Remember

This week’s reading:

Here is a trustworthy saying:
if we died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we disown him, he will also disown us;
if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

2 Timothy 2:11-13

This morning, I’m reminded how easy it is for us to forget the principles of our faith.
God invites us to die to our sin, stand firm in the midst of trial, never give up on Him and take comfort in His faithfulness.

My prayer is that you are reminded as you read this passage of God’s goodness in your life.

Healing

This weeks’ reading :

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.
One will say, `I belong to the LORD'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
still another will write on his hand, `The LORD's,' and will take the name Israel.
"This is what the LORD says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

` Isaiah 44:3-6

For those who were in church at 9h00 on Sunday, the service, I believe, marked a new direction that God is taking us.
New in the sense of Gods’ signs and wonders, healing, maturity and encouragement.
This is, of course, not to say that He wasn’t working in the life of the church before, rather, He is manifesting in a new ways for us.

Scripture is clear about the reasons for such manifestation, to:

Mature, Encourage, Heal, Uplift and Challenge us to take God into our areas of influence i.e. work, home and other.

All we need to do, is be open to His work in our lives.

May you grow in the way God wants to grow you.

Growing in Love

Here’s this week’s reading:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

I think we sometimes too easily confuse ‘love’ as spoken in the Bible with love as seen on TV and in romance novels.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with romantic love but there is a difference in the context that Paul uses it in our reading.

Love here is from the Greek word – agapaō.
This word means, love, not arising from feelings but from the desire to care for people and the opportunity to do good.

So, I believe, the challenge is for us to develop the desire to care for others and pray for the opportunity to good things for them.
In our homes, work places and areas of influence, we have the chance to exercise agapaō.

My prayer is that this love will grow true in our lives.

Have a great week.