What is in your Heart?

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Good morning.

Based on the last few messages and Jesus’ example it seems that we need to pray: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting,” (Psalm 139:23, 24). One of the iniquities we must eradicate from our hearts, when the Lord reveals it, is pride if we’d like to get close to the Lord and receive revelation from Him.

How does the Lord see pride?

·         Did Jesus ever ignore people or considered their behaviour inappropriate? When the lame man was lowered from the roof of the house He didn’t raise an eyebrow, when the woman with a bleeding disease touched His garment in the midst of one of His greatest moments of popularity, He didn’t turn around frustrated thinking ‘what it is now’. He could have ignored her and enjoyed all the attention He got from the crowds, but He turned to her and for those few moments focused all His love on her. When the Canaanite women approached Him to deliver her daughter, He knew it was inappropriate, but her faith and His love got the upper hand. He touched people considered by everybody else to be unclean, allowed prostitutes to anoint Him whilst the church leaders looked down on them, etc. How about you?

·         Did Jesus ever expect to be served? We have no record of it. Even though His disciples attempted to treat Him like the earthly king they suspected Him to be, He didn’t give them occasion to serve Him. He was part of the team as much as they were and He served. He fed the crowds, healed everyone, delivered people from their bondages and demon possession, patiently taught the people and walked miles and days on end to accomplish what He was called to do. He could have chosen the Temple to work from, made it His church, become this famous, great pastor and let everyone come to Him and serve Him and hear from Him. How about you?

·         Jesus dealt with the sin of pride. He gave both His disciples and the religious leaders a good piece of His mind because they considered themselves higher than others (Matthew 23 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023&version=NIV1984), and (Matthew 20-23 and especially 24-28 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2020:20-28&version=NIV1984).

Don’t leaders have the right to be honoured and considered higher than others based on passages like 1 Thessalonians 5:12, 13: “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work,” and various other passages? The Word commands people to honour leaders and ministers of the Word, but ministers are instructed to serve as Jesus set the example and not to demand honour and act like kings with many titles. Jesus said that if we act with the intention to be honoured, we’ve had our reward. I would prefer to be rewarded in heaven... wouldn’t you? If we serve humbly, the Holy Spirit will see to it that we’re honoured and respected. We don’t have to ignore those we consider lower than ourselves, suppress other’s gifts and opinions so that we can appear more impressive, etc.

Serving those given to you means to admit to them when and where you need them and to build them up, especially if they have gifts to contribute that you don’t have. Ignoring people is loveless and just as good as bullying and reveals a heart full of pride.

Pride comes from wrong motives, so maybe we should ask the Lord to reveal our motives. If we do like Jesus did, the Lord will reward us with success on earth and glory in heaven.

Lord, forgive me my pride and show me how to be like Jesus.

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Do You Want Revelation?

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Good morning.

Would you agree with me if I said Jesus was used to the ultimate of glory and honour before He came to earth? He was worshiped by angels and was forever in the presence of His Father and friend the Holy Spirit.

When He came to earth, however, He walked among the simple of heart - the sinners, poor and needy. In Isaiah 53 Jesus’ earthly nature was revealed. If you have a moment, you may find reading it prayerfully very thought provoking. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2053&version=NIV1984. What was the nature of the person whom the Lord God sent to set the example for us? Was he strong, well-dressed in a shiny suit, smooth talking with impressive words chosen to please people in order to increase his popularity? I read that “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not,” (verses 2, 3).

We often declare we want to be like Jesus. Do you mean like the Jesus portrayed in Isaiah 53... really? Then why do we desire to be popular and to impress people with our greatness? Why are we then interested in status and shy away from those in life that are not our style or class – the poor, sinful and dirty?

After Jesus sent out the seventy-two, they “returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name,’” (Luke 10:17). They were mainly interested in the power they’ve experienced, but then Jesus cautioned them: “do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven,” (V20). This is what is important to Jesus – that the humble and obedient are with Him in heaven. Jesus had all the glory before He came to earth, yet He didn’t have His people with Him. They were all in ‘the place of waiting’ – the righteous on the one side and the unrighteous on the other (Luke 16:19-26 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2016:19-26&version=NIV1984. Only after He died He took the keys of ‘the place of waiting’ and released the saints to join Him in heaven.

