Category Archives: Jesus

Babes in Christ

11 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by in Christianity, Faith, Giving, Jesus, Love, Religion

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Christians fix up

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3

The fragile state of a new born babe cannot be denied. They are completely reliant on the parents or guardians. They don’t understand our language; we need some time to understand their signs; they can’t care for themselves; they need to learn all about their new world that they have been born into. They need to be nurtured! Some are more challenging than others, so we don’t abandon those, on the contrary, we put more effort into caring for them. And all this takes time as they grow and develop into strong adults!

You are probably thinking at this stage that we all know this, mankind has been around for a while now so what point am I making here?! Well, the point is that this is the same for a ‘new born babe’ in Christ. The new Christian, the new Convert, the newly Saved… they are babes in Christ! and in much the way as a new born babe, they need care, guidance, nurturing as they make their way through their spiritual life to becoming spiritual adults. They too have to learn a new language, train their mind to think in a different way; their bodies to react in a different way and their tongues to speak in a different way… all new to them. As they grow and develop spiritually they will become stronger and not so dependent on others, though we must always love and support each other throughout out lives.

Having said all this why then do we as Christians get it wrong so often? New converts who are able to adjust well and quickly seem to be embraced while the ones who are finding it more challenging and are struggling in many ways; often finding it difficult to shake of the residue of the world; are ignored, avoided, side-stepped. Sometimes they are blatantly dismissed or subtly ignored! Not only have I seen this happen, but many have shared their experiences with me over the years; and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

First and foremost, many seem to lack understanding and knowledge; then progress on to a lack of patience and empathy when it comes to helping others. If someone is deemed to be too challenging; few are prepared to go the extra mile with them. Yet, Christ went further than the extra mile with us and continues to do so today! If we are spiritual adults who follow Christ and love each other as Christ has loved us; we should never be overcome with the task of nurturing the new babes to the point where we give up with them ultimately leading to them giving up on themselves.

Our Christian walk is “not about us! It is about others.” It’s always been about loving and helping others.

We need to help them to nurture their relationship with God, through studying the Word of God (the Bible) which will teach them how to communicate effectively with God through prayer; to enable them to grow into strong spiritual adults:

1 Peter 2:2
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

All too often and more so in these latter days Christianity seems to be so exclusive, with a real ‘them’ and ‘us’ attitude. If we don’t ‘fix up’ and sort ourselves out we do the name of Christ an injustice.

Reach out today and help someone who is struggling in their Faith!

Recommended Reading:
My Alabaster Box: A Simple Guide Through The Christian Journey

The Ultimate in Service to God

08 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Christianity, Faith, Jesus, Love, Spiritual Training

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“Not my will Lord; Let your will be done in my life.”

We often think we know what’s best for ourselves and what we should do to please God. Usually without a thought as to what God’s perfect will is for our lives, or what is actually pleasing to Him. In spending some time with the Holy Spirit to understand this, I was lead to John 13, when Jesus washed the feet of His Disciples after He finished the Last Supper.

It is easy to think that the ultimate service we can perform for God is to be great in our calling… to be a great Prophet, a great Preacher or worker of Miracles; but no, this is not the case. Jesus is the Son of God, a Prophet, a teacher and preacher of the Gospel, a worker of miracles; and so much more. Yet, in John 13, after He had the Last Supper He washed the feet of His disciples. So what is  Jesus saying to us here?

John 13:3-5
Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He rose from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded…

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper with twelve men who had been journeying with Him throughout His ministry, and … WASHED THEIR FEET!

It was the custom at that time for slaves to be assigned the task of washing the feet of the masters’ guests. That task was NEVER done by anyone of high status in society…EVER…So why did Jesus do this? He removed His outer garments took a towel and girded Himself in preparation for the task just as the slaves would have done at that time.

