Jesus

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The Power Of Jesus’ Prophetic Words

31st August

“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband – for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now…””

John 4:16-18b

Today’s wonderful story is taken from the book of John where he wonderfully describes the encounter with Jesus and a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob in Samaria. In Jewish customs, it was forbidden for a man and woman to talk openly in public. Furthermore, a Jew and Samaritan where prohibited to even speak to each other. Yet here Jesus goes against all traditions for the sake of love.

However, the highlight of this passage is when Jesus speaks a profound and prophetic word to the Samaritan woman, as the consequences change not only her life but the lives of many in Samaria.

Jesus, lovingly addresses the woman’s sinful condition by highlighting she was living together with a man without being married. It is clear Jesus had hit a nerve. She immediately perceived that Jesus was someone greater than just an ordinary man. Yet Jesus wasn’t finished. He continued to reveal more of Himself to the woman, highlighting that not only can He fill her empty heart with His everlasting water but that through Him, people can worship God freely.

Stunned at Jesus’ words she ran back to the village and shared her news with them….. “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could He possibly be the Messiah? So the people came streaming from the village to see Him.” The power of the revelation of who Jesus is changes lives. Remember this was a Samaritan woman who traditionally should have had nothing to do with Jesus. Yet here she is running back to Jesus with hoards of her people from the village she was living in.

Let us freely and boldly share Jesus with people. Let us not be afraid of embarrassment, cultural barriers or even deep rooted traditions. For we know that when people encounter the revelation of who Jesus was and is, lives are radically changed.

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Give Your Burdens To Jesus

11th March

“Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” ”

Matthew 11:28-30 

So often, our burdens can hinder our walk with Jesus, our intimacy with the Father and our ability to listen to the Holy Spirit. Our burdens can become so burdensome that we even find it hard to even talk to God. It is only when you remove the burdens away from you eyes and heart that you can see and listen clearly.

Jesus encouraged His listeners to not hold onto their burdens, worries and struggles but rather lay them at His feet. He uses the imagery of a yoke to explain what carrying burdens are like. In Jesus’ time, a yoke was a hand carved piece of wood that would go around an oxen to ease the burden of pulling a plough or other heavy apparatus. It also helped the farmer control the direction of the oxen. Without the yoke there could be no submission or guidance.

The reality for us today is that we often try to lead ourselves and by doing so, create a weight that we cannot bear. We try to sort out our problems, plough our “own fields” and carry our own burdens when in truth, that is not what God intended for our lives. This is not to negate our responsibilities; moreover, it is to trust God instead of trying to do everything in our strength.

When we take on Jesus’ yoke, it’s like we are taking off our own burdensome chains and shackles and exchanging it for a new lightweight upgrade. We are no longer slaves in bondage but in childlike submission to a loving Father who wants to take our worries and stresses from us, we are set free. It is only when we stop carrying our own yokes that we will find rest for our souls and know true intimacy with the Father.

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Have You The Heard The Voice Of God?

3rd March

 “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me.”

John 10:27-28 

What does the voice of God sound like? Have you ever heard it? The truth is, is that God speaks to us in so many different ways; through the still small voice in our minds, through creation, through His word and sometimes even audibly.

However, the underlying truth is this… We must all be able to discern and hear the voice of God. Why? Well, the obvious answer is, that if we are to engage in any type of relationship with God Himself, then we need to be able to have a conversation with Him. Any relationship is a two-way communication. Simply put, if you can’t hear from God, then it becomes a one-way conversation. God has so much to share with His sheep, so much to share with YOU! In hearing God’s voice, your identity in Him is secure. You know that you are His. You know that you can follow His voice and His guidance. There is richness and fullness of life in His words.

Yet so often, our minds are clogged up with so many others thoughts and voices that we find it hard to hear what God is saying. Even David, the friend of God, sometimes had moments in his life when he felt distant from God…”My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are You so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call You, my God, but You do not answer.” (Psalm 22:1-2) In fact Jesus Himself, repeated those words as He was hanging on the cross. Although the context of these two examples might be completely different from what we face, the fact of the matter is, is that sometimes things get in the way of us discerning and hearing God’s voice. Sometimes, we do feel far from Him. Sometimes, we do feel abandoned. Yet God is always there. He always wants to talk to us.