After He shared this important fact with the seventy-two, He prayed something significant. “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure,’” (Luke 10:21). So if we are well educated we don’t stand a chance to get revelation from the Lord? It’s not about education, but about attitude. Do we rely on our education and status (Proverbs 3:5, 6), do we want to impress with it, and do we consider ourselves having a license to God’s knowledge due to our education?

It’s not that Jesus would like to reveal these amazing truths to literal children, but rather having us being like children so we can receive it. “He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,’” (Matthew 18:2-4).

You ain’t seen nothing yet if you haven’t humbled yourself before God. The Lord desires for us to know Him on earth while we’re living for heaven, and in heaven there’s no place for pride.

Lord, I desire to be humble like Jesus was.

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Why did We Ask the Question..?

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Current topic: Pray with us for the Church. Remember you can still pray for Families.

Good morning.

Why did we ask the question: How do you picture yourself in heaven?

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God,” (Colossians 3:1-3).

Our life is hidden with Christ in God, so in Christ we are with God in heaven. What then do we have to do with the things of this earth? On top of the question that we’ve asked in our previous message, I want to ask how we picture our friends, family, colleagues and people we meet along the way in heaven. Are we looking forward to see them when we get to heaven? Are we worried that we’re not going to see them? Aren’t we worried that we’re not worried?

How do we look at people we see around us? ^**Do we look lustfully at girls, disparagingly at the poor and other races, critically at the rich, the obvious sinners, the politicians and even the church leaders, or do we picture them in heaven and as a result pray for them and share the truth? Do we ever picture these people in hell? Can we form an idea what it’s going to be like for them in hell? Think of someone you know and picture the person in hell... Now picture the person in heaven.

Set your minds and hearts on things above... The word used is ‘set’, which is an active verb – something we must consciously do. It will not happen automatically. “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want,” (Galatians 5:16, 17). The sinful nature is attached to earthly things and the Spirit with things above – heavenly things. Therefore we have to consciously and wilfully resist the desire and temptation to live by the promptings of the sinful nature and set our minds and hearts on things above – living by the Spirit.

Our sinful nature encourages us to look at people as mentioned after the ^** above and at the same time the Holy Spirit prompts us to think about these people’s salvation and picture them in heaven. Whose promptings are we following? What is going to influence us the most – what the Bible tells us, or what we hear through the media and the gossip media? When a bad person dies, do we think ‘yes!’ or do we picture him with sadness in hell, wishing we had an opportunity to share the gospel with him?

Do we pray fervently for those we can’t reach ourselves? Some years ago Madonna was offered the opportunity to follow Jesus when the Holy Spirit arranged a wonderful divine appointment for her with a Christian (see the book ‘Divine Appointments’).

Apart from seeing people saved, we’d also like to see people holy, wouldn’t we. We’d like to see the Lord pleased with those we love. What do we do to equip others for holiness? Do we teach one another – praying for others?

Dear friend, we have no time to waste on the pleasures of the sinful nature anymore. If we want to make a difference in the eternal destiny of people around us we need to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus (Mark8:34 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+8:34&version=NIV1984).

Lord, please help me to make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:15-17 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5:15-17&version=NIV1984 and Colossians 4:5, 6 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%204:5-6&version=NIV1984).  

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How do you Picture Yourself in Heaven?

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Current topic: Pray with us for the Church. Remember you can still pray for Families.

Good morning.

How do you picture yourself in heaven? Do you see yourself as an excited, yet inferior person walking among the spiritual giants such as Elijah, asking them all kinds of questions, or maybe you keep in the shadows of the background because you don’t feel worthy to be there, or would you feel comfortable in the company of the spiritual giants, chatting the time away about the greatness of the Lord?

Does the Bible give us any indication what we’ll be like in heaven?

Would you agree with me that a great person is content with himself, appears calm and collected, is comfortable with anybody with whom she interacts, knows what he’s talking about and makes others feel at home. Such a person could be trusted to take charge over responsibilities and will be faithful with it.

What must we do to be such a great person in God’s eyes? “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 5:21). Are we seeking to be great on earth, to be well-known and considered to be someone special, or are we content to be faithfully obedient with what the Lord asks of us every day? “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted,” (Matthew 23:12).

