Pray

11 January 2012

Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

One cannot lead others where one has not been oneself. Moses spent time alone in the deserts of Arabia before he led the Israelites through it. In the same way many church leaders first understand their own sins and God’s blessed mercy, before they are able to lead others to that same salvation, Jesus Christ. A church that moves forward and growing in spirituality is that which is led by those who themselves are growing in their own spirituality.

The secret to this church leadership is the prayer life of the leaders, where there is an active prayer life, there is active communion with God, no active prayer life results in no activity of the Holy Spirit in the leadership and thus no activity in the congregation.  It is more important to pray than to preach, for it is during prayer that God ministers to His ministers which empowers them to minister to others.

The beauty of prayer is not determined by style, education or position in society, but the simple desire to speak and listen to God in the privacy of the closet, that secret place within us. It is in that secret place where we are able to be vulnerable, intimate and trusting with our God who loves us and wants to reveal Himself to us.

Be encouraged to pray and encourage others to do likewise.

David

Point to ponder: We meet with God in prayer. 

  

Question to consider: Do you pray in secret to God?

Humanity in Jesus Christ

9 January 2012

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

It is interesting to note certain observations in life and how we find that certain attitudes are repeated throughout history. In being an observer of life, we see how in order to be superior to another we have to find grounds for our superiority, be it education, money, possessions, race, religion and whatever else we may find to help us to maintain our sense of superiority.  

So we find that the Romans enslaved people and nations and always considered themselves superior, in the same way we see modern propaganda causing opinions to be formed and generalisations made which de-humanises others. This we see taking place with regards to Islam, it happened with apartheid and is happening all around the world. If a person is not like us they do not deserve to be treated like us.

When we fell from grace and left the presence of God in the Garden of Eden, we became de-humanised and all our desires became focused on self. We lost our identity as humans and we continue to do so when see others as different to us. The only way this could be restored was for God to become human, so that we would be able to become truly human again. It is in this context that God enters into each person who accepts 

His divinity and humanity in the fullness of Jesus Christ, that we become truly human again. We then see the image of God in others rather than a comparison of self and in this way we see our enemies as friends of Jesus and love them accordingly.

Be encouraged today to be a human filled with the humanity of Jesus Christ for others.

David

Point to ponder: We are human only through Jesus Christ. 

 Question to consider: Did you realise that sin de-humanises you?

One in Christ Jesus

6 January 2012

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

How often do we see and judge people by who they are and what they do, rather than see them as our brother and sister in Christ. We are all different, even though we live in the same family we are not the same, we are unique in every way. When we start to think of people in terms of stereotyping, it becomes part the standards that divide us and allows for all sorts of tensions to come about.

When we start to look at people no matter who they are as being one in Christ with us, we change how we see people and consequently how we react to them. An example of this is when the fuel pump attendant starts to attend your church, belongs to your bible study, and is no longer a nameless extension of the petrol pump, we see that person as part of us. Why must we wait for that person to first come to our church to be like us, why can’t we see each person with the eyes of faith?

It is never easy to do this, but who ever taught you that being a Christian was easy? When we have this approach every person we see, interact with becomes to us, what they are to Christ. He lived and died for each one that they may be saved and have eternal life. We are the light of Christ to all.

Be encouraged today to see all as your brother or sister in Christ.

David

Point to ponder: We are one in Christ. 


Question to consider: Are you one with Christ and one with each other?

Yeast

5 January 2012

Mark 8:19-21 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven." And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?"

To bake bread you use yeast that you put into the bread and the yeast then grows and it releases carbon dioxide that then causes the bread to rise. To ensure that you always have a supply of yeast, you keep the yeast in a bottle and when you need it you pour the water with the yeast into the dough. It only takes a little yeast to cause the dough to rise.

When Jesus was talking to the disciples he had just taught them about the yeast of the Pharisees and how just a little bad teaching results in God’s way being thwarted. When the disciples complain they only have one old loaf of bread, He then reminds them of how He fed the thousands of hungry and there was plenty left over to be gathered up. When Jesus is involved, He takes the very little and makes it enough and to spare.

The question to you and I that Jesus asked, ‘do you understand?’ is just as valid for us as it was to the disciples then. When we have the right yeast in our life ( Jesus ) then we will grow and even have enough to spare for others, but when we expose ourselves to the wrong teachings and do not have Jesus in our life, we can never produce anything.

Be encouraged to have the yeast of Jesus Christ in your life that you can grow beyond your expectations.

David

Point to ponder: Jesus can make anything enough. 