But this was not just a physical or practical exercise. In this one act there are many spiritually symbolic meanings. In verse 10; Christ says; ‘he who is bathed needs only to wash His feet, but is completely clean.’ When we come to Christ we are washed in His blood so we are COMPLETELY clean, we have been justified by our Faith in Him. Our FEET however continues to get dirty and unclean as they represent our WALK in Christ. We are at the start of our journey so we have a long way to go! They will get dirty on this daily journey as we make mistakes. Sometimes we will get ourselves all messed up, we will sin whether consciously or unconsciously; physically or in our minds!! So therefore, our feet need washing again and again. We do this through confessing our sins to God and to each other… (JAMES 5:16 confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.)

WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE WHERE WE ARE GOING WRONG! 

Only Jesus can cleanse us from the sins committed on our walk, only He can wash away sins… so Peter or any of the disciples could NOT wash the feet of Jesus. Jesus also knew that shortly one would betray Him; one would deny Him and the others would run away from Him… so He was already cleansing them and forgiving them for what they were about to do. This was the fullness of God’s Love and Mercy, that all the Disciples had to do was to confess their sins to Him acknowledge what they had because He had already cleansed them and forgiven them… He washed Judas’ feet’ so Judas was already cleansed and forgiven for his part but we know that he never went back to the Lord with it… he later took his life when he realised what he had done!!

We follow Christ’s example by washing each other’s feet not to cleanse anyone from their sins but to show LOVE, COMPASSION AND FORGIVENESS TO EACH OTHER and to commit to serving each other…

It is a practical act with a deep spiritual meaning, just like the Holy Communion. When we eat the bread which represents Christ’s body and drink the wine which represents Christ’s blood we remember His crucifixion; a practical act with a very deep spiritual meaning.

The washing of each others’ feet represents the ultimate in service to God and His people. Jesus did not ask us to wash our own feet as this would be self-serving, we MUST serve each other. When we make our lives about others and NOT about ourselves… only then can God work with us! The ultimate service to God is to love and serve Him obediently as Christ did and to love and serve each other as Christ did. It’s not about ‘us,’ it’s about Him. God needs to be able to call on us at anytime to do whatever He asks us to do.

When God calls on you, do you hear Him, or do you continue doing what pleases you?

The most persecuted Faith on earth!

30 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by in Christianity, Faith, Jesus, Persecution, Religion

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Cross on the Rock2

CHRISTIANITY; to be Christ like. To spread the Gospel of Christ and tell the world of the Kingdom of God. Not to force our beliefs onto anyone but to let them freely chose. To share God’s love and to do it peacefully. That is who we are…

So how did we become the most persecuted Faith (religion) on the earth? Well we know that everything God does is challenged by the opposing force; the enemy, Satan! And we know that all strife in the world has a spiritual foundation. Every single one, without exception. Whether the world believes that or not is a different matter altogether!

Ephesians 6:12-13
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

Regardless of what the physical world professes; it is driven by spiritual forces which we cannot see and often do not understand!

Persecution of Christians is not new and it will not stop! This is not to say it should be accepted, because it should not; but we know that it will not stop. The Faith itself came into being through persecution of our Lord and Saviour Jesus; our God who gave us life allowed His to be taken, to free us from ourselves.

Whilst not the most accurate timeline, let us take a look at just some of the major periods of persecution that Christians have endured since the inception of the Faith. Jesus was killed, though not against His will. He allowed it to happen to bring us back into a relationship with God. But although He chose to go through it; that death was brutal and evil. And through that single selfless act of Love, Christianity was birthed. Then the Apostles took up the mantel and travelled far and wide preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus. They too were beaten mercilessly again and again and later killed. The various deaths included, being crucified upside down, being tied to a cross to prolong death, being killed by a sword, beheaded and so it continued. John being the only Apostle to live to an old age, but he was stilled imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos.

