Prayer of the Righteous

It’s interesting to note that after Pentecost, when Peter and John were released from interrogation by the Sanhedrin, they returned to their community of believers and the first thing they did was to pray (Acts:4:23-31).

They prayed this:
Lord you are the Creator and have a plan for your Creation
Lord no one can thwart your divine plan
Lord heal your people

And the place where they were meeting shook as the Holy Spirit moved!
I believe we need to pray the same for our lives, for our country and the world (the prayer of righteous is powerful).

Take some time right - Yes right where you are - And pray:

Lord you are everything and everything is in You
Lord, heal me
Lord, heal you people
Let your Divine purpose work out in me
Thank you Lord for answering my prayer
Amen!

The Bride of Christ

Scripture teaches that Christ's relationship with His church (you and me) is likened to a relationship between a bride and groom. Revelation 19:6-9

In this case, Christ is the groom and the church His bride.

Go back a bit in Revelation (2 & 3) and you’ll find, in the seven letters to the churches, warnings on what the church should avoid so as to be presentable to Him:

- Being luke-warm
- Watering down the Word
- Forgetting our first love (God and one another)

So... the challenge then for us (the bride of Christ), is make sure where we are, spiritually, mentally and physically so that we can present Christ His bride the best we can...

For me it starts:

- By giving ourselves fully to God
- By reading our Bibles regularly
- By DOING what God has called us to do – to love Him and one another with all that we have


If you’re challenged by this, then pray with me:

Lord, I’m sorry for forgetting my first love and for being luke-warm.

Please forgive me and help me read my bible and DO what you’ve called me to do.

Thank you Lord, I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

HĒSED

On Sunday, we spoke about a Hebrew word – Hēsed.
A word difficult to transpose to English but means mostly mercy, loyalty and faithfulness.


Now here’s the thing: Hēsed is closer to a verb then a noun.

In other words, it’s something we do (action).

God shows mercy to us by His sin offering of Jesus.

Question: are we showing Hēsed to others?
- To those in need?
- To those we know don’t know Jesus?
- To those who have wronged us..?
- To those we have wronged..?


If not then now’s the time start:
Sit quietly for a moment
Allow the Holy Spirit to bring a name, situation to mind
Now act on it – don’t wait!

Jonah

Most of us remember Jonah for being swallowed by a great fish.


Like:
Is it possible for someone to live inside a fish?
If so, then what kind of fish?

But the real challenges from Jonah are:
- Do we go where and when God sends us?
- Are we, like Jonah, unwilling to allow the Word of God to change lives especially those whom we believe don’t deserve it?

Well the Good News is that we, like Jonah, are called by God to spread the Word.
It’s an awesome privilege and we too have a choice....

So when was the last time you spoke to someone about Jesus?

It's All About Jesus

For those who don’t know, Angus Buchanan organized a Mighty Men’s Conference on his farm near Greytown, which 60000 men attended.
Some of those men were from Northrand and it really was a blessed time.
The gist of the weekend was about building men of Christian character and I believe that all who attended were challenged in this way.

To be Christian men:
- In the family
- In the workplace
- In the church

Awesome!!!

Tyron Edwards once said:

Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.


Ain’t that the truth!

So we are all, men and women, challenged to fix our destiny in Christ, who is the beginning and end, to allow Him to define our purpose for living and to change our habits which in turn change our actions…

If you aren’t sure where you stand right now, go to the Tell Me About Jesus link and pray with us, then let us know and we’ll be in contact with you.

The Power of Passion

Eve Sawyer says “Never underestimate the power of passion”

How true is that?

On Sunday we spoke about God’s passions:
- For us
- For His people
- For His creation

It’s never ceases to amaze me that God, ever present, all powerful and all knowing, is interested in us, limited human beings.
I mean He really does wants to know us, care for us and use us.
And I believe that when we discover God’s passion for ourselves, we have no choice but to develop His passion for humanity and His creation.

At Northrand, we are blessed to be able to grow towards Christian maturity by worshiping regularly and offering courses ranging from Parenting to Handling money Gods Way.

And we are at the same time, able to touch lives in our community as we reach out to Retirement Villages, playschools and soup kitchens.

However, we still need to be challenged to find ways to care for God’s creation.

So, the question remains, are you living your life with passion?
If not then….

Preaching and Living the Gospel

The Good News is that Jesus is coming again.

The sad news is that many won’t be ready for His return.
Partly because the church has not prepared people.
Partly because those that think they are prepared are in fact not.
And partly because people have been deceived into thinking that Christ will not return.

Now, we have choices:
Believe that He is returning.....or not…
If we believe, then we can wait around hoping it’ll be in our life time or we can live as if it may be possible in our life time….
As for me, I choose to preach and live the Gospel each day and when Christ returns, I will be as ready as I can be!

How about you???????

Should you want to know more about Jesus, click on our Tell Me About Jesus link.