Gods grace

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Seventy Time Seven

18th November

“Then Peter came to Him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy time seven!”

Matthew 18:21-22

In Matthew chapter 18, Peter approaches Jesus and asks Him how many times he should forgive someone who has wronged him. Peter seeming generous, gives a figure of seven times. Yet what was to happen the eighth time someone wronged him? Did his grace run out? Jesus’ reply did not specifically mean that we should only forgive someone 490 times, but rather it was a principle that just as much as we are forgiven, so we should forgive others with that same forgiveness. In other words, God’s grace and forgiveness, as David rightly said in his psalms, flow from the east to the west and from the heavens to earth; such is the measure of God’s grace, love and forgiveness – UNLIMITED.

Jesus then proceeds to tell a parable about a man imprisoned by his debt, shown grace by his debtor, released from his debt, then that same man, imprisoning his own servant for a lesser debt owed to him. The morale of the story is, that we should show the same forgiveness to others as we have received ourselves.

Indeed our sins have been greatly forgiven. God daily washes our sins clean if we ask for His forgiveness. His grace never runs and is not limited to a finite number. It is infinite. As one writer eloquently writes..

We must always keep in mind that there is no place we can go that God’s grace   cannot reach, and there is no depth to which we can sink that God is no longer able to pull us out. His grace is greater than all of our sin. Whether we are just starting to wander off course or we are already sinking and drowning in our sin, grace can be received.1

God is good. If you have sinned and don’t feel worthy of God’s grace today, then think again. You are, because of Jesus. Just reach out to Him, let Him heal your wounds, fill you with grace and restore you once more. Then with the forgiveness you have received, forgive others too.

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Good Seeds Lead To Everlasting Life

11th November

“Those who only live to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”

Galatians 6:8-9

For some people everlasting life doesn’t sound pleasing. In fact, they may feel they have been dealt a hard hand in life, and can’t contemplate living longer. If that is you then hold on. We are promised that Everlasting life in God’s kingdom is enjoying daily fellowship with God Himself. Furthermore, it is a future of no pain, no suffering, no hardships, no fear, no sorrow and no tears.

Yet being saved is so much more than just everlasting life. It is enjoying the blessings here on this earth too. It is experiencing the joy that knowing God loved us so much that He gave up His only Son for us. Furthermore, it is because God loves us so much, that He is continually pouring out His grace and love over us when we make mistakes and fall short of His holy standards. It is because of His love and grace that we can live lives that reap a harvest of blessings.

Let us not give up praying for our friends and family who have not yet experienced Jesus’ love. At the proper time we will reap the harvest. Let us not give up doing good works for His glory. Let us not live to satisfy our sinful natures. Finally, let us not fear everlasting life, but rejoice in the hope and joy that awaits and is accessible on this earth too.

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God’s Rich Love

13th October

“But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the Heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:4-6

Sin separates us from God. When Adam sinned and rebelled against God in the book of Genesis, sin entered the Human race. God is holy. Because God is holy, He cannot tolerate sin. Yet there is and was nothing we could do to fix the problem Adam started. We became Spiritually dead. Dead to the fact that we were separated from God because of our sin. Dead, because the wages of our sin, was death.

Yet when Jesus was resurrected from the dead, that all changed. When God raised Jesus from the dead, the power of hell was broken. The shackles that sin so tightly bound around us were loosed. The burdens that weighed us down were set free. When Jesus was raised to life on that 3rd day, so were and are all who put their trust in Him. We now have access again to a pure and holy relationship with Creator God, just as Adam and Eve had before the fall. Our relationship with God is no longer that of enemies but friends. Moreover, because we are are saved and alive in Christ, we are seated with Him in Heavenly places. Our position has been elevated. We are His own children, purchased with His life and perfected by His resurrection. We share in His inheritance and live in His very blessings.

What can we do to earn it….nothing!! It is a free gift to accept. It is only by God’s grace and nothing else that we are saved. Accept it, live in it and share the good news with others.

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God’s Answer Of Grace

26th August

“The Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there…….He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is NOT yours but GOD’S!!”

2 Chronicles 20:14-15

God is faithful. He heard the prayer of the people and answered with such comforting words. In fact they were not just comforting, they were incredible words. Not only did God promise to be with them, not only did God promise His comfort but He included the promise, that the battle would not be theirs but His.

