A Radical Decision:

On Sunday we shared around Jesus words in Luke 12:49-23

A few things emerged:

- Everyone wants peace

- True peace is not the absence of what's wrong, but the presence of what's right

- The presence of Jesus in our lives brings true peace

Awesome!

Do you want true peace that passes all understanding?

Then receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.

Pray with me:

Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for me on the Cross. I am sorry for going my own way, please come into my life and be my Lord and Saviour. Please help to understand this more and I now promise to work towards being the best Christian I can. Amen.

Asking God for the Obvious

On Sunday, we shared from Luke 18:35-42, the story of Jesus healing the blind man.

Three things emerged:

- Blindness, especially spiritual blindness, is a serious aliment

- Jesus looks beyond the obvious to heal us

- Earnestly seeking God is one way of receiving healing

Do you have things you need Jesus to heal?

Pray earnestly that Jesus will look behind the obvious and heal you.

The Church - The Great Commission

On Sunday we concluded our sermon series on the church.

We shared from Matthew 28:16-20, a passage in which Jesus, before His Ascension, commissions the disciples, (and you and me). In this sense, He gives them a warrant (rank) to perform certain things.

Three things emerged;

- Go (a verb) You've seen what I have done now GO do it yourselves

- Make (a verb) Come alongside those who have committed to Jesus

- Teach (a verb) Teach others to love God and their neighbours

And those churches who do this will have His blessing and anointing and the visible sign will be growth!

Awesome!

A Different World

On Sunday we continued with our sermon series - the church.

Jesus in Matthew 16:13-19 gives the church (all who confess Him as Lord and Saviour) the authority to do things in His name.

Authority in this sense is "specialised knowledge."

Now imagine the church full of people who have knowledge of God touching the world!

The world would surely be a different place!

We Are the Body!

On Sunday, as part of our sermon series on the church, we spoke about THE BODY- 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

Three things emerged:



- We, Christan's who confess Jesus Lord and Saviour, are the body (Ephesians 4:15)



- The body has many members with different gifts, ministries and activities (Romans 12;4-5)



- Each member must do their part (Ephesians 4:16)



So when all three come together, the church fulfils it's divine purpose to be God's hand and feet in the world.



Awesome!

The Church - Our Head

In the lead up to the commencement of our new church building, Sunday's sharing was very much around God's purpose for bringing the church into being. This will be a four week sermon series.

So on Sunday we dealt with the Head of the church - Christ.

Three things emerged:

- God appointed Jesus as the head of the church - Ephesians 1:22-23

- As such the church comes under His control and will - Mark 14:35-36

- As members of His body we need to receive Him as both Saviour: - John 3:16 & Lord - John 13:6-9

Next week we'll deal with The Church - The Body.

Animal Blessing

At North Rand we take the environment seriously.



This is evident in the way in which we have designed our new church building, we run an environmental course and once a year, have an animal blessings service where our children from Children's Church bring photo's of their pets and we bless them.

At the same time,we spend some time on understanding God's plan for His creation.

This Sunday we spoke from Genesis 6 and 9.



Take some time and read these passages, you may be delightfully surprised.

Embracing God's Call

On Sunday morning we spoke about the hidden treasure (see blog below).

This was a change from the readings published in the notices etc.

Mainly because God spoke clearly to me that it was something we needed to talk about.

So, this has lead me to reflect on the 'dynamics' of God's call.

Firstly, When He calls, it's time for us to listen.

Secondly, in Mark 1:17, Jesus makes it very clear that He calls sinners, who despite their doubts and fears are called to be part of His work in the world (Matthew 16:15-20).

And Paul in Romans 11:29 makes it clear that God's call and gifting is irrevocable.

Two things emerge:

1. Every Christian is called to be part of God's work in the world

2. God calls and never takes His calling back!

Amazing!

Bless you in your calling.

Hidden Treasure

On Sunday evening we spoke about Jesus' parable of Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13:44-46).

Having a personal relationship with Jesus is indeed a mighty valuable thing!

So two questions arise:

1. Why do some people recognise the value of the Kingdom and some don't?

Not sure but God wants all to be part of His kingdom ( 1 Timothy 2:3-4)

2. What happens to other treasure in the light of the Kingdom?

Having a personal relationship with Jesus and working for His kingdom should be far more valuable than any material gain (Philippians 3:7-9).

Amen!

