So sad it's Christmas

20  December  2012           

Matthew 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."

I was reminded yesterday that there are those who find Christmas a very difficult time. This is maybe because the pain of memories of loved ones that have passed away, broken relationships that refuse to heal, and an empty heart looking for someone to love. Made more complicated when poverty is aggravated by charity, and a poor lonely person with nothing to give, is given a meaningless gift at a table of food to appease the consciousness of someone that has everything while they are unable to give anything in return.

So when we come to Christmas we need to mindful of the memories and situations of others who are in their own place and space, yet we still reach out not with what we have but what Jesus has given us; love. Rather a dry piece of bread eaten in peace than a bountiful meal eaten in anger. In my own situation this is also a time of reminding myself of those who loved me that are no longer with me, and I remember them with a heart that longs to see them again.

Be encouraged today to be the hope of Christmas for others with love.

 

David

Point to ponder: Our family includes those who belong to Jesus.

Question to consider: Is the message of Jesus with you at Christmas?

Carols

19 December  2012    

        

Luke 2:13-14 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"

Yesterday I prepared the carols with the words all printed in a larger font so that some of us will be able to read them without using reading glasses, so that tomorrow night when we meet at Norwood Mall all is well. I find it so exciting to be doing something out of the ordinary, to come together with others, some you know and some you do not, but the beauty is, is that they all now Jesus. Now that’s cool.

This is the truth about Christmas it brings people together, it brings unity in the family and joy in fellowship. So we come together, to celebrate and just be with each other, to sit and watch the children play, what peace.

Be encouraged today to make a plan to come together as a family and in fellowship with others.

 

David

Point to ponder: Christmas brings people together.

Question to consider: What is Christmas for you.?

Labels

14 December  2012    

        

2 Corinthians 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

Do you read the labels and then trust that what is in the container is the same that is on the label? Now if you have a spray bottle in the kitchen and it tells you that it is cleaner ‘X’ which is a detergent safe to use on the comforter that you want to clean spots off, will you not just use it? Then when you have used it you find out that this had been emptied and filled with oven cleaner, it becomes a little bit of a problem. So when you change the contents of the bottle, make sure that what is in it, is visible to others, never presume they know.

In the same way we get different kinds of churches which on the outside and according to their label they claim to be Christian and claim to follow the correct apostolic doctrines based on the Bible. Yet when you come across the contents they are simply not what they claim to be. The test of the product is how close it is to what it claims it can be, and that what they claim to do, they do. The claim of a true Christian is that they love God and show this by pleasing God through loving one another.

Be encouraged today to make sure that your label is true to you.

 

David

Point to ponder: Be what you claim to be.

Question to consider: Do you wear false labels?

Back to Basics

13 December  2012       

     

2 Corinthians 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Many of us have moved on in our lives and careers and we often forget the basics of what we learnt when we started out. When I wrote an exam for an Honours degree I was caught by surprise when the questions asked were that in a first year undergraduate exam,  I did not do well. So many of us have forgotten the basics, we know the fancy stuff which makes us feel good, but somehow we’ve lost it.

In the same way as Christians we have lost the basics, we loose the true message in the hype of doctrines and church politics. The simple truth is we need a Saviour, and He calls us to repentance, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are filled to be witnesses of His saving grace in our lives. He was born to this purpose and He died to this purpose and He rose from the dead to this purpose, and He is coming again to finally fulfil this purpose. The question is as a Christian have you forgotten the basics.

Be encouraged today to be mindful of the basics that brought you to salvation.

 

David

Point to ponder: Get back to basics.

Question to consider: Basically why do you celebrate Christmas?

Born to be Saviour

12 December  2012        

    

Matthew 1:20-21 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

The purpose and life of Jesus had one plan and that was to fulfil that which He came to do, to save His people from their sins. In doing this His earthly life was lived in this purpose and this purpose was that of the Father, because of the Father’s love He gave us His Son. Every time we think of Christmas we should think of the greatest gift that God the Father gave us- His Son.

As we spend time in thought and preparation for Christmas let us give thought of God’s great love for each of us, and because of that we are saved from the consequences of our sins. Jesus was born to be saviour of you and I.

Be encouraged today to receive the blessed gift of Jesus in your life.

 

David

Point to ponder: Jesus is the only Savour of mankind.

Question to consider: Is Jesus your Saviour?

