Christmas Blessings

20 December 2011

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Christmas is about second chances, it is about us having the opportunity to find meaning in life through a new life of baby Jesus that we celebrate. So when we look back on the year, looking back on our past we will find both success and disappointments, and it is from these that we look forward and get excited about starting a New Year with hope. A hope that we will be able to live more fulfilled lives than what we did.

We are privileged to sit down at Christmas to a meal, with family and friends, to think of those who we miss celebrating the love, peace and joy of a happy home, we look forward to life filled with contentment, and anticipation of what Jesus will bring to us in the days and years ahead. The blessing of good health, food on the table, good sleep and no arguments in our homes is what I ask God to bless you with.

Be encouraged over the this time of Christmas and the New Year to be to blessed to be stressed.

David

Point to ponder: Christmas is about hope and new life in all of us. 

  

Question to consider: Are you blessed?

Believing

19 December 2011

Galatians 3:6 Thus Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."

Do you believe? Do you believe that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried and rose again? This is vital as Christian that we believe this. Last night there was a programme on TV that dealt with a spear that was believed to be the spear that pierced the side of Jesus as He hung on the cross. What made it interesting was the heads of the three nails that was found in the centre piece of the addition to the spear. These nails were of similar iron to the nails of the time of Jesus!

Now we may speculate about many things, but as time goes on more is proved correct about Scripture and nothing is proved to be incorrect. So we then need to conclude that the history of the Scripture is more accurate that what many first believed. So as with all things we start to be believe more. You see the cross is real, the spear is real, the shroud cannot be disproved, the place of Golgotha is real, how much more do we need to believe? We have facts, we have speculation and we have imagination, but at the end of it all do we have faith in what we believe?

As with Abraham we cannot see all things but we have faith that in all things we will one day be part of heavenly community worshipping and praising God. Do you believe that?

Be encouraged to believe that whom you have faith in.

David

Point to ponder: Jesus was born, He died, He rose and He is coming again- soon. 

  

Question to consider: Do you believe God?

Our only hope

15 December 2011

Matthew 4:15-18 "The land of Zeb'ulun and the land of Naph'tali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

How great is our God! The greater we believe in the greatness of our God, the deeper our understanding of God becomes. Many people today have begun to deny the existence of God, and this we see in the change of attitude of those around us, who do as they please without thought of the consequences of their actions.

Christmas is about an insignificant birth of an infant boy to a young virgin girl, a young man chosen to be husband and father, to teach and support them. This infant so humble, the least of all, no threat to any, became who He was called to be, Jesus Christ fully man, fully God. The greatest in heaven became the least on earth, that the least on earth may become great in heaven.

All of democracy, all of the rule of law, international treaties are based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, yet instead of celebrating in thanksgiving and praise, the world turns its back on Jesus Christ and denies Him. Let us celebrate the greatness of our God by recognising what Jesus has actually done for all of us; especially now at Christmas.

Be encouraged today to make a stand for Christmas and its message of hope and salvation for all.

David

Point to ponder: Jesus is the only hope for this world and the world to come.  

  

Question to consider: Do you remember the Christmas message?

Prayer and fasting

14 December 2011

Matthew 6:16-18 "And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

In the Christian walk today very little is taught about prayer and even less about fasting, yet when we read the Bible and observe the behaviour of the disciples the only thing that they asked Jesus to teach them was how to pray. The question for us is do we really know how to pray?

To fast is also a concept in this world that seems to be strange and eccentric, when we have so much available to us and the volume of food, why fast? Fasting is to close ones mouth so that we cut out the thoughts of food in order to focus on a deeper relationship with God. Fasting is not just forgetting to eat, but to consciously refrain from food and to seek the face of God in prayer, from this we then pray for others in the time of fast.

Both prayer and fasting should be the normal behaviour of Christians and each member of the Church is required to do so on a regular basis. The need for prayer and fasting today is greater than we are actually aware of, and when we neglect this in the Body of Christ, we are neglecting our relationship with God.

Be encouraged today to seek God’s face through prayer and fasting.

David

Point to ponder: Holy Spirit power comes through prayer and fasting.  

  

Question to consider: Have you ever prayed and fasted?

A faithful God

13 December 2011.

Numbers 12:7 It is not so with My servant Moses! He is faithful in all My house.

As a minister of the Word and Sacrament many people think that there is some extra touch of knowledge on that person about the affairs of God. So they develop teaching programmes about many different aspects of the Christian life, often with the idea that this will help others into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. In many cases this is true, not because of their effective teaching but because Jesus Christ is faithful to His Word and to those who are seeking that deeper relationship with Him.

We serve a faithful God, a God that takes our unworthiness and makes it worthy, that takes our failures and faults and will not hold it against us, He is faithful to us. How do we respond to this? Should we not be faithful to Him in return? When we are filled with images of our own success, we do not have the capacity to view the success that Jesus Christ wants to bring about. In order to be able to see what Jesus Christ wants us to see we need to understand that our worthiness, our righteousness are rags in front of Him, we need to die to our own success in order to allow the success of Jesus Christ to be seen our lives. As Christians we are not called to be successful, but faithful.

Be encouraged today to be faithful to Jesus in every way.

  

David

  

Point to ponder: God is faithful.

Question to consider: Are you faithful to God?

Keeping yourself and others from a good night's sleep

Psalm 4:8  I will both lie down in peace and sleep; for You alone, O Jehovah, make me dwell in safety.

A good night’s sleep is a blessing we often take for granted, a good night’s rest is OK, but I think most of us would rather, lay our head on the pillow, sleep restfully and wake up completely rested. Yet when this is our normal pattern we do not think of the night’s when we tossed and turned, coughed and spluttered and kept everyone else in the home out of sleep. So we all have times when we need to be reminded of a blessing we have, and the easiest way for us to miss the blessing is not to have it for a while.

The more aware we become of the blessings we do have the thankful we become and the more we have to praise God. So if we have financial security it is a blessing, if we have a happy contented family it is a blessing, if we have work and so on. Yet there are those that we just take for granted without giving them much thought until we realise we do not have it anymore, so it is a good thing to be reminded every now and again by God of how truly blessed we are.

Be encouraged today to count your blessings and give thanks and praise to God for them.

   

David

  

Point to ponder: Be blessed.

Question to consider: How has God blessed you?

A secret prayer life

9 December 2011.

Matthew 6:6 But you, when you pray, enter into your room and shutting your door, pray to your Father in secret. And your Father seeing in secret will repay you in the open.

In a land where water is scarce and the heat becomes unbearable, there is nothing like the sound of gentle rain falling, the fresh rain fragrances from the earth being part of the pleasures of life. The rain has been drizzling on and off throughout the night, not heavy but constant, bringing much relief to the lands.

When we have thunderstorms and torrents of rain, it washes all away, much noise, lots of sensation, but little value to the land. In the same way we need to have the Holy Spirit rain on us, we all have had the thunderstorm of the Spirit, but it is far more beneficial to have the gentle drizzle of Holy Spirit in our lives and on our lives. Sometimes it is even the same in worship, we all may like the stirring sermon, and wonderful music, great company, but it is in the secret prayer life that we experience the gentle drizzle of God’s love for us. It is in the secret prayer life, hidden away on our own that we come alone into the presence of God, and we are able to allow His love to minister to us.

Be encouraged today to seek the secret prayer life.

  

David

  

Point to ponder: In prayer we are alone with God.

Question to consider: Do you seek God in prayer?