Confessing Christ

On Sunday we spoke about Peter's confession of Christ (Matt 16:13-20).

Despite Peter being the most unlikely leader, Jesus makes him the rock of His church.

Three things:

- To be a leader in Jesus' mission, we need to accept Christ as Lord and Saviour

- We are then called to be His hands and feet

- He gives us keys of the kingdom

The real question is: what are you doing with your key?

Arbour Day

Sunday was arbour day.

Although I was away at Emmaus, NR celebrated arbour day/week by committing to plant 10 trees out at Hlalanathi.

This has got me to thinking how is it that we struggle to make caring for the environment part of our lives as Christians?

- God created everything including us

- We are co workers with Him in creation

- Jesus died for the redemption of creation

So as Christ followers we need to work to bring about the salvation of the created order!Awesome!

My prayer is that you will do your part in this.

The Kingdom of God

On Sunday about the Kingdom of God (Luke 17:20-37.)

Jesus in this passage says a few things:

- The Kingdom of God is in You

It's personal and corporate

- The Kingdom requires Faithfulness

Beware of false teachings

- The Kingdom requires Sacrifice

God's work often requires sacrifice

My prayer is that you will receive and work in the Kingdom so that the world will be changed and transformed!

The Widow's Offering

On Sunday morning we spoke about the Widow's Offering (Luke 21: 1-44).


Her background:

- No insurance policies

- No financial independence



So is this light her giving shows:




- Her commitment to her relationship with God

- A deep faith

- A clear sense of God's vision for her life


So her gift speaks to us today: when we give, we give to God!

A House Of Prayer

On Sunday night we spoke about Jesus clearing the temple (Luke 19:41-48).


The issue for us at North Rand is this:



Can we present our church to Jesus as a house of prayer?

A house of prayer has three parts:

- To develop relationships - between us and God and each other

- To be a place of equipping for the Lord's service

- To help us to ask God that we might be part of the solution to the things we pray for

Awesome

I do believe that North Rand, whilst not perfect, is indeed a house of prayer!

An Amazing Question

Eugene Ionesco once said:

"It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question."

How true is that?

On Sunday we spoke about Jesus question to two blind men ( Matthew 9:27-34).

Think about this: He asks them if they believe that He can do three things:

- Heal them physically
- Save them spiritually
- Restore them mentally

We might to be asked by Jesus the same question:

DO YOU BELIEVE I CAN DO THIS FOR YOU?


My prayer is that your answer will be YES!

Helping The Needy

On Sunday we spoke about Jesus instructions for us to help the needy in Matthew 6:1-4.


A couple of things emerged:


- Giving is always a relationship thing - between the giver, the receiver and God

- When we give we enter a relationship thus it's a very personal and private

Awesome!

May the Lord truly bless you in all relationships.

Born Again

On Sunday we had one of our largest services in the history of North Rand.

We also looked at Jesus conversation with Nicodemus about being born spiritually in John 3:1-8.

Part of the journey for us to be reborn spiritually is to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior and then to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

When we are filled with Holy Spirit we are moved to love God and others:

"Jesus replied: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

(Matthew 22:37-40)


So, no longer do we just focus on God but we also need to focus on others.

Awesome!

Warnings and Encouragements

On Sunday, we spoke about Jesus's warnings and encouragements in Luke 12:1-7.

Two warnings emerged:

- Be sincere in your faith
- Fear God

Two encouragements also emerged:

- All things will be revealed (only bad things grow in the dark)
- You are valuable to God

Awesome!

Bottom line:

God is love and He loves us. We need to bring everything about our lives to Him.

HOME

HOME

The Greatest Gift

On Sunday we spoke about the giving of gifts and how Jesus is the greatest gift we can be given and offer others - Acts 3:1-10.

Three things we spoke about:

1. Don't be short sighted - Jesus has the power and authority to transform (verse 2)

2. Engage with others: let them look into our lives and us into theirs - gifts from those we know generally have greater meaning (verse 4)

3. Allow Jesus to be the centre of our lives (verse 6)

My prayer is that you have received God's gift in Jesus and that you will offer Him to others.

Amazing Faith

On Sunday we spoke about developing amazing faith.

Some of the most inspiring people I know are those who in different situations show a strength of faith. It's easy to say we have faith when things go well. Not so easy when things change.

So how do we develop our faith?

