Monday Message

My sister has been involved in youth ministry for quite some time now and she told me about an example she used once, which I'll relate here. In the hall, all the lights were turned off and people were standing in random places. My sister would walk around and when she came to someone she'd shine a torch in their eyes. As you can imagine, the people would throw their hands up and shy away from the bright light. Once she'd done this several times, she moved to the centre of the room and shone the torch at the ceiling. Now everyone could see the light, but no one needed to shy away. Our lives are like the torch. Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. We are cal

Jeremiah 31:29-30 “The people will no longer quote this proverb: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,     but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.’ All people will die for their own sins—those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker. Each person will be held to account for their actions and made to pay for their choices. Sounds pretty bleak to me. If I make a misstep, then I will die. God despises sin and tells us quite plainly in Romans that the wages of sin is death. Put simply, if we sin, someone has to die. And yet this isn't the end of the plan God laid out to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 31:31-34  “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. “But this i

Luke 12:6-7 “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. I like to think I'm making God's job a little easier everyday. As I loose my hair, He can count a little faster and have more time for others. I know that's not how God works, but it makes me more comfortable with inevitable baldness. Bad jokes aside, sparrows were about the cheapest thing you could buy to be sacrificed at the temple. Pretty much even the poorest people could offer a sparrow or two when needed. The most basic of gifts to be given to God. A sparrow sacrificed before God was pleasing to Him. Some days it's easy to think we shouldn't present ourselves before God. We've done or said something that we're ashamed of. At the very time we most need God, we seem to be most likely to turn from Him. To th

Psalm 128:1-6 How joyful are those who fear the Lord -  All who follow His ways! You will enjoy the fruit of your labour. How joyful and prosperous you will be! Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table. That is the Lord's blessing for those that