The redeemed, we who have the privilege of being called by God, have joy as part of our birthright in the kingdom of God.
It's surprising what songs come to mind when you have been in Christian circles for years, here is one that some of you may remember :
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Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return
And come with singing unto Zion
And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.
They shall obtain gladness and joy
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away
This was a popular song that I enjoyed singing; and the result is that I can still remember it decades later. The song is based on a passage of scripture at the end of Isaiah 35:10. The redeemed, we who have the privilege of being called by God, have joy as part of our birthright in the kingdom of God. The apostle Paul writes to the church at Rome, ‘that the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’. He also reminds the believers in the letter to the Galatians that the fruit of the Spirit includes: love, joy and peace. So when he commands the church at Thessalonica to: ‘Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances’, he is reminding them of their calling; this is who they are supposed to be.
Joy is simple, uncomplicated, unsophisticated. In Luke chapter 10, we read how Jesus sends out the 72 to preach and to demonstrate the kingdom of God and they return to him full of joy. Then in verse 21: ‘At that time, Jesus full of joy through the Holy Spirit said: ‘I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children, yes Father for this was your good pleasure’’. Most of the songs that I can recall, which contain the theme of joy, are children's songs. I could fill the blog with them but here is a well-known one,
The joy of the lord is our strength…repeat x4..
He gives me living water and I thirst no more…X4
If you want joy then you must sing for it
If you want joy you must shout for it
If you want joy you must dance for it
The joy of the lord is our strength.
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Like many things in the Kingdom of God, joy is something that we can experience in part now but the full measure waits for us in the future when there is no more sorrow. You may know the saying about the Kingdom of God that it is, ‘now and not yet’. Indeed this was true for Jesus as we read in Hebrews12:2: ‘let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God’. There are seasons in life when we must persevere, joy may be in short supply, but we are commanded to be joyful in hope taking Jesus as our example. The psalmist captures this thought in Psalm 126:
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
So cultivate joy throughout your day and may you be a blessing to your community but especially to the Lord.
Author: Richard Windridge
May God bless and enrich your life
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The Word, which is the lamp, does not give us the ability to see the whole road in front of us. It just gives enough light to take one step at a time.
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British campsites are much better these days. They used to be awful but now they are as good, if not better than some of the ones on the continent. However, a number of them still have poor lighting at night and so we always leave a torch or two in the camper van in case we need to get to the facilities in the night. Walking by torch light you have to tread very carefully as it only illuminates one footstep at a time. If you go too quickly or try to attempt the walk without the lamp you are in danger of falling or bumping into something or even someone, which is not a good idea in the middle of the night.
In Psalm 119:105 it says: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ When we are trying to find our way through the journey of life, God lights our path with His word. The truth of His word never changes. It will always take us in the right direction. We sometimes use our feelings or other people’s suggestions as a guide as to what we should do but they are not to be trusted. Jesus said: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me.’ Jesus himself is the word, who is the lamp to our feet. In John 1:14 it says: ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.’
Earlier in Psalm 119 it says: ‘I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways’ (Psalm 119:15). We need to read our Bibles every single day. There have been times when I have neglected to read my Bible and it has shown in my behaviour and decision making. On the other hand, reading the word regularly has saved me from many a heartache. I am sure there are others, who have the same testimony.
Many people, who profess to be Christians don’t accept the Bible as the authoritative, infallible word of God. They find some parts offensive or unbelievable but we can’t just pick and choose. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 it says: ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ It says all scripture, not just the bits we like.
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Our walk through this world can be dangerous and treacherous. There can be places where we can wander down another path that will lead us away from the Lord; we can stumble and fall but if we turn to the lamp to our feet we will get back on the right track.