Three steps:

- Believe that God exists:
Hebrews 11:3 (By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was not made out that what was visible.)

- Believe that Jesus is the Saviour of the world
John 3:16 ( For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life)

- Believe that God has great plans for your life
Jeremiah 29:11:(For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future)

Awesome!!!!

The Sign of Jonah

On Sunday evening, we spoke about Jesus teaching on the human need for signs in Matthew 12:38-41. This demand for a sign speaks of faith: both the need for it and the lack of it.

Jesus teaching relates to a sign that He is the Messiah as spoken about by the Prophets. Here Jesus holds one of the most remarkable stories in the Old Testament namely Jonah being thrown overboard, swallowed by a big fish, saved and going on to proclaim God's message, against His own death, burial and Resurrection.

One major difference between the two stories:

Jonah's journey is widely accepted as a story whereas Jesus journey was and is very real. He actually lived, died and rose again! And by faith we come to recognise Jesus as the Messiah sent to save us from our sins.


Are you looking for signs or do you recognise Jesus as the Messiah?

Shouldn't His death and Resurrection should be sign enough?

God Provides

It was wonderful to sit in on the Sunday service as a worshipper.

Grant spoke about putting Jesus first in our lives.

It is amazing how, when things go wrong in our relationships, jobs and family and we pause to check our relationship with God, we find that that is where the problem lies.

Setting that right means spending time with God each day in quiet time. Then we may find other things fall into place.

God is our great provider and He knows our needs...so "Seek first His kingdom and righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well" Matthew 6:32

Awesome!!!

Moved By God's Spirit

We had a big week end here at North Rand.

Saturday, Gail, Heather and team arranged a Community Fair.

There was plenty of food stalls, pony rides, line dancing, worship dancing, puppet shows, pottery lessons and much more.

The idea was to 'introduce' NR to the community. The day was a great success but Gail summed it up in her prayer on Sunday morning:


"Lord, if one person comes to know You through the fair then it was all worth it."

On Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost. There was a wonderful movement by the Holy Spirit. At the altar call, there were first time commitments and many re-commitments!

God is Good!!!!

Jesus Confronts Us

On Sunday we spoke about the way in which Jesus confronts our needs (Mark 3:1-6.

The awesome thing about this passage is the way in which Jesus lays the groundwork for the importance and timing of needs being met.

1. Jesus realises the importance of meeting needs as they arise.

2. Once Jesus meets our needs it is impossible for us to ignore the need of others to know Jesus and receive the healing only He can give.

Awesome!

You may have a need right now as you are reading: Jesus wants to deal with your need right this moment. Pray with me:

Lord Jesus thank you for meeting my need. I know you as my Lord and Saviour and in You nothing is impossible. I receive Your healing right now. Please help me further to help others in their need. Amen.

Longevity...

On Sunday I was invited to be part of a colleagues 25th anniversary in the Ministry service in Pietermaritzburg.

Michael was the person who opened the door for me to accept Jesus and was instrumental in helping me with my calling to the ministry.

Above all, we are friends.

As the service took place, I became very aware that when we become Christians and join a church, we always have people who remain life-long friends but also ones we are going to spend eternity with!

Absolutely awesome!!!

If you are not part of God's family or are but don't belong to a church, I want to encourage you do so. God in His wisdom gives us people along our path who are there to uplift, challenge and encourage us.

Opening the Scriptures

On Sunday we spoke about our desire to have the Scriptures opened to us.

It may be fair to say that most of us desire to find revelation from the Word.

In order to do so there are a few important things to take note of:

- We need to understand the place and time of the text we are reading

- If there are references to other parts of the Bible, we need to find them and study them

- We need to allow the Spirit to open our spiritual eyes so we can gain understanding of what we are reading

When we do these things and we make time daily to read the Scriptures, God is revealed to us.

Awesome!

My prayer is that will allow God to reveal Himself to you through the Word.

Love For Enemies

On Sunday we spoke about Jesus'encouragement to walk in The Way:

In terms of Luke 6:27-31 this means loving our enemies, blessing those that curse us and giving of ourselves to others.

Tough, but every much part of a comprehensive way in which we are healed, transformed and fulfilled as human beings.

One way in which we can come to the place where can do these things Jesus asks, is to remind ourselves: (1) we are all made in the image of God, (2) we also hurt others sometimes without knowing it, (3) if we take the time to stand in someones shoes, then we might react differently to their interaction with us.