Christians were being hunted and killed by Saul who later became Paul; one of the greatest Apostles to walk the earth, literally. He preached and taught the Gospel across continents, and he too was beaten to within an inch of his life on several occasions, then later imprisoned and continued to write the majority of the books of the New Testament. Later, Christians were murdered and fed to animals for entertainment in the Roman Amphitheatres. Christianity went through many dark times across the globe. Many were martyred, burnt and brutalised for worshipping the one true God, Jehovah. Killed for proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord and often forced to denounce their beliefs.

Today, in our civilised world, you could be forgiven for thinking that this situation has gotten better and this is no longer the case. But no; it has gotten worse. These few lines could not begin to accentuate the peril that many millions of Christians face today.

Open Doors has been serving persecuted Christians worldwide for the past 60 years and have profiled 50 countries; where Christians are being brutalised, and killed on a daily basis. Christianity is now identified as the most persecuted religious group in the world! That is indeed some title and not one that anyone would compete to have! Yet how often do we hear in the news bulletins about the atrocities that Christians all over the world are being faced with on a daily basis? This has been iterated by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who claimed that ‘Christianity is in peril, like no other religion.’ The extreme persecution of Christians is a global problem which some world leaders are now beginning to address. Basic human rights and the freedom to choose are not on the radar of the governments of the countries that persecute Christians.

We, more than any other body of believers are being targeted for our Faith!

These persecutions are not always undertaken by extremists; but by governments who have decided that the people should not have a choice to worship freely; but instead should worship who they are told to worship. But we know that as Jesus went through unjust persecution; so too must we. And He confirmed this to us in the following scripture.

John 15:20-21
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

We know we must go through major persecutions; many have and many will. So; for our part; as a member of the Christian family, let us join in PRAYER for ALL our brothers and sisters, wherever they are in the world who cannot worship freely and are facing daily persecutions and even death.

Join me in prayer for the 50 countries where our brothers and sisters are suffering on a daily basis. We know prayer works, so let’s mobilise our Faith now. Follow me on Facebook for a list of which countries to pray for.

What we are praying for
We pray for strength, endurance, courage and for governments to pass laws to protect them and allow them to worship freely. And we pray that they will have peace in the midst of all the turmoil:

Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Bless you!

Filling the Void

23 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by in Faith, God, God's Blessings, Inspiration, Jesus, Religion, Seeking God

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Filling the voidWith all the thousands of religions in the world today; each with its’ own unique and differing belief system; it would be careless of us not to at the very least consider why this situation has evolved in the way that it has.

From the dawn of time, humankind has been searching for something, searching to fill a void that it would seem on the surface anyway, cannot be filled. But what is that void and why are we so desperate to fill it? Purpose, meaning, hope, are just some of the concepts in life we try to understand. Learning how to apply them to our lives on a personal level, a constant challenge! But what is the yearning we have, to fill our lives with something we don’t have; forever seeking something we don’t seem able to find?

New religions and cults continue to emerge, each seeking to find something new that gives meaning to life. Something for the believer to hold on to and to get them through this life; and on to the next. For me there is only one explanation, and that is the one that was there from the very beginning, has endured, remaining constant amid the birth and death of so many religions and theories.

To work out what we are searching for, we need to understand who we are and why we are here. Yes, those questions just keep on popping up, but the answers remain elusive to many. The book of Genesis gives us the simplest and yet the only true answer to these questions.

Genesis 1:26-28
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

We were created to look like God and to be like Him; in His image and in His likeness! We know we were created to have power over the earth, to look after all things in it and to subdue it. We were created to live in a position of power and not weakness. We received the blessings of God in our lives, as He told us to be fruitful and to multiply… and He gave us the earth. To a certain extent we do those things; though not very well!

So, what then is missing from our lives why does the world keep trying to worship anything and everything. People are creating gods to worship for their finances, their happiness, the weather, the sun god, the moon god; you name it and it exists. Animals have been idolised and turned into gods over the very beings that God created to have power over them. Some of the most heinous, outrageous and evil acts in society were carried out to appease a god, or an idol or the belief that it would secure someone’s place in heaven.

