those on the fringes, accept and welcome those marginalised by their situation or circumstances. After all, when stripped back, when ‘stuff’ is removed, we are all ONE!

6^th November

“Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give!”

PROVERBS 21:26

In today’s church, prosperity teaching seems to be at the forefront of people’s theology; sometimes even usurping the true Gospel message. Yet prosperity teaching in and of itself is not wrong. There is no formula that if you give x amount of money you will receive 10 times the amount back. This is not founded on Biblical truth. What is true however, is the blessings that do come from generosity.

God blesses generous hearts. Not just giving generously financially, but also giving in time, in emotion and giving ourselves. Above all, true Godly generosity comes from a deep desire to bless others, not giving to get back. It is sacrificially giving and not expecting back that mirrors God’s heart. After all, He freely gave Himself, His love, His time and His body for us, so that we might be saved from our sins. As today’s proverb states, let us be people who are not greedy for more, but rather be people who love to give. Freely we have been given by God, and freely we should give to others. Find someone today that you can bless, financially, with time or with a helping hand. Learn to love to give!

3^rd November

“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.””

John 3:3

A Pharisee called Nicodemus came to Jesus late one night. As he approached Jesus, Nicodemus declared that the religious leaders knew that He was sent from God because of the evidence seen in His miracles, (although all were not bold enough to say it; probably the reason why Nicodemus came at night). Yet Jesus’ reply was not one of gratitude but one of warning. Jesus said that ‘unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God’! Jesus was basically saying, ‘that it is no good to just know about Me through my miracles and believe I am sent from God. If you really want to see God and enter God’s Kingdom, you need to be born again.’

Of course Nicodemus was stomped by this and couldn’t understand how a human could be born again of his mother’s womb. Yet Jesus was not talking about physical re-birth but spiritual. He was talking about the death of our old sinful self and a new birth through the Holy Spirit, cleansed, forgiven and made whole as a new person.

Today as we read this story, we too are reminded that a belief in Jesus’ miracles or even in the supernatural is not enough to save you from your sins. In order to be saved we need to be born again by allowing the Holy Spirit to renew us, cleanse us and purify us. We need to die to our old self and be born again in the Spirit. It is only then, we can know we are saved and that we live as part of God’s Kingdom and as part of His family.

2^nd November

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.”

Matthew 13:44

Yesterday we learnt how precious the Kingdom of God is and how precious our salvation should be. Today we look at this same parable, yet we look at it from the stance of God’s Kingdom not only being a treasure but an active and living organism that cannot stay hidden. If we become like the man in this story, knowing we have a good thing, appreciating its value, yet do nothing to show or let other people know about it, its value eventually gets limited to a ‘hidden’ treasure and that’s it. God’s Kingdom was never meant to be hidden, no matter how precious you think it is. We are bearers of this Good News, and we carry its light wherever we go as Kingdom Ambassadors.

Don’t hide your light but be a beacon on the hill, shining for all to see His glory. We have been forgiven and restored. We are loved beyond measure and we have a destiny and purpose and are part of God’s plan. This is the wonderful news of His Kingdom that cannot and should not stay hidden.

30^th October

“Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honour at God’s right hand.”

HEBREWS 10:11-12

There is no sin or nothing you have done that God’s grace cannot reach. Even the things you may have done that you can’t possibly think God will forgive you for. Perhaps there are things that you have done in your life, that you feel are so unthinkably wrong, that God actually despises you for it. Or perhaps you are so embarrassed that you can’t even talk to God about it.

Well, if that is you friends, know that there is Good News. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, covered every part of our life and included even our darkest secrets, even the ones we bury with our shame. He died for everything. There is no part of our lives that God’s grace cannot reach. His love reaches into the deepest part of our souls, forgiving, healing and setting us free. The only thing we have to do, once confessed to Him, is to let Him. His sacrifice was once for all time, and then He sat down because His work was finished. We now can enjoy the fruits of Jesus’ labour. His love, forgiveness and unlimited grace. That’s the Good News. That’s the Gospel. And YOU are included in it!

27^th October

“If you repay good with evil, evil will never leave your home….Do not repay evil for evil. .. Do not be overcome with evil but overcome evil with good.”

PROVERBS 17:13, ROMANS 12:17A, 21

It almost feels natural to want to get revenge when someone hurts or offends us. We want the upper-hand, almost as if we feel we deserve it because of the wrong done to us. There is however, no end to revenge. The only way bitterness, revengeful thoughts and hurt is overcome, is by forgiveness and release. The longer we hold on to grudges and have a desire to seek revenge, the longer we ourselves suffer. Jesus came to bring peace, to restore broken relationships and to show us that we don’t have to live in animosity with each other, but can live in peace and harmony. The Bible tells us that the only way to overcome evil is by doing good; and we do good because we have a good good Father who lives in us. Let His light shine in you and out of you. Let His nature become yours. Let Him deal with all your hurt and offence and replace it with love for all people. Don’t hold on to bitterness, it will only eat YOU up. Let it go and give it to God.

26^th October

“…He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honour and gave Him the name above all other names.”

Philippians 2:8-9

When we pray ‘Lord, Your name is above all names’ or ‘You are the King and kings and Lord of lords’ do we realise what we are actually saying. We are lifting the Name of God above every thing, every situation, every addiction, every pain, every worry and every power both in Heaven and on Earth. Why can we do this? Because God is above all. He is not in the same level as these things. He is above it – yet He cares, yet He listens and yet He answers. When you pray to the King above all Kings, remember who it is you are praying. Remember His position and your position in Him. He is the authority above all things.