(by Pastor Jean)

In writing to the Ephesians, Paul told them that the reason God chose them was so that they would be, “holy (that is consecrated, set apart for Him, purpose driven) and blameless in His sight” (Eph 1:4; AMP). The need to be holy is a theme that is repeated through the whole Bible. We read in Lev 19:2, “You shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy” (NKJV). In Leviticus 20:26, God explains to Moses that He wants His people to be holy because they are God’s people and they are to be separate from other people. The word used for “holy” in the Old Testament scriptures means “set aside for holy purposes.” In the New Testament the Greek word, “hagios” is translated as holy with a similar meaning – consecrated and set apart for God. Peter uses this word in 1 Peter 1:15,16 when he says, “You also be holy in all your conduct because it is written, “Be holy for I am holy” (NKJV). As we see from this scripture, holiness is to be reflected in our behaviour. This is also reiterated by Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and Spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (NKJV). Holiness is to be a way of life which is different from the way the world lives. This includes purity, moral uprightness and attempting to live blameless lives. (See Eph 4:1). It means watching what we look at, listen to and what we speak. If we are to live holy lives, we will need to imitate God because only He is perfectly holy; the more time we spend with God, the easier it will become!

(by Pastor Norman)

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt 6:33; NKJV). In Psalm 68:19 (NKJV), we read that it is God who brings us salvation and, “daily loads us with benefits.” Jesus died on a cross so we could be forgiven and restored to fellowship with God (Matt 26:28, 1 John 1:7). God has an abundant life for us (John 10:10b). Don’t underestimate God; Jesus calmed a stormy sea (Matt 8:26) and fed 5,000 people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish (Matt 14:17). The abundant life God has for us includes making disciples of all nations! (Matt 28:19). To walk in all God has for us and be His ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20) we must put Him first in our lives (Matt 6:33). He must be our primary focus in all we do, think and say. We can’t focus on the things of the world and expect God’s true fulfillment and abundance. “And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2a; NKJV). We need to renew our minds with God’s word (2 Tim 3:16; Eph 5:26). All of our thoughts, words and actions need to be directed by God’s Holy Spirit based on His word (Rom 8:6), we cannot be successful depending on our own thoughts. Let’s humble ourselves before God (1 Peter 5:6-7) and let the Holy Spirit direct us and transform us to be more and more like Jesus (Gal 5:22-25, 2 Cor 3:18) “and all these things shall be added to you”.

Pastor Jean

There is no doubt that God is a God of abundance; just consider the feeding of the 5,000, “They all ate as much as they wanted” (John 6:5-13; NKJV). Not only that but there were 12 baskets of leftovers! That’s abundance! Of course, Jesus did tell us in John 10:10 that He came to give us an abundant life and the word used for “abundance” actually means “super-abundance” or more than enough. We also know from Ex 34:6, “That God is abounding in love and faithfulness” (See also Isa 63:7, Lam 3:22,23). God is also abundant in redemption (Ps 130:7), in other words providing us complete deliverance from sin, paid for by the blood of Jesus. In addition, God gives us an abundance of peace (2 Peter 1:2; Ps 37:11).

In Matt 25:14-30, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. He ends it by saying, “To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance (Matt 25:29; NKJV). Paul also talks about abundance in 2 Cor 9:8 when he tells the Christians at Corinth that, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (NKJV). Why does God bless us with abundance? It is so we can turn around and share that abundance with others! (2 Cor 9:11)

Pastor Norman

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30; KJV). How often when trials, tribulations, challenges and difficulties come our way our first reaction is to try to work it all out on our own. In the Greek, to labor means to toil, to be weary, fatigued, to work hard. To be heavy ladened, in the present context, means to be loaded up and overburdened spiritually. God says he will give us rest if we ask; this means a cessation from toil, a refreshing. When I studied out these verses recently, what went off in my spirit like a rocket was the full meaning of the Greek for “yoke”. Jesus told us to take his yoke upon us for it is easy. Taking His yoke is to submit to his authority, to do things his way, not ours. It is not so much Jesus putting his yoke or a burden “on us”, but Jesus coming along side and we being coupled to him. Jesus imparts his power and answers to us and shares our burdens with us to help and assist. If only our first reaction to challenges would be to pray and activate Christ’s yoke. What a Savior, what a God we have, what love. Have a burden free day.

Pastor Jean

“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad” (Prov 12:25; AMPC). That encouraging word can come from the Bible, or it can come from someone else, another Christian who is in tune with the Holy Spirit, “Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45b; NKJV). (See also Luke 6:45, Prov 15:28, Prov 18:21). You never know when you will have an opportunity to speak that encouraging word to someone but if we stay full of the word and filled with the Spirit, we will be ready. If we ourselves are the one in need of that encouraging word then we must do what David did when he was in trouble, (the Amalekites had burned his city and taken the women and children captive), so “he encouraged himself in the Lord” (1 Sam 30:6; KJV) and God gave him a plan which led to victory! The Bible is full of encouragement; we need to find ourselves a verse that pertains to our situation and “stand” on that verse, speak it out loud and meditate on it until it brings peace and uplift to our hearts and minds. The Bible has the ability to do that (Heb 4:12). So, don’t allow yourself to get weighed down with anxiety today; go to the word, feed on it and be encouraged; at the same time always be watching for an opportunity to encourage someone else!