What is the world searching for? Well, God created us as His children, to be in a parent child relationship with us. That is why He says He is our Father; because He is! He loves us and wants us to love Him, in much the same way a parent loves a child and wants that child to love them. He wants us to communicate with Him and share our lives with Him.

In the world, when there is a breakdown in that most important relationship that shapes the rest of our lives, it has a de-stabilising effect not only in the immediate family but also in the broader society.  Its’ impact is far reaching. Children need to be taught, nurtured and guided by a parent and without it the child grows up feeling unloved, and seeking for that love in one form or another. The place in the heart where that love should have resided was left empty, void, and cries out to be filled… with something!

In this way too, a breakdown in our relationship with our Father leaves a void which cannot be filled by anyone or anything else. His love is unparalleled and once you experience that love, you will not be satisfied with a substitute; as all else pales in comparison. If you have never experienced that love then there will be an inner urge to go searching for it, although you don’t really know what ‘IT’ is… and that is the position the world is in. Constantly searching for the Father’s love in all the wrong places and substituting it with whatever they find that seems to makes sense to them.

When we walked away from God’s love and chose a different path, we impacted our world so much so, that we could not and still cannot fix it.  We turned it upside down, back to front and inside out creating a huge void; where God used to be. But when God reached out to us and gave us a second chance through His Son Jesus Christ; we were able to fill that void with His love once again. However for those who still do not know God’s love; their search continues.

Be Blessed!

 

 

 

 

Walking with God!

10 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by in Christianity, Faith, Inspiration, Jesus, Love, Spiritual Training, The Gospel

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 Jesus footsteps2

For the best part of three and a half years twelve men walked with God, literally and in every sense of the word; on this earth. They lived with Him, ate with Him, prayed with Him, laughed with Him, cried with Him, worked miracles with Him… do I need to go on?

What an awesome, awesome honour! When I meditate on this it is very humbling that our God, came down out of heaven, to work with us and for us. He could have brought the mighty angels with Him; He could have done so many other things to fix us, but He chose to include us in His plan. And if that wasn’t awesome enough, He WASHED the feet of His disciples and after He rose from death, He COOKED for them… fish on the beach! People of God it doesn’t get any better than that.

Let’s take that in for a moment… then reflect on ourselves. When was the last time we did something that special for someone, whether we know them well or not? It is so easy to go through life focusing on ourselves and not putting anyone else first. Everything Jesus did was for others; for us. The level at which He humbled Himself for us, means that surely we can humble ourselves for each other. Remember we were created in His image and in His likeness; so it is possible to be like Him and indeed we should be.

Love started us on this journey and love will bring us through.  Often when relationships fail in life, you will hear people say ‘Love was not enough,’ and this belief is expressed in films and books again and again.  Whilst this statement is true to some extent it is not the whole story.  The truth is, “Our love is not enough but God’s love is more than enough and perfectly able to cope with anything we experience in life.”  We need to practice God’s unfailing, unconditional, unfathomable transcendent love.  Through it all things can be accomplished.

He was and still is our example of how to show real unconditional love to each other.  Being a trained Complementary Therapist; I enjoy helping people to look after their tired and overworked bodies; and of all the treatments I have done my most favourite is looking after peoples’ feet. Those poor little members do so much to bear us up, becoming sore and swollen after a long days’ work, yet often we treat them so poorly. Many will tell you they are disgusted with their feet, refuse to look at them or show them to anyone and absolutely refuse to let anyone else look after them.

This happens all too often in life. We can be dismissive, refuse to show love to others, embarrassed by each other, will not give unless we receive; yet no one is able to repay Jesus for the things He did and continues to do for us. Could we wash the feet of a tired brethren, show unparalleled hospitality to strangers and loved ones, without ever expecting some kind of repayment? He knew we couldn’t repay Him yet He did it anyway… To walk with God we must first walk in His footsteps, because now it is a Spiritual Walk!

Recommended Reading
The Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

 Stay Blessed!