  

Question to consider: Have you asked Jesus to make what you have enough?

Learn a new thing

4 January 2012

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Life is about learning new things, no matter what the day brings we should all experience something new in each day. It is when we have this expectation that we will find something new in each day and we start to see the adventure in each day. Something’s we learn are positive and have a positive influence on us, others are negative and have a negative influence on us. But no matter what we learn and from this the knowledge we gain, makes us more interesting to ourselves and to others.

For my own experience I now know what a tick bite really looks like when one is bitten by an infected tick.  Just before Christmas I was cutting the long grass at the entrance to Linga-Longa and a tick bit me just below my knee. It was just as well that I went to the doctor and started the medication. Thank the Lord I am OK, none the worse for the experience, but a lot wiser when it comes to tick bites. If only all our experiences of the negative turns out OK, then what a learning curve we are on!

We do not always see the ticks that bite us, and I suppose we do not always recognise the ticks that we meet in life. We need to learn from experience how to avoid them and so keep our life and lifestyle more healthy.

Be encouraged to learn a new thing every day, it makes a better you.

David

Point to ponder: God’s blessings are new every morning. 

  

Question to consider: Do you want to learn a new thing every day?

Happy New Year

3 January 2012

Leviticus 16:20-22 And when he has made an end of atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat; and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities upon him to a solitary land; and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.

At the beginning of a New Year it is good to focus on a new start, with expectations and hope that what this year brings will be filled with blessings. The period between Christmas and New Year has always been an opportunity when I clean and tidy preparing everything so that I start the New Year with a fresh outlook. The old has gone the new has arrived and this fills me with a purpose that in the last year seems to have faded.

So from me to you I wish you the very best for this year. In this coming year we will be inundated with memories of the long gone past, and in bringing these memories we are reminded both of the good and the bad times. Sadly for many they cannot remember the bad times without experiencing the pain of those memories and so never heal and truly reconcile. That is why each year in the Old Testament the sin of the past years were placed on the sacrificial goat, and the goat was chased out of town. So we should each year place all our bad memories on our goats and also send them packing. We have to much to look forward to without pondering and dwelling in the past.

Be encouraged today to be filled with hope that this year is the year that all will be fulfilled in our lives.

David

Point to ponder: God is the rock of our future. 

 Question to consider: Are you stuck in the past?

NEW WEBSITE: www.christhealing.co.za

New Year Resolutions ... Pastor Solomon's sermon

Readings: Psalms 126              Philippians 3:12-4:1   

Introduction

Today is the beginning of a new year.  2011 has gone and now we need to focus on 2012. In focusing on 2012 we set new resolutions for the year. How was 2011 for you? Maybe 2011 was not a good year for you. This Life is full of things that try to push us down. We all face disappointments and setbacks. Maybe things did not go how you wanted. Maybe you received some bad news about your health or perhaps a relationship didn’t work out. That was a setback. It’s easy to get discouraged or lose your enthusiasm or even be tempted to just settle where you are.

But if we’re going to see God’s best, we have to have a “bounce back” mentality. That means when you get knocked down, you don’t stay down. You get back up again. You have to know that every time adversity comes against you, it’s a setup for a comeback!

Remember, as a believer in Jesus, the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives on the inside of you. There is no challenge too difficult, no obstacle too high, no sickness, no disappointment, no person, nothing that can keep you from your God-given destiny.

Do you have a resolution for this year? St Mark’s leadership have resolved this year to be a growing congregational; spiritually and in numbers.

As believers who belong to St Mark’s congregation, you are privileged. Let me suggest that you give prayerful consideration to the following.

·  Let us resolve to forget the past and to honor God more in 2012!

“Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13 – 14).

·  Let us resolve to live for Christ before the world!

“For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” (Phil. 1:21).

·  Let us resolve to trust God with a strong faith!

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

·  Let us resolve to be faithful in worship!

“not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:25).

·  Let us resolve to honor God with our income!

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. ” (Mal. 3:10).

·  Let us resolve to bear one another’s burdens!

“Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:2).

·  Let us resolve to faithfully witness to the unsaved!

“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.  6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him. (Ps. 126:5 – 6).

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, my prayer is that the year 2012 should be the year of success and prosperity. The old has passed away and God has planned for you good plans to prosper you.

Do you want to have good life? If you stay in faith, then God will turn what was meant to be a stumbling block into a stepping stone, and you’ll move forward in strength, full of faith and victory!

God can set you up for success in everything you do. Choose today to trust Him and rely on Him for 2012.

Our best days are coming and look ahead to the blessings God have in store for us.