Read 2 Peter 1:5-7; 2 Timothy 2:20-21; 1 Timothy 4:8
Marcus played on the state level football team. He was by far the best player. But whenever he got the ball he would run and seek to score. He rarely passed the ball. He rarely set up another play. He sought simply to bring glory to himself. One weekend Marcus scored 3 tries in the match, but because the team lost, he still lost as well. In fact, even though Marcus was by far the best player in all the state teams, his team still came last in the competition. How is that possible? It’s all about team work!
Many believers don’t realise that sanctification is about team work. It’s about you and God (that’s a divine team) working together. We are saved by faith and faith alone but God expects that we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. It is not enough to be born into God’s family; we must also grow spiritually. This demands diligence and earnestness; a lazy, careless Christian does not grow.
When the Scriptures say ‘make every effort to add’ it is very clear. We are called to be diligent in our growth. We are called to work at it like an athlete works at his training and fitness. We are not given the luxury of laziness or the choice of compromise. Out of our standing in Christ, our inception into the Jesus’ Team, God calls us to train and to train hard. The muscles of our faith need to be worked out in the gym of life each and every single day. The Greek communicates something like, ‘Be diligent in bringing alongside...’. God has a role to play and so do we.
Those who are consistently victorious in Christ are those who work with God and willingly make every effort to add to all that God has given them. Those who are in victorious in Christ train themselves (and each other) in the faith.
Prayer:-
V Pray for Shiloh Church Ministries (SCM) in India is reapplying for a visa for Pastor Paul (SCM’s administrator) and his wife Krupa to come to Australia. The first application was refused because he had no funds in his bank account and authorities were concerned that he would not return to India.
V Pray for electricity to be put on at Shiloh Church Ministries’ (SCM) new Orissa orphanage during the coming weeks.
Tuesday 31 May 2011
Monday 30 May 2011
Monday May 30, 2011
Read 2 Peter 1:5-7; Phil 4:2-13
Some people have immense will power. Others do not. Some people can do whatever they put their mind to because of their will power. Others struggle. Will power, or what the average Aussie male might call ‘sheer bl&%dy mindedness’ really has nothing to do with our Christian walk.
As you read vs 5-11 it may seem like we are simply instigating a ‘try harder’ plan of action here. It may seem like we are saying “Be determined and just do this. Try harder. Try harder!” But that is not the case! We have just read about everything God has done for us in vs 1-4. We have just read about his great and precious promises, his provision for us, his work on our behalf and His gracious gifts of faith, peace and grace to us. Verse 5 begins with ‘For this reason’. In other words, we could read vs 5 as ‘Since God has given us his grace, mercy and love, because he has given us his great and precious promises...’. The Scriptures never call us to work or walk a certain way before they witness to our position in Christ. Our standing always precedes our service. Doctrine determines our actions. Salvation always comes before sanctification. It is out of who we are in Christ that we are called to live out our faith in Christ.
It is anticipated (given the structure of the passage) that God’s provision forms both the motivation to change and the core substance of that change. It is because of all that Christ has given us and done for us that we are called to change in vs 5-11. One of the reasons that we fail to walk victoriously is that we fail to have a personal relationship with God. He is treated merely as a mental thing - a state of mind. There is no real presence of a relationship with the living God. God is with us 24/7 and to be victorious we need to be conscious of Him 24/7 and relating to Him 24/7. We will never be victorious if God is simply and routinely relegated to a 15 minute block at the end of the day when we are totally wasted. Regular, uninterrupted time with God is precious and vital but it has to be our best time, not our worst. If we give God the dregs of our day, danger will develop.
Make it your goal to spend regular, uninterrupted, quality time with God and to have a constant conversation with God throughout the day.
Prayer:-
V Pray for opportunities for you to spread God’s word among your community.
V Pray that you are open and willing to carry out God’s will for your life.
V Pray that God will give you the strength to proclaim your faith and to reach out to those around you.
Meditate on Galatians 6:7-10 spend time praising God for the truth. Ask Him to show you how this has been true in your own life.
Some people have immense will power. Others do not. Some people can do whatever they put their mind to because of their will power. Others struggle. Will power, or what the average Aussie male might call ‘sheer bl&%dy mindedness’ really has nothing to do with our Christian walk.
As you read vs 5-11 it may seem like we are simply instigating a ‘try harder’ plan of action here. It may seem like we are saying “Be determined and just do this. Try harder. Try harder!” But that is not the case! We have just read about everything God has done for us in vs 1-4. We have just read about his great and precious promises, his provision for us, his work on our behalf and His gracious gifts of faith, peace and grace to us. Verse 5 begins with ‘For this reason’. In other words, we could read vs 5 as ‘Since God has given us his grace, mercy and love, because he has given us his great and precious promises...’. The Scriptures never call us to work or walk a certain way before they witness to our position in Christ. Our standing always precedes our service. Doctrine determines our actions. Salvation always comes before sanctification. It is out of who we are in Christ that we are called to live out our faith in Christ.
It is anticipated (given the structure of the passage) that God’s provision forms both the motivation to change and the core substance of that change. It is because of all that Christ has given us and done for us that we are called to change in vs 5-11. One of the reasons that we fail to walk victoriously is that we fail to have a personal relationship with God. He is treated merely as a mental thing - a state of mind. There is no real presence of a relationship with the living God. God is with us 24/7 and to be victorious we need to be conscious of Him 24/7 and relating to Him 24/7. We will never be victorious if God is simply and routinely relegated to a 15 minute block at the end of the day when we are totally wasted. Regular, uninterrupted time with God is precious and vital but it has to be our best time, not our worst. If we give God the dregs of our day, danger will develop.
Make it your goal to spend regular, uninterrupted, quality time with God and to have a constant conversation with God throughout the day.
Prayer:-
V Pray for opportunities for you to spread God’s word among your community.
V Pray that you are open and willing to carry out God’s will for your life.
V Pray that God will give you the strength to proclaim your faith and to reach out to those around you.
Meditate on Galatians 6:7-10 spend time praising God for the truth. Ask Him to show you how this has been true in your own life.
Saturday 28 May 2011
Saturday May 28, 2011
Read 1 Peter 1:3-4. James 4:1-8
There is a lot of corruption in the world today! Der! Great understatement! Such strife is caused by the desires that battle within people. Even Christians are not immune to desires raging within us. Many of these desires are actually God given desires that have been led astray. We have been created with a natural desires for sexual intimacy but it is quickly led astray by pornography. We have a God given appetite for food, but bulimia and anorexia create an evil desire within us. We were created for relationship and desire relationship but domination and shyness create evil within us. Jealousy rages and unforgiveness forms irremovable barriers.
As we grow in the promises of God, we participate in the divine nature and we are given an avenue of escape from the corruption of the world caused by evil desires. These corruptions (pornography, gluttony, anorexia, manipulation etc) become less satisfying in meeting our needs. God meets our needs and we experience a deep sense of joy, peace and harmony with God because we are where we are supposed to be - deeply united with God. Our needs are met in God given legitimate ways and ultimately, we grow in happiness.
Here’s a truth we need to really understand. We are happiest when we are where we were created to be and when we function as we were created to function. The further I move away from my created purpose the unhappier I get, and the more I seek to fill the void with intense stimulants.
We were created to be in relationship with God so naturally, we’ll be the happiest when we are relating intimately and closely with our Lord. Sex is most pleasurable in the boundaries of marriage. Friendships are best when we serve and give rather than take and demand. Appetites are most satisfied when we neither over eat nor under eat.
The implication is clear. If you want to live a life of joy, a life of victory and self acceptance the answer is not in what you do or who you date or what you see on TV. The answer is in God. Grow closer to God. Get to know Him. Find out His plan for your life. Find out what He created you to be doing.
Prayer:-
V Ask the Lord to show you His plan for your life, your role in the body of Christ and you can be serving and ministering to others. Pray this for 10 other people in your congregation.
V Pray that God would unite the scattered believers in His church in North Korea. Pray that these believers will have others to encourage them and build them up. Pray that we’ll see growth in the church and a relaxation of government laws that forbid Christianity.
There is a lot of corruption in the world today! Der! Great understatement! Such strife is caused by the desires that battle within people. Even Christians are not immune to desires raging within us. Many of these desires are actually God given desires that have been led astray. We have been created with a natural desires for sexual intimacy but it is quickly led astray by pornography. We have a God given appetite for food, but bulimia and anorexia create an evil desire within us. We were created for relationship and desire relationship but domination and shyness create evil within us. Jealousy rages and unforgiveness forms irremovable barriers.
As we grow in the promises of God, we participate in the divine nature and we are given an avenue of escape from the corruption of the world caused by evil desires. These corruptions (pornography, gluttony, anorexia, manipulation etc) become less satisfying in meeting our needs. God meets our needs and we experience a deep sense of joy, peace and harmony with God because we are where we are supposed to be - deeply united with God. Our needs are met in God given legitimate ways and ultimately, we grow in happiness.
Here’s a truth we need to really understand. We are happiest when we are where we were created to be and when we function as we were created to function. The further I move away from my created purpose the unhappier I get, and the more I seek to fill the void with intense stimulants.
We were created to be in relationship with God so naturally, we’ll be the happiest when we are relating intimately and closely with our Lord. Sex is most pleasurable in the boundaries of marriage. Friendships are best when we serve and give rather than take and demand. Appetites are most satisfied when we neither over eat nor under eat.
The implication is clear. If you want to live a life of joy, a life of victory and self acceptance the answer is not in what you do or who you date or what you see on TV. The answer is in God. Grow closer to God. Get to know Him. Find out His plan for your life. Find out what He created you to be doing.
Prayer:-
V Ask the Lord to show you His plan for your life, your role in the body of Christ and you can be serving and ministering to others. Pray this for 10 other people in your congregation.
V Pray that God would unite the scattered believers in His church in North Korea. Pray that these believers will have others to encourage them and build them up. Pray that we’ll see growth in the church and a relaxation of government laws that forbid Christianity.
Friday 27 May 2011
Friday May 27, 2011
Read 1 Peter 1:1-4. John 14
In one church I was pastoring the congregation was involved in reaching the new age movement by setting up a stand in the new age festival that came to town each year. As I was manning the table and speaking to people, one particular fellow asked about Christianity. After a meaningful discussion he told me that he would one day be god! After assuring him that I would never bow down to him and pray I asked what he meant. He divulged the secret of his success. By attending many conferences (which cost a lot of $$$) and by doing certain rituals he was ‘assured’ that he was on the pathway to divinity! But it wasn’t just divinity, he believed he was going to be the god of the universe, or maybe his own little universe!!!
When the Bible talks about participating in the divine nature, it doesn’t mean that we become a god in some mystical sense. What it means is that we share in God’s presence. How does that happen? When a person comes to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is filled with God’s Spirit. God comes to dwell (or more correctly, tabernacle) with that person. God makes His home in that person. When a person becomes God-filled or God soaked he is a part of the divine nature. God’s promises allow us to participate in the divine nature. God’s Word is the key to this participation. As a believer you are God soaked. You are God infused. God is dwelling within you. You have the power of God within you. You have the royal King of Kings, the Lord of Lords within you.
Can I walk victoriously through this life? Yes you can? Can I make an impact for Christ in my world? Yes you can. Can I overcome the habitual sin in my life? Yes you can. Can I step out in faith and change the world? Yes you can.
Prayer:-
V Pray that we would see many children come to the faith through our Scripture or RI classes. Pray that we’d have enough volunteers to ensure that every child in state schools gets the maximum allocated time for RI per term.
V Pray that our chaplains would be equipped to steer and nurture the children in the schools to Christ Jesus. Even though there are many obstacles for them, pray that God would continue to open opportunities to speak of Christ, to make disciples and to refer new believers to the various churches.
In one church I was pastoring the congregation was involved in reaching the new age movement by setting up a stand in the new age festival that came to town each year. As I was manning the table and speaking to people, one particular fellow asked about Christianity. After a meaningful discussion he told me that he would one day be god! After assuring him that I would never bow down to him and pray I asked what he meant. He divulged the secret of his success. By attending many conferences (which cost a lot of $$$) and by doing certain rituals he was ‘assured’ that he was on the pathway to divinity! But it wasn’t just divinity, he believed he was going to be the god of the universe, or maybe his own little universe!!!
When the Bible talks about participating in the divine nature, it doesn’t mean that we become a god in some mystical sense. What it means is that we share in God’s presence. How does that happen? When a person comes to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is filled with God’s Spirit. God comes to dwell (or more correctly, tabernacle) with that person. God makes His home in that person. When a person becomes God-filled or God soaked he is a part of the divine nature. God’s promises allow us to participate in the divine nature. God’s Word is the key to this participation. As a believer you are God soaked. You are God infused. God is dwelling within you. You have the power of God within you. You have the royal King of Kings, the Lord of Lords within you.
Can I walk victoriously through this life? Yes you can? Can I make an impact for Christ in my world? Yes you can. Can I overcome the habitual sin in my life? Yes you can. Can I step out in faith and change the world? Yes you can.
Prayer:-
V Pray that we would see many children come to the faith through our Scripture or RI classes. Pray that we’d have enough volunteers to ensure that every child in state schools gets the maximum allocated time for RI per term.
V Pray that our chaplains would be equipped to steer and nurture the children in the schools to Christ Jesus. Even though there are many obstacles for them, pray that God would continue to open opportunities to speak of Christ, to make disciples and to refer new believers to the various churches.
Thursday 26 May 2011
Thursday May 26, 2011
Read 2 Peter 1:3-4 again. Psalm 145
I remember well that overly and unrealistically happy young Christian who irritated me with his incessant talk of God’s promises. Here I was, a Bible College graduate with an honours Bachelor of Theology. Here he was, young in the faith and ridiculously happy about God’s promises (here we go again!). But that young man put a stone in my shoe. It caused me great discomfort until the Lord hit me with it. He was right! He was right! The Lord challenged me that night to write down, from memory, 10 of His promises that were relevant to my life. I took the challenge and failed.
Could you pass the challenge? Probably with flying colours! You and I will never be victorious until we know the promises of God. God’s pledges are the means by which we incorporate victory into our lives. God’s promises are the vehicles that bring us fullness of life, godliness and ongoing victory over sin. If I don’t know the promises then I really can’t expect much, can I? If I am ignorant of the promises then my life will always be a downward spiralling struggle with sinfulness and self absorption. I may be growing in “knowledge” of God but never growing deeply with God and in God. It becomes parallel to doing an assignment on Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister. I may know a lot about him but I really don’t know him.
God’s promises are issued from the heart of God and show us His love, His concern, His compassion, His protection, His fatherly heart for us. God’s promises draw us into God, into a deeper knowledge of God that is shown by greater trust, more passionate adoration and praise, longer prayer times, more intense prayer times and greater heights of love and service and higher plains of joy than ever before.