If we are to follow Him, then we need to remove any obstacles that hinder our walk with Him and be free to have a real, living and free relationship with our Master. Do you hear the voice of your Shepherd?

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The Gate To A Full Life

2nd March

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

John 10:10 (NKJV) 

I recently came across this quote and it really challenged my perceptions of what life in its fullness really is.

 ‘I asked God for His blessings so I could enjoy life.

He gave me life so I could enjoy His blessings’

So often Christians are branded with a boring brush, living by long sets of rules and regulations, of do’s and don’ts. Yet the most fulfilled people on this earth, the people who live life to its fullest, should be those who have accepted Christ. Why? Because Jesus came to give us life. He came to give us life in its fullness. A life that is as the NLT version puts this verse, “rich and satisfying”.

Yet so often we look for God’s blessings in order to satisfy our desires to have a good life. We think we need money to have a better life, more friends, a bigger house and to be socially accepted. Yes, all those things are great, yet we can have all of those and still be living an empty, unfilled and lacking life. The fullness of life comes not in material possessions or in things that can be measured. It comes from the knowledge that you are loved by the Creator of the entire universe and everything in it. Life in its fullness is knowing that because of Jesus, you have hope in hopeless situations, joy where there seems no joy, peace in raging wars, and purpose where there seems no direction. It is the knowledge that you can have nothing, yet everything at the same time.

Life in abundance is enjoying life in Christ. It is knowing who you are in Him and all that that holds for your life.

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Nailing Sinful Passions To The Cross

28th Feb – 1st March

Weekend Edition

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there.”

Galatians 5:24 

The cross forever stands as a reminder of the pain and suffering that our Lord Jesus went through when He took humanities sin on His shoulders and took our punishment for us. However, when looking at the cross, we should only see our place in God’s eyes. FORGIVEN!

If we are forgiven (continually forgiven) then our lifestyles should reflect the inward change and the regenerative work of salvation. So often we can slip up and go back to old habits, old lifestyles and even begin to think as you did before Christ lived in you. However, Paul’s encouragement for us today, is to nail our old habits, passions and desires to the cross. We no longer have to be slaves to sin. What Jesus did on the cross was eternal, for everyone and can never run out.

We can start again today. Grace, hope and love are no restricted to a once in a lifetime decision. You can have as much of Jesus’ grace, hope and love, as you want all the time. If we confess our sins (nailing them to the cross) then He will forgive us. It’s a promise. Today if you have wondered from God’s best for you, nail your sins to the cross, and have faith they are crucified with Christ and that because of His love for you, YOU ARE FORGIVEN…HOW AMAZING IS THAT!!

Go and Sin no more!!

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Life Is Temporary: God Is Eternal

27th February

“The Name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe. The rich think of their wealth as a strong defence; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.”

Proverbs 18:10-11 

Whether you have a lot or a little, we all have one thing in common; it is all temporary. That is not an excuse to say that we should not be good stewards of what God has given us on this earth. What it is saying, is that our possession and wealth, whether a lot or a little, should not be our security.

So often we can hide behind our ‘stuff’, become over comfortable and use our world possessions as a ‘High wall of safety’. Yet there is nothing more impenetrable or secure that being in the presence of an Almighty God.

God has so many Names. Each one has a defining characteristic and attribute. Yet the writer of Proverbs knew that in the Name of the Lord, was something that he could not find in all his wealth and splendour: safety and security.

The amazing thing, is that now we have received the fullness of the Name that is above all Names, the Name of Jesus Christ. It is at His Name that every knee will bow, demons flee, the sick are healed and the dead raised. In the Name of Jesus we are guaranteed security and safety because of the fact that He overcame of all temptation, all sin, every power of hell and even hell itself, rising triumphantly on the third day proving that even death could not hold Him down. There is only victory in Name of Jesus.

We can take even greater joy in knowing that the fortress of the Lord, is not some physical building, or man made pinnacle. The Lord lives in us. That means we can access His presence all the time. Rejoice today, knowing that the Name above all Names, live in us.