Born to be Saviour

12 December  2012       

     

Matthew 1:20-21 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

The purpose and life of Jesus had one plan and that was to fulfil that which He came to do, to save His people from their sins. In doing this His earthly life was lived in this purpose and this purpose was that of the Father, because of the Father’s love He gave us His Son. Every time we think of Christmas we should think of the greatest gift that God the Father gave us- His Son.

As we spend time in thought and preparation for Christmas let us give thought of God’s great love for each of us, and because of that we are saved from the consequences of our sins. Jesus was born to be saviour of you and I.

Be encouraged today to receive the blessed gift of Jesus in your life.

David

Point to ponder: Jesus is the only Savour of mankind.

Question to consider: Is Jesus your Saviour?

Silent Christmas

11 December  2012      

      

Luke 2:10-11 And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.

One of the saddest things today is the lack of courage to express the Christian faith in public for fear of offending people who are not Christians. Now this may seem to be politically correct allowing other faiths to co-exist in the community, but if you live in a country like Iran, you do not have the same freedom as a Christian. Slowly around the world the message of Christmas has been replaced with Santa Claus and happy holidays.

The humble birth of a baby boy Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem to Mary, and the freedom that Jesus gave the world is lost because Christians are afraid to offend. The name of Jesus was a stumbling block to the Jew and all unbelievers, it still is and will always be.

Most shopping centres and certain shops have no reference to Jesus, neither does the music playing in them. It is all about white Christmas and jingle bells and Christmas trees.

Sadly we have allowed commercial practises to give us Christmas bargains, specials on turkeys and beer at discount prices, Christmas trees. The message of Jesus Christ that He brought to this world has been betrayed by the silence of choirs singing in the streets and ‘silent night’ has become a silent Christmas. Mouths filled with Christmas cheer rather than the praises of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world.

 David

Point to ponder: Jesus will always be the only Saviour of this world.

Question to consider: Are you in the streets singing praises to the new born King?

Christmas carols in the Mall

PLEASE JOIN US AS WE SING CAROLS AT

THE NORWOOD MALL, NORWOOD

JOHANNESBURG

THURSDAY 20 December 2012

18-30 TO 19-30.

WE NEED TO SING FOR JESUS.

WE NEED YOU TO COME HELP US

MAKE A STAND FOR JESUS.

ALL ARE WELCOME.

LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE ABLE, ALSO LET OTHERS KNOW.

DAVID

Peace in the home

10 December  2012  

          

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"

Some families are loving, supportive and kind, while others seem to be hateful, inconsiderate and unkind, what is it that seems to be the difference. To over simplify may be incorrect, yet for those that observe these matters the common denominator is either selfishness and disrespect or selflessness and respect. When members of a family live to please themselves it results in the negativity.

Often over Christmas these tendencies become more observable and results in families coming together to eat and party and when selfishness raises its head with the accompanying disrespect for desert, arguments are inevitable. Christmas is a reminder that God loves us and as a result gave us Jesus. Jesus is the perfect example of putting another person first, to respect that person no matter what, and so bring the joy of unity in all. In the same way we should strive to do the same.

Be encouraged today to be respectful and selfless.

 

David

Point to ponder: Jesus loves peace in our families.

Question to consider: Are you a product of a warring family?

God exists

7 December  2012

 

Hebrews 11:5-6 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was attested as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

With God all things are possible, but with man many things are impossible. It is impossible for us to please men, no matter what we do there will always be somebody that has some criticism, or a bad attitude no matter how good our intentions. Yet we are drawn to please others and so build up a positive image of ourselves based on how we please others, no matter how impossible it may be.

Yet when it comes to God it is possible to please Him, we please God by believing that He exists and He rewards us when we seek Him. It is that simple. As we live we need to ask ourselves, ‘are we pleasing God by doing what we do, by saying what we say?’ When we make a decision do we consider whether the consequence of that decision will please God? It is bringing God foremost in what we do that allows us to seek Him, to seek Him in every thing that is who we are.

Be encouraged today to believe God exists and that we live to please Him.

 

David

Point to ponder: God exists.

Question to consider: Do you live to please God?

What has God promised you?

6 December  2012

 

Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What are the promises for you that you find in the Bible? It is these promises made that clarifies the will of God for you. Now these promises have been made and have already been fulfilled, all we have to do is claim and proclaim them in our lives.