God’s promises, from God’s Word, are the foundation on which I walk each and every day. If God promises something I know it’s true and I build my life on that promise. God promises that everyone who believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life. Do I go out of my way to share my faith with my unbelieving friends and family? Of course! That’s building my life on His promises. God promises that all things work for the good of those who love Him. When life is bad, do I cry out and holler, ‘Woe is me’? Of course not because God has promised that this is for my good. Do I praise God and move forward? Of course I do because this is in accord with God’s promises. My prayers too can be built on God’s promises. When a prayer requiring situation arises I think through God’s promises and, finding an appropriate one, pray that prayer for the situation. By praying God’s promises I am praying in line with the Word, in line with God’s will and in line with what He Himself really wants. These are powerful prayers. In Isaiah 55:11 God prays that His Word will accomplish what He has set or ordained. Each Sonday morning you can pray with confidence that God’s Word will accomplish what God has stipulated and that the Word will not return to Him empty or unproductive. That is a powerful prayer because it’s based on God’s own promise.
Are you building your life on God’s promises? Are you praying in accord with God’s Word and God’s promises? Are living in victory by appropriating God’s promises into your life?
Prayer:-
V Pray that God would bring forth His Word and His promises into the lives of everyone in your congregation. Pray for 5 other people by name in this light. Choose one promise from Scripture for each person and pray it into their lives.
V Pray that our brothers and sisters in Myanmar would know the promise of God to deliver them safely into His heavenly kingdom. Pray that this will make them bold and willing to reach out to others with the gospel. Pray that we see many come to the faith in that country.
Slaying Sin
1. What situation or thoughts usually precede that sin?
2. What promise of God or command is relevant to this sin. Write out the full verse(s).
3. Memorise that verse/promise asap.
4. Use this promise or verse when that situation or thought arises. Pray for God’s grace to lead you out of temptation.
5. Remove yourself from the situation that leads to this sin as far as practical. EG. If you are prone to watch pornographic TV late at night when everyone else is asleep, ask someone (eg spouse) to keep you accountable for everything you watched at night.
Developing Godly Habits #3
Removing sin or habits from our lives is easier if we think of that sin / habit as a living organism.
Feeding an organism causes it to grow, starving it causes it to die out. See Romans 8:13, Col3:5!
To overcome sin we need to starve it out, kill it, by refusing to feed it. Often we will need to remove, as far as practical, the physical things that ‘feed’ that sin—the TV, phone, internet, etc. Then we need to remove the situations or circumstances that feed that sin - staying up late at night alone, using the computer when no one is watching etc. We need also to remove the thoughts and fantasises that run through our head. 2 Cor. 10:5.
Finally, as per Proverbs 4:23 we need to stop idolising that sin or falling in love with it again will cause us much grief and suffering:-
As we fight the good fight in this way, we will increasingly win the battle. The strength of sin will decrease and the power of God will greatly increase!
I remember well that overly and unrealistically happy young Christian who irritated me with his incessant talk of God’s promises. Here I was, a Bible College graduate with an honours Bachelor of Theology. Here he was, young in the faith and ridiculously happy about God’s promises (here we go again!). But that young man put a stone in my shoe. It caused me great discomfort until the Lord hit me with it. He was right! He was right! The Lord challenged me that night to write down, from memory, 10 of His promises that were relevant to my life. I took the challenge and failed.
Could you pass the challenge? Probably with flying colours! You and I will never be victorious until we know the promises of God. God’s pledges are the means by which we incorporate victory into our lives. God’s promises are the vehicles that bring us fullness of life, godliness and ongoing victory over sin. If I don’t know the promises then I really can’t expect much, can I? If I am ignorant of the promises then my life will always be a downward spiralling struggle with sinfulness and self absorption. I may be growing in “knowledge” of God but never growing deeply with God and in God. It becomes parallel to doing an assignment on Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister. I may know a lot about him but I really don’t know him.
God’s promises are issued from the heart of God and show us His love, His concern, His compassion, His protection, His fatherly heart for us. God’s promises draw us into God, into a deeper knowledge of God that is shown by greater trust, more passionate adoration and praise, longer prayer times, more intense prayer times and greater heights of love and service and higher plains of joy than ever before.
God’s promises, from God’s Word, are the foundation on which I walk each and every day. If God promises something I know it’s true and I build my life on that promise. God promises that everyone who believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life. Do I go out of my way to share my faith with my unbelieving friends and family? Of course! That’s building my life on His promises. God promises that all things work for the good of those who love Him. When life is bad, do I cry out and holler, ‘Woe is me’? Of course not because God has promised that this is for my good. Do I praise God and move forward? Of course I do because this is in accord with God’s promises. My prayers too can be built on God’s promises. When a prayer requiring situation arises I think through God’s promises and, finding an appropriate one, pray that prayer for the situation. By praying God’s promises I am praying in line with the Word, in line with God’s will and in line with what He Himself really wants. These are powerful prayers. In Isaiah 55:11 God prays that His Word will accomplish what He has set or ordained. Each Sonday morning you can pray with confidence that God’s Word will accomplish what God has stipulated and that the Word will not return to Him empty or unproductive. That is a powerful prayer because it’s based on God’s own promise.
Are you building your life on God’s promises? Are you praying in accord with God’s Word and God’s promises? Are living in victory by appropriating God’s promises into your life?
Prayer:-
V Pray that God would bring forth His Word and His promises into the lives of everyone in your congregation. Pray for 5 other people by name in this light. Choose one promise from Scripture for each person and pray it into their lives.
V Pray that our brothers and sisters in Myanmar would know the promise of God to deliver them safely into His heavenly kingdom. Pray that this will make them bold and willing to reach out to others with the gospel. Pray that we see many come to the faith in that country.
Slaying Sin
1. What situation or thoughts usually precede that sin?
2. What promise of God or command is relevant to this sin. Write out the full verse(s).
3. Memorise that verse/promise asap.
4. Use this promise or verse when that situation or thought arises. Pray for God’s grace to lead you out of temptation.
5. Remove yourself from the situation that leads to this sin as far as practical. EG. If you are prone to watch pornographic TV late at night when everyone else is asleep, ask someone (eg spouse) to keep you accountable for everything you watched at night.
Developing Godly Habits #3
Removing sin or habits from our lives is easier if we think of that sin / habit as a living organism.
Feeding an organism causes it to grow, starving it causes it to die out. See Romans 8:13, Col3:5!
To overcome sin we need to starve it out, kill it, by refusing to feed it. Often we will need to remove, as far as practical, the physical things that ‘feed’ that sin—the TV, phone, internet, etc. Then we need to remove the situations or circumstances that feed that sin - staying up late at night alone, using the computer when no one is watching etc. We need also to remove the thoughts and fantasises that run through our head. 2 Cor. 10:5.
Finally, as per Proverbs 4:23 we need to stop idolising that sin or falling in love with it again will cause us much grief and suffering:-
As we fight the good fight in this way, we will increasingly win the battle. The strength of sin will decrease and the power of God will greatly increase!
Wednesday 25 May 2011
Wednesday May 25, 2011
Read Psalm 119 - or as much of it as you can!
How can I know God? How can I grow closer to God? How can I be more intimate with God? Yesterday I hinted that one modern day writer was totally against planned meeting times with God. No one would argue that we should, as brother Lawrence suggested in his 17th Century writings, practice the presence of God and commune with God second by second throughout the day. Der! But if that’s all we have, I would suggest that we will soon become shallow, self absorbed Christians. We need time with God that is uninterrupted and long enough to allow us to pour our hearts out to God and to listen intently to Him through His Word.
To accomplish this, set aside time each day where you can have uninterrupted time with your Lord and Saviour. I find an hour is an appropriate time to set aside. If this seems inordinately long, remember that no one runs a marathon straight up. Training will increase your stamina. Aim high. During this time, I work through the prayer journal on page 6. The Reading time is a time for me to reflect deeply on God’s Word. It’s a time to study the Word and to seek to really understand the Lord through His Word. Often I’ll use others reflections, commentaries, other sermons and so on to help me. Then I’ll seek to bring it all home by asking God to show me what it means for me in my life, throughout my days!
When I share this I get the most amazing objections - knee jerk reactions really. ‘But I can learn about God through His creation!’ Of course you can. But read Romans 1:20 and you’ll quickly learn that your learning is limited to realising that you are without excuse for your sinfulness and neglect of God. The problem arises because of the nature of interpretation. As three people stand at the edge of the cliff and stare at the vast valley in front of them one praises God and is awed by His power. The other marvels at evolution and the billions of years taken to form the canyon. The third wonders what alien creatures visited this planet and made this vast crater. Without God’s Word you are really open to any interpretation you like. As a believer, you are leaving yourself open to any weird and wonderful teaching, any erroneous belief, any heresy if the Word of God is not open before you as you interpret things
you see.
‘But I can learn about God through experience!’ Of course you can. But we have the same problem above. I can learn about my wife through her family and friends and the dresses she has sown and the craft she has made but nothing compares to sitting and talking to her! God’s Word is His own revelation about Himself to us. We would be foolish to forgo such a great blessing. We would be even more foolish to rely on things other than the Word to realise what the Word has already told us. It’s a quick read through the annals of history to see many Christians have gone off the rails because they refused to read the Word!
As you grow in knowledge of God, you will grow in realising the resources and blessings He’s given us. You’ll grow in your ability to use them and access them. You’ll grow in reflecting His beauty to those around you.
Prayer:-
V Pray for our children and teens to know God deeper and more intimately. Pray that these teens and children will be regular readers of the Word and that prayer would be a priority for them. Pray that they will be world changers in their own environments.
V Pray this for 5 other people in your congregation.
V Pray that our monthly Extreme will reach more people for the Lord’s Kingdom and that we’d see the church grow through this venture.
How can I know God? How can I grow closer to God? How can I be more intimate with God? Yesterday I hinted that one modern day writer was totally against planned meeting times with God. No one would argue that we should, as brother Lawrence suggested in his 17th Century writings, practice the presence of God and commune with God second by second throughout the day. Der! But if that’s all we have, I would suggest that we will soon become shallow, self absorbed Christians. We need time with God that is uninterrupted and long enough to allow us to pour our hearts out to God and to listen intently to Him through His Word.
To accomplish this, set aside time each day where you can have uninterrupted time with your Lord and Saviour. I find an hour is an appropriate time to set aside. If this seems inordinately long, remember that no one runs a marathon straight up. Training will increase your stamina. Aim high. During this time, I work through the prayer journal on page 6. The Reading time is a time for me to reflect deeply on God’s Word. It’s a time to study the Word and to seek to really understand the Lord through His Word. Often I’ll use others reflections, commentaries, other sermons and so on to help me. Then I’ll seek to bring it all home by asking God to show me what it means for me in my life, throughout my days!
When I share this I get the most amazing objections - knee jerk reactions really. ‘But I can learn about God through His creation!’ Of course you can. But read Romans 1:20 and you’ll quickly learn that your learning is limited to realising that you are without excuse for your sinfulness and neglect of God. The problem arises because of the nature of interpretation. As three people stand at the edge of the cliff and stare at the vast valley in front of them one praises God and is awed by His power. The other marvels at evolution and the billions of years taken to form the canyon. The third wonders what alien creatures visited this planet and made this vast crater. Without God’s Word you are really open to any interpretation you like. As a believer, you are leaving yourself open to any weird and wonderful teaching, any erroneous belief, any heresy if the Word of God is not open before you as you interpret things
you see.
‘But I can learn about God through experience!’ Of course you can. But we have the same problem above. I can learn about my wife through her family and friends and the dresses she has sown and the craft she has made but nothing compares to sitting and talking to her! God’s Word is His own revelation about Himself to us. We would be foolish to forgo such a great blessing. We would be even more foolish to rely on things other than the Word to realise what the Word has already told us. It’s a quick read through the annals of history to see many Christians have gone off the rails because they refused to read the Word!
As you grow in knowledge of God, you will grow in realising the resources and blessings He’s given us. You’ll grow in your ability to use them and access them. You’ll grow in reflecting His beauty to those around you.
Prayer:-
V Pray for our children and teens to know God deeper and more intimately. Pray that these teens and children will be regular readers of the Word and that prayer would be a priority for them. Pray that they will be world changers in their own environments.
V Pray this for 5 other people in your congregation.
V Pray that our monthly Extreme will reach more people for the Lord’s Kingdom and that we’d see the church grow through this venture.
Tuesday 24 May 2011
Tuesday May 24, 2011
Read 2 Peter 1:3-4
I tend to hate knee-jerk reactions, don’t you? But often what I see in the Christian world is knee jerk reactions. In the past we saw a barrage of ‘academia’ sweep through our pulpits. Many sermons went over people’s heads and were largely irrelevant to every day life. People were literally bored as they heard preachers prattle about historical, linguistic and grammatical issues that were completely useless in our daily walk with the Lord. The knee jerk reaction came as the Christian church rejected knowledge in favour of emotion. If it felt good, it was spiritual. Feelings and emotions overtook dry and sombre Sonday services. People no longer wanted facts or knowledge, but that “spiritual high” that came from feeling close to God.
By no means am I against feelings or emotions. They are God given elements of our personality. However, I am deeply concerned that knowledge has been pushed aside. Hopefully the pendulum will swing back and the church will settle in a godly middle ground.
Read 2 Peter 1:3-4 again and notice what role knowledge plays.
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.
Knowing God is not optional for a life of fullness and godliness. Knowing God is as vital to our Christianity as it is for a wife to know her husband and vice versa. If we fail to know God we may well be passionate Christians, but our passion may be for sinful and ungodly things rather than for the glory of our God. I’ve seen “Christians” being passionate about yelling out obscenities during worship, thinking that this is the key to having a full life. I’ve witnessed churches run “Great Sex” seminars on Sonday mornings thinking that they have a wonderful church that is relevant and inspiring. I’ve heard of Christians being desperate to be “slayed in the Spirit” each and every Sonday to feel fulfilled. One writer even jibbed that a regular planned meeting time with God can no more grow your relationship with God than a planned regular time between husband and wife can grow their marriage. All of these people are anti-knowledge. None of these believers knew God. None of them were growing in their knowledge of God.
Knowing God is not a dull and boring route learning of verses and lists. It’s not like trying to route learn maths formulae or scientific equations. Knowing God is about growing in depth and intimacy and love with God as you learn more about His love and passion for you. The old ASV captured beautifully the sense of knowing when it read, ‘Adam knew his wife Eve and she bore him a son’. Knowing God has a richness and depth to it. Knowing God has a deep seated passion to it.
So how do I get to know God more? How do I learn to love God? How can I grow closer to God? Read on tomorrow and you’ll find out more.
I tend to hate knee-jerk reactions, don’t you? But often what I see in the Christian world is knee jerk reactions. In the past we saw a barrage of ‘academia’ sweep through our pulpits. Many sermons went over people’s heads and were largely irrelevant to every day life. People were literally bored as they heard preachers prattle about historical, linguistic and grammatical issues that were completely useless in our daily walk with the Lord. The knee jerk reaction came as the Christian church rejected knowledge in favour of emotion. If it felt good, it was spiritual. Feelings and emotions overtook dry and sombre Sonday services. People no longer wanted facts or knowledge, but that “spiritual high” that came from feeling close to God.
By no means am I against feelings or emotions. They are God given elements of our personality. However, I am deeply concerned that knowledge has been pushed aside. Hopefully the pendulum will swing back and the church will settle in a godly middle ground.
Read 2 Peter 1:3-4 again and notice what role knowledge plays.
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.