All of this is summed by Jesus as He says:'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'

My prayer for you is that, right now, you would allow Jesus make you aware of the places in your life where you harbour anger, resentment and unforgiveness and to heal you from these things. In that way, you enter a new Way of living.

Bless you, have a good one!

Moving Closer To God!

On Sunday we spoke about fasting.

For someone like me who likes food, not an easy subject!

Fasting in the Bible has three implications:

- As a sign of mourning for our spiritual poverty
- As a sign of mourning a loved one
- To move us closer to God

Let's look at the last one.

Fasting can move us closer to God but it needs to done with care:
- If we are going to fast, we need to get advice from people with medical expertise
- Fasting should not be done whilst we still have to go to work etc
- Fasting should centre on the Cross

There are other ways to get closer to God as well. Reading our Bibles and setting aside time with God will also be helpful.

Bless you as you move closer to God!

History or a living reality

I am almost tempted to start with the words: Another year another Easter!

Whilst this may be true, it sounds rather blase! At least to me.

Easter, whilst celebrated every year by most Christians, is also a reminder that we serve a Living God. In other words, God is active in our lives and in the world around us. Jesus died and rose again two thousand years ago or the very purpose of being active in the world and in our lives.

Awesome!

My prayer is that you would allow Jesus to be active in your day to day life.

Don't just leave Him for Sundays!

God Calls Ordinary People...

At NR we had members of the Christian Motorcycle Association sharing with us.

The testimonies were very powerful and it's amazing how God calls ordinary people like you and me to do extra-ordinary things.

Awesome!

God can use your story to draw someone closer. God can use your faithfulness to witness to others in their times of trial. God can use your life and experiences to move others to know that no matter where we are, He wants to forgive and prosper us!

I can't say more that that: GOD IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME!

Our Part Two

At NR we completed our Stewardship Series on Sunday.

We spoke about some things which can prevent and help us from fulfilling our duties to God:

- Debt

We are not to have unless its for a car, house or starting a business.
This debt we are to repay as quickly possible.

- Counsel:
One the best ways of ensuring that all our decisions, including our financial ones, are in line with what God wants from us, is to use a three fold system: Prayer, Scripture and Talking to other mature Christians

So, to sum up: Stewardship has two parts: God's part and Our Part:
God gives us all we need to live as He intended. We are born to care for His creation and therefore need to be good stewards. Being faithful in our management of our finances is one way in which we honour God.

My prayer is that you will become/continue to be a good steward.

Our Part

At North Rand, we are still busy with our stewardship series:


We spoke on Sunday about the second part of good stewardship, namely: Our Part:


Three things of Our Part:


Giving helps us to:

- Grow Christian Character
- Deepen Our Spiritual Life (Luke 16:10-11)
- Get Our House in order (Daniel 6:4)

In other words, when we give our lives to Jesus, we then need to put on a new character and as we do so, our spiritual lives will deepen. In order to do so, we need to get our house in order as far as our giving and other area's of our lives go!

My prayer is that you will become all that you can as a Christian!

Bless you

God is...

At North Rand, we are busy with our annual stewardship campaign.

Biblically, stewardship has two parts:

God's part

Our Part

On Sunday, we spoke about God's part:

- Ownership - God owns everything (Psalm24:1-2)
- Control - God has everything in His control (Daniel 2:20-21)
- Provision - God is our provider (Luke 12: 29-31)

Awesome!!

Next week we'll talk about our part.

Life Through Christ

(Apologies for missing the blog last week - our modem was hit by lightning)

Most of us struggle with the thought of original sin.

How come I'm being punished for something Adam did?

There is no simple answer to this question, however, it may suffice to say, that while one man (Adam) brought sin and death into the world, one man (Jesus) brought redemption and salvation.

You choose who you want to focus on!

Thank you Lord, for saving me from sin and death through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen!

Fighting the Good Fight

In the times we live in, it's easy to imagine that we are living in the end times.

Cautiously put, it is possible!


The key thing for us as Christians is to continue proclaiming the Good News.

- Telling others about Jesus - he died for our sins
- Praying for God's kingdom to come on earth
- To work towards the kingdom on earth
- To allow God to change us

When He comes, we will be prepared!!

Bless you as you fight the Good Fight

Changing Our Core

It is said that the stomach is the core of our physical body.
Often back pain, physical issues etc are related to under developed stomach muscles.


