Monday Message

When you listen to some preachers, you can be forgiven for thinking that life as a Christian is easy and everything will go your way... Just take a look at Mr Beaver's answer to Lucy:   "Who said anything about safe?  'Course he isn't safe.  But he's good.  He's the King, I tell you." [C. S. Lewis,  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (HarperCollins, 1950), p. 48.] And so, I reckon, life as a Christian is anything but safe. But it's good. And because it's not safe, there will be opposition. This is what Jude was trying to address in his letter. Jude 1:17-23ff But, dear friends, remember what the apostles  of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.   They said to you, “In the last times  there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”   These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up  in your most holy faith ...

Back to the 'Love' chapter. This time it's a comparison between now and the future, when we are face to face with God. 1Corintians 13:8-12 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies,  they will cease; where there are tongues,  they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part  and we prophesy in part,   but when completeness comes,  what is in part disappears.   When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood  behind me.   For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. The differences are stark. When completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When we are in God's presence, the parts we didn't know, the things we didn't see and the understanding we didn't have will be completed.  Which b...

It has to be one of the most annoying interview questions, and yet we still hear it time, after time, after time! "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" You'd think by now, with the pace of technology, that a more fitting question would be focused on a range of about a year. In a time where most people will change careers 5 - 7 times during their lives, and 1/3 will change jobs every 12 months [reference] , a year seems like a great time frame to aim for. But, upon reflection, even this may be too far reaching. Let's look at what James has to say on the matter of forward planning: James 4:13-17 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”   How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.   What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do ...

When things go wrong, how do you fix it? Who do you take your troubles to? Today I want to look at two famous figures in Jesus life; Peter and Judas. First, Judas. After his betrayal of the man he saw as a teacher , Judas tries to make things right by going back to the Pharisees. Matthew 27:3-5 When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders.   “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.” Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself. An ignominious end for Judas. His appeal to the earthly powers that be fell of deaf, uncaring ears. Now Peter. Peter has denied Jesus and feels ashamed of his actions. And yet, when Jesus returns, Peter goes to Him. John 21:15-17 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon...

A passage that most people know well. 1Cor 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. All good things; All things we should aspire to live out. But what if I replace 'Love' with 'William'? William is patient and kind. William is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. He does not demand his own way. He is not irritable, and he keeps no record of being wronged. He does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. William never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Can I honestly say I do all these things all the time? I know I do all of them at some times, b...

1John 4:4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. MercyMe have recently released a song called ' Greater ' which is a really affirming song to listen to. And it's based off my favourite verse. No matter what I face in the day and how much comes against me, I have the power and greatness of God inside me and that lets me prevail in the face of all the world can throw at me. I am redeemed and held in great affection by the creator of the universe Himself. Satan can try all he likes, but the One in me was, is and always will be bigger than him. As you go about your day, and your week, remember who is inside you and the power they have. Has this verse spoken to you? Do you have a testimony you'd like to share about a time God has shown His power to you? Leave a comment below.

Matthew 11:2-6 John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,  “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’” John the Baptist, preparer of the way for Jesus and lone voice in the wilderness has doubt! How can this be? Everyone has doubts and times that they question the things happening around them. This can be very distressing. This can be even more distressing if you believe God has told you things would be one way and they appear another. However, John's way of dealing with this doubt is a good example of how we too can handle doubts as they arise; a...

Matthew 26:20-25 When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?” He replied, “One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me. For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!” Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?” This, to me, is one of the saddest events involving the Disciples. After all the time they'd spent with Jesus, you'd think they'd all knowexactly who He is. When He tells them that one will betray Him, the first 11 all respond by calling Him "Lord". And then Judas responds. The difference in his understanding of Jesus' authority is stark and shows how it is that he is able to betray...