Knowing God is not optional for a life of fullness and godliness. Knowing God is as vital to our Christianity as it is for a wife to know her husband and vice versa. If we fail to know God we may well be passionate Christians, but our passion may be for sinful and ungodly things rather than for the glory of our God. I’ve seen “Christians” being passionate about yelling out obscenities during worship, thinking that this is the key to having a full life. I’ve witnessed churches run “Great Sex” seminars on Sonday mornings thinking that they have a wonderful church that is relevant and inspiring. I’ve heard of Christians being desperate to be “slayed in the Spirit” each and every Sonday to feel fulfilled. One writer even jibbed that a regular planned meeting time with God can no more grow your relationship with God than a planned regular time between husband and wife can grow their marriage. All of these people are anti-knowledge. None of these believers knew God. None of them were growing in their knowledge of God.
Knowing God is not a dull and boring route learning of verses and lists. It’s not like trying to route learn maths formulae or scientific equations. Knowing God is about growing in depth and intimacy and love with God as you learn more about His love and passion for you. The old ASV captured beautifully the sense of knowing when it read, ‘Adam knew his wife Eve and she bore him a son’. Knowing God has a richness and depth to it. Knowing God has a deep seated passion to it.
So how do I get to know God more? How do I learn to love God? How can I grow closer to God? Read on tomorrow and you’ll find out more.
Monday 23 May 2011
Monday May 23, 2011
Read 2 Peter 1:3-4
Aaron Ralston (from the movie 127 Hours) finds himself literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. As an experienced canyoner he should have known that he really needed everything necessary to be safe. Had he not left his mobile phone at home, 127 hours could have easily turned into 127 minutes and he possibly may have saved himself a lot of agony and loss. In life, tragedy often strikes when we are ill prepared. Spiritually speaking there’s more to the picture than meets the eye.
God has promised that He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. The key word is EVERYTHING. God has left out nothing from our travel pack. Like a diligent and loving mother He has packed everything into our school bag. If that is true then a host of questions raise up immediately. Why do I still sin? Why does life still take down turns? Why am I not enjoying life to the full? Why am I ambushed by sin? Why is there a barrier at times between me and God?
I liken the situation to that young boy at school. His mother tells him that she has packed everything he needs in his school bag. By recess the poor lad is hungry and after running around the playground wonders why his mum would leave him to be hungry. He complains that he has nothing to eat at recess. But that young boy has failed to look into his school bag. Likewise, we also often fail to look into our ‘spiritual bag’ to find all the resources and blessings that God has given us. We often fail to see God’s gracious hand and provision in our life because the fog of life blinds us and weighs heavily upon us. It’s not that we are ill prepared because God has given us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness. He has filled us with His Holy Spirit and provided resources innumerable. The issue is what we do with all His blessings.
One thing we can be doing to open up God’s fully packed bag is to pray over or according to God’s own promises. If God has promised something we can be 1000% certain that His word is true and His promises sure. We can and should be building our life on these promises.
Prayer:-
V Pray that the believers in Iran and Iraq would know God’s promises and live by them. Pray that many would come to Christ for salvation through them.
V Pray that God’s promises would transform your life and witness.
V Pray that God would give you wisdom to know which promises to pray for others.
Change takes much prayer. Spend time daily asking the Lord to change the things you dislike about yourself. If you are really keen to change, you will be really keen to pray about these issues.
Base your prayers on God’s promises.
An example of a prayer based on God’s promises.
Father, Great God Almighty, you have sworn that your divine power has given me everything I need for life and godliness.
Lord I struggle daily with thoughts of revenge and payback for Jack’s actions last year. Yet you promise me in your word that you will take vengeance. Help me Father to love Jack, to serve Him and to help Him into the Kingdom of God before your wrath and punishment overwhelm him. Father when my thoughts turn to revenge, let me remember your great promise.”
Developing Godly Habits #2
If you don’t know what God says in His word you are more prone to fall into sin. Even worse, you are liable to fall into a spiralling cycle of, “Try Harder”. With each cycle the disappointment in sinning/falling grows bigger and bigger and bigger. Finally helplessness and hopelessness set in. Depression, self hate, self abuse, moodiness, suicide or suicidal thoughts can all occur from this growing cycle of trying and failing.
Knowing God’s word is vital to overcoming sin. When tempted, you can call on God with regard to His promise. You can quote the Word of God at the evil one if he is tempting you. You can encourage yourself with the Word. You can escape the temptation as you dwell in God’s Word.
But if you don’t know the Word of God then you can’t escape through God’s promises. The cycle may well continue unabated.
To break this cycle you need to memorise God’s Word. In the appendix, there is a list of God’s Promises from the New Testament. Read through them and write down the ones that are relevant to your struggle. Memorise at least 7 of them over the next week (ie. one a day).
Promise 1
Promise 1
Promise 2
Promise 3
Promise 4
Promise 5
Promise 6
Promise 7.
Use the rest of this page after two weeks - (one week of learning promises and one week of using them) to record how you have been going in your struggle with sin.
Aaron Ralston (from the movie 127 Hours) finds himself literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. As an experienced canyoner he should have known that he really needed everything necessary to be safe. Had he not left his mobile phone at home, 127 hours could have easily turned into 127 minutes and he possibly may have saved himself a lot of agony and loss. In life, tragedy often strikes when we are ill prepared. Spiritually speaking there’s more to the picture than meets the eye.
God has promised that He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. The key word is EVERYTHING. God has left out nothing from our travel pack. Like a diligent and loving mother He has packed everything into our school bag. If that is true then a host of questions raise up immediately. Why do I still sin? Why does life still take down turns? Why am I not enjoying life to the full? Why am I ambushed by sin? Why is there a barrier at times between me and God?
I liken the situation to that young boy at school. His mother tells him that she has packed everything he needs in his school bag. By recess the poor lad is hungry and after running around the playground wonders why his mum would leave him to be hungry. He complains that he has nothing to eat at recess. But that young boy has failed to look into his school bag. Likewise, we also often fail to look into our ‘spiritual bag’ to find all the resources and blessings that God has given us. We often fail to see God’s gracious hand and provision in our life because the fog of life blinds us and weighs heavily upon us. It’s not that we are ill prepared because God has given us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness. He has filled us with His Holy Spirit and provided resources innumerable. The issue is what we do with all His blessings.
One thing we can be doing to open up God’s fully packed bag is to pray over or according to God’s own promises. If God has promised something we can be 1000% certain that His word is true and His promises sure. We can and should be building our life on these promises.
Prayer:-
V Pray that the believers in Iran and Iraq would know God’s promises and live by them. Pray that many would come to Christ for salvation through them.
V Pray that God’s promises would transform your life and witness.
V Pray that God would give you wisdom to know which promises to pray for others.
Change takes much prayer. Spend time daily asking the Lord to change the things you dislike about yourself. If you are really keen to change, you will be really keen to pray about these issues.
Base your prayers on God’s promises.
An example of a prayer based on God’s promises.
Father, Great God Almighty, you have sworn that your divine power has given me everything I need for life and godliness.
Lord I struggle daily with thoughts of revenge and payback for Jack’s actions last year. Yet you promise me in your word that you will take vengeance. Help me Father to love Jack, to serve Him and to help Him into the Kingdom of God before your wrath and punishment overwhelm him. Father when my thoughts turn to revenge, let me remember your great promise.”
Developing Godly Habits #2
If you don’t know what God says in His word you are more prone to fall into sin. Even worse, you are liable to fall into a spiralling cycle of, “Try Harder”. With each cycle the disappointment in sinning/falling grows bigger and bigger and bigger. Finally helplessness and hopelessness set in. Depression, self hate, self abuse, moodiness, suicide or suicidal thoughts can all occur from this growing cycle of trying and failing.
Knowing God’s word is vital to overcoming sin. When tempted, you can call on God with regard to His promise. You can quote the Word of God at the evil one if he is tempting you. You can encourage yourself with the Word. You can escape the temptation as you dwell in God’s Word.
But if you don’t know the Word of God then you can’t escape through God’s promises. The cycle may well continue unabated.
To break this cycle you need to memorise God’s Word. In the appendix, there is a list of God’s Promises from the New Testament. Read through them and write down the ones that are relevant to your struggle. Memorise at least 7 of them over the next week (ie. one a day).
Promise 1
Promise 1
Promise 2
Promise 3
Promise 4
Promise 5
Promise 6
Promise 7.
Use the rest of this page after two weeks - (one week of learning promises and one week of using them) to record how you have been going in your struggle with sin.
Saturday 21 May 2011
Saturday May 21, 2011
Read the following passages and fill in the table.
Prayer:-
V Spend time praising God for your identity in Christ. Praise God for the work of Christ to give you this new identity. Ask God to change any negative thoughts you have about yourself.
V Pray that God’s Word will be powerful among the congregation tomorrow. Pray that He’ll do great things among us as the Word is proclaimed. Ask our Lord to give us obedient hearts and a filling of the Spirit so that we can go out and change the world for Christ.
| What God says. | Brief Summary About My Identity in Christ. | I Believe it’s true of me | Why |
| Gal 2:20 | |||
| 2 Cor 5:14-15 | |||
| Col 1:27 | |||
| 2 Tim 1:7 | |||
| Heb 4:16 | |||
| 2 Pet 1:4 | |||
| 1 Cor 2:16 |
Prayer:-
V Spend time praising God for your identity in Christ. Praise God for the work of Christ to give you this new identity. Ask God to change any negative thoughts you have about yourself.
V Pray that God’s Word will be powerful among the congregation tomorrow. Pray that He’ll do great things among us as the Word is proclaimed. Ask our Lord to give us obedient hearts and a filling of the Spirit so that we can go out and change the world for Christ.
Friday 20 May 2011
Friday May 20, 2011
Read John 15:1-17
Victory over sin and daily righteous living comes primarily from knowing (in the biblical sense, not in the head knowledge sense) who we are in Christ Jesus. Hopefully the studies so far have re-tracked your mind to positive thoughts of your true identity in Christ.
John 15 is another parable of who we are in Christ. Unfortunately we often read parables and think ‘That’s nice’ before we move on. The parable may stay in our mind for a while but it never really impacts our life. Jesus never told parables to be a nice teacher or to pain pretty pictures for us. Parables have deep meaning that we need to ponder long and hard on.
As John Macarthur rightly says:-
Study the Bible carefully and you’ll notice Scripture rarely calls you to practice a specific behaviour without first laying down some kind of theological foundation or framework. That was especially clear in Paul’s epistles, the transition from doctrine to duty, belief to behaviour (cf. Rom. 12:1; Gal. 5:1; Eph. 4:1; Phil. 2:1; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:1). Practice follows position, application flows out of sound theology.
Understanding who we are in Christ is the foundation for sound living.
When Jesus talks about the vine and the branches He is doing far more than painting a lovely al fresco picture. What truths come out of this parable for you? Take time to list at least 5 truths from this passage that are true for you before you read on.
1/.
2/.
3/.
4/.
5/.
If Jesus is the vine and we are the branches then we must abide in Christ or remain in Him. We remain in Jesus by cultivating our relationship with Him. We need to spend time praying to Him, listening to Him and reading His word. We need to listen to others in the vine. As branches we need to allow God to prune us without whinging and whining. We need to be filled with praise as God cuts away those areas in our lives that are bearing no fruit. We need to be looking out for them and bringing them to God to prune as we find them. We need to realise that apart from Him we can do nothing. That means we stay close to God. We seek His will, His guidance, His timing, His standards and so on. If we are in Christ we will desire to walk in obedience and love. We will keep His word closely guarded in His heart, which means we have to kick out the lusts and covetous desires that reside there at present. Memorising the Word is a great way to keep His word in us. Singing the Word is another way to keep the word abiding in us.
Are you cultivating your relationship with Christ? Are you growing daily in Him. Are you sowing godly seeds in your life? Is your love for Jesus growing day by day? As the branches of a vine grow through the nutrients it gets from the vine so too we grow in Christ by the love and nutrients we receive from Him each moment of each day. Never let a day go by without drinking deeply from the vine to which you have been grafted.
Prayer:-
V Pray that our cell groups would continue to care for each other, love each other and reach out to the surrounding areas with the gospel. Pray that we’d see cells growing and maturing in the Lord. Pray that every believer would be in a cell group.
V Pray that our teenagers would be growing and maturing in the Lord. Ask God to bless them with a deepening knowledge of God through His word and a greater understanding of the love that He has for them. Pray that our teens would be lights shining for Jesus among their peers.
Victory over sin and daily righteous living comes primarily from knowing (in the biblical sense, not in the head knowledge sense) who we are in Christ Jesus. Hopefully the studies so far have re-tracked your mind to positive thoughts of your true identity in Christ.
John 15 is another parable of who we are in Christ. Unfortunately we often read parables and think ‘That’s nice’ before we move on. The parable may stay in our mind for a while but it never really impacts our life. Jesus never told parables to be a nice teacher or to pain pretty pictures for us. Parables have deep meaning that we need to ponder long and hard on.
As John Macarthur rightly says:-
Study the Bible carefully and you’ll notice Scripture rarely calls you to practice a specific behaviour without first laying down some kind of theological foundation or framework. That was especially clear in Paul’s epistles, the transition from doctrine to duty, belief to behaviour (cf. Rom. 12:1; Gal. 5:1; Eph. 4:1; Phil. 2:1; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:1). Practice follows position, application flows out of sound theology.
Understanding who we are in Christ is the foundation for sound living.
When Jesus talks about the vine and the branches He is doing far more than painting a lovely al fresco picture. What truths come out of this parable for you? Take time to list at least 5 truths from this passage that are true for you before you read on.
1/.
2/.
3/.
4/.
5/.
If Jesus is the vine and we are the branches then we must abide in Christ or remain in Him. We remain in Jesus by cultivating our relationship with Him. We need to spend time praying to Him, listening to Him and reading His word. We need to listen to others in the vine. As branches we need to allow God to prune us without whinging and whining. We need to be filled with praise as God cuts away those areas in our lives that are bearing no fruit. We need to be looking out for them and bringing them to God to prune as we find them. We need to realise that apart from Him we can do nothing. That means we stay close to God. We seek His will, His guidance, His timing, His standards and so on. If we are in Christ we will desire to walk in obedience and love. We will keep His word closely guarded in His heart, which means we have to kick out the lusts and covetous desires that reside there at present. Memorising the Word is a great way to keep His word in us. Singing the Word is another way to keep the word abiding in us.
Are you cultivating your relationship with Christ? Are you growing daily in Him. Are you sowing godly seeds in your life? Is your love for Jesus growing day by day? As the branches of a vine grow through the nutrients it gets from the vine so too we grow in Christ by the love and nutrients we receive from Him each moment of each day. Never let a day go by without drinking deeply from the vine to which you have been grafted.
Prayer:-
V Pray that our cell groups would continue to care for each other, love each other and reach out to the surrounding areas with the gospel. Pray that we’d see cells growing and maturing in the Lord. Pray that every believer would be in a cell group.
V Pray that our teenagers would be growing and maturing in the Lord. Ask God to bless them with a deepening knowledge of God through His word and a greater understanding of the love that He has for them. Pray that our teens would be lights shining for Jesus among their peers.
Thursday 19 May 2011
Thursday May 19, 2010
Read the following passages and fill in the table.
It’s imperative that we gain a bigger picture of who we are in Christ by reading and ingesting other verses. Take time to fill in the table.