The Default Position

09 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by in Christianity, Faith, God, God's Plan, Heaven, Jesus

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Default positionThere is so much confusion in the world today, with Christianity right up there at the top of the list. Many people don’t realise they are in a certain position in life and that they need to make a choice to get out of it. I call it the ‘default position.’

In the day that Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, they inherited the knowledge and all that it had to offer, they lost the will to do the right thing and this became inherent in mankind.  They had the Knowledge but not through experience of that knowledge.  The curse of sin, not individual sin, but the sin of the world was that we, ‘man-kind’ gave away our birth-right and the right to all that God had for us.

Our birth-right was to have dominion over all the earth and the life in it from a position of holiness because we knew no sin.  Holiness was our default position.  When we gave up our birth-right to that holiness we also turned the natural order upside down and the world also ‘fell,’ it was no longer a perfect world.   An imperfect ruler cannot rule over a perfect world; one way or another they will corrupt it.  So our default position was now a sinful one in a fallen world and no longer holiness in a perfect world.  For this reason, Jesus had to come to give us our birth-right back.

Our peaceful, beautiful world became beset with one disaster after another. Jesus did not come to fix this world or to patch us up to continue living in it, He came to make all things new, a new people and a new world, as told to us in the following scripture.

Revelation 21:5
And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.  And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

In this world as we know it, there are only two forces, the force of ‘Good’ (God) and the force of ‘Evil’ (the Devil).  When Adam and Eve gave away our birth-right we did not have a choice in the matter, but now we do have a choice in our destiny and our final destination.  Jesus came to give us back our choice so now we have power over our own destiny and not someone else.  Now we have a choice and can choose to be with God or to be with the devil.  In choosing one the other will be rejected and most people find this easy enough to understand.

However, if you do not make a choice, you are in the default position which is sin, Satan’s domain and there is no middle ground and no grey areas.  If you do not chose God, by default you have chosen the devil, because you will remain in your sin and sin is of the devil.

The default position is inherited, we are all born in it so we must make a conscious decision to get out of it, this is the choice Jesus gave back to us.  As stated earlier, the human race came under it when mankind fell and it is the worse position we could be in which is why God gave us a way out.  Many however, do not realise that they are in the default position, so they do not think they have to make a choice to get out of it.  To get to heaven, you must choose Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, He is the only way, it has been ordained by God from the beginning of time.  Jesus confirms this in the following scripture when He is talking to Thomas one of His disciples:

John 14:6
Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.

There is no other way to get to the Father or to get into heaven.  No matter how much we challenge this, criticise it, reason against it, it is what it is.  Any doctrine or teachings that sidestep Jesus are redundant.

Stay blessed!

How do I deal with betrayal?

25 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by in Faith, God's Plan, God's Process, Jesus, Spiritual Training

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silver

Matthew 26:2
 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified

Where do I even start on the subject of betrayal? It’s such a huge topic and so many of us have experienced it. So, how did you deal with it, when the person(s) you loved, cared for and trusted; your friend and confidant betrayed you? Are you healed from the attack; because that’s what it is, an attack! For me when I am dealing with the aftermath of an attack of the enemy, my first port of call is the one person who can actually help me; Jesus! And in understanding the very debilitating condition of this attack we examine how Jesus dealt with it.  How did He deal with the aftermath of His betrayal, this attack direct from the enemy channelled through one of His closest confidant? 

Betrayal as defined by Meriam Webster is to give information about (a person, group, country, etc.) to an enemy; to hurt (someone who trusts you, such as a friend or relative) by not giving help or by doing something morally wrong; and we can all agree that this sums up Judas Iscariot perfectly. He was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples who handed Jesus over to His enemies for thirty pieces of silver; to be killed. 

Luke 22:3-6
Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. 

The components of betrayal:

  • Satan
  • Close friend/confidant
  • An immoral plan
  • The reward
  • Unwavering determination to hurt someone who trusts and cares about you 

The devil is always in the detail. Judas made a pact with the enemies of Jesus who sought to kill Him and was waiting for the perfect time to accomplish his plan. There is no special DNA for this type of person who could betray a friend; it is determined by many variables. The circumstances, the type of relationship between the players, envy, selfishness, greed, their mind-set and beliefs; the list goes on. Who really knows why people do this… sin! 

