Wednesday 20 April 2011

He is alive

Colossians 1
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He
made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.

17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is
first in everything.

19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live
in Christ,

20 and through him God reconciled everything to
himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of
Christ’s blood on the cross.

John 1

17 For the law was given through Moses, but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father's
heart. He has revealed God to us.

My thoughts

How awesome is it not to know that the creator of heaven and earth has set us free. Let us then live as free people, free from the burden of sin. Free from this world, free from all evil and free in the light. Let the light of Jesus shine through your heart so that it is visible from miles away.

Monday 18 April 2011

It is already done

(John 16:33)  I have told
you this so that you will have peace by being united to me. The world will make
you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world!"

The power of the world, the realm controlled by
Satan, was defeated when Jesus accepted his Father's will to go to the Cross.
He broke and defeated the power of sin and death. He brought life and
immortality to light. He insured that death would not have the final say. So in
the middle of sorrows and trials, we can take heart and have peace. Not because
things are easy, but because the hard things of this life are temporary and are
preparing for us an eternal glory. Our peace is not in the absence of strife or
troubles, but in Jesus and what he has done to make our future sure!

Once again it is so clear that our focus must be
on Jesus. Even before the crucifixion He had already defeated death. He already
cleared the way.

He became a man…

Lived a perfect life…

He was betrayed…

Persecuted…

Captured…

Condemned…

Crucified and murdered…

Buried…

He defeated Satan…

Defeated the lies…

Rose from death…

(Ephesians 6:10)  Finally,my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Wednesday 13 April 2011

There is only one God

(1 Kings 18:36)  At the hour of the afternoon sacrifice the prophet Elijah approached the altar and prayed, "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove now that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant and have done all this at your command.

(1 Kings 18:37)  Answer me, LORD, answer me, so that this people will know that you, the LORD, are God and that you are bringing them back to yourself."

(1 Kings 18:38)  The LORD sent fire down, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench.

(1 Kings 18:39)  When the people saw this, they threw themselves on the ground and exclaimed, "The LORD is God; the LORD alone is God!"

In our daily life’s we are constantly faced with challenges that pulls us away from God. It is important to remember again that it is all about God. Everything we do must be to glorify His great name.

It is also important to remember that we can only be successful if we trust Him and focus on Him.

God wants to make Him visible through you. It is in Him that you will find your strength.

In the history behind Elijah and the prophets of Baal, it is clear that God wanted Israel to see that He is the only living God. In the same way God stunned the people of Israel with His awesome power He wants to surprise the world around you with His awesome power.

Jesus came to be the light in our world. He already faced death and defeated sin. He carried the burden so that we can just glorify God. He died so that we can live. Let your life be a reflection of His great love. Anything is possible through Him.

(John 1:1)  In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

(John 1:2)  From the very beginning the Word was with God.

(John 1:3)  Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him.

(John 1:4)  The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people.

(John 1:5)  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

The creator of heaven and earth is your protector. He will never leave you and He will never sleep. He is God.

(Philippians 2:8)  He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death--- his death on the cross.

(Philippians 2:9)  For this reason God raised him to the highest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.

(Philippians 2:10)  And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees,

(Philippians 2:11)  and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Monday 11 April 2011

Be the light

In today’s world it has become more and more important to live in the light of Christ. In a non-stop battle between good and evil in the unseen world it is even more so important that we stand united under God to bring His life giving spirit to those in need.

In need, I mean those in need of Him. This in no easy task, and will not get any easier.

Let us allow God’s light no only to fill our lives today but those around us. It is in this that God truly becomes visible to a blinded world.

Because you are free you can rejoice and be happy, because He died you are alive. Let Jesus be you light and let the Holy Spirit guide you in changing those around you.

(Ephesians 4:29)  Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

(Ephesians 4:30)  Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted.

(Ephesians 4:31)  Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk.

(Ephesians 4:32)  Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

Wednesday 6 April 2011

Onesimus – Continued V2

The three three’s

1.       Slave – Escape – Soldier (Warrior)

2.       The previous life – the current life – the future life

3.       Question – answer – result

(Eph 2:1)  It wasn't so long ago that you were mired (stuck) in that old stagnant life of sin.

(Eph 2:2)  You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience.

(Eph 2:3)  We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us.

(Eph 2:4)  Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love,

(Eph 2:5)  He embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us!

(Eph 2:6)  Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.

(Eph 2:7)  Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus.

(Eph 2:8)  Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish!

(Eph 2:9)  We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing!

(Eph 2:10)  No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work He does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

1.       Slave – Escape – Soldier (Warrior)

a.       Salve – Sin and the sinful world

b.      Escape – set free by the cross of Jesus

c.       Soldier – Once free we can be useful to God

2.       The previous life – the current life – the future life

a.       Previous life – Sin

b.      Current life – New in Jesus

c.       Future life – Life after

3.       Question – answer – result

a.       Question – every day and every moment

b.      Answer – choices

c.       Result – the result to your choice/God’s choice

What makes an athlete/soldier victorious – it is the invisible goal that they keep their focus on and never alter until they are victorious.

(Eph 3:14)  My response is to get down on my knees before the Father,

(Eph 3:15)  this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth.

(Eph 3:16)  I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit--not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength--

(Eph 3:17)  that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love,

(Eph 3:18)  you'll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights!

(Eph 3:19)  Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

(Eph 3:20)  God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

(Eph 3:21)  Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

Monday 4 April 2011

Onesimus

Slave – Thief – Forgiven

Important points:

1.    Slave to Philemon

2.    Theft

3.    Run away

4.    Met Paul

5.    Met Jesus

6.    Jesus = Forgiven - Saved - Changed - Warrior

Philemon 1:10-18 “I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, who formally was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me. I have sent him back to you in person that is, sending my very heart… For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me. But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account.”

Parts to look at:

1.    was useless to you, but now is useful

a.    When we are controlled by sin in the world we are useless to God, but the moment we allow Jesus to change our live and the Holy Spirit to take control. We become useful to God

2.    no longer as a slave, but more than a slave

a.    When we are in the world, we are slaves to the world and sin. Jesus came to set us free from that so that we no longer live as slaves

3.    accept him as you would me

a.    This is what Jesus then also pleads to the Father, that He accepts us as he accepts Jesus.

4.    charge that to my account

a.    Jesus did this on the cross. He took our sins on His account. He died for all our sins.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14)

When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. (Gal 4:4-7)

Last thoughts (About the enemy):

1.       Satan wants you to be alone

2.       He wants you to doubt

3.       He wants you to think you are not worthy

4.       He wants you to fail

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Cor 12:9-10)

I’m forgiven, because you were forsaken. I’m accepted, you were condemned.

I’m alive and well, your Spirit is within me, because you died and rose again.

Amazing love, how can it be, that you my King would die for me?

Amazing love, I know it’s true. It’s my joy to honour you, in all I do. I worship you.