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Thursday, 16 February 2012 10:06 |
Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
Christians in general don’t like to hear that they need to do something! It messes with our doctrine, not to mention our lives. Isn’t the church supposed to entertain me with flashing lights, cool media, goose bump music and encouraging sermons? We seem to justify our belief by misquoting scriptures such as the “heavy laden” and “finding rest” favourite (Matthew 11). There’s no doubt that we find rest and peace in Christ, but it’s not the type of rest we think. The rest Jesus refers to is the rest and peace in knowing that you have found your purpose and you know longer have to struggle and toil in the world to find meaning to your existence. I’m not advocating as Christians we don’t take a break or never rest. We should rest, even Jesus and the disciples, after a long day, escaped the crowds to rest and eat (Mark 6). What we need to understand is that Jesus said that God is glorified by us bearing much fruit (John 15) and fruit in this case is related to our purpose in the kingdom and most importantly, people’s souls.
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My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. Matthew 26:38
Commitment. It’s a word that goes around sparingly today. It’s something society avoids and tries it’s best to get out of even after committing to a cause or an agreement. Gone are the days when a persons’ handshake would do or even just giving their word. Look at the contracts we sign today – up to 2 pages are used just to explain the terms & conditions of your commitment, you have to initial almost every page, sign a few more stating you understand what’s being said and then after all that, a good lawyer can still get you out of the agreed contract. Commitment is a scarce commodity in the world today. Divorces are at an all-time high, we go from one employer to the next, from one relationship to another and even in church we take our bible bag and leave at the slightest hint of offence to justify our lack of commitment.
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Monday, 30 January 2012 17:02 |
So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." John 20:21
Most people if not all of us on planet earth have ventured into the “what am I here for or what is my purpose territory” It’s the longing question of all our hearts. Jesus covers two burning topics in the human race today. First He covers peace. That thing we all want even if we don’t always realise we want it. The whole world is fighting for peace (an ironic statement if ever there was one). You wouldn’t need all the money and riches in the world if you were at peace. Jesus knew this so He said be at peace. Ok Jesus, thank you for peace. What next? Then He says go, I am sending you! But that doesn’t sound very peaceful Jesus...? I mean do you really want me to interrupt people’s daily routines at the risk of being persecuted and mocked just so I can tell them about you? “Yes”! Ok... but I don’t feel at peace about this...
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Tuesday, 06 December 2011 12:36 |
Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn't think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God--which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NLT)
Words have tremendous power. We respond to them daily – whether we read them in books, on billboards, in magazines, on the web, road signs, in the Bible, bumper stickers, and posters or through what others say. Everyone is affected by words in some shape or form every day. After all these years I still remember encouraging words my teachers spoke to me in primary school, unfortunately I can still remember the not so positive words to. I can recall nice things friends have said, and terrible things friends have said. Words have the power to take us back into a moment of time and we can vividly recall the emotion attached to those words. Words shape us, whether good or bad. That is why the word of God is so vital in our lives.
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Tuesday, 29 November 2011 14:12 |
Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:3 (AMP)
I’m yet to meet a person that does not like a feel good movie. I love them myself. I think the reason for this is that we identify with most of the characters in these movies. We watch them face near insurmountable odds, battle criticism, unfair treatment, heartache and all the other unjust things the world throws at us. Just when it seems our hero or heroine is down & out and defeated with no hope, they get back up & beat the system, defy all odds, catch the bad guy and destroy the enemy. We watch in delight as they triumph over evil (some of us even talk to the screen as though the characters can hear us) and we wish we could do what we see these characters do in the movies. The thrills we get from these movies, seems to only motivate us for a day or two and we resign to the fact that maybe it’s not to be for us. We all want to catch the bad guy, change the system, be the hero/heroine, find true love and defeat the enemy. God says we can!
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