How do you see yourself in heaven?

“I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he,” (Luke 7:28). To be greater than John the Baptist... wow! How would you like to have fellowship with him as his friend? All the Lord desires of us in order to be the least, is a confident, quiet and childlike dependence on Him – no need to feel and act inferior.

“And he said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,’” (Matthew 18:3, 4), “Then he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest,’” (Luke 8:48).

Can you perceive what this really entails? Does a little child think highly of herself, having great boasts? In order for us to welcome children we must accept them and become like them – let them be our role models in being the least. We can’t be proud if we’d really want to accommodate children. If we want to walk among the great in heaven, we’d better lessen ourselves to the level of children – all the time.

A son is a child who takes responsibility. Do you agree that sons of God will be comfortable among the great in heaven? “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God,” (Matthew 5:9). “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God,” (Romans 8:13, 14). It makes you think, doesn’t it?

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed,” (Romans 8:18-21) – to start making a difference in Jesus name.

Lord, I’d love to be a son of God amongst your great people in heaven. Help me to meet the requirements.

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Don’t Risk Eternal Life by Taking God’s Glory

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Current topic: Pray with us for the Church. Remember you can still pray for Families.

Good morning. Have you started the Lord’s Bucket List for you?

Keeping that in mind I feel the Lord have something for those in leadership, but also for all of us in various areas of our lives where we perform well.

“Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,” (Exodus 34:14).

“For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God,” (Deuteronomy 4:24).

“If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5).

What do we do with the glory that comes our way? Do we just quietly enjoy it or do we refer it to the Lord? I have written about this before, but the Lord wants me to approach it from a different angle, since this is very important to Him.

Jesus said that we can do nothing without Him just as He could do nothing without His father. The Lord deserves all the glory for everything. “For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever,” (Matthew 6:13). I’m convinced that the solving of many crimes were due to the Lord’s intervention and so can many discoveries, great ideas and inventions be attributed to Him. In the life of Christians the recognition of every success we’ve had should go to the Lord, for without Him we can do nothing. Within seconds He can take our ability away. “On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man.’  Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died,” (Acts 12:21-23).

If the Lord deals more with us like He dealt with the people of Acts, we may have more respect for Him. When we’ve done something great in the name of the Lord, such as delivering a great message, having prayed and a miracle happened or even something in terms of sport or work success and people glorify us, it’s up to us to acknowledge the Lord and pass the glory on to Him. The Lord will keep the person who received the glory responsible for stealing His glory and not the person giving it. There is nothing wrong with encouraging one another for we need to urge one another on, but in the same breath we need to praise the Lord.

This is the first and foremost will of the Father that He and only He receives glory. The Ten Commandments starts with it and in the summary of the commandments that Jesus gave He said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength,” (Mark 12:30). Taking God’s glory for you is being disobedient to these commands and causes you to do something that’s outside of God’s will, subjecting you to the danger of Him iHnot recognising you when you report to Him one day. “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven, but whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven,” (Matthew 10:32, 33) and “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven,” (Matthew 7:21).

Let’s encourage one another, but purposefully give the glory to God from the depths of our hearts lest we miss entering the Kingdom of heaven.

Can you tick this off the Lord’s Bucket List for you?

Lord, all the glory belongs to you.

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His Bucket List for Me

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Good morning.

I am currently determined to get exactly where the Lord intends for me to be. We sings song like ‘I Surrender All’, but do we have the faintest idea what such surrender will require from us. I’ve had a calling on my life for a long time, but I basically wanted to call the shots and determine the terms of the ‘agreement’. I looked toward people for approval and when I didn’t get it I would not consider it worth doing. The Lord, however, stayed interested and silently in the background turned on the heat so I could learn a few lessons and burn my fingers more than a number of times. If the Lord could write a book ‘The Stubborn Child’ He would certainly use me as an example - I was willing, yet stubborn.