The cure of course is for us to strengthen our stomach muscles.

What does this mean for us then?

Well, the core of our spiritual life is Jesus.
If we make Him the core of our lives, He will strengthen and sustain us in all things. He will also help us to change our core so that we become faithful and grow in holiness.

Awesome!

So my prayer is that you allow Jesus to be the core of you life!

Being Rich Toward God

Isn't it amazing how we are asked in Scripture to be rich toward God!

Luke 12:13-21

We shared on Sunday three ways this is possible:


One: Work Hard

- No ever died from hard work
- Hard work is a way of honouring God

Two: Be Generous:

- The reward of hard work is prosperity
- Generosity is a way of ensuring we are not enslaved by our material wealth

Three: Be prepared
- In every way we need to be ready - regrets and I'll get to's are of no use

Are you living richly toward God?

If you are, bless you!

If not, right this moment is the time to start...

Jesus Heals

On Sunday we shared from Mark 5:24-34.

The story of the woman who, in the midst of a crowd, touched Jesus cloak. Sensing this Jesus stopped and confronted her before sending her away healed.

An important thing emerges from this passage:

A healing process!

This process is important for our healing.

- Our sins are not private - they affect those around us
- In order to heal, we need to confront ourselves before Jesus - He will not heal us surreptitiously
- Jesus sets us free - we can only be fully healed, not partly
- We can testify to our healing

Awesome!

In Good Hands....

At North Rand this weekend, we held our annual Leaders Retreat.

It was a time for focusing on the year ahead and an opportunity for our leaders to dream for 2009.

It is amazing how the Lord has assembled a wonderful, committed and gifted group of people to lead the church this year.

My prayer is that all our members,and anyone who reads this blog, will uphold them in prayer.

As Paul says:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:10-12


Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:13-18

Covenant

Along with Methodists worldwide, we at North Rand, had our Covenant Services on Sunday.

Essentially we commit/recommit ourselves to the Lord and His service.

Making covenant, however, will be meaningless unless we understand three basic principles:

1. The Christan faith centres on the Cross of Christ.

2. The Kingdom of God resides in the hearts of people.

3. The kingdom of God needs to reach to the ends of the earth.


Right so what does that mean?

Our invitation to the kingdom is founded in Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. When we respond to His invitation, our hearts are changed and we live for Him. We are called then to take this invitation to others until the world hears the message.Awesome!

Perhaps you want to renew your commitment?

Please pray with us:

Dear Jesus, thank you for making me and loving me, even when I have ignored you and gone my own way.I have tried to run my own life and realise I need you. I'm sorry for my sins. I ask you to forgive me. Thank you for dying on the Cross for me. Please help me to understand it more. As much as I know now, I want to follow you from now on. Please come into my life and make me a new person inside. I accept your gift of salvation. Please help me to grow as a Christan. Amen.

Wouldn't the world....

Wouldn't the world be a wonderful place if...

- People could live without guilt...of failure, of past mistakes, of missed
opportunities
- People could live without the negative effects of pride,guilt etc...
- People could live in love...

The Good News is we can!!

Jesus encourages us to examine our priorities, in as far as where we place things of importance.
In Matthew 7: 1-6, He teaches us that, checking out logs in our own lives is important, because its often those emotions which can determine how we react to the specks in the lives of those around us.
In other words, sometimes we react to others based on our own feelings of guilt, pride and self-loathing.

He asks us to live in love.
We can only do that effectively when we are free from the effects of negative emotions.

My prayer is that you would, right now, irrespective of what your are doing, ask Jesus to set you free from emotions which are holding captive...

Pray with me: Lord Jesus, please set me free from my guilt, shame, pain, pride and confusion. Help me to live freely. I surrender myself to You. Amen.

It's Good!

It's good to be back!


After a wonderful time of fellowship with people one doesn't always get time to be with, its great to start a new year filled with possibility and promise.


Some promises are:

- To develop our youth ministry - welcome Sharon our Youth Pastor!
- To build the new church - our consent use has been given!
- To touch our people with love - welcome Jane, our Pastoral Assistant!
- To care for our buildings - welcome William!
- To build Hlalanathi into a vibrant Christian community - welcome Aquiline!
- To be part of God's plan for our community!
- To become the best person we can!

Have a blessed year North Rand folk!