It’s imperative that we gain a bigger picture of who we are in Christ by reading and ingesting other verses. Take time to fill in the table.
| What God says. | Brief Summary About My identity in Christ. | I Believe it’s true of me | Why |
| Rom 5:1 | |||
| Rom 6:1-6 | |||
| Rom 8:1 | |||
| Eph 1:13-14 | |||
| Eph 1:7-8 | |||
| Eph 2:18 | |||
| Eph 3:12 |
Wednesday 18 May 2011
Wednesday May 18, 2011
Read Isaiah 42:1-7
Yesterday we saw that the word ‘servant’ has a double edged sword. The Greek word for servant is more literally ‘slave’. The Hebrew word for servant has much more interesting connotations. Isaiah 42:1-7 picks up on those positive connotations.
The servant of the Lord is the one whom God upholds. He is the one in whom God delights. Immediately our minds think of Jesus and rightly so. Jesus is the servant of the Lord who suffered and rose to eternal life. He is the one that God delights in. But we rarely make the jump ourselves, do we? We rarely rejoice in the fact that God delights in you and I. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that we died with Christ and were raised in Him. Ephesians 1:1-14 tells us that everything we have from God was in Him, in Christ. We are united with Christ. We are together with Him. God does not despise or hate us. God does not look down upon us and frown. God does not put up with us just because of Christ. God loves us. You and I need to internalise and accept this incredible truth - God loves you!!! God loves you. He likes you. He delights in you. Read Proverbs 8:30-31 and think about it for a few moments. When God created the world wisdom was with God delighting in the creation of mankind. All creation was a time of rejoicing but when mankind was made by God there was sheer delight. The pinnacle of creation, the purpose of creation, the crescendo of creation had been made. God delights in the creation of mankind and is ecstatic at each person’s new birth or new creation in Christ Jesus.
You are a servant of Christ. Often that conjures up images of lowliness because of the slave imagery we saw yesterday. But it should also warm our heart to know that God delights in you and I. He loves us. God likes us.
Do I want to sin against the God that delights in me? Do I want to kick sand in the face of the God who loves me? Do I want to hurt the God who likes me by sinning? NO WAY!
Prayer:-
V Pray that our brothers in China and Vietnam would understand that God delights in them so that they can have perseverance and continue soldering on for Christ. Pray that their joy would radiate outwards and bring many more to Christ. Pray this for your church as well.
V Pray that our MOPS ministry and Playpals ministry (which meet) on alternate Wednesdays would have enough carers and helpers to expand. MOPS can only expand to accommodate the number of carers. Therefore ask God to bring in many more carers so that the group can grow and so that we can reach more people with the love of Christ.
Yesterday we saw that the word ‘servant’ has a double edged sword. The Greek word for servant is more literally ‘slave’. The Hebrew word for servant has much more interesting connotations. Isaiah 42:1-7 picks up on those positive connotations.
The servant of the Lord is the one whom God upholds. He is the one in whom God delights. Immediately our minds think of Jesus and rightly so. Jesus is the servant of the Lord who suffered and rose to eternal life. He is the one that God delights in. But we rarely make the jump ourselves, do we? We rarely rejoice in the fact that God delights in you and I. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that we died with Christ and were raised in Him. Ephesians 1:1-14 tells us that everything we have from God was in Him, in Christ. We are united with Christ. We are together with Him. God does not despise or hate us. God does not look down upon us and frown. God does not put up with us just because of Christ. God loves us. You and I need to internalise and accept this incredible truth - God loves you!!! God loves you. He likes you. He delights in you. Read Proverbs 8:30-31 and think about it for a few moments. When God created the world wisdom was with God delighting in the creation of mankind. All creation was a time of rejoicing but when mankind was made by God there was sheer delight. The pinnacle of creation, the purpose of creation, the crescendo of creation had been made. God delights in the creation of mankind and is ecstatic at each person’s new birth or new creation in Christ Jesus.
You are a servant of Christ. Often that conjures up images of lowliness because of the slave imagery we saw yesterday. But it should also warm our heart to know that God delights in you and I. He loves us. God likes us.
Do I want to sin against the God that delights in me? Do I want to kick sand in the face of the God who loves me? Do I want to hurt the God who likes me by sinning? NO WAY!
Prayer:-
V Pray that our brothers in China and Vietnam would understand that God delights in them so that they can have perseverance and continue soldering on for Christ. Pray that their joy would radiate outwards and bring many more to Christ. Pray this for your church as well.
V Pray that our MOPS ministry and Playpals ministry (which meet) on alternate Wednesdays would have enough carers and helpers to expand. MOPS can only expand to accommodate the number of carers. Therefore ask God to bring in many more carers so that the group can grow and so that we can reach more people with the love of Christ.
Tuesday 17 May 2011
Tuesday May 17, 2-011
Read 2 Peter 1:1. Romans 6
Let’s play an imagination game for now. Imagine I meet you for the first time at a church function. As I reach out my hand to shake yours I ask you, ‘Who are you?’
How do you answer? Would you tell me your name? Would you tell me your occupation as I stare invitingly, waiting for more information? Would you tell me about the church you go to? What would you tell me?
I can almost guarantee that you would not say something like, ‘Hi I’m a servant of Christ Jesus.’ Yet that’s exactly what Peter, Paul, James and John do. They introduce themselves as servants of Christ Jesus.
The word ‘servant’ has a double edge. In the Greek, servant is more literally translated as ‘slave’. You and I are slaves to God. In our unsaved state we were slaves to the devil, slaves to unrighteousness. We could not save ourselves nor could we do anything befitting the glory of God. We were in the dungeon bound with chains of sinfulness. When Jesus died on the cross and rose to eternal life He shattered the fetters that enslaved us. He paid in full the price for our redemption. He has purchased us from our old master. We belong to Jesus. Legally we belong to Jesus and no one has the right (nor the power or ability) to take us away from Him. We are slaves to Jesus!
True satisfaction and inner peace comes when we know deep within that we are where we were created to be. Mankind was created in the image of God to have a relationship with God. As a believer God has a place for you in His body. Often we sin because our lives are unfulfilled or some desire/appetite is unsatisfied. When we look for fulfilment in the wrong areas, we usually end up sinning. As you find your identity in Christ and your role in the body of Christ you will be satisfied/fulfilled and sin will become less tempting.
Our identity must come from Christ Jesus if we are to walk in victory day by day. I must see myself as a slave or servant of Christ and not a slave or servant of the world, of the evil one or of my bodily desires. Only when I internalise and actualise my true identity in Christ will I truly be freed from sinful habits. I am in Christ. I am united with Christ. I am a part of Christ. He lives with me and gives me my true, eternal identity.
Prayer:-
V Ask God to show you where you have been finding your identity up till now. If necessary ask for His forgiveness. Pray that you will find your true identity in Christ Jesus.
V Pray that each person in your congregation will know the calling that God has for them. Pray that each person would know what spiritual gift(s) they have (see 1 Cor 12:7) and that they would be putting that gift to use for the common good.
Let’s play an imagination game for now. Imagine I meet you for the first time at a church function. As I reach out my hand to shake yours I ask you, ‘Who are you?’
How do you answer? Would you tell me your name? Would you tell me your occupation as I stare invitingly, waiting for more information? Would you tell me about the church you go to? What would you tell me?
I can almost guarantee that you would not say something like, ‘Hi I’m a servant of Christ Jesus.’ Yet that’s exactly what Peter, Paul, James and John do. They introduce themselves as servants of Christ Jesus.
The word ‘servant’ has a double edge. In the Greek, servant is more literally translated as ‘slave’. You and I are slaves to God. In our unsaved state we were slaves to the devil, slaves to unrighteousness. We could not save ourselves nor could we do anything befitting the glory of God. We were in the dungeon bound with chains of sinfulness. When Jesus died on the cross and rose to eternal life He shattered the fetters that enslaved us. He paid in full the price for our redemption. He has purchased us from our old master. We belong to Jesus. Legally we belong to Jesus and no one has the right (nor the power or ability) to take us away from Him. We are slaves to Jesus!
True satisfaction and inner peace comes when we know deep within that we are where we were created to be. Mankind was created in the image of God to have a relationship with God. As a believer God has a place for you in His body. Often we sin because our lives are unfulfilled or some desire/appetite is unsatisfied. When we look for fulfilment in the wrong areas, we usually end up sinning. As you find your identity in Christ and your role in the body of Christ you will be satisfied/fulfilled and sin will become less tempting.
Our identity must come from Christ Jesus if we are to walk in victory day by day. I must see myself as a slave or servant of Christ and not a slave or servant of the world, of the evil one or of my bodily desires. Only when I internalise and actualise my true identity in Christ will I truly be freed from sinful habits. I am in Christ. I am united with Christ. I am a part of Christ. He lives with me and gives me my true, eternal identity.
Prayer:-
V Ask God to show you where you have been finding your identity up till now. If necessary ask for His forgiveness. Pray that you will find your true identity in Christ Jesus.
V Pray that each person in your congregation will know the calling that God has for them. Pray that each person would know what spiritual gift(s) they have (see 1 Cor 12:7) and that they would be putting that gift to use for the common good.
Monday 16 May 2011
Monday May 16, 2011
Read 2 Peter 1:1 again. Read Acts 16:11-40
When we meet people for the first time we ask their name. Quite often the very next thing we ask the other person is what they do for a living. Once we know what they do, we can peg them on the clothes line of our experience. Rightly or wrongly we form, or at least start to form, our opinion of that person by what he or she does. By knowing their occupation, we have a better understanding of that person - or so we think. But a person’s vocation or employment is no key to their real identity. It should never be used to grade a person or form a judgement about them.
At other times we’ll look at, what used to be called, their breeding stock. If they come from a line of respectable people we form a positive opinion about that person. If they come from a line of unrespectable people we immediately put up our guard. But again, we can’t and shouldn’t form an opinion about a person from their background.
Sometimes we look at a person’s socio-economic standing. Those who are in the higher echelons are considered more trustworthy and respectable. Those in the lower notches are often treated with caution and weariness.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we need to jettison all such associations with a person’s identity. As believers we should never make a decision about a person based on their employment, their social class standing or their economic means. We shouldn’t do it for others and we certainly shouldn't do it for ourselves.
Consider the church at Philippi. This church plant began with the most unlikely mix of people. Modern day church plant theorists would label this group a certain tragedy and wasted effort in planting. Within that early church we have a wealthy upper class foreign tailor or supplier to the nobility (only they wore expensive purple cloth). We have a young foreign slave girl from the depths of the bottom of the social pile who has no experience or means of income whatsoever. And we have a Roman citizen family man from the blue collar industry, namely the gaoler. Ordinarily in this society these levels of people would have nothing to do with each other yet God threw them together into a church that would impact Europe with the gospel. Interestingly it is this church at Philippi that Paul dearly loved and wrote the warmest and most affectionate letter to. It is this church that had no internal wrangling or dire sinfulness. It is this church that came to Paul’s aid again and again. This church partnered with him in his gospel work. It all began because 3 Christians refused to judge each other based on social, vocational or economic means. These three believers loved each other in Christ Jesus.
Let us never judge an individual or a family on the basis of economics, social standing or vocational engagement. These things are never true markers of a person’s true identity. Similarly, let us never judge ourselves by these markers. And let us never strive to find our identity or self worth in these things.
Prayer:-
V Pray that the compassion children we support through the partner church will grow spiritually and physically each day. Pray that God would use our support to glorify Himself and to bring many into the kingdom. Pray that these children and their families would know the love of God in Christ Jesus.
V Pray for the Bible College students in Myanmar. Ask God to provide for the daily needs of Grace College and RBC. Pray that the teachers will be wise in their teaching and that the students would grow in knowledge and depth of understanding. Pray that the students who work in churches on the weekend would have great impact for Christ in their villages.
When we meet people for the first time we ask their name. Quite often the very next thing we ask the other person is what they do for a living. Once we know what they do, we can peg them on the clothes line of our experience. Rightly or wrongly we form, or at least start to form, our opinion of that person by what he or she does. By knowing their occupation, we have a better understanding of that person - or so we think. But a person’s vocation or employment is no key to their real identity. It should never be used to grade a person or form a judgement about them.
At other times we’ll look at, what used to be called, their breeding stock. If they come from a line of respectable people we form a positive opinion about that person. If they come from a line of unrespectable people we immediately put up our guard. But again, we can’t and shouldn’t form an opinion about a person from their background.
Sometimes we look at a person’s socio-economic standing. Those who are in the higher echelons are considered more trustworthy and respectable. Those in the lower notches are often treated with caution and weariness.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we need to jettison all such associations with a person’s identity. As believers we should never make a decision about a person based on their employment, their social class standing or their economic means. We shouldn’t do it for others and we certainly shouldn't do it for ourselves.
Consider the church at Philippi. This church plant began with the most unlikely mix of people. Modern day church plant theorists would label this group a certain tragedy and wasted effort in planting. Within that early church we have a wealthy upper class foreign tailor or supplier to the nobility (only they wore expensive purple cloth). We have a young foreign slave girl from the depths of the bottom of the social pile who has no experience or means of income whatsoever. And we have a Roman citizen family man from the blue collar industry, namely the gaoler. Ordinarily in this society these levels of people would have nothing to do with each other yet God threw them together into a church that would impact Europe with the gospel. Interestingly it is this church at Philippi that Paul dearly loved and wrote the warmest and most affectionate letter to. It is this church that had no internal wrangling or dire sinfulness. It is this church that came to Paul’s aid again and again. This church partnered with him in his gospel work. It all began because 3 Christians refused to judge each other based on social, vocational or economic means. These three believers loved each other in Christ Jesus.
Let us never judge an individual or a family on the basis of economics, social standing or vocational engagement. These things are never true markers of a person’s true identity. Similarly, let us never judge ourselves by these markers. And let us never strive to find our identity or self worth in these things.
Prayer:-
V Pray that the compassion children we support through the partner church will grow spiritually and physically each day. Pray that God would use our support to glorify Himself and to bring many into the kingdom. Pray that these children and their families would know the love of God in Christ Jesus.
V Pray for the Bible College students in Myanmar. Ask God to provide for the daily needs of Grace College and RBC. Pray that the teachers will be wise in their teaching and that the students would grow in knowledge and depth of understanding. Pray that the students who work in churches on the weekend would have great impact for Christ in their villages.
Saturday 14 May 2011
Saturday May 14, 2011
Read Hebrews 12:1-2. 1Tim 6:1-16
Living a life of grace is often difficult because many things constantly get in the way. Some days it’s more like trudging through a weed filled mud pit than driving down a super highway! Temptations come daily. Busyness pulls our heart in the wrong direction. There are demands from others each and every day. Problems crop up in the most unexpected places. Some of the things we cannot control, but some we can. We can take Hebrews 12:1-2 very seriously and start removing the objects and things that cause us to sin or weigh us down. In reality, only you and God know what issues you struggle with and what things cause you to fall into sin.
If you can zoom into those things and point them out you are in a better position to start casting them off and being freed from the things that weigh you down.
Notice clearly the context though. Only when we focus on Christ will we really cast off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. What God is saying is that we are to hurl away (with all your strength) the sins that are entangling you or pulling you down. Would a marathon runner eat chocolate cake before or during the race? Would a boxer take time to laze around before a major fight? If your TV is causing you to sin, get rid of it. If your phone is causing you to dishonour God, swap it for a phone and text only version. If the car you drive is causing pride to well up, trade it in. Again, we are not drinking spiritual milk but digesting the Meat of the Word. This is not for the faint hearted. We are taking God seriously and applying what we learn to our own lives. We are taking dramatic steps to make sure that ungodliness is not an option.