He then allowed me to go through such hardship that I would get desperate to really surrender. All the while He sent people on my way to prophesy His intentions, so I could maintain His vision for me in my heart. The latest advice the Holy Spirit gave me towards entering His perfect plan for my life is the ‘Tick List’ or ‘His Bucket List for me’. I started to write down things I knew still needed to change in my life for me to be holy - really set apart for the Lord. The cleaner the vessel, the more useful it is to the Lord. The more in line we are with God’s will, the more efficient we would be. Jonah was a prophet and since he had the ability to preach the word of the Lord, he probably could have preached it anywhere, but because He wasn’t where the Lord wanted him to be he was practically sulking and useless. We need to get where the Lord wants us to be and therefore we need to “to work out our salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12 personalised).

So I started my list. The idea was to tick off what I’ve learned and managed to accomplish. Then the exams began and I get tested on my commitments, “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose,” (Philippians 2:13). If you’re serious about surrender and change and not only sing empty words in church, the Lord is going to take it up seriously. One of the lessons I’ve learned long ago, was put to the test yesterday. I’ve learned to automatically forgive and bless the person who offended me. It was a hard lesson that time but the fruit was sweet until a new enemy walked into my work yesterday. The person spends a day there about once a month and since the first day the person was being critical about everything. Yesterday was about the worst ever. On top of it someone else made false accusations about me earlier the morning and I was tested in a dual way. Was I going to forgive, love and pray for my enemies? If I forgave them, am I going to treat them lovingly as if nothing happened?

The second issue I was tested on was whether I’m going to ponder about all these issues all day long, allowing the devil to torment my thoughts with unhappiness and bitterness or was I going to praise the Lord and continue with prayer and intercession as usual. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight,” (Proverbs 3:5, 6).

It’s not the popular people of God or the mighty people of God that are going to enter His presence, but the loving and obedient (Matthew 7:21-23 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7:21-23&version=NIV1984).

How about you?

Lord, help me start your bucket list for me.

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Train a Child...

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Current topic: Pray with us for the Church. Remember you can still pray for Families.

Good morning.

Children are the future of our countries and its future depends on how the children are brought up. People who are over forty years of age can see how much this generation differs from previous generations in terms of values. Yesterday I saw this picture – significant, isn’t it?

When I talk to the young people today I become so aware of the ‘throw away’ generation. What happened to value? The sad thing, however, is not so much the discarding of material goods as is the discarding of futures, ambitions, dreams and lives simply because nobody ever told them how to value life. I love children and it brings me much pleasure to make them happy. When I hand out prescriptions to children I always have some interaction and fun with them first, trying to teach them some values amidst the fun. I’ll for instance teach the boys a proper handshake and the parent’s to play with their kids. I can see the happiness and expectation when they come in the next time.

Being a keen people observer I’ve noticed how various parents treat their children and also how children act. From that a person can determine why certain children act the way they do and therefore also what they could be like when they become adults. Just yesterday I met a friendly little girl of one year and eight months old with the finest of manners, answering my questions accurately and even using words like ‘prescription’. She was amazingly mature for her age, but when I saw how her mother treated her, I understood why she was like that.

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it,” (Proverbs 22:6). I’m convinced that if we could find an effective way to train young people in parenting based on this principle, our next generations will be very different and the world will be a much better place. Naturally there are certain children that receive quality training, hence the successful development of the world currently. But there are many children that don’t get it, which is why there is so much criminal activity in the world. Criminals are good at training children in the way they should go and also good at accommodating children who were not trained and have no fathers looking after them. They then become ‘fathers’ to these children who then become criminals and child soldiers.

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord,” (Ephesians 6:4). If we raise our children in the fear of the Lord, they may temporarily test the world, but in the end they’ll follow the Lord if we pray for them. But what about the children who don’t receive that? May organisations like Watoto children’s ministry that put orphans in homes and train them up for the Lord, be blessed. Each of us, however, and especially the church should make it our business to be fathers and mothers to children crossing our way. It could be that we have the opportunity to get them in Sunday school, even though the parents don’t attend church, or it could be that we simply touch their lives at single occasions or specifically reach out to them. When our team reached out to children on the streets of Cape Town, we played with them whilst letting them understand we’re from Jesus. One day they’ll remember their parents probably didn’t play with them, but Jesus did.

Lord, give me opportunity to make a child happy every day, even if for only a few moments. Please send us, as a congregation, children who need to be fathered.

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Without a Father

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Current topic: Pray with us for Families.

Good morning.