The Word, which is the lamp, does not give us the ability to see the whole road in front of us. It just gives enough light to take one step at a time. If we knew the future beforehand, we would be too terrified to walk along the dangerous paths and the deep valleys. God wants us to trust Him to take us along his way, stage by stage, not all at once but as needed. God’s Word operating as a lamp brings wisdom and truth into the mind of the believer. It is not about how much of the path ahead we can see. To God success in life is not about striving for certain financial and occupational standards, but about a closeness with Him. In Matthew 22:37 where Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment in the Law he replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ If we can focus on loving God, obeying His Word, then our journey will be better for us. We may not be prosperous as the world understands that word but we will have a meaningful and fulfilling life.
In Matthew 4:4 when being tempted by the devil Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
Jesus Himself indicates here the significance of applying God’s word to our lives. He tells us that reading and living by God’s Word are essential to our daily life, We must take heed. The more familiar we are with the lamp to our feet, the more we can become like Jesus. The more like Jesus we are, the more God can use us. Not only will we be saved, but we can help to save others.
As usual I will finish with a quote from Charles Spurgeon, which seems to sum up quite nicely my thoughts in this blog.
‘We are walkers through the city of this world, and we are often called to go out into its darkness; let us never venture there without the light giving word, lest we slip with our feet. Each man should use the word of God personally, practically, and habitually, that he may see his way and see what lies in it. When darkness settles down upon all around me, the word of the Lord, like a flaming torch, reveals my way.’
As a finishing prayer I want to quote part of a hymn by John Henry Newman:
‘Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom
Lead thou me on.
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead thou me on.
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.’
.
Author: Thelma Cameron
May God bless and enrich your life
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Once we’ve received God’s love then nothing can separate us from it.
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John 13:34-35 ‘A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’
Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant by this, and do we see this love within the church for fellow believers? Also, is it possible for us to love each other the way Christ loves us?
Let’s start by considering Jesus’s love.
Firstly, we see in Romans 5:8 that His love is unconditional ‘But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’. We don’t have to become perfect or reach a certain grade before He forgives us, we don’t have to do amazing or kind deeds. No! it was while we were still steeped in our sin that Christ died for us.
Secondly, in Romans 8:38-39 we see that His love is powerful and inseparable. ‘For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Once we’ve received God’s love then nothing can separate us from it, even when we continue to get things wrong He still loves us. He may show this by disciplining us at times but as we turn to Him He embraces us with His love.
Thirdly in 2 Corinthians 5:21 we see that His love is sacrificial. 'God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.' Isn’t this amazing, that even though we were lost in our sin and deserving of death, we are the righteousness of God because Jesus became our sin and defeated it through His blood on the cross.
Fourthly in John 13:12 we see His love is to serve. 'When He had finished washing their feet, He put on his clothes and returned to His place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them.'
Now let’s think about the church. Do we see this love within the body of Christ?
For instance, what causes church splits, arguments, angry outbursts and egotistical desires such as a need to lord it over our brothers and sisters, or to get the best job in the church (whatever we consider that may be), unforgiveness, selfishness and insincerity. It certainly isn’t the love of God. People who act this way live in the flesh not the Spirit. In fact Paul describes such people perfectly in 2 Timothy 3:1-5‘But mark this: there will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.’
Unfortunately we do see these things within the church, but if we want to see change and see the Love that Jesus commanded us to have for one another in the body of Christ, then we need to do something about it. God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14‘If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.‘ So how about it, are we ready to do this?
Finally, is it possible for us to love each other the way Christ loves us?
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Well the answer to that is Yes it is! We have the Holy Spirit within us so we have the Love of Christ within us too.John 4:7-11 says ‘Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.’ And 1 John 4:20-21says ‘Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And He has given us this command: anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.’
We’re never going to always agree with each other, we’re never always going to see eye to eye, we may from time to time fall out with each other. But if our love for each other is greater that our own opinion or the need to be right, then we have a chance. I think we need to ponder on what Jesus said to His disciples in John 13:12 and ask ourselves the same question. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ He then went on to say ‘You call me “Teacher” and “Lord”, and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
I believe this has nothing to do with washing each other’s feet, but has everything to do with a servant heart and a heart that loves as Jesus loves. Brothers and sisters in Christ; ‘Do we really understand what He’s done for us’?