Athletes are serious about their training. We should be as well. Athletes focus on the goal, the finish line, the gold medal. We should be as well. Athletes feed their body nutrient rich food, avoiding junk. We should be feeding ourselves the nutrient rich food of grace and avoiding the junk of the world. Athletes train to win an event, a gold medal. We train to “win” eternity. Our medal is in heaven. Our battle lasts for this entire life but the rewards truly are eternal.
If we are serious about fighting the good fight then we need to do some serious spiritual training. One minister placed a large red dot on everything in his house that caused him to wander from the truth. They were a daily reminder of the need to run the race with perseverance. Another believer held his 4oth birthday and rather than bring presents he told his guests to come and take anything they wanted from his house. He’s been the happiest in his entire life since he scaled down.
Sin is like cancer. It needs to be removed as soon as we know it’s there. Leaving it around will cause us harm. But as we get rid of sin the Lord will use us more and more for His Kingdom. As we step out in faith and walk the talk, God will work powerfully among us. We will see God greatly impacting others through our ministry and involvement.
As you think about church tomorrow, how can you get involved and bless others? How can you apply Hebrews 12 and 1 Tim 6 as part of your ministry and love for the Lord? How can you be available for God tomorrow?
Prayer:-
V Pray that your church gathering will be a great blessing to all tomorrow. Pray that we would see God work powerfully among us and that His Word would deeply impact us - causing us to grow, to mature and to draw nearer to Him.
V Pray that God would bless our children and youth with maturity, with a deepening understanding of His word and a growing love for Himself.
Living a life of grace is often difficult because many things constantly get in the way. Some days it’s more like trudging through a weed filled mud pit than driving down a super highway! Temptations come daily. Busyness pulls our heart in the wrong direction. There are demands from others each and every day. Problems crop up in the most unexpected places. Some of the things we cannot control, but some we can. We can take Hebrews 12:1-2 very seriously and start removing the objects and things that cause us to sin or weigh us down. In reality, only you and God know what issues you struggle with and what things cause you to fall into sin.
If you can zoom into those things and point them out you are in a better position to start casting them off and being freed from the things that weigh you down.
Notice clearly the context though. Only when we focus on Christ will we really cast off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. What God is saying is that we are to hurl away (with all your strength) the sins that are entangling you or pulling you down. Would a marathon runner eat chocolate cake before or during the race? Would a boxer take time to laze around before a major fight? If your TV is causing you to sin, get rid of it. If your phone is causing you to dishonour God, swap it for a phone and text only version. If the car you drive is causing pride to well up, trade it in. Again, we are not drinking spiritual milk but digesting the Meat of the Word. This is not for the faint hearted. We are taking God seriously and applying what we learn to our own lives. We are taking dramatic steps to make sure that ungodliness is not an option.
Athletes are serious about their training. We should be as well. Athletes focus on the goal, the finish line, the gold medal. We should be as well. Athletes feed their body nutrient rich food, avoiding junk. We should be feeding ourselves the nutrient rich food of grace and avoiding the junk of the world. Athletes train to win an event, a gold medal. We train to “win” eternity. Our medal is in heaven. Our battle lasts for this entire life but the rewards truly are eternal.
If we are serious about fighting the good fight then we need to do some serious spiritual training. One minister placed a large red dot on everything in his house that caused him to wander from the truth. They were a daily reminder of the need to run the race with perseverance. Another believer held his 4oth birthday and rather than bring presents he told his guests to come and take anything they wanted from his house. He’s been the happiest in his entire life since he scaled down.
Sin is like cancer. It needs to be removed as soon as we know it’s there. Leaving it around will cause us harm. But as we get rid of sin the Lord will use us more and more for His Kingdom. As we step out in faith and walk the talk, God will work powerfully among us. We will see God greatly impacting others through our ministry and involvement.
As you think about church tomorrow, how can you get involved and bless others? How can you apply Hebrews 12 and 1 Tim 6 as part of your ministry and love for the Lord? How can you be available for God tomorrow?
Prayer:-
V Pray that your church gathering will be a great blessing to all tomorrow. Pray that we would see God work powerfully among us and that His Word would deeply impact us - causing us to grow, to mature and to draw nearer to Him.
V Pray that God would bless our children and youth with maturity, with a deepening understanding of His word and a growing love for Himself.
Friday 13 May 2011
Friday May 13, 2011
Read Hebrews 12:1-2
I take my hat off to triathletes and marathon runners and other athletes that work hard in their chosen field. I admire their dedication. I’d love to be as fit as they are, to be as agile and fast and fit as those super men and women. But my lifestyle forbids it. There’s just too much good food, too many friends to see, family to enjoy and blessings to lap up. If I were to exercise with their commitment I’d have to give up too much. I’m happy the way that I am. I get a bit of exercise 5 days a week. I’m in pretty good shape for my age and I’m happy.
Doesn’t that sound like the way we speak or think about our own
spirituality? I take my hat off to those super spiritual men and women that work hard at serving God. I admire their dedication. I’d love to be like them, spiritually fit like them but my lifestyle forbids it. I’m too busy. There’s just too much good (non spiritual) food to indulge in. I have too many friends to entertain and indulge in. My family keeps me too busy and they don’t want this spiritual stuff. I am really happy the way I am and I don’t want to change! I do a bit of spiritual exercise during the week. I look good for my Christian age. I’m in pretty good shape, compared to some people and we’ll, I don’t sin that much and ....
My prayer this morning is for you personally. I pray that you will not be satisfied with your level of spirituality but that you would crave desperately to grow and mature and be even fitter and closer to the Lord. It’s my prayer that you and I are totally discontent with our levels of fitness so that we strive and push ourselves to greater spiritual heights.
Hebrews 12 urges us to run the race marked out with us with perseverance. God wants us to run our lives for Him. He wants us to be spiritually fit so that we don’t collapse half way through the race. He wants us to be spiritual athletes, serious about the competition.
And the power source of our running is God’s grace. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus. We are to focus and meditate upon Him. We are to set our sights on Jesus and we are to chase after Him. The grace of God is the power-ade that energises us. It’s the vitamins and minerals that strengthen. God’s grace is the low carb energy that keeps burning long after we’ve been tempted to give up. God really is our strength and refuge, isn’t He?
Prayer:-
V Pray for the Extreme event coming up next Saturday. Ask God to bring many non church families along. Pray that the children will see and respond to the grace of God. Pray that the families will hang around and speak to believers and receive the grace of God. Ask God to grow the Kingdom through this ministry.
V Pray for our Kings Kids ministry and youth ministry. Ask God to be growing the children and youth in their faith so that they can be a light of salvation to those around them. Pray that our children and youth would be protected from the attacks of the evil one, the lures and pleasures of the world and even from their own bodily desires.
Developing Godly Habits #1
The Bible is very clear that a man reaps what he sows.
Galatians 6:7-8 is a truth worth writing on your heart.
Godly growth comes from sowing godly seeds and vice versa.
Change, real change, real life long change comes from sowing seeds of godliness in your life right now.
Begin sowing godly habits by making it a priority to pray every morning before you do anything else.
Praise God for the faith He has given you.
Praise God for the grace and peace He has lavished upon you.
Praise God for the love He’s shown you in the cross of Christ.
Pray that you will internalise and understand that love more.
Pray that you will be able to reflect that love to others.
I take my hat off to triathletes and marathon runners and other athletes that work hard in their chosen field. I admire their dedication. I’d love to be as fit as they are, to be as agile and fast and fit as those super men and women. But my lifestyle forbids it. There’s just too much good food, too many friends to see, family to enjoy and blessings to lap up. If I were to exercise with their commitment I’d have to give up too much. I’m happy the way that I am. I get a bit of exercise 5 days a week. I’m in pretty good shape for my age and I’m happy.
Doesn’t that sound like the way we speak or think about our own
spirituality? I take my hat off to those super spiritual men and women that work hard at serving God. I admire their dedication. I’d love to be like them, spiritually fit like them but my lifestyle forbids it. I’m too busy. There’s just too much good (non spiritual) food to indulge in. I have too many friends to entertain and indulge in. My family keeps me too busy and they don’t want this spiritual stuff. I am really happy the way I am and I don’t want to change! I do a bit of spiritual exercise during the week. I look good for my Christian age. I’m in pretty good shape, compared to some people and we’ll, I don’t sin that much and ....
My prayer this morning is for you personally. I pray that you will not be satisfied with your level of spirituality but that you would crave desperately to grow and mature and be even fitter and closer to the Lord. It’s my prayer that you and I are totally discontent with our levels of fitness so that we strive and push ourselves to greater spiritual heights.
Hebrews 12 urges us to run the race marked out with us with perseverance. God wants us to run our lives for Him. He wants us to be spiritually fit so that we don’t collapse half way through the race. He wants us to be spiritual athletes, serious about the competition.
And the power source of our running is God’s grace. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus. We are to focus and meditate upon Him. We are to set our sights on Jesus and we are to chase after Him. The grace of God is the power-ade that energises us. It’s the vitamins and minerals that strengthen. God’s grace is the low carb energy that keeps burning long after we’ve been tempted to give up. God really is our strength and refuge, isn’t He?
Prayer:-
V Pray for the Extreme event coming up next Saturday. Ask God to bring many non church families along. Pray that the children will see and respond to the grace of God. Pray that the families will hang around and speak to believers and receive the grace of God. Ask God to grow the Kingdom through this ministry.
V Pray for our Kings Kids ministry and youth ministry. Ask God to be growing the children and youth in their faith so that they can be a light of salvation to those around them. Pray that our children and youth would be protected from the attacks of the evil one, the lures and pleasures of the world and even from their own bodily desires.
Developing Godly Habits #1
The Bible is very clear that a man reaps what he sows.
Galatians 6:7-8 is a truth worth writing on your heart.
Godly growth comes from sowing godly seeds and vice versa.
Change, real change, real life long change comes from sowing seeds of godliness in your life right now.
Begin sowing godly habits by making it a priority to pray every morning before you do anything else.
Praise God for the faith He has given you.
Praise God for the grace and peace He has lavished upon you.
Praise God for the love He’s shown you in the cross of Christ.
Pray that you will internalise and understand that love more.
Pray that you will be able to reflect that love to others.
Thursday 12 May 2011
Thursday May 12, 2011
Read Romans 6. Isaiah 42:6-7
Broken lives! Wrong choices! Sinful desires! Far too many believers live lives in a less than victorious way. A man hides his pornography addiction behind closed doors. A woman covets a strong Christian leader for a husband, while secretly hating the man lying next to her in the bed. A teenager sneaks alcohol from dad’s beer fridge in the garage, desperately wanting to be cool and to be accepted and loved by the group at school. Another teenager gives herself to her boyfriend desperately praying that she’ll finally find someone to genuinely love her. And yet these people stand together in the one church hall, praising God, praying to Him, speaking out a vocal “Amen” and enjoying the fellowship of God’s people.
Jesus came to us to release us from the dungeon of sin. He came to open our eyes, to heal us, to break the chains of bondage and sin. He came to free us. Through the work of Jesus at the cross we are no longer slaves to sin. We have the power of God to walk away from sin. We have the Holy Spirit within us empowering us to stand victorious, to walk in paths of righteousness and to close the dungeon door behind us once for all.
Christian believers have died to sin with Jesus at the cross. Sin is no longer our master. Sin no longer pulls the strings. Sin no longer has any control over us. Yet sadly, we often return to our past sins, thinking that we’ll find peace and happiness and satisfaction there.
What has gone wrong? What has happened? Many believers do not consider themselves dead to sin and alive to Christ. We deliberately leave open that gateway in our hearts to the ‘pleasures’ of sin from the past. We fail to put up a ‘No Trespassing’ sign on the edges of sin to stop us wandering off again. We keep that pathway to sin open ‘just in case’. We fail to grab the grace of God and guard our hearts from the temptations and lusts of the world. We are too busy, too harried, too worried, too controlling, too scared, too.... to spend time with God and to meditate upon His grace and love to us. Often we fail to make time for God and walk further and further away from Him by the choices we make each and every day. With each step, each choice, sin becomes more tantalising as the distance from God grows.
I once contemplated running in the City to Surf Marathon - a gruelling 10km run. My first thought after that ridiculous idea was the training that would be required. I imagined the hard work that would have to be put in to allow me to at least jog (or walk quickly) the entire 10kms. I could imagine myself being carted off in the ambulance if I didn’t train! Spiritual training is every bit as vital as physical training. We are running a spiritual marathon. Unless we train we will end up at the spiritual hospital. Growing in spiritual maturity takes hard work and requires choices to be made that are not for Christian infants. Spiritual maturity requires us to start eating the meat of the Word and not just spiritual milk. It means getting serious and being determined to be spiritually fit so that we can run the race with perseverance.
Have you ever told God that you are determined to get spiritually fit? Have you ever thought about what it means to be training spiritually? Have you ever sought to put together a program to grow your faith, much like an exercise program?
Prayer:-
V Pray that God would be growing you and your congregation in spiritual maturity. Pray that everyone in your congregation would be desiring to be spiritually fit and ready to fight the good fight. Pray that God would be at work among us powerfully through his Word and Spirit.
V Pray that our brothers and sisters in Vietnam would be growing and maturing in their faith despite the opposition they face. Pray that God would strengthen the pastors and teachers to be courageous men, valiant and willing to set the example in life, speech and doctrine.
V Pray that our weekly giving would be abundantly excessive to our weekly needs so that we can share the love of God with the needy, the poor and the homeless. Pray that each and every single person or family unit would be at least tithing to the Lord.
Broken lives! Wrong choices! Sinful desires! Far too many believers live lives in a less than victorious way. A man hides his pornography addiction behind closed doors. A woman covets a strong Christian leader for a husband, while secretly hating the man lying next to her in the bed. A teenager sneaks alcohol from dad’s beer fridge in the garage, desperately wanting to be cool and to be accepted and loved by the group at school. Another teenager gives herself to her boyfriend desperately praying that she’ll finally find someone to genuinely love her. And yet these people stand together in the one church hall, praising God, praying to Him, speaking out a vocal “Amen” and enjoying the fellowship of God’s people.
Jesus came to us to release us from the dungeon of sin. He came to open our eyes, to heal us, to break the chains of bondage and sin. He came to free us. Through the work of Jesus at the cross we are no longer slaves to sin. We have the power of God to walk away from sin. We have the Holy Spirit within us empowering us to stand victorious, to walk in paths of righteousness and to close the dungeon door behind us once for all.
Christian believers have died to sin with Jesus at the cross. Sin is no longer our master. Sin no longer pulls the strings. Sin no longer has any control over us. Yet sadly, we often return to our past sins, thinking that we’ll find peace and happiness and satisfaction there.
What has gone wrong? What has happened? Many believers do not consider themselves dead to sin and alive to Christ. We deliberately leave open that gateway in our hearts to the ‘pleasures’ of sin from the past. We fail to put up a ‘No Trespassing’ sign on the edges of sin to stop us wandering off again. We keep that pathway to sin open ‘just in case’. We fail to grab the grace of God and guard our hearts from the temptations and lusts of the world. We are too busy, too harried, too worried, too controlling, too scared, too.... to spend time with God and to meditate upon His grace and love to us. Often we fail to make time for God and walk further and further away from Him by the choices we make each and every day. With each step, each choice, sin becomes more tantalising as the distance from God grows.