We call God our Father. “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word,” (2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17). Then we have earthly fathers, men who look after their children and train them according to the way they should go. And we also have the father of lies. “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies,” (John 8:44).

The role of a father is to be a pillar of support, to encourage, train and equip, guide, lead and motivate his children. This is what Father God does for His children as we see in the passage above, and it is even what the father of lies does for his children. Where do you think do criminals, witches and all the other servants of the devil get their support from? Satan must keep them happy in order to drag them with him to hell.

Any man can make children, but not any man can father children. A lot of men simply provide for their children financially and that’s where their responsibility ends. Many people walk around unbalanced, unfulfilled and hurting for they never had a father to look up to. The father therefore plays a very important role in society. The quality of the lives of people depends on how the father-figure functioned within the home during the growing-up stage of the children, in fact right throughout life, for a father will always have more experience than a child. Was the father available with advice, with encouragement, with playing with the children? Did he guide the children towards their heavenly father?

The father of lies understands the importance of fatherhood, since according to Jesus he himself is a father. He also knows how important fatherhood is to God the Father and therefore he makes every effort to cause as many people as he can to be raised without worthy fathers. Just look at the portrayal of fathers in many movies and television shows. A father, that is supposed to be a respected figure, is often humiliated, looked down upon and diminished by the behaviour of the children and the wife. In movie marriage relationships the husband often walks in the shadow of an overpowering wife.

Furthermore, encouraged by benefits from government sources, many girls see to it that they get pregnant in order to get benefits and in this way many children are raised fatherless. This also happens due to peer pressure because their mates have children. The result is an unbalanced, ill-equipped next generation.

What are we to do about it? As Christians we are the salt of the earth and we should make an effort to pray intensely for these situations. On our prayer blog we have a prayer for families and fatherhood. Within the church we should realise that there are many fatherless people that may visit the church and when we reach out in evangelism we should understand that many children grew up fatherless, so we need to be fathers to them. Men in the church can consciously take up the role of fathers to young people who had no father. When we counsel people with problems, even in their older age, many of the problems may relate to the absence of a father-figure in the home and we need to keep it in mind.

Lord, help me to be a good father and even a father to the fatherless.

If you benefited from this, why don’t you link it to your Facebook or Twitter or forward the e-mail reminder to make it available to your friends? You can also use the e-mail link to pass it on. Please pray as well for its distribution to those who need it and feel free to ask questions or discuss thoughts.

Trick the Hardship

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Current topic: Pray with us for Families.

Good morning.

Why would the urging on of people to obedience be seen as encouragement? Aren’t you just motivating me to do more work, to get more trouble in terms of persecution? I have enough trouble as it is. Aren’t encouragement saying things like ‘keep going, the Lord loves you and will bless you’?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” (Hebrews 12:1).

This sounds like encouragement to me, but what are we encouraged to do? Are we encouraged to hold out under the circumstances, to pray until life is better so we can continue living for ourselves or to be patient for the Lord is dealing with our weaknesses? No, we are encouraged to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that ties us up so we can’t move in the direction the Lord wants us to go. The Holy Spirit will point out what we should get rid of, but it is up to us to get the hindrances out of the way ourselves with His power.

Then we are encouraged to run the race marked out for us with perseverance. We have a goal to pursue – the purpose for which we are called. Each of us has a purpose on earth and one day, when the race is over and we’ve accomplished our purpose, we’ll enjoy the rewards. That’s why urging one another on to obedience is actually encouragement – keep going, heaven is waiting. Life is tough and doing the Lords bidding makes life even tougher at times, which is why we should run the race with perseverance.

Encouragement to do what we’re expected to do in spite of hardship is therefore actually saying ‘keep going, the tougher it is on earth, the sweeter it’ll be in heaven’. Isn’t that insane? Shouldn’t we comfort one another with words like ‘the Lord will look after you; He is good and kind and will not let you suffer too much’? Shall we consider the following? “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart,” (Hebrews 12:2, 3).

Jesus set the example. With joy He set out to run the race placed before Him, accomplishing the purpose for which He was sent to earth. Do you think it was tough for Him? I’m sure He desired some comfort in materialism and relaxing entertainment at times and when all these sinful men opposed Him and circumstances threatened to overcome Him he felt like giving up His call. But He persevered right through the shame of the cross and now He’s enjoying His reward – sitting at the right hand of God.