What we need to do is learn how to deal with it, by understanding How the Lord Jesus Himself dealt with it. So, He knew what was going to happen long before it hit and did it hurt Him in His heart? Yes of course it did! Did He rant and curse, swear to get even, rile the other eleven disciples to take sides with Him and against Judas? No! He left Judas to his own devices, because He knew that He had to go through certain things to fulfil His destiny, and so do we. 

John 18:2-4
And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? 

Jesus remained CALM, trusted God to take Him through and waited patiently for someone He loved and trusted, to bring an army against Him, brandishing weapons and to take Him to His death. Never did He challenge the plan of God for His life. Never did He lash out at Judas or anyone else. He didn’t seek revenge, He didn’t even stop speaking to Judas. Matthew 26 tells us that Jesus made it known to the disciples that He would be betrayed by one of them and confirmed to Judas that it was Him. He then continued to keep the Passover with all of them, including Judas. He didn’t send him away and eat with the other eleven, He ate with them all.

When we come to the Lord we know we have to go through many trials to become spiritually mature. How we deal with these trials and tribulations are determined by our level of maturity.  We cannot avoid them if we are to fulfil our destiny in Christ.

What to do:

  • Never react as you would before you came to Christ.
  • You are a new creation in Him now so act the way He would.
  • Stay calm in all situations.
  • Assess the situation and take it with your wounded heart to the Lord.
  • Close your door and pour it all out to Him, as often as is necessary.
  • Exercise self-control when dealing with the betrayer.
  • Ask God to heal you and spend a lot of time with Him while He works in you.
  • Don’t rush it!
  • Never seek revenge.
  • Go through the process and come out the other side, stronger than before!

Stay blessed!

 

 

 

 

 

Understanding Resurrection

18 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by in Christianity, Faith, Jesus

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grave-2115941And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luke 22:19 

We have just had an amazing weekend remembering the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ the one thing the Lord asked us to remember until He comes.  We know that there are many stories surrounding Jesus’ resurrection as the Roman government of the day and Jewish Religious leaders plotted together to fabricate stories that His disciples stole His body. But there are many, especially new converts who don’t fully understand and are just not sure what the Resurrection really signifies in the life of a Christian.

Resurrection is such a huge concept to understand that I couldn’t let this most important event pass for another year without writing a few lines about it, especially for our new converts or anyone struggling to understand it. I often read of three different types of resurrection; but for me there is a fourth.

  1. The raising of the dead such as Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter, and the young man from Nain; to mention a few
  2. Jesus’ resurrection
  3. The resurrection of those who die in Christ when Jesus comes again
  4. Resurrection from Sin into Christ

Definition: Resurrection put simply is the raising up of someone from the dead; bringing them back to life.

Jesus showed us that this was possible when He rose Lazarus from the dead and indeed throughout His ministry He raised may others from the dead; but as we know the vast majority of miracles He did could not all be contained in Bible. However, we have enough to gain a full understanding of this amazing act of God. The following scriptures tells us of some of the people who Jesus resurrected. These people were resurrected into their physical bodies and continued life as before and later died again just as we all must die one day: unless we are alive at Jesus’ second coming. But that’s topic for another time. 

Recommended Reading
Matthew 9 – Jairus’ daughter
Luke 7 – The young boy from Nain
John 11 – Lazarus

Then we have Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection as told to us in the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Now this resurrection is the one that is extremely important to mankind! For it is this resurrection that gives us eternal life. The following scriptures tells us that Christ is the ‘firstfruits’ of the dead, so He is the first one to be raised from the dead. 