I once contemplated running in the City to Surf Marathon - a gruelling 10km run. My first thought after that ridiculous idea was the training that would be required. I imagined the hard work that would have to be put in to allow me to at least jog (or walk quickly) the entire 10kms. I could imagine myself being carted off in the ambulance if I didn’t train! Spiritual training is every bit as vital as physical training. We are running a spiritual marathon. Unless we train we will end up at the spiritual hospital. Growing in spiritual maturity takes hard work and requires choices to be made that are not for Christian infants. Spiritual maturity requires us to start eating the meat of the Word and not just spiritual milk. It means getting serious and being determined to be spiritually fit so that we can run the race with perseverance.
Have you ever told God that you are determined to get spiritually fit? Have you ever thought about what it means to be training spiritually? Have you ever sought to put together a program to grow your faith, much like an exercise program?
Prayer:-
V Pray that God would be growing you and your congregation in spiritual maturity. Pray that everyone in your congregation would be desiring to be spiritually fit and ready to fight the good fight. Pray that God would be at work among us powerfully through his Word and Spirit.
V Pray that our brothers and sisters in Vietnam would be growing and maturing in their faith despite the opposition they face. Pray that God would strengthen the pastors and teachers to be courageous men, valiant and willing to set the example in life, speech and doctrine.
V Pray that our weekly giving would be abundantly excessive to our weekly needs so that we can share the love of God with the needy, the poor and the homeless. Pray that each and every single person or family unit would be at least tithing to the Lord.
Wednesday 11 May 2011
Wednesday May 11, 2011
Read Hebrews 13:9-17
Imagine standing next to a man born blind. He asks you, ‘Would you please describe the colour green to me?’ That’s a tough one isn’t it. What if a deaf woman asked you what the sound of laughter was like. How would you answer? When we talk about grace and the effect it is to have in our hearts, we face a similar dilemma. We are trying to describe something so different and unimaginable, something which our hearts have longed for but have not experienced.
Grace is God’s love poured out into our lives. It is His undeserved favour that adopts us as His beloved children. This love strengthens our hearts. As the writer to the Hebrews says, ‘It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no use to those who eat them.’ Our hearts are strengthened by grace. Sometimes it’s like eating food. The food enters our stomach and strengthens us despite what we do or don’t do. Often the grace of God will overwhelm us and cause us to sing praise and glory to God. At other times, it will reduce us to tears of joy and adoration. But then, sometimes we need to meditate upon the grace of God. Meditation, biblically speaking, is not sitting like a pyramid and chanting. That’s evil and to be avoided at all costs. Christian mediation means thinking deeply upon the truths of God spelled out in His Word. Here are some ideas to help you meditate upon God’s grace:-
¥ Find a quiet, peaceful and comfortable spot where you can read the Word, pray and praise without being interrupted.
¥ Put some soft music of praise in the background.
¥ As you sit and quieten your thoughts you can sing along in adoration and praise to God.
¥ Read a short passage on the grace of God verbally.
¥ Spend time opening your heart to the grace of God by asking God to lead you, to change you and fill you with His grace.
¥ Praise Him for the grace mentioned in the verse/passage.
¥ Praise God for His grace in your own life.
¥ If you’re mind wanders, don’t punish yourself. Simply come back to praising and adoring God.
¥ Think about the various situations or circumstances of your life at present and ask God to show you how the grace of God will change you in those circumstances.
¥ Picture yourself walking through those circumstances.
¥ Sing praises to God with the music in the background as often as you like to.
¥ Continually bring your mind back to the grace of God as you wander off to think about issues and problems at present. Use those situations and thoughts to indulge your mind in the grace of God asking yourself, ‘How can I walk through this situation showing the grace of God’.
Sometimes the grace of God is a like a vitamin tablet. While it sits in the jar in the cupboard it is absolutely of no value to us. While our Bibles remain closed and sit on the shelf, the grace of God will not aid us. We need to ingest it just like that tablet. What can you be doing to grow in the grace of God? How can you build in time each day to meditate upon the grace of God? What seeds can you be sowing today so that God’s grace blossoms in your life tomorrow?
Prayer:-
V Pray for the work of Shiloh Church Ministries. Ask God to bless them with adequate resources to house the believers and orphans. Pray that the schools that teach skills to women would continue to be well funded and reach many with the gospel. Pray that we’d see the gospel bear much fruit through their ministry.
V Continue to uphold the team planning to go to India and the team planning to go to Burma. Pray that we would see much work completed in both areas and that God’s grace would flow outwards to the non believers.
Imagine standing next to a man born blind. He asks you, ‘Would you please describe the colour green to me?’ That’s a tough one isn’t it. What if a deaf woman asked you what the sound of laughter was like. How would you answer? When we talk about grace and the effect it is to have in our hearts, we face a similar dilemma. We are trying to describe something so different and unimaginable, something which our hearts have longed for but have not experienced.
Grace is God’s love poured out into our lives. It is His undeserved favour that adopts us as His beloved children. This love strengthens our hearts. As the writer to the Hebrews says, ‘It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no use to those who eat them.’ Our hearts are strengthened by grace. Sometimes it’s like eating food. The food enters our stomach and strengthens us despite what we do or don’t do. Often the grace of God will overwhelm us and cause us to sing praise and glory to God. At other times, it will reduce us to tears of joy and adoration. But then, sometimes we need to meditate upon the grace of God. Meditation, biblically speaking, is not sitting like a pyramid and chanting. That’s evil and to be avoided at all costs. Christian mediation means thinking deeply upon the truths of God spelled out in His Word. Here are some ideas to help you meditate upon God’s grace:-
¥ Find a quiet, peaceful and comfortable spot where you can read the Word, pray and praise without being interrupted.
¥ Put some soft music of praise in the background.
¥ As you sit and quieten your thoughts you can sing along in adoration and praise to God.
¥ Read a short passage on the grace of God verbally.
¥ Spend time opening your heart to the grace of God by asking God to lead you, to change you and fill you with His grace.
¥ Praise Him for the grace mentioned in the verse/passage.
¥ Praise God for His grace in your own life.
¥ If you’re mind wanders, don’t punish yourself. Simply come back to praising and adoring God.
¥ Think about the various situations or circumstances of your life at present and ask God to show you how the grace of God will change you in those circumstances.
¥ Picture yourself walking through those circumstances.
¥ Sing praises to God with the music in the background as often as you like to.
¥ Continually bring your mind back to the grace of God as you wander off to think about issues and problems at present. Use those situations and thoughts to indulge your mind in the grace of God asking yourself, ‘How can I walk through this situation showing the grace of God’.
Sometimes the grace of God is a like a vitamin tablet. While it sits in the jar in the cupboard it is absolutely of no value to us. While our Bibles remain closed and sit on the shelf, the grace of God will not aid us. We need to ingest it just like that tablet. What can you be doing to grow in the grace of God? How can you build in time each day to meditate upon the grace of God? What seeds can you be sowing today so that God’s grace blossoms in your life tomorrow?
Prayer:-
V Pray for the work of Shiloh Church Ministries. Ask God to bless them with adequate resources to house the believers and orphans. Pray that the schools that teach skills to women would continue to be well funded and reach many with the gospel. Pray that we’d see the gospel bear much fruit through their ministry.
V Continue to uphold the team planning to go to India and the team planning to go to Burma. Pray that we would see much work completed in both areas and that God’s grace would flow outwards to the non believers.
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Tuesday May 10, 2011
Read 2 Peter 1:1-2. Ephesians 2:1-10
Like the word ‘peace’ the words ‘grace ‘and ‘mercy’ have become so common that we rarely remember how awesome and inspiring they really are. Grace and mercy are the opposite sides of a coin. When we talk about mercy it means I don’t get what I deserve from God. Grace is when I do get what I don’t deserve. Let me unpack that.
In my natural state I deserve the wrath and punishment of God. Mercy is where God withholds the punishment I do really deserve. He can withhold it because Jesus has suffered in my place. By God’s grace I don’t get what I deserve - punishment. Grace means I get what I don’t deserve - namely, God’s love and forgiveness. I haven’t earned or merited it. It’s freely and lovingly given to me. I get what I don’t deserve.
Grace, like faith, is a gift. It’s a gift given to me by my loving heavenly Father because He has chosen to love me.
To accept the truth about grace and peace and to see the sin in my life as it really is, is not to wallow and grovel in sinfulness or self abasement. It’s not an excuse to sink into deep depression or self hatred. In reality, it’s the exact opposite. I am filled with joy. I am filled with gratitude. I am overwhelmed by God’s love and grace and mercy. I respond and react and live, truly live, because God has been gracious to me. Grace takes the self hate, the self deflation, the self denial and deals with it once for all time. Grace allows me to accept myself, to be happy with myself, even to love myself. How can I possibly hate that which God has chosen to love. Grace opens my heart and clears away the cobwebs of bitterness and unforgiveness. Grace heals the hurt and anguish of brokenness. It allows me to reach out in love and forgiveness, even to those who have deeply hurt me in the past. When the seed of grace is planted in my heart by God, a beautiful lovely flower begins immediately to grow upwards.
Grace changes me from the inside out through the process of renewal and sanctification.
As we saw yesterday with the peace of God, every choice we make to indulge in sinfulness is spitting into the face of our loving Father who saved us by His unlimited grace. This grace, as 2 Peter 1:1-2 says, is yours in abundance. I know deep inside that neither you nor I want to spit in God’s face.
Prayer:-
V Ask God to increase your understanding of what it means to be lavished with God’s grace and to live by His grace daily. Pray that God will do this too for everyone in your congregation.
V Pray that God’s grace will flow out from the Student Life representatives throughout Australia. Pray that many students will be brought to the Lord in repentance and faith through grace.
V Pray that all primary and high school students throughout Toowoomba and surrounding regions will have opportunity to hear of the grace of God. Pray that God would raise up RI teachers so that all positions in all schools are filled.
Like the word ‘peace’ the words ‘grace ‘and ‘mercy’ have become so common that we rarely remember how awesome and inspiring they really are. Grace and mercy are the opposite sides of a coin. When we talk about mercy it means I don’t get what I deserve from God. Grace is when I do get what I don’t deserve. Let me unpack that.
In my natural state I deserve the wrath and punishment of God. Mercy is where God withholds the punishment I do really deserve. He can withhold it because Jesus has suffered in my place. By God’s grace I don’t get what I deserve - punishment. Grace means I get what I don’t deserve - namely, God’s love and forgiveness. I haven’t earned or merited it. It’s freely and lovingly given to me. I get what I don’t deserve.
Grace, like faith, is a gift. It’s a gift given to me by my loving heavenly Father because He has chosen to love me.
To accept the truth about grace and peace and to see the sin in my life as it really is, is not to wallow and grovel in sinfulness or self abasement. It’s not an excuse to sink into deep depression or self hatred. In reality, it’s the exact opposite. I am filled with joy. I am filled with gratitude. I am overwhelmed by God’s love and grace and mercy. I respond and react and live, truly live, because God has been gracious to me. Grace takes the self hate, the self deflation, the self denial and deals with it once for all time. Grace allows me to accept myself, to be happy with myself, even to love myself. How can I possibly hate that which God has chosen to love. Grace opens my heart and clears away the cobwebs of bitterness and unforgiveness. Grace heals the hurt and anguish of brokenness. It allows me to reach out in love and forgiveness, even to those who have deeply hurt me in the past. When the seed of grace is planted in my heart by God, a beautiful lovely flower begins immediately to grow upwards.
Grace changes me from the inside out through the process of renewal and sanctification.
As we saw yesterday with the peace of God, every choice we make to indulge in sinfulness is spitting into the face of our loving Father who saved us by His unlimited grace. This grace, as 2 Peter 1:1-2 says, is yours in abundance. I know deep inside that neither you nor I want to spit in God’s face.
Prayer:-
V Ask God to increase your understanding of what it means to be lavished with God’s grace and to live by His grace daily. Pray that God will do this too for everyone in your congregation.
V Pray that God’s grace will flow out from the Student Life representatives throughout Australia. Pray that many students will be brought to the Lord in repentance and faith through grace.
V Pray that all primary and high school students throughout Toowoomba and surrounding regions will have opportunity to hear of the grace of God. Pray that God would raise up RI teachers so that all positions in all schools are filled.
Monday 9 May 2011
Monday May 9, 2010
Read 2 Peter 1:1-2. Romans 5:1-11
As Christians we tend to throw around the jargon of Christianity. Sometimes the words become so secondary to our nature that we don’t stop to think about what those words mean and what they are communicating to us. Grace and peace are two such words. Imagine a non Christian reading 2 Peter 1:1-2 and then asking you what grace and peace are all about. How would you answer?
When we talk about peace with God we are talking about the complete removal of God’s anger and wrath and hostility towards us. It took the death of God’s one and only Son to bring about peace between you and God. Peace is the outcome of your justification. When you put your faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, God wiped your record clean and wrote over it, ‘Fully Pardoned’. God didn’t just ignore your sinful record but chose to pour out His wrath and indignation upon His very own Son, Christ Jesus. Instead of punishing you, God punished a substitute. He now chooses to love you freely. He chooses to love you freely as a son. He chooses to freely write your name on Jesus’ last will and testament so that you are a son and an heir. In loving you freely God pours out heavens treasures upon you and lavishes you with His blessings.
This is what it means to be at peace with God. God doesn’t hate you! God isn’t waiting for you to slip up again so He can wallop you. God isn’t skulking around trying to catch you out. God isn’t storing up a mental note of all your sins and short comings. God loves you. Read that again. God loves you. You and God are at peace with one another.
Every time you choose to sin you are throwing mud in God’s face. Each time you entertain sin in your heart or mind you are pushing away this God who loves you immensely. Is that what you really want to be doing? Is that how you really want to treat the God who has entered into a peace arrangement with you? Is that how I want to respond to the greatest act of love you’ve ever received? Of course you don’t. When you are tempted, think and meditate upon what you are saying to God, the God who has saved you, by indulging in your passions and lusts. How do you want to treat the great God Almighty, who gave His Son Jesus to be punished in my place?’ Personally, I’ve found it’s very hard to sin wilfully when you’re meditating on what God has given you and done for you.
Prayer:-
V Pray that the children we are sponsoring through Compassion will grow and mature into a strong faith that changes the world they live in. Pray that God would bring great blessing to the local community through the partner church we are working with.
Pray daily that God would help you understand what it means to have his grace and peace in your life.
V Pray that God would be binding the India Mission Team and the Burma Mission team. Ask God to prepare the way for both teams to have valuable input into the lives of the orphanage and college where they’ll be working.
As Christians we tend to throw around the jargon of Christianity. Sometimes the words become so secondary to our nature that we don’t stop to think about what those words mean and what they are communicating to us. Grace and peace are two such words. Imagine a non Christian reading 2 Peter 1:1-2 and then asking you what grace and peace are all about. How would you answer?