Encouraging one another to do what we need to do, to get rid of our materialistic lifestyles and accomplish our goal in spite of the resulting hardship and persecution is actually encouraging one another to a better life – in heaven. We live for heaven and earth is just our day job. Jesus said in John 9:4: “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” During the work day (our lifespan) we’re not sitting in our comfort zones having fun – we work. But when the day’s work is over, heaven is our home!

Lord, I want to run my race like you did yours.

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How About You Who Minister?

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Good morning.

Why do we serve the Kingdom of God – just to do our duty or to see results?

In this respect the Lord pointed out 2 Corinthians 13:2-9: “On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, ³ since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. ⁴ For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.

⁵ Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? ⁶ And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. ⁷ Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. ⁸ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.”

What is Paul’s objective with the church in this passage? Isn’t it perfection (V9)? The minister (whether ordained or lay) should not only do things in order to be seen doing something, but should aim for results. Although the ministers in this passage have already succeeded in the test of following Jesus, it is more important to them that people notice that their students (congregation, listeners) actually also follow Jesus. If their students fail to follow Jesus, the ministers’ success is of no value – they have actually failed (V7).

In verse nine Paul pointed out that a minister doesn’t have to look good and they don’t need to appear strong. Their image is not of importance, but rather the results they have, i.e. the fruit they bear. The success of a minister is not measured by the flashy church building, or the attractiveness of the programme, or the eloquence by which they minister, or even numbers of people, but it is measured by the sinless lives, obedience and fruitfulness of their students.

In verse two Paul mentioned how he anticipated dealing with the sin of those who have not yet passed the test and in verses three and four he points out that although those who minister are weak before the Lord, they are powerful in dealing with righteousness. Christ paid a terrible price and His expectation of the resulting fruit is perfection – maturity and obedience in Christ. We will always make mistakes, but are we mature enough to obey Christ and deal with sin in our lives? This is the objective of Jesus via His servants, the ministers (ordained or lay) who should point out sin in their students’ lives.

How would we know whether we’ve passed the test of being in faith (V5)? We will be doing the right thing (V7a). Doing the right thing means both not doing the wrong, such as sin, and doing what is right – obedience. This should be the aim of every Christian – holiness. I watched a programme on television where a young pastor in Indonesia ministered in great power to a church of 30 000 people, seeing many miracles daily. He said he desired to be the Holy Spirit’s friend on first name basis. Then he realised that the Holy Spirit’s first name is Holy, and he as pastor therefore needed to be holy.

Minister, are you holy before God? Are your people holy? People are you holy?

Lord, help me to test myself and pass the test.

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Power of Life

Our Intercession blog is Alive! – find link to your right è
Current topic: Pray with us for Families.

Good morning.

Today we’re celebrating the fact that Jesus is Alive!

That’s where the power is in Christianity. Buddha is a piece of stone and idols are made of wood or metal. The father of all lies, whose pretence are the gods behind false religions, was defeated during this very three days we’ve been celebrating for centuries. But our God, our Lord and Saviour is alive and active, serving with power all who chose to love Him.

Because He conquered death and is alive:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Aren’t you glad the old is gone? Through the years this loving, living Jesus has pruned away all death producing branches from my being and filled me with His love. During times where the flesh and the devil so fervently fought back in an attempt to steal my soul, Jesus fought relentlessly for me. Sometimes I only managed to weakly hold onto the last straws of hope with the tips of my fingers as I was dragged down, but Jesus’ generous love and powerful Spirit held onto me with the power gained from the victory on the cross and through the resurrection.

He loves me and has a purpose for my life and therefore sustained me as I “continue to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in me to will and to act according to his good purpose,” (Philippians 2:12, 13 personalised). Through His grace I desire more – more understanding of His Word, more understanding of Him, more understanding of the complexities of this world, more understanding of how evil functions (since any good army understands their enemy’s strategies) and more understanding of myself. This is what I desire, for I believe it was His desire for me when I was called.

Most of us have a story to tell. Most of us can sing our praises to Him for we have crossed over from death to life (John 5:24) as a result of Him who conquered death.

