Cleaning the Temple

On Sunday we shared from Matthew 21:12-17 - Jesus cleaning the temple.

Traditionally, this passage speaks about righteous anger, the need for religion at the time to transform and the temple to become a house of prayer.

In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul says that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are to hounour God with our bodies.

In the same way, we are to allow Jesus to cleanse our temples and become vessels of transfomation, healing and hope.

We can do this by daily allowing the Holy Spirit to convict us of the areas in our lives that need healing, change and transfomation.

My prayer is that we will become a house of prayer for the Lord.

The Work of the Spirit

On Sunday we shared from Jesus' teaching on the work of the Spirit.

A couple of things emerged:

- Jesus had to be glorified in order that we would recieve the Spirirt as Counsellor.

- We are shaped and transformed by the Spirit when we allow Him to convict us of changes in our lives.

This for many Christians is not a new understanding but what may be new is to make the concious effort to be transformed to a righteous life.

My prayer is that you will allow the Spirit to work in you this week.

Palm Sunday

On Sunday we shared from John 12:12-15 - Palm Sunday:

No doubt that this reading speaks to the Kingship of Jesus.

However, we, for the most part, see His kingship as peaceful,loving and individual.

A careful examination of this reading can change our first perception:

- Jesus did not focus on the external - He focused on the internal!

In other words, changing the world relies on the transformation of the individual.

On entering Jerusalem, Jesus chooses to turn left and His choice takes Him to the Cross.

The Cross is divisive:

- It divides believer from non-believer
- It divides life from death
- It divides the passive person from the active person

We also have a choice:

To accept Him or not.

If we accept Him, we become believers who have Life and commit to becoming active in changing the world.

The Vine

On Sunday we shared from John 15:1-4.

Jesus encourages His disciples to stay in Him (the vine).

Every Christian, at some point in their journey, will be confronted with the temptation to resist the church, praying or allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their lives.

Jesus recognises this weakness in us.

How can we avoid this temptation?

Three ways:

1. Attend church regularly. Make it part of our daily routine.

2. Read and pray every morning. Make it part of our routine.

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to prune us daily. Make it part of our daily routine.


Awesome!

John 17:20-26

On Sunday we shared around Jesus prayer for future believers (you and I):

It is interesting to note Jesus' expectation:

- We would need to be reminded to keep our unity - (because we can and do disagree)
- We would need protection -( satan wants us to fail and will tempt us)
- We would need to be sanctified -(made Holy in His image by the power of the Holy Spirit)

So heres the thing:

His prayer speaks to our lives two thousand years later.

Awesome!

Prayer

On Sunday, I spent the morning with our men at their camp at a retreat centre outside Parys.

In our regular Sunday service, we continued with our theme of prayer during which time couples had the opportunity to come forward for prayer - awesome!

It is always amazing to me how God uses His church to minister to people wherever they may be.

In fact, I am becoming more convinced that without a church family, we will always have to face life on our own and this is not God's intention for us.

My prayer for you is that your church family is offering God's ministry to your life.

Blessings

Prayer

On Sunday we began our four week series on Prayer, one of our core values.

We shared from Deuteronomy 4:5-8.

This passage tells us that God is near us when we pray to Him.

It may sound simple and obvious but the reality is that we often don't know, appreciate or feel His close presence.

So, bottom line:

- God is present in all our situations.
- He knows our every need.
- We can open ourselves to Him in pray.
- It is His hearts desire that we do so.

I trust you will open yourself to Him because He is every present in your life!