AGAPE LOVE

One thing that strikes me about AGAPE LOVE, you know, the kind of self-sacrificial love that we see in Jesus dying for the sins of the world and the kind of love Jesus used in the first two commands when He reinstated Peter.

I guess he meant, love God and His people with all that you have.
Be prepared to suffer criticism, hatred and ridicule for Him.
Why? Because God loves you with AGAPE love!

But just the same, Jesus uses another kind of love i.e. PHILEO, the kind of love we need to have for people we don’t like or even know, in his third command to Peter.

In other words, love those who are different to you, who perhaps want to harm you and who you don’t like for various reaosns.
Why? Because hatred, unforgiveness and revenge are harmful emotions and when acted upon, don’t change world but rather push it further along its path to destruction.

So I guess we have a simple choice: be part of the solution or part of the problem!

What do you choose today?

Hanging On

Sunday was a good day, mainly because of Friday.
Normally at this time, we have a lot of visitors at North Rand, particularly on Sunday and it’s amazing to me that folks who seldom come to church do so at this time.


I believe it’s because the message (the Word) is so compelling that it challenges us at the very core of our existence.


Say, God is real, then what…?
Say, this Jesus guy is the Son of God, then what…?
Say, this Sovereign God loves me, so much that He sent His Son to show me, then what…?
Can I possibly love God back…?
If not, then what…?


Yep, Sunday was a good day….
How was yours?

Getting dressed

How much time do you take in your appearance each day?
And what does the clothing, etc. you choose say about you as a person?


I’m guessing that for most of us, we take at least ten to fifteen minutes each day and that our choice reflects the image we want the world to see us as……….and we do it because of our love for ourselves and others….

No! Think about it for a minute……

Okay, so Scripture invites us to put on Christian ‘clothes’…..
Compassion.
Kindness.
Humility.
Gentleness.

How much time do you take each day to put these ‘clothes’ on to look like, act like, and become the image God asks?

If you aren’t then…..start tomorrow as you wake, take time to put these clothes on and do it because you want to show God how much His love means to you….

Fellowship

Like many other words, the word fellowship has the potential to, and I believe in most cases does, conjure of concepts such as togetherness, companionship and accountability.

In terms of North Rand, that’s what we aim for in our small group ministry.
Well, our fellowship with the Holy Spirit is based on the similar concepts. God want us to be united, to encourage and uplift each other.

At the same time, He knows that, as we as individuals journey in close companionship with His Spirit, we will be challenged to make changes in our lives, to discover our purpose for being and be motivated to live as God would have us live.

So………

What is the Holy Spirit guiding you to do right now?


Give freely?
Make changes in your attitude and behaviour?
Talk to that person you don’t like or who has hurt you?
Forgive yourself…others?
Open your heart to God?

The Sphagetti Monster

How about this?


Did you know there are websites such The Great Spaghetti Monster and Matrix-something or other, which, so I’m told, get people to believe that being part of their community will help make sense of life.(I’m sure this is the idea although they may argue differently) .
Well, here’s the choice, trust in God or in other things!
Easy as that! Yes?

Let’s think about it for a moment.
We trust God but are still not really sure when pushed…
We listen to others telling about God’s work but wonder why He doesn't answer us….
We treat God like the spaghetti monster and then expect….

Take a moment now and think for a minute…
Do you really trust God (you can and should)?
If not then now’s the time to start…maybe you want to get down on your knees, right in front of your family or the people in the office and pray aloud something like..Lord I trust you only…

See we can trust Him and we can show that we trust Him!

Amen!!!!

Our Father

I’m not sure about you, but sometimes I pray the Our Father without really thinking too much about it.

On Sunday at the 8h00 service, we had a closer look based on Luke 11:2-4 where Jesus teaches His disciples to pray:



Father: Jesus defines the relationship that God wants with us i.e. as a parent who loves, disciples and provides for us.

Hallowed be your name: Jesus now defines the boundaries within the parent/child relationship. God is our loving parent but it is based on God as Holy and Righteous, All knowing, All present and All powerful.

Your Kingdom come: God has a plan for His creation and that means you and me. The more we surrender to the will of God in our lives, the more we become aware of His plan and our part in it.

Give us this day our daily bread: We simply ask God to be our provider.

Forgive our sins for we also forgive those who sin against us: Quite a thing! Allowing ourselves to become more Christ like : humble and servant hearted and it all starts and ends with forgiveness.

And lead us not into temptation: In all this we need to aware of the potential of ourselves and Satan to lead us away from a fulfilling relationship with God.

Awesome, when you think about it!!!

Open Yourself

How open are you to new ideas?

I think for most of us, it remains a struggle. Change raises our fears, takes us out of our comfort zones and generally makes us edgy.

Yet we find in Scripture that change is unavoidable. Jesus asks us to give up our things that make us comfortable. He also challenges us to keep growing as Christians and to do so requires change.

So, then how can we overcome our fears, doubts and complacency?

One way is to trust God. I mean really trust Him.

Trust that He has a plan for your life, that when you let go He will catch you.

Easy – no!

But rewarding – yes, becoming the person that God knows you need to become.

Amen!

No matter where you find yourself, a long way down the road, just starting or just a little faded…

Start each day with these words: Lord into your hands I place my Spirit today…