I don’t know where you are in your walk with the Lord. You may be well on your way serving Him and bearing productive fruit, or you may struggle with sin, but are fighting the good fight of the faith to overcome, or you may be religious and just go through the motions every week to please your conscience, or you may be searching for truth. In our struggle against the flesh and evil that constantly try to drag us down, shall we give up? “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 8:37-39).

Jesus conquered death, which consists both of physical death at the end of our lives and spiritual death, which is the condition we live in without Christ.

Are you alive in Christ? I don’t ask whether you go to church or whether you believe in Jesus. I don’t even ask whether you are born again. Jesus is alive and on fire to build His Kingdom here on earth. He conquered death and together with Him we are more than conquerors. Are you alive and on fire with Him to build your part of His Kingdom in response to His calling?

Have you ever invited Him into your heart to change you from death to life?

Jesus, thank you for conquering death – also for me. I invite you into my life to give me New Life!

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Quality of Sacrifice

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Current topic: Pray with us for Families.

Good morning.

Yesterday we remembered Jesus’ crucifixion. He brought the perfect and ultimate sacrifice, not sparing Himself when sacrificed as the unblemished Lamb of God. In the last two messages we saw what it cost Jesus, and those who watched the crucifixion scene from the movie ‘The Passion of Christ’ would have a faint idea of what He experienced.

Once the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, they didn’t spare themselves either. You just have to read Hebrews 11:35-38 to see what it cost them to obey the Lord http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%2011:35-38&version=NIV1984.

Paul spelled out the cost of his sacrifice in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%2011:%2023-29&version=NIV1984 and Peter chose to be crucified upside down for he didn’t consider himself worthy to die as his Lord did. Apart from their persecution and their suffering, they sacrificed their time and freedom for the sake of the gospel.

We sing in church songs like ‘I surrender all’ and make all kinds of commitments, but what do we give to the Lord in obedience? When I prayed about today’s message the Lord confirmed that I have to give Malachi 1:6-14: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Malachi%201:6-14&version=NIV1984. This forms the basis of this message, so it’s imperative that you read it.

What the Israelites did in physical sacrifice, we in the New Testament should do in good works and the utilizing of our gifts. The Israelites needed to be obedient in observing the law and it was the quality of their sacrifices that the Lord was unhappy about in this prophecy of Malachi. Have you sensed the Lord’s emotions?

We need to be sacrificing in obedience to Jesus’ commands, both those from the Word of God and the daily instructions from the Holy Spirit. What quality sacrifice do we bring? Are we prepared to sacrifice our family time to serve a lost soul? Are we prepared to feed the hungry sacrificially, invite the homeless into our private homes, spend hours of support and counselling with emotionally struggling souls, use our private time for the sake of the Kingdom in teaching, encouragement or whatever our gift is. Do you give sacrificially? The Lord said in Malachi 1:8: “Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” Does He get the same dedication from us that i.e. our boss gets?

In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus told of the King who separated the sheep from the goats. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025:31-46&version=NIV1984. On which side would you find yourself? In Luke 14:15-24 Jesus told the parable of the Great Banquet and in verse 21 the master of the house said: “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” The Lord showed me these people include the spiritually poor and -blind as well as the emotionally crippled and -lame. We don’t have only physical needs in our area, but also plenty of spiritual and emotional needs.

What kind of sacrifice do we bring? How is the Lord going to feel about our sacrifice? As a church leader, do you equip your people for meeting the spiritual and emotional needs of the people in their environment? (Ephesians 4:11-16: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians%204:11-16&version=NIV1984). Do you meet the spiritual and emotional needs of God’s people, assigned to you, to the best of your ability or is your effort pretty lame.

People of God, do you seek training to be effective in leading people to the Lord, comforting them with counsel from the Word of God, praying with- and supporting them in faith and praying with them for deliverance from the bondages of sin? Some very effective churches have Bible schools purely for equipping the members to minister effectively among one another. How about your church?

Lord, thank you for your sacrifice. Please send me opportunity to be equipped to serve you well sacrificially.

If you benefited from this, why don’t you link it to your Facebook or Twitter or forward the e-mail reminder to make it available to your friends? You can also use the e-mail link to pass it on. Please pray as well for its distribution to those who need it and feel free to ask questions or discuss thoughts.