1 Corinthians 15:20
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

But we know many others were raised from the dead also and before Christ died because He was the one who raised many of them. So, what does this really mean for us? The scripture is referring to the first one to be raised from the dead into eternal life. Jesus was not raised into His earthly body to continue suffering pain or to die again. He was raised into His glorified spiritual body, never to be a man again, never to suffer pain and NEVER to die again. And He is the first one to experience this and through Him, we will later experience this also.

The third resurrection is the one that affects all those who die in Christ. When the Lord Jesus comes again, the dead in Christ will rise and not into our physical, sick dead bodies, but into our spiritual, glorified bodies; never to die again. We will be resurrected onto eternal life in Christ.

So where does the fourth resurrection come in? Well, for me it is in fact the first one, because before any of us can be resurrected into eternal life, we have to die to sin and be resurrected in Jesus Christ; we have to be saved. Kill the old sinful man and be born again into the new righteous man. And we do this by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and later receive water baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Be blessed!

 

Disbelief in the things of God

13 Thursday Apr 2017

Posted by in Faith, God, Jesus

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Dove

I understand when the world does not believe in the things of God, but I don’t understand when Christians, God’s babies… don’t truly believe in Him.

I have met many Christians from various denominations who categorically DO NOT believe in ‘tongues’ or the workings of the Holy Spirit: and I do not understand why! I do believe that there are many things in the Bible which are not easy to understand and without spending time with God studying the Bible, we will never truly understand them. This however, is not one of them. The New Testament teaches us about the gift of tongues and the gifts of the Spirit again and again. Christianity could only be birthed after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the arrival of the Holy Spirit in the earth. Jesus taught us about Him, why He had to come, what He would do, why the Apostles had to WAIT for Him to be empowered to go and preach and teach the Gospel. So, why do we have Christians saying that we are ‘pretending,’ or ‘acting,’ when we speak in tongues or ‘fall out in the Spirit?’  The following scriptures confirm the Holy Spirit and tongues are not a figment of our imagination.

Acts 1:8

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

Acts 2:1-4

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

 So, in just a few verses of scripture we have confirmation that the Holy Spirit exists; empowered the Apostles and that they spoke in tongues: yet many Christians say they don’t believe in tongues! Throughout the New Testament we have Jesus and later the Apostles constantly casting out demons who were possessing human beings. Yet many Christians don’t believe this happens either? Are we saying as Christians we do not believe in what Jesus did? Or what the Apostles did in His name? Or that when the power of God comes on us; feeble physical human beings; we will continue to stand in His presence?

There seems to be so many things that Christians don’t believe in which is clearly stated in the Bible as truth that I have to wonder how this is possible? If we have been taught incorrectly or have grown up believing in something, God has given us direct access to Him so we can ask Him questions and He will teach us so that we are not lead astray. 

Both the New and Old Testament write often of men falling to the ground when in the presence of God. Saul who later became Paul, fell to the ground when He was in the presence of Jesus.

Acts 9:3-4

And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

He wasn’t acting, the glory of Jesus was around him. He was not a frightened or feeble man, he was going around killing Christians. But now, he was in God’s presence. When the Holy Spirit begins to work with your spirit to clean you up from the world, to fill you to overflow, to bless you with gifts, you will find that there are times when you cannot stand in His presence, His power is so great!  Our body and spirit are not used to this pure, holy power now residing in us.  You will experience many things that your mind will try to comprehend.  There are many scriptures in the bible that tells us when the power of God came upon someone they could not stand, they lost all the strength in their bodies.  We often refer to this as ‘falling out in the spirit.’  This is not something to fear, it is a good thing and we are not ‘slain out’ or hurt, actually we are more refreshed and alive following the experience. 

Daniel the prophet was praying to God to know what the fate of the Hebrew people would be in the future and God sent an angel with the answer.  The angels escort the glory of God so they come with great power.  When he came to Daniel, Daniel could not stand in his presence.  The scripture below give us some idea of what the angels look like and we get an insight into how Daniel felt when he was ‘on his face’ in his presence.