Jehoshaphat was completely in surrender to God. He knew his people did not have the resources to defeat this mighty enemy. “We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what do, but we are looking to YOU for help.” His only option was to trust God. In fact there was no better place to put his trust.

In His grace, God answered their prayers but not in the way you and I would think. He didn’t say, ‘go to war and I will be with you to help you defeat the enemy’. In fact He said the opposite. “March out against them… but you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory.” WOW. You will not need to fight…. Just watch me win for you! How powerful is that. How incredible must those words have been for the listeners. How comforting. How humbling.

Yet those words are not some old forgotten words, hidden somewhere in a dusty old book. They are as true today as they were for Jehoshaphat and his army. Sometimes, yes we are called to fight in God’s strength, but there are sometimes when God’s grace just says, ‘sit back and watch me gain victory in your life’. Is not a passive attitude, but it takes complete trust in God. It takes complete submission to His greater power. It takes time to listen to what God is saying.

If there is something in your life that you can’t see an end to or a way out of, then let Jehoshaphat’s prayer be yours today. ‘God I look to you. You are where my help comes from. I don’t know what to do but I trust You.’ Then let go and completely trust God to fight for you, just as He did for Jehoshaphat!

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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.

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The Power Of Unity

30th -31st May

Weekend Edition

“And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need…And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”

Acts 2:44-45, 47c

Why did the early church experience so much growth, particularly in the face of persecution? Obviously God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit are huge factors, but could it also be that the unity seen within the church was also a huge factor to church growth?

In today’s church, sadly we often see the opposite. However, of late there seems to be a huge move towards the unification of the church across denominations and across styles of worship. It is so encouraging to see as this unity and attitude promotes church growth. Why? Because the world is crying out for hope, its crying out for unity in a world that is so filled with disunity, corruption, and individualism. Luke tells us in his writings that one of the reason that many people were ‘added to the fellowship’ was because of the unity of the believers.

In fact verses 32 to 34 of chapter 4 tell us that ‘all the believers were united in heart and mind’ and ‘felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had’, so much so that there ‘were no needy people among them’. It is because of this attitude, because of the power of unity, that God graciously added to their number.

This was not some unachievable, ideological elitist club, but a living and breathing tangible organism. The body of Christ is as much alive today as it was in the early church days. The great news is, that as individual members of this body, we too make up the body and we too can contribute to the unity of the church. When people look to church let them not see hypocrisy, slander and disunity. But rather, let us support our pastors, support our leaders, support our brothers and sisters around us, give liberally, love generously, meet regularly and worship faithfully. The church is growing and God will continue to add to our number of people being saved through the power of unity and through the power of the Holy Spirit!!

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The Promise Of Samson’s Birth

11th May

“In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant and they had no children. Then the Angel of the Lord appeared..”

Judges 13:2-3a

So often in the book of judges, we read of Israel’s rebellion and God’s faithfulness and mercy in providing them with a new ruler to rule over them. It seems every time the ruler passes away, they return to their rebellious ways and start worshiping idols and others gods again. So it was at the start of chapter 13. As soon as Abdon, son of Hillel dies, Israel rebel against God again and return to doing “evil” in the sight of the Lord.

It so often seems like a lifestyle pattern in our lives too. One day we enjoy the blessings of God and the next we forget them and live our lives far away from God’s best intentions for us. Yet although we are forgiven, there is often consequences to our rebellious behaviour, as proved in today’s passage. In verse 1 of chapter 13, we read that the Lord allowed the Philistines to capture Israel and hold them in captivity for 40 years.

Yet in spite of all their “evil” behaviour, God still showed His merciful nature when he saw the needs of a baron couple, Manoah and his wife. The Angel of the Lord, appeared to them on two separate occasions, prophesying that they would conceive a child and the requirements of keeping him holy (I.e not cutting his hair, not drinking wine or eating any forbidden food).

It is so interesting to note that this promise was at a time of the nations rebellion against God and their captivity by the Philistines. In spite of the whirlwind around them, God still showed He cared about the needs of this couple. No matter what is around us, our merciful and faithful Lord still wants to shower us with His blessings. If that is a child to the baron mother, or hope the hopeless father, then God will continue to provide. He is our provider despite of the circumstances that may be around us. Let us be faithful in our obedience and prayers towards God and wait to see His provision fulfilled.