When we talk about peace with God we are talking about the complete removal of God’s anger and wrath and hostility towards us. It took the death of God’s one and only Son to bring about peace between you and God. Peace is the outcome of your justification. When you put your faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, God wiped your record clean and wrote over it, ‘Fully Pardoned’. God didn’t just ignore your sinful record but chose to pour out His wrath and indignation upon His very own Son, Christ Jesus. Instead of punishing you, God punished a substitute. He now chooses to love you freely. He chooses to love you freely as a son. He chooses to freely write your name on Jesus’ last will and testament so that you are a son and an heir. In loving you freely God pours out heavens treasures upon you and lavishes you with His blessings.
This is what it means to be at peace with God. God doesn’t hate you! God isn’t waiting for you to slip up again so He can wallop you. God isn’t skulking around trying to catch you out. God isn’t storing up a mental note of all your sins and short comings. God loves you. Read that again. God loves you. You and God are at peace with one another.
Every time you choose to sin you are throwing mud in God’s face. Each time you entertain sin in your heart or mind you are pushing away this God who loves you immensely. Is that what you really want to be doing? Is that how you really want to treat the God who has entered into a peace arrangement with you? Is that how I want to respond to the greatest act of love you’ve ever received? Of course you don’t. When you are tempted, think and meditate upon what you are saying to God, the God who has saved you, by indulging in your passions and lusts. How do you want to treat the great God Almighty, who gave His Son Jesus to be punished in my place?’ Personally, I’ve found it’s very hard to sin wilfully when you’re meditating on what God has given you and done for you.
Prayer:-
V Pray that the children we are sponsoring through Compassion will grow and mature into a strong faith that changes the world they live in. Pray that God would bring great blessing to the local community through the partner church we are working with.
Pray daily that God would help you understand what it means to have his grace and peace in your life.
V Pray that God would be binding the India Mission Team and the Burma Mission team. Ask God to prepare the way for both teams to have valuable input into the lives of the orphanage and college where they’ll be working.
Saturday 7 May 2011
Saturday May 7, 2011
Read Hebrews 11
While on mission in Vanuatu I had the immense non pleasure of eating for dinner the chickens that we saw running around that day. They were nothing like the fat plump juicy chickens here in Australia. They were skinny, tough chickens with meat that was strong and chewy and that had obviously worked hard. These Vanuatu chickens are a poor example of culinary quality but a great example of faith in action.
Faith has often been compared to muscle. Muscle that is not used and exercised atrophies very quickly. It becomes soft and weak and pretty much useless. Faith that is not worked turns into fat - great for the dinner plate but not much else. But faith that is worked and exercised toughens up and grows. It really is like our muscles. When we exercise and put our muscles under strain they grow bigger and stronger. The more you put your faith to work, stepping out in faith, the more your trust in God and the more you will grow and the more you will step out in faith. It is a wonderful increasing, positive cycle to be in. As you see God work in small circles, you will step out and see Him work in ever increasing circles. Your faith will grow because you will have seen God at work in various areas of your life. You will grow to want to see God at work in other areas of your life.
Are you exercising your faith? Are you stepping out in faith moment by moment. Are you venturing beyond the comfort zones and safety zones currently in your life? Are you looking for areas to serve and to strengthen your faith? Each and every Sonday you have ample opportunities to step out in faith. What will your faith look like tomorrow? How will your faith express itself? What acts of service and ministry will well up from your faith tomorrow?
What often happens in believers’ lives is that we choose not to step out in faith (for various reasons usually founded on fear or desire for self gratification). The time and the void left in our lives is then filled with something else - usually something sinful to remove the guilt of not stepping out in faith. That sin will grow and take over our lives as we continue to sit in faith-lessness. The solution is to seek God’s forgiveness and to start talking small steps of faith. The solution is to start walking forward in faith, refusing to sit and be idle or self indulgent. Why not make a list of things you can be doing by faith on Sondays with your Christian brethren. Why not prayerfully ask God what He wants you to be faithfully involved in at your local church? Why not ask God to forgive you for not stepping out in faith and start taking small steps?
Prayer:-
V Pray that God would grow the faith of each and every believer gathered in your congregation. Pray that the whole day will be a faith filled day where God works powerfully among you all. Pray that the word of God would be powerful and active among your congregation, with each person sitting under its authority.
V Pray that the gospel will be clearly preached tomorrow throughout this land.
While on mission in Vanuatu I had the immense non pleasure of eating for dinner the chickens that we saw running around that day. They were nothing like the fat plump juicy chickens here in Australia. They were skinny, tough chickens with meat that was strong and chewy and that had obviously worked hard. These Vanuatu chickens are a poor example of culinary quality but a great example of faith in action.
Faith has often been compared to muscle. Muscle that is not used and exercised atrophies very quickly. It becomes soft and weak and pretty much useless. Faith that is not worked turns into fat - great for the dinner plate but not much else. But faith that is worked and exercised toughens up and grows. It really is like our muscles. When we exercise and put our muscles under strain they grow bigger and stronger. The more you put your faith to work, stepping out in faith, the more your trust in God and the more you will grow and the more you will step out in faith. It is a wonderful increasing, positive cycle to be in. As you see God work in small circles, you will step out and see Him work in ever increasing circles. Your faith will grow because you will have seen God at work in various areas of your life. You will grow to want to see God at work in other areas of your life.
Are you exercising your faith? Are you stepping out in faith moment by moment. Are you venturing beyond the comfort zones and safety zones currently in your life? Are you looking for areas to serve and to strengthen your faith? Each and every Sonday you have ample opportunities to step out in faith. What will your faith look like tomorrow? How will your faith express itself? What acts of service and ministry will well up from your faith tomorrow?
What often happens in believers’ lives is that we choose not to step out in faith (for various reasons usually founded on fear or desire for self gratification). The time and the void left in our lives is then filled with something else - usually something sinful to remove the guilt of not stepping out in faith. That sin will grow and take over our lives as we continue to sit in faith-lessness. The solution is to seek God’s forgiveness and to start talking small steps of faith. The solution is to start walking forward in faith, refusing to sit and be idle or self indulgent. Why not make a list of things you can be doing by faith on Sondays with your Christian brethren. Why not prayerfully ask God what He wants you to be faithfully involved in at your local church? Why not ask God to forgive you for not stepping out in faith and start taking small steps?
Prayer:-
V Pray that God would grow the faith of each and every believer gathered in your congregation. Pray that the whole day will be a faith filled day where God works powerfully among you all. Pray that the word of God would be powerful and active among your congregation, with each person sitting under its authority.
V Pray that the gospel will be clearly preached tomorrow throughout this land.
Friday 6 May 2011
Friday May 6, 2011
Read 2 Peter 1:1
When you think about the Apostle Peter what do you think about? What images come to mind? Maybe the brash disciple who rebuked Jesus when He started talking about His impending death. Maybe you think about the faithful Peter who stepped off the boat and walked to Jesus in faith. Maybe you think about the work of faith as he and John healed the cripple outside the beautiful gate. Maybe you recall the angel that led him out of prison, past the guards, out of the exit and into freedom. Even though I’m not a betting man, I can bet that you don’t think of Peter who had a faith like yours! When we think of Peter we don’t automatically think, ‘Hey he’s the guy that had a faith just like mine!’ Deep down we really believe his faith was different, probably better or greater than mine. But look at the last four words of vs 1 again.
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
Your faith is as precious or valuable or effective as Peter’s. There is no difference between his faith and the faith that you have received as a gift! WOW! Your faith is every bit the same as his! God did not grant Peter and the other apostles a different quality of faith and you a lesser quality. They are the same calibre.
The difference often can be attributed to the way we exercise our faith or spend it. Peter was willing to step out in faith at every turn. He was willing to trust God, to take Jesus at His word and to act on it. He was willing to jump out of the boat into stormy waters.
Often we fail to activate our faith because we are afraid. We tend to look at the wind and the waves of life before we jump out of the boat. The end result is that we are just too frightened to jump out in faith. We make excuses. We justify our inactivity. We busy ourselves with committees and non essential work that replaces the real and true calling of our faith. We pretend and lie to ourselves that we are ok. Faith was given to us to spend. It was given to us to enable us to step out of the boat. It was granted to us to allow us to walk in obedience. Our gift of faith was never meant to be put on the shelf as a display or icon that we just stare at. A set of new batteries are completely useless if they just sit on the shelf. The power will never be released until they are activated in or by something. Our faith is like those batteries. It needs to be worked, to be activated. It needs to be put into situations where it can thrive and grow.
Think back over this week. How has your faith been active? How has your faith shown itself? In what ways have you stepped out in faith? Take time to think of the opportunities you had to step out in faith. How could things have changed if you did step out in faith.
When you think about the Apostle Peter what do you think about? What images come to mind? Maybe the brash disciple who rebuked Jesus when He started talking about His impending death. Maybe you think about the faithful Peter who stepped off the boat and walked to Jesus in faith. Maybe you think about the work of faith as he and John healed the cripple outside the beautiful gate. Maybe you recall the angel that led him out of prison, past the guards, out of the exit and into freedom. Even though I’m not a betting man, I can bet that you don’t think of Peter who had a faith like yours! When we think of Peter we don’t automatically think, ‘Hey he’s the guy that had a faith just like mine!’ Deep down we really believe his faith was different, probably better or greater than mine. But look at the last four words of vs 1 again.
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
Your faith is as precious or valuable or effective as Peter’s. There is no difference between his faith and the faith that you have received as a gift! WOW! Your faith is every bit the same as his! God did not grant Peter and the other apostles a different quality of faith and you a lesser quality. They are the same calibre.
The difference often can be attributed to the way we exercise our faith or spend it. Peter was willing to step out in faith at every turn. He was willing to trust God, to take Jesus at His word and to act on it. He was willing to jump out of the boat into stormy waters.
Often we fail to activate our faith because we are afraid. We tend to look at the wind and the waves of life before we jump out of the boat. The end result is that we are just too frightened to jump out in faith. We make excuses. We justify our inactivity. We busy ourselves with committees and non essential work that replaces the real and true calling of our faith. We pretend and lie to ourselves that we are ok. Faith was given to us to spend. It was given to us to enable us to step out of the boat. It was granted to us to allow us to walk in obedience. Our gift of faith was never meant to be put on the shelf as a display or icon that we just stare at. A set of new batteries are completely useless if they just sit on the shelf. The power will never be released until they are activated in or by something. Our faith is like those batteries. It needs to be worked, to be activated. It needs to be put into situations where it can thrive and grow.
Think back over this week. How has your faith been active? How has your faith shown itself? In what ways have you stepped out in faith? Take time to think of the opportunities you had to step out in faith. How could things have changed if you did step out in faith.
Thursday 5 May 2011
Thursday May 5, 2011
Read 2 Peter 1:1. Romans 4
Put yourself in these shoes. While you are shopping with your young son you catch him from the corner of your eye. As he walks past the lolly aisle he quickly reaches out, slips a chocolate bar in his pocket and pretends that nothing has happened. As you work through the issue of repentance and forgiveness, you offer him complete forgiveness and promise to love him freely. Of course you do. He’s your son! But as you shop with your son the very next time, he repeats his actions! He again slips a lolly into his pocket thinking that he’s fooled you and gotten away with it. When you talk to him he says bluntly, ‘But you’ll forgive me anyway!’.
If you can begin to feel that father’s pain for His son, you can probably feel some of the pain that God feels when we sin against Him and throw forgiveness into His face. When we deliberately sin, thinking that God will forgive me, we are causing infinitely more pain to God than the son caused His father.
Our forgiveness before God, our justification should not cause us to sin more but should motivate us to sin less. The love, the grace that saved a wretch like me, should be driving us and motivating us to live a life that pleases God, not one that hurts Him and causes deep anguish in His heart. In the movie Dangerous Minds, Michelle Pfeiffer stars as a renegade teacher who takes on the worst class in the worst school. But rather than condemn the students she gives them straight A’s. That one act of grace slowly but surely transforms the students and causes them to strive to be all that they can be. God, in justifying you, has given you a straight A. He has given you the perfect record of Christ Jesus. Rather than move you to more wilful sin, that one act of grace should motivate you and cause you to strive to be all that you can be in Christ.
Having been given the gift of faith, what are you striving for? What are you aiming at? Having received the baton of faith, what are you running for? In which direction are you running?
Prayer:-
V Pray for the Chaplains at Harristown Primary and High School. Pray that we will see many children come to the faith through their witness and work. Pray that the regulations on their work will not cause barriers. Pray for open doors to share the gospel.
V Pray that each public school and state high school in Toowoomba will have the required number of SRE teachers so that every child/student receives the full number of SRE hours allotted to them. Pray that God will raise up an army of disciples in these schools.
Put yourself in these shoes. While you are shopping with your young son you catch him from the corner of your eye. As he walks past the lolly aisle he quickly reaches out, slips a chocolate bar in his pocket and pretends that nothing has happened. As you work through the issue of repentance and forgiveness, you offer him complete forgiveness and promise to love him freely. Of course you do. He’s your son! But as you shop with your son the very next time, he repeats his actions! He again slips a lolly into his pocket thinking that he’s fooled you and gotten away with it. When you talk to him he says bluntly, ‘But you’ll forgive me anyway!’.
If you can begin to feel that father’s pain for His son, you can probably feel some of the pain that God feels when we sin against Him and throw forgiveness into His face. When we deliberately sin, thinking that God will forgive me, we are causing infinitely more pain to God than the son caused His father.
Our forgiveness before God, our justification should not cause us to sin more but should motivate us to sin less. The love, the grace that saved a wretch like me, should be driving us and motivating us to live a life that pleases God, not one that hurts Him and causes deep anguish in His heart. In the movie Dangerous Minds, Michelle Pfeiffer stars as a renegade teacher who takes on the worst class in the worst school. But rather than condemn the students she gives them straight A’s. That one act of grace slowly but surely transforms the students and causes them to strive to be all that they can be. God, in justifying you, has given you a straight A. He has given you the perfect record of Christ Jesus. Rather than move you to more wilful sin, that one act of grace should motivate you and cause you to strive to be all that you can be in Christ.
Having been given the gift of faith, what are you striving for? What are you aiming at? Having received the baton of faith, what are you running for? In which direction are you running?
Prayer:-
V Pray for the Chaplains at Harristown Primary and High School. Pray that we will see many children come to the faith through their witness and work. Pray that the regulations on their work will not cause barriers. Pray for open doors to share the gospel.
V Pray that each public school and state high school in Toowoomba will have the required number of SRE teachers so that every child/student receives the full number of SRE hours allotted to them. Pray that God will raise up an army of disciples in these schools.
Wednesday 4 May 2011
Wednesday May 4, 2011
Read 2 Peter 1:1, passage re righteousness of God
There’s a direct correlation between the gift a child receives and the expression on his/her face. The bigger or more expensive the gift, the greater the joy and exuberance at receiving it.
To understand the enormity of the gift of faith we have received from God we have to dwell a little on His righteousness. You have received the gift of faith through the righteousness of God. That’s an easy phrase to skip over and to miss. When we talk of the righteousness of God we mean that God is so holy and so just that He will punish all sin and wickedness. By accepting the righteousness of God we admit that we too deserve His wrath and anger because we too have the stains of unrighteousness on our record.