May God bless you.
Author: Kevin Hunt
May God bless and enrich your life
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What we perceive as failure, God sees as opportunity.
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Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins;
you will restore the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of the Breach,
Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling. (Isaiah 58:12)
This passage from Isaiah explains the kind of fast that pleases the Lord, that which results in practical acts of mercy, justice, generosity, hospitality and family loyalty. That kind of humble attitude gets God's attention.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ (Isaiah 58:9)
Isaiah could see that disaster was coming (Isaiah Ch. 22), but that the city would be delivered (Ch. 37), and eventually prosper again (Ch. 60). He could foresee a time of rebuilding, partly fulfilled a couple of centuries later under the leadership of Nehemiah. Repairing the breaches in the city walls took humility but also gained honour. Their names are recorded in the Bible. (Nehemiah. 3).
Life can be tough and stressful. Like those walls people get hurt and damaged by the circumstances of life. God calls us to be builders and repairers, restoring one another to wholeness in the Name of Jesus. Our tools are the Word and the Spirit of God, applied through faith, hope and love, in prayerful encouragement of one another.
To me the concept of being a 'repairer of the breach' is the ministry of mending what has been broken in the life of an individual, bringing them back to wholeness and purpose in Christ. This naturally leads to being a 'restorer of streets', bringing whole communities back from chaos and despair to peace and prosperity. Sustained revival leads to social restoration. It is said that Paul's three years in Ephesus affected the religious and social fabric of the city for the next century. A brief study of revivals reveals subsequent positive changes beyond those who respond for salvation, touching whole communities.
Some time ago at a prayer day we received the following prophetic word:
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“I want you to know that I see beyond what you call broken, damaged or beyond repair. When I formed the world, I called it forth from nothing. When I made mankind, I created him from a handful of soil taken from the land.
What you call damaged, broken or beyond repair are simply the component parts of something new that I am planning and preparing to create.
So, bring those things, those people, those situations to my re-creation workshop and let me teach you how to see things in the light of my creative ability and power.”
When we see things falling apart, with no apparent remedy, God is putting it all together in His 're-creation workshop'. He is using the rubble of broken dreams and projects and using it to build a highway of holiness (Isaiah 35). He is clearing a way in the wilderness so that the glory of the Lord will be revealed (Isaiah 40) What we perceive as failure, God sees as opportunity. The God who repairs and restores invites us to join Him in this glorious work of renovation.
Author: John Plumb
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And when God does pour out His Spirit, people who normally wouldn’t give you the time of the day, will suddenly begin to listen because you are in the right place, with the right answer.
“Thus and thus said the maid that is of the Lord of Israel.”
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God used a cleaning maid to reach a 5 star general, and introduced him to a God who could heal him of his leprosy. Her story is recorded in 2 kings, chapter 5. take a moment and read it.
There are two lessons in it for us.
1. There’s a purpose in we being where we are. Instead of complaining, start looking for somebody who needs what God’s given you. This girl wasn’t there just to make beds and clean the house, she was there by divine appointment. Think if all of our life can be in training for one moment, one crisis, one opportunity. 1 Peter 3:13 says “But sanctify the Lord in your hearts, always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you, a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear”. She was ready, are you?
2. What a difference a day makes, the day before she was just a cleaner/servant. The next day she is a gift from God and the most popular respected person in the household. The world focuses on our names/status, but when they run out of answers and run out of hope, God says in Joel 2:28-29 “And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. 29 and also on my menservants, and on my maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days”.
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And when God does pour out His Spirit, people who normally wouldn’t give you the time of the day, will suddenly begin to listen because you are in the right place, with the right answer. Don’t allow your lack of education, your ethnic background, your sub-servant position or your poor wages silence you. Keep renewing your mind and strengthening your faith, by allowing God to use you as only He can and keep listening as the Master Conductor may just be about to give you a cue.
May the Lord bless you as you seek His wisdom and direction in your life each day, in Jesus Name.
Author: Herbert Jean
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