Monthly Archives: December 2017

Matt 25:12 “But He called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’

Posted on by
Reply

Have I dealt with all the issues in my life?  Am I loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, gentle, good and self-controlled?

The answer is no.  Have I had the opportunity to deal with the issues?  Yes.

Does that make me a ‘foolish virgin?’  Probably.

——————————————————————————————————————–

” The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, 4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’

7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. 8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’

9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. 11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’  (Matt 25 NLT)

——————————————————————————————————————–

I need to move forward in faith, if I have real faith I can believe for the things I have not yet seen.  God is the God of the breakthrough.  Suddenly it could happen.

In 2018 I need to be real and genuine.  I need to stand for something, do God’s will, willingly.  And be content in the Lord, walk by faith, focused and passionate to be fruitful for His Kingdom, loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, gentle, good and self-controlled.  I will do what I have to do – it’s God’s will, He is able.  I am a citizen of Heaven and I will live in peace, joy and righteousness.  I will be open, prayerful, surrendered and Jesus will be Lord of my life.  My mind will be renewed by scripture and I will press into God’s presence.  I will embrace life, walk by grace and accept who I am.  I will be prepared to meet Jesus.

I am hopeful for 2018.

How about you?  Be ready!

Jeremiah 31:17 – There is Hope for your future

Posted on by
Reply

Hope is so closely linked to faith and trust as our teacher pointed out to us this morning.  As Christmas approaches we remember the hope that comes from knowing our Saviour, Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the chosen one of Israel.  We are called to have our hope in Him.

How do we practically hold onto that hope, in the midst of the storms and journey of life?  Our teacher reminded us of the power of the tongue that we learned about in our reading of James 3 today, in essence there is “life and death in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21) As the hymn goes we can ‘dance in advance,’ we can praise God before the walls fall down.  Have expectant faith in our circumstances and for the people for whom we pray.  Abraham had eyes for the future based on the promises God had given him in the past as he lived faithfully in the present.  Worrying, doubt and stress are forms of unbelief and hopelessness.

There are times we feel helpless but that doesn’t mean we have to be hopeless, it means we need to turn to God, knowing of our need of Him.  It means knowing God is in charge, is the same yesterday, today and forever, and loves us with an everlasting love.

We were challenged today to think about God 10 minutes each day this week, and to declare His power out loud.  Here are some steps we can take to achieve this as suggested by our teacher today:

  • Praise God in our homes and in our lives (out loud)
  • Be steadfast
  • Start releasing faith (stop sponging in despair and hopelessness)
  • Proclaim Jesus is Lord (of every situation and circumstance)
  • Shout and cry out in faith (as a watchman – there is a breakthrough that comes in our shout – remember Jericho)
  • Declare God has power in our lives
  • Pray by releasing faith and hope
  • Take Jesus’ hand and believe he will lead us through
  • Think about the ‘wow’ God has in store for us

By doing this we can get into God’s presence and when something breaks the big thing seems so much smaller now, we get a different mindset, new eyes and a Godly outlook.

The Lord delights in thousands who fear him, who put their hope is His unfailing love – Psalm 147:11

Psalm 19:1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.

Posted on by
Reply

Driving home from church this evening on a cold starry night I saw my first ever shooting star.  It was bright green in colour and moved from East to West as I drove northward.  This sight was a great reminder of the opening verse of Psalm 19, “The heavens proclaim the glory of God.  The skies display His craftsmanship.”

One of the key messages of our meeting this evening was the importance of pressing into God.  God respects our free will.  If I go to church primarily to meet others, or because that’s what I do on a Thursday, or because I’m looking for a reason to get out of the house then God isn’t going to force His presence on me.   However if I go to seek first the Kingdom of God, desiring to come into His presence through praise, worship and thanksgiving, then God will see the desire of my heart and be in a position to reveal more of Himself to me.

I believe that through pressing in tonight God chose to reveal some of His wondrous glory through the shooting star.

Psalm 19:14 (NLT)

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.