This does not mean that we will not be challenged or that we will never have problems nor crisis’s what is does mean is that in these do we claim and proclaim them as if they had already happened. These promises are given to us so that we understand that God has already provided according to His word. The question is you either believe it and living it, or you don’t. When we do not we simply live in unbelief not believing the promises of God.

So when things go wrong where do we turn to the world and its therapies or to God and His promise for you? When we believe God we are more than conquerors.

Be encouraged today to believe the promise God has made you.

 

David

Point to ponder: God’s promises are true.

Question to consider: Do you really believe God?

Christmas Marketing

5 December  2012

 

Luke 2:10-11 And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.

For many Christians it is accepted that Jesus was not born on the 25^th of December, having said that it does not stop them from remembering the night He was born of the virgin Mary and of His early life in a manger. Just as then as it is now many people around the world have no room in their hearts for Him. When we look around us with the marketing in shops and TV we see clearly almost no reference to Jesus Christ other than the word Christmas. Teddy bears and Santa now dominate, and the real joy of the true Christmas message is lost to the world.

When we in our preparation for this holy and special time, remembering that God came in the form of little Baby boy, born to Mary, so that He may bring salvation to us and overcome death for us, we need to mindful of this time. It is so sad that the Church and the people of the Church have been silenced by the world at this time. Yet we have our voice which is able to still sing carols and bring true joy to others through the Gospel.

Be encouraged to bring Jesus back into Christmas, its His birthday party after all.

 

David

Point to ponder: It is Jesus’ birthday party.

Question to consider: What is Christmas to you?

Kingdom Prayer

4 December  2012

 

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

When people are used to getting their own way, they tend to do what pleases them and then expect everyone else to be happy with what they have done. This often results in them making decisions in the same way resulting in the repetition of the result. When the result is pleasing to them, they will just use the same principle, when the result is not pleasing they will always rationalise and place the blame elsewhere.

It is strange how many people who have almost no relationship with Jesus will still want prayer in regards to a decision, make the decision anyway, and then say when it has a bad result that the cannot understand what went wrong because they ‘prayed’. When we chase dreams and look for our prosperity in and through the world, we cannot expect Jesus to bless what will be eventually harmful to us and our families. So we pray before we decide, we pray before we need an answer, we first seek a relationship with Jesus. Jesus is not Someone to take for granted and to bless us without first seeking His will for us.

Be encouraged today to be in a prayer relationship with Jesus.

 

David

Point to ponder: Seek Jesus first.

Question to consider: Are you in a prayer relationship with Jesus?

Critical

3 December  2012

 

Luke 6:37-38 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

To love someone in the name of Jesus Christ is not the same as to love a family member or even sometimes a like minded church member. To love some one as Jesus would allows us to see them as Jesus would and not as we want to. So when a person is a Buddhist we do not condemn them and their family because that is what the belief they were born into, no we simply lead them to Jesus showing them the love that Jesus has for them and the Bible.

Far to often we judge and criticise others with an expectation that in doing so they will conform to our ways, and we believe that our way is the only way. Yet Jesus is Shepherd to many sheep and not all sheep are the same or even have the same needs. So when we want to love some one in the name of Jesus we must listen first to the voice of the Shepherd and not the sheep.

Be encouraged to love others as Jesus would not as you would like.

 

David

Point to ponder: Love the Shepherd.

Question to consider: Are you critical of others?

Jesus Man

30 November  2012       

    

2 John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Somebody said to me yesterday that Jesus Christ was an alien, now this at first offended me as I am sure it would offend you. But coming to think about it from the point of view of world opinion not only is Jesus alien to the ways of the world but so am I. We are in this world but not of this world.

There are also those that describe God as a genderless being, ethereal and entirely without form, allowing an individual to describe God as they may choose. Yet strikingly enough throughout the Bible God is described in the masculine, Jesus Christ is fully man, flesh and blood man, circumcised on the eight day. He died as a man and was resurrected in the body that was crucified with all the wounds, He ate and slept, with the disciples after He was resurrected. He was fully man and He was fully God, when we see God as a Christian we see Jesus Christ. For if you see Jesus, you see the Father. Yet God is also Spirit, the Holy Spirit and it is this Spirit that dwells in man, making man one with the Father and with the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. United and one as God is one.

Be encouraged today to realise that you are an alien in this world.

  

David

Point to ponder: Jesus is full man.

Question to consider: How do you describe God?