Daniel 10:4-9

And on the twenty fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.  And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.  Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness (attractiveness, charm) was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.  Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. 

Many Christians say we should never fall out when the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon us, I say you have not experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.  The scripture above is very clear and there are more throughout the bible.  Daniel was in a ‘deep sleep on his face.’   

As Christians, how can we believe in some parts of the Bible and ignore, or deny others?

Recommended Reading
The Book of Acts

In Christ you are FREE!

09 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by in Christianity, Faith, Jesus

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When the Lord sets us FREE, takes us out of the bondage of SIN we are truly free in Him. So, why do we then put ourselves back into bondage by enforcing man-made laws, onto ourselves and spend our lives trying to live by them? This has always been a bone of contention for me and I refuse to let anyone force their beliefs and interpretations of the Christian Faith onto me. I strive every day to get into a closer and closer relationship with God so He and only He can truly reveal the things of God to me.

Many worldly interpretations of the Gospel have crept into the Faith through the centuries and its’ effects are felt from the moment we accept the Lord Jesus as our Saviour. One area most affected by this is the outward appearance. The world puts so much emphasis on looks and outward appearance and too many Christians are also putting great emphasis on the way people look.

“Your looks do not define your heart or your love for the Lord,” and no one should be able to convince you otherwise. God is not interested in Christians ‘looking the part.’  The Scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ time looked the part but were completely corrupt inside and were very harmful to the people they should have been protecting and Jesus did not like it.  He was angry with them for leading people astray and adding to their suffering.  The following scripture tells us exactly what Jesus thought of the religious establishment of His time who ‘looked the part’ but were completely corrupt inside.

Matthew 23:27-28

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

They dressed right, looked the part but their hearts were unclean, cold and without love just like the bones of the dead, with no life in them.  Jesus was not in their hearts and they were definitely hypocrites.  While it is good to look right and dress appropriately, do not get too caught up with the outward appearance and don’t judge others because of how they look, actually don’t judge at all.  Don’t use the way you look to hide an unrighteous lifestyle because it cannot be hidden from God.        

The way Christians dress or look has been a topic of much discussion, debates and preachings through the ages.  The Bible does not say you should not take care of your appearance; or that you cannot wear jewellery or colour and style your hair.  It does not say women cannot wear trousers or must cover their hair. The following scripture says we should not concern ourselves only with the outward appearance, but it is the beauty of the inner heart that God loves.

1 Peter 3:3-4

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

Many scriptures have been taken out of context with regards to the way Christians should dress especially women, but once you read and study the Bible and let the Holy Spirit guide you, you will know what is pleasing to the Lord and what isn’t.  When you first come to the Lord, just come as you are and don’t worry about what you look like, it is your heart and your desire to follow Him that He is concerned with.  If your dress sense is a little risqué, the Holy spirit will work with you (if you let Him) to assess yourself as you progress and you will be able to decide what to keep and what to shake off. 

Christians all over the world do not dress the same, you have the casual dresser, the smart dresser, the ‘I’m on the red carpet dresser,’ the cultural dresser.  The Lord will not take away your creativity or your desire to adorn yourself, He just asks that we keep it in moderation and concentrate more on our heart and not the outward appearance.  A good rule of thumb would be not to show flesh that we all know should not be on show and make sure you can move or bend in your clothes, your rib cage is not restricted and you can actually breathe.  This is worth noting for anyone and not just Christians, so this shouldn’t be an issue for the Christian.  If you come to the Lord with piercings and tattoos and anything else you adorned yourself with in the world, He will welcome you with open arms, let Him work with you as no one else can.      

When God looks at you, He sees the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, then He looks into your heart to see if love is dwelling there.  He does not see your latest designer shoes or your bright green coloured hair or your tattoos.  If, however He looks into your heart and sees self-worship, pride, vanity, hatred, idolising the materials things that you own, then that’s when you need to be concerned.  When you dress up your heart with love, forgiveness and tenderness, removing hate, greed and self-righteousness, then you are dressed well!