Category Archives: Life

3 Things We Cannot Do Without

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3 Things We Cannot Do Without

  1. Without the shed blood of Jesus Christ there is no remission for our sin.

 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:28 NKJV.

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 NKJV.

 

  1. Without faith we cannot be saved.

 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:14-17 NKJV.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV.

 

  1. Without the Holy Spirit working in us and through us, we cannot bear fruit.

 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:19-25 NKJV.

 Do you have these 3 things in your life?  If not then I encourage you to seek God today.

A Prayer for Today

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A Prayer for Today by Ineke

Dear Lord,

Like everyone I’m worried and afraid

I’m not sure what the future holds with this virus that no one can predict.

It worries me that even though I am doing my best, it may not be enough to stop me or my loved ones suffering or even dying.

I ask for Your forgiveness for not trusting You enough and letting myself become more fearful than I need to be, for I know You are in control, as Your word reminds me that You “are a very present help in the day of trouble” even as You have proven over and over.

Father, You have promised never to leave us or forsake us. We need You now like never before.

I humbly ask for your protection for my family, friends and my community, and for all people around the world.

I ask You will especially be near to those affected by this deadly scourge. Fill them with your peace, let them know You are in control and turn to You for healing.

I pray Father for Your empowering for those treating the sick; there are so many needing their skill and they are human, they are tired, stressed and overwhelmed. Give them the strength to carry on and the knowledge and abilities for their difficult tasks.

I also pray Lord for those in authority, who need to make decisions about the way forward. May they seek Your will and honour You in their determinations.

May Your people shine Your truth and light clearly and brightly through these dark and worrying times to draw people to You.

Father, may Your kingdom increase; may Your name be honoured and may we live to Your glory

In Jesus’ precious Name

Amen

The Truth about Love

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                                                        The Truth about Love by Ineke Cornish

During the recent holidays I have enjoyed extra time with our grandchildren and on one occasion our 7 year old granddaughter expressed her worries that because I spent time with her cousins I must love her less!  I was really surprised by her reasoning as we have always shared a very close relationship and I just took for granted she would know how much she was loved. I gently assured her that her fears were quite unfounded and that I love her equally to the other grandchildren.

It made me think about what the Bible teaches about love. The whole Bible is in fact a love story of how “God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)

 We may have heard these words quoted many times but often we don’t appreciate them or take them personally, sometimes we may even mistakenly think we are worthy recipients of God’s love by being a good person, helping others, giving philanthropically, or even by faithful Church attendance etc.

On the other hand we may feel totally unworthy of God’s love and feel sure He must love others more because of our unworthiness; the tendency then may be to work harder to earn His favour.

The problem is we can’t do anything to make God love us more – He has already demonstrated it most powerfully,  as we read in  Romans 5: 8 “ But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us”.

Jesus didn’t come to die for the righteous but for poor lost sinners; no-one is too lost to be saved. God shows us His great love by sending His son as a sacrifice for our sins of the past, present and future!

So let’s look at a few more Bible teachings on this subject:

Loving God

In Deuteronomy 6:5 the Ten Commandments are summarized by this verse “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul and with all thy might”

When you have a right relationship with God and love Him as He desires, then all the other commandments make sense; however if your foundations are wrong then you will probably have trouble with the rest of the commandments too. It is most important in understanding God’s teaching that we love him with ALL our heart, soul and might.

Love in action

In 1 Corinthians 13 the apostle Paul speaks about the gifts God has given His people through the Holy Spirit, and he emphasizes that for them to be used effectively, they must be done in and through love.     In verse 4 he states Charity (or love) is patient, longsuffering, kind, it doesn’t envy, it’s not puffed up.  And he summarizes in verse 13 by saying “and now abideth faith, hope and charity but the greatest of these is charity” He’s not saying faith and hope are not important but their value is enhanced by love.

Loving each other

John 13:34, 35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Jesus was talking to his disciples at the last supper and gave them this new commandment; however it was not much different to all He had said previously about the other commandments and could be summed up as “Love God, Love one another” see Mark 12, 29-31

Love within the Church

1 John 4:7, 8 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

In 1 John, the apostle John was writing to the church of his day in general and certainly can be applied to us today.  He states that the essence of God is love (not withstanding His holiness and righteousness) and as a result his followers should also love each other.

If you don’t you really must question your relationship with God, do you know Him as your own Lord and Saviour?  Only then can you know the true meaning of love and it will show itself naturally in your relationships with others and particularly God’s people in the church.

You Must Be Born Again – No.4

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You Must Be Born Again

The Bible tells us that the only way a person can get to heaven is through faith (trust) in God’s only Son Jesus Christ.  We cannot work our way to heaven by carrying out rituals or by doing good works.  The Bible tells us that salvation is a free gift from God!

God gave us His laws in the 10 commandments, and said that if anyone broke any of these laws, then they would spend eternity separated from God, in a place called hell.  Every person who has ever lived has at some point in their lives broken these commandments and therefore all doomed to spend eternity separated from God. But you might say, “I haven’t broken the 10 commandments, I am a good person!”  Not according to God!

The BIBLE says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). 

“There is none righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:10).

Because God is a just God, He cannot overlook our sin.  He must judge and condemn the evil of sin. Hell is described as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Luke 13:38): eternal fire and outer darkness (Jude 7,13), and endless torment (Revelation 20:10). In Hell, God will pour out his wrath on lost sinners forever.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; … and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works…And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:12-15

While God is a just Judge, He is also rich in mercy. In love God sent His Son into the world to save guilty sinners from the Hell they deserve, and graciously bring them to himself.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).

 Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. God the Son joined himself to mankind so He could live righteously, die sacrificially, and rise victoriously for the salvation of all who truly believe on Him.

Jesus lived the perfectly sinless life that God demands from us, but which we are unable to live. He has what we need: a perfectly righteous life that is well pleasing to the Father.

On the cross, Jesus paid for the sins of those who truly believe on Him. He himself would bear their sins on His own body (1 Peter 2:24), and suffer God’s righteous judgment against those sins, until the penalty was paid in full. He offered to God what we desperately need: a perfect sacrifice and payment for sin.

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all”. Isaiah 53:4-6

 Jesus defeated sin and death and proved He is the Son of God by rising from the dead. He now rules and reigns at the right hand of the Father in glory as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

We could never deserve or earn this great salvation that Jesus provides. Salvation is a free gift to be received through faith in Jesus Christ.

How must you respond?

REPENT of your sins! Agree with God concerning your guilt before Him.

CONFESS your guilt to God, and turn away from all sin

BELIEVE in the Gospel! The gospel is that good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” 1 Timothy 1:15. Believe it! Turn to Christ! Cry out to God for mercy, and TRUST in Jesus, who alone can deliver us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” Acts 16:31.

Through FAITH, you are united to Christ, and everything He accomplished for sinners becomes yours! God forgives you of your sins based on Christ’s sacrifice, and counts Christ’s righteousness as your own!

When we do this, God will forgive us, dismiss His case against us, and declare us righteous in His sight. Rather than fearing His judgment, we now have peace with God trough the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).

 4 Things That Happen When A Person Believes on Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

  1. Your sins are forgiven.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:14)

  1. You became a child of God.

 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

  1. You were made heir to all of God’s blessings.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may be glorified together.  (Romans 8:16-17)

  1. You now possess everlasting life.

And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of Go, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.  (1 John 5:11-13)

TURN TO HIM TODAY! YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!

You Must Be Born Again – No. 3

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You Must Be Born Again – No. 3

What is this ‘new birth’?

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Ephesians 2:1-3 NKJV.

Matthew Henry said: “The new birth is a great change made in the heart of a sinner, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It means that something in us, and for us, which we cannot do for ourselves, and whereby such a life begins as shall last forever.”

God, the Holy Spirit changes the hearts and minds of men and women, to give them a new desire for Christ, and the things of God.  To trust Jesus Christ for our salvation, we must first need the desire in our hearts; a yearning for Him.

Without the ‘new birth’ we will have no desire for Christ.  If we have no desire for Christ, then we will never choose Him.  This ‘new birth’ is also called regeneration.

Nine changes brought about by the ‘new birth.’

The ‘new birth’ brings about changes in:

  • Relationship with God

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13

  • Relationship with your family
  • Relationship with yourself
  • Relationship with your neighbours
  • Change in your disposition
  • Change in your affections
  • Change in your aims

That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; Colossians 1:10

  • Change in your principles.

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

 Modern man puts his trust in science and technology to create a better world, but science and technology cannot change a man or woman’s nature, only God the creator can recreate us.  This is precisely what He does when we give ourselves to Jesus Christ.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV.

The saving change of heart is solely the work of the Holy Spirit.

“YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!”

You Must Be Born Again – No2

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‘You Must Be Born Again’ No.2

Why must I be born again?

  1. The Condition of Man.

The bible has much to say about the state of natural man.

So, what is the state of man?

Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, all men have a yearning to sin against God.  Man’s disease is called sin, and it comes out of a man’s heart.

Jesus said: “For out of a man’s heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies.” Matthew 15:19 NKJV.

  1. What is sin?

A definition of sin is the failing to meet God’s revealed moral, ethical, and ritual standards.

It is falling short of doing one’s duty, or to do what one knows he or she ought to do in God’s sight.

The Bible says that we are all sinners.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 NKJV.

When our forefather Adam disobeyed God’s command, sin entered the world, and as a result that sin nature was passed down from generation to generation.

Some of the consequences of that sin were:

  1. Man would die, both physically and spiritually. We know what it means to die physically; but to die spiritually is to be separated from God forever!
  2. Death and decay was pronounced on all of God’s creation. (See Genesis chapter 3).

So, because of the disobedience of Adam, all men and women are bent towards sin!

You only have to watch the news on the television or read the newspaper, and you will soon see the evilness in the heart of man.

The Bible teaches that the sinner is “dead” before God.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.  Ephesians 2:1-2 NKJV.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NKJV

  1. What are the effects of this spiritual death?

The Bible says:

As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;

There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”

“Their throat is an open tomb;

With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;

“The poison of asps is under their lips”;

“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

 Destruction and misery are in their ways;

 And the way of peace they have not known.”

 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:10-18 NKJV.

The person who is spiritually dead is described here as one who does no good, who never seeks after God, who is altogether unprofitable and who has no fear of God before his eyes.  This person will never incline their ear to Christ.  They will never seek after God.  Fallen man is dead in sin! Dead men and women cannot make themselves come alive; they cannot seek after God because they are dead.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV.

 So, if I am spiritually dead, then what hope is there for any of us?

This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that unless he is “born again,” he would not see the Kingdom of Heaven. See John 3:3.

The cure for spiritual death is the creation of a new spiritual life in our souls by God the Holy Spirit!

 

“YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!”

 

In the next blog post, I will consider this new birth!