For you and I to be given the gift of faith meant that our unrighteousness had to be dealt with. It couldn’t be forgotten or just swept under the carpet. It couldn’t be ignored and pretended not to be there. It could not be passed over as irrelevant. God in His righteousness has to deal justly with our sins. To understand the seriousness of sin, think about a bride on her wedding day. Even the smallest spot or stain will ruin the dress and the day. God is purer and more holy than the whitest wedding dress. The smallest sin stands out like that stain on the dress and has to be dealt with.
God in His righteousness dealt with our sins completely and justly. He gave it the complete punishment that it deserved. God poured out His anger and indignation for our sins, for each and every single one of them... but He didn’t pour it out on us. He
poured it out on His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
What stirs in your heart as you read that? Do tears of joy well up at the grace you have received? I hope they do. Do you choke on the tears knowing that God’s love was so great that He didn’t spare His only Son, His one and only Son. He gave up His beloved and infinitely close Son to cruel treatment, to whipping, to scourging, to betrayal, to cruel nails ... even to death and separation from Himself. God the Father turned His face away from God the Son so that you can be granted faith.
Prayer:-
V Spend time praising God for what He’s done for you in giving you the gift of faith. Spend time praising God over Scripture. Use Romans 8:1 or 1 John 1:9. See below for an example.
V Spend time praying for the India Mission Team and the Myanmar Mission Team. Pray that God would be working powerfully to bind the team, to pave the way for productive work to be done and to bring great blessings to both orphanages and colleges.
An example of praise based on Romans 8:1.
“Father God, you are so righteous and holy. You have given up your one and only son Jesus to die on the cross for all my sins. Thank you Lord God for loving me enough to send Jesus to die on the cross. Thank you God that through Jesus I face no condemnation. I praise you that you have done all this for me, even when I was a sinner and still rejecting you. I praise you that I will be with you in heaven for all eternity….’
An example of prayer based on 1 John 1:9.
‘Lord God Almighty you are a holy God. Your word is truth. In your word I read that anyone who steals commits a sin. Father I have sinned. I have acted against you and your word. Forgive me Father. I promise to never steal again. I will not place myself in tempting situations… You are righteous Lord and I praise you that through Jesus’ blood shed on the cross I have complete forgiveness for stealing. Thank you God for loving me enough to send Jesus to die on the cross….’
Incorporating this kind of prayer and praise into your daily prayer time will bring about deep seated change. As you praise God for forgiving you for your specific sins and as you praise Him for His grace to you, it will become harder to sin and easier to choose that which pleases the God you’ve been praising all week.
Write down the issue or sin you are struggling with. Be specific and detailed.
Spend time telling God that you are sorry for your sin. Ask God to forgive you for the sin. Admit He is right and you were wrong. Promise to work against that sin in the future. Read 1 John 1:9 and praise God.
There’s a direct correlation between the gift a child receives and the expression on his/her face. The bigger or more expensive the gift, the greater the joy and exuberance at receiving it.
To understand the enormity of the gift of faith we have received from God we have to dwell a little on His righteousness. You have received the gift of faith through the righteousness of God. That’s an easy phrase to skip over and to miss. When we talk of the righteousness of God we mean that God is so holy and so just that He will punish all sin and wickedness. By accepting the righteousness of God we admit that we too deserve His wrath and anger because we too have the stains of unrighteousness on our record.
For you and I to be given the gift of faith meant that our unrighteousness had to be dealt with. It couldn’t be forgotten or just swept under the carpet. It couldn’t be ignored and pretended not to be there. It could not be passed over as irrelevant. God in His righteousness has to deal justly with our sins. To understand the seriousness of sin, think about a bride on her wedding day. Even the smallest spot or stain will ruin the dress and the day. God is purer and more holy than the whitest wedding dress. The smallest sin stands out like that stain on the dress and has to be dealt with.
God in His righteousness dealt with our sins completely and justly. He gave it the complete punishment that it deserved. God poured out His anger and indignation for our sins, for each and every single one of them... but He didn’t pour it out on us. He
poured it out on His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
What stirs in your heart as you read that? Do tears of joy well up at the grace you have received? I hope they do. Do you choke on the tears knowing that God’s love was so great that He didn’t spare His only Son, His one and only Son. He gave up His beloved and infinitely close Son to cruel treatment, to whipping, to scourging, to betrayal, to cruel nails ... even to death and separation from Himself. God the Father turned His face away from God the Son so that you can be granted faith.
Prayer:-
V Spend time praising God for what He’s done for you in giving you the gift of faith. Spend time praising God over Scripture. Use Romans 8:1 or 1 John 1:9. See below for an example.
V Spend time praying for the India Mission Team and the Myanmar Mission Team. Pray that God would be working powerfully to bind the team, to pave the way for productive work to be done and to bring great blessings to both orphanages and colleges.
An example of praise based on Romans 8:1.
“Father God, you are so righteous and holy. You have given up your one and only son Jesus to die on the cross for all my sins. Thank you Lord God for loving me enough to send Jesus to die on the cross. Thank you God that through Jesus I face no condemnation. I praise you that you have done all this for me, even when I was a sinner and still rejecting you. I praise you that I will be with you in heaven for all eternity….’
An example of prayer based on 1 John 1:9.
‘Lord God Almighty you are a holy God. Your word is truth. In your word I read that anyone who steals commits a sin. Father I have sinned. I have acted against you and your word. Forgive me Father. I promise to never steal again. I will not place myself in tempting situations… You are righteous Lord and I praise you that through Jesus’ blood shed on the cross I have complete forgiveness for stealing. Thank you God for loving me enough to send Jesus to die on the cross….’
Incorporating this kind of prayer and praise into your daily prayer time will bring about deep seated change. As you praise God for forgiving you for your specific sins and as you praise Him for His grace to you, it will become harder to sin and easier to choose that which pleases the God you’ve been praising all week.
Write down the issue or sin you are struggling with. Be specific and detailed.
Spend time telling God that you are sorry for your sin. Ask God to forgive you for the sin. Admit He is right and you were wrong. Promise to work against that sin in the future. Read 1 John 1:9 and praise God.
Tuesday 3 May 2011
Tuesday May 3, 2011
Read 2 Peter 1:1. Acts 11:18. Ephesians 2
A man shared his testimony in a church. Tell me what’s wrong with his testimony, having read 2 Peter 1:1.
“I spent years searching for some meaning. My life, though filled with riches and awards and achievements and the most incredible pleasures you could ever imagine, was incredibly empty. I needed something. I needed fulfilment. So I tried all the different religions but they never worked. Then I searched out Christianity. I answered all the big questions by doing the research. I found out the truth and I filled the void in my life with Christ Jesus....”
When we read the Scriptures carefully we see that faith is a gift graciously given to us by God through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus via the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are literally a blind man that God grants sight to. Though we have a role to play, it is a passive role of reception and immense gratitude, not of achieving and discovering. Faith is a revelation - a disclosing of something that you and I cannot discover or uncover for ourselves. God has graciously given us an amazing gift - faith!
Yet faith in and of itself doesn’t exist. It cannot exist by itself. Our faith has to be in something or someone. When you say you are a man/woman of faith, what do you put your faith in? That’s a pertinent question that will determine the choices you make and the way that you walk through the fires of life. If I put my faith in God’s ability to heal, then when I get terminally sick, I’m more liable to walk away from God because He didn't perform. If I put my faith in my new cleansed state then when I fall into a sin again I’m liable to slip into deep depression and self hatred, maybe even self abuse or harm. If I put my faith in the God who allows me to love myself, then when I see something unlovable in my life, I may accuse God of being unfaithful and deny him. If I put my faith in the God who blesses me with health, wealth and prosperity then at the first sign of financial trouble I might curse God and dishonour Him by lying and cheating. What have you put your faith in? Take time to verbally answer that question so that you can hear what you really believe and trust.
As a believer in Christ Jesus I believe and trust the following:-
Read them aloud and give the AMEN to each one you agree to.
V I believe that I, in and of myself, do not deserve the love and grace of God but rather His wrath and eternal condemnation.
V God out of love for me sent His one and only Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins.
V God, because of His grace, accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on my behalf.
V The sacrifice of Jesus was sufficient to pay the debt for all my sins - past, present and future.
V Jesus died on the cross, was laid in the tomb and on the 3rd day was raised to eternal life. He now reigns supreme at the right hand of God.
V Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to all who believe in Him, including me.
V God loves me immensely and sees me as one of His precious children.
V Jesus will return one day to take all believers home to eternal paradise called heaven.
Your faith is a gift to you from God. Every time you sin, you are choosing to squander that gift, to kick it around the floor and to mock God. You need to receive the gift of Faith and nurture it, grow it and mature it.
Prayer:-
V Pray that we will see believers growing in the faith and maturing in their understanding of the Lord through His Word and in their walk with Him. Pray that we will all see more of our faith at work, bearing fruit and bringing glory to God.
V Pray that the Mustard Seed Orphanage will have all the resources it needs to step out in faith, to shine the light of Jesus as they practically care for orphans, widows and the disabled.
A man shared his testimony in a church. Tell me what’s wrong with his testimony, having read 2 Peter 1:1.
“I spent years searching for some meaning. My life, though filled with riches and awards and achievements and the most incredible pleasures you could ever imagine, was incredibly empty. I needed something. I needed fulfilment. So I tried all the different religions but they never worked. Then I searched out Christianity. I answered all the big questions by doing the research. I found out the truth and I filled the void in my life with Christ Jesus....”
When we read the Scriptures carefully we see that faith is a gift graciously given to us by God through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus via the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are literally a blind man that God grants sight to. Though we have a role to play, it is a passive role of reception and immense gratitude, not of achieving and discovering. Faith is a revelation - a disclosing of something that you and I cannot discover or uncover for ourselves. God has graciously given us an amazing gift - faith!
Yet faith in and of itself doesn’t exist. It cannot exist by itself. Our faith has to be in something or someone. When you say you are a man/woman of faith, what do you put your faith in? That’s a pertinent question that will determine the choices you make and the way that you walk through the fires of life. If I put my faith in God’s ability to heal, then when I get terminally sick, I’m more liable to walk away from God because He didn't perform. If I put my faith in my new cleansed state then when I fall into a sin again I’m liable to slip into deep depression and self hatred, maybe even self abuse or harm. If I put my faith in the God who allows me to love myself, then when I see something unlovable in my life, I may accuse God of being unfaithful and deny him. If I put my faith in the God who blesses me with health, wealth and prosperity then at the first sign of financial trouble I might curse God and dishonour Him by lying and cheating. What have you put your faith in? Take time to verbally answer that question so that you can hear what you really believe and trust.
As a believer in Christ Jesus I believe and trust the following:-
Read them aloud and give the AMEN to each one you agree to.
V I believe that I, in and of myself, do not deserve the love and grace of God but rather His wrath and eternal condemnation.
V God out of love for me sent His one and only Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins.
V God, because of His grace, accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on my behalf.
V The sacrifice of Jesus was sufficient to pay the debt for all my sins - past, present and future.
V Jesus died on the cross, was laid in the tomb and on the 3rd day was raised to eternal life. He now reigns supreme at the right hand of God.
V Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to all who believe in Him, including me.
V God loves me immensely and sees me as one of His precious children.
V Jesus will return one day to take all believers home to eternal paradise called heaven.
Your faith is a gift to you from God. Every time you sin, you are choosing to squander that gift, to kick it around the floor and to mock God. You need to receive the gift of Faith and nurture it, grow it and mature it.
Prayer:-
V Pray that we will see believers growing in the faith and maturing in their understanding of the Lord through His Word and in their walk with Him. Pray that we will all see more of our faith at work, bearing fruit and bringing glory to God.
V Pray that the Mustard Seed Orphanage will have all the resources it needs to step out in faith, to shine the light of Jesus as they practically care for orphans, widows and the disabled.
Monday 2 May 2011
Monday May 2, 2011
Read Romans 1:5. James 2:14-26
When did you come to the faith? How did you come to the faith? What events led to your believing in Christ Jesus? Many people come to the Lord Jesus, believing in Him but never stopping to analyse, think about or even remotely consider their faith. They are struck by emotion or hurt and respond to the invitation to believe in Jesus and never give it a second thought.
They never think about what faith is and what faith entails. To explain what faith is picture a relay team. As you stand as the second or third or fourth runner, you know that the baton will be passed to you. You trust that the runner will make it to you, and will pass the baton onto you. When we talk about salvation by faith, we mean that you come into God’s “good book” by trusting in the work of Christ and nothing else. You cannot earn your salvation. You cannot buy your salvation. You cannot blackmail God into saving you. As you wait for the runner to pass the baton onto you, you can do nothing but trust. This is our salvation by faith.
But what happens when you receive the baton? Can we expect that I, as the new runner, can simply stand there? How ridiculous! Yet many new believers simply stand where they are in life refusing to run with the Christ-baton passed on to them. Can we expect that I, the new runner, will run the wrong way around the track? How absurd! Yet many new believers continue to run the wrong way around the track, as they continue to indulge in sinful thoughts, activities and experiences. When we receive the baton of faith from Christ Jesus, accepting the faith means running in obedience. It means striving forward to be all that Christ has called us to be. It means learning and growing and maturing in Christ Jesus. Hopefully this booklet will get you running in the right direction.
As you think about faith in your own life, answer these two questions.
How would you describe your faith at present? (Answer verbally)
Finish these sentences, verbally and in writing.
I wish my faith were…
If I had more faith I would….
Sit with a mature Christian and show them your answer to the above two sentences. Ask them what it shows about you.
Prayer:-
V Spend time praying that God would increase your faith and mature it in Christ Jesus. Pray this for everyone in your congregation.
V Pray that many in Burma will come to the faith through the witness of the college students.
When did you come to the faith? How did you come to the faith? What events led to your believing in Christ Jesus? Many people come to the Lord Jesus, believing in Him but never stopping to analyse, think about or even remotely consider their faith. They are struck by emotion or hurt and respond to the invitation to believe in Jesus and never give it a second thought.
They never think about what faith is and what faith entails. To explain what faith is picture a relay team. As you stand as the second or third or fourth runner, you know that the baton will be passed to you. You trust that the runner will make it to you, and will pass the baton onto you. When we talk about salvation by faith, we mean that you come into God’s “good book” by trusting in the work of Christ and nothing else. You cannot earn your salvation. You cannot buy your salvation. You cannot blackmail God into saving you. As you wait for the runner to pass the baton onto you, you can do nothing but trust. This is our salvation by faith.
But what happens when you receive the baton? Can we expect that I, as the new runner, can simply stand there? How ridiculous! Yet many new believers simply stand where they are in life refusing to run with the Christ-baton passed on to them. Can we expect that I, the new runner, will run the wrong way around the track? How absurd! Yet many new believers continue to run the wrong way around the track, as they continue to indulge in sinful thoughts, activities and experiences. When we receive the baton of faith from Christ Jesus, accepting the faith means running in obedience. It means striving forward to be all that Christ has called us to be. It means learning and growing and maturing in Christ Jesus. Hopefully this booklet will get you running in the right direction.
As you think about faith in your own life, answer these two questions.
How would you describe your faith at present? (Answer verbally)
Finish these sentences, verbally and in writing.
I wish my faith were…
If I had more faith I would….
Sit with a mature Christian and show them your answer to the above two sentences. Ask them what it shows about you.
Prayer:-
V Spend time praying that God would increase your faith and mature it in Christ Jesus. Pray this for everyone in your congregation.
V Pray that many in Burma will come to the faith through the witness of the college students.
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