(by Pastor Norman)
God’s word that we read in the Bible was all written by men under God’s inspiration and direction to enable us to walk in God’s ways and correct and remove the worldly ways of our past life, equipping us to be His servants and ambassadors (2 Tim 3:16-17). God’s Word is powerful, revealing our inner thoughts and plans, nothing hidden (Heb 4:12-13). As Christians, the foundation of our faith is Jesus, son of God, His life, His teaching and His sacrifice that won forgiveness for us and new life (1 Cor 3:11). Jesus said that “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18; NKJV). The rock being Jesus, His ministry and sacrifice. The Words of Jesus are “spirit and life” (John 6:63; NKJV), they are truth (John 17:17) and they will free us from worldly influences and behaviour (John 8:31-32). The apostle Peter assured us that as we made the Word a priority we would grow in all God has for us (1 Peter 2:2). Time in God’s Word will cause our faith to grow (Rom 10:17). It is one thing to spend time in the Word but perhaps another to actually walk our life in obedience to the Word (Luke 11:28), but that obedience brings God’s blessings and should bring glory to God’s kingdom (Phil 1:27). Jesus said that whoever hears His Words and does them is like a man who builds His house on a rock, a firm foundation. When life’s storms come such a house stands. (Matt 7:24-25). Not being a doer of the Word is like a house built on sand, no foundation. The storms come, the house falls. Let’s get into the Word and live by it.
(by pastor Jean)
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh” (Rom 13:14; NKJV) (See also Gal 3:27). The New Living Translation translates this verse, “Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Either way it speaks of being very close to Jesus. It makes me think of abiding in Christ (see John chapter 15), behaving like Jesus would and doing what He told us to do. It means we need to let the character of Jesus become part of our character (for example, His humility, faith, mercy and love). It also means that we need to focus on godly thoughts (The Bible) (Rom 12:2) and have a desire to please God in everything we say and do. One way of doing this is to say, “no” when our carnal nature wants to rise up and say and do those things which are unholy or not pleasing to God (as we are reminded to do in the second half of Romans 13:14 above). The metaphor of clothing yourself and the same Greek word used in Rom 13:14 is also used in Colossians 3:12 which tells us to clothe ourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience and forgiveness. These are all qualities found in the character of Jesus, so this very much lines up with Romans 13:14. Finally, in Colossians 3:14 we are told to put on or clothe ourselves with love (Greek, agape, or the God – kind of love); it is only by cooperating with the Holy Spirit that we can do any of this, so ask Him to help you and He will.
(by pastor Norman)
When asked what was the greatest of God’s commandments Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first commandment” (Matt 22:37; NKJV). In Exodus 20:3 we are exhorted by God to have no other gods but Him. Now that’s putting God first! King David’s desire was for a constant intimate relationship with God (Ps 27:4) and the author of 1 Chron 16:11 encourages us to seek God always. Jesus sought only to do God’s will in His life, not His own, even to the point of dying on a cross (John 5:30, Matt 26:42) and the apostle Paul tells us of the great beneficence of the Christians in Macedonia, noting that they sought God first before making decisions, such as giving (2 Cor 8:5). Paul writes further that we should offer our whole being as a sacrifice to God (Rom 12:1) and be focused on the heavenly things of God not the worldly distractions around us (Col 3:2). We are to be selfless in following Jesus, prepared for opposition and persecution, embracing the heavenly life He has for us (Matt 16:24-25) and worshipping and serving only Him (Matt 4:10). Putting God first means our relationship with Him comes ahead of all other relationships (Luke 14:26). We are blessed when we put God first. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt 6:33; NKJV). “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:4; NKJV). What an amazing God we serve! Enough said.
(by pastor Jean)
“Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Prov 24:3,4; NKJV). The word “house” in that verse can also be translated as life, home or family. It seems that 3 major things are needed to be successful in family life – wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Knowledge does not just mean knowing about someone or something but actually receiving revelation of who they are. Understanding enables us to live life according to God’s priorities and it comes from being in close contact with God. Wisdom is actually putting into practice understanding and knowledge, so they all 3 work together. “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Prov 2:6; NKJV) (see also Proverbs 2:1-10). Of course, all 3 of these qualities come from the word of God so the more time we spend in the word the more the more understanding and knowledge we will experience and the more wisdom we will be able to put into practice. A good life or a good family doesn’t just happen, no, wisdom is needed at all stages of family life. The end result as we see from Proverbs chapter 24 verse 4 is that we will experience precious and pleasant riches. What are these riches? Love, joy, peace, harmony, thoughtfulness, security and so much more. These pleasant riches are precious indeed!
(by pastor Norman)
In the New Testament of the Bible, John the Baptist said, “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matt 3:8, Luke 3:8; NKJV). Repentance is to change our mind from the carnal, evil worldly life and commit to lead the Godkind of life. This is a step we all have to make as we ask Jesus into our life to be our Lord and Saviour, and to have control of our lives (Rom 10:9,10). The apostle Paul teaches us that we should, “repent, turn to God and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:20; NKJV). In other words, our lives should be different, they should reflect Jesus. There should be outward evidence of an inward change (Luke 6:45). When people asked John the Baptist what fruits they should show in their repentant lives he listed being a blessing to others who needed clothing and food, he also talked about integrity, fairness and mercy (Luke 3:10-14). Paul encourages us to do good to everyone, especially those in our church (Gal 6:10). The apostle John exhorted us to bear good fruit (John 15:16) and this should surely be reflected in our words (Matt 12:34b). If we allow, the Holy Spirit will develop good fruit in our lives, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23; NKJV), transforming us into the likeness of Jesus (2 Cor 3:18). People should see Jesus in us as we go about as His ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20) sharing Him with others and seeing the fruit of people coming into God’s kingdom, the church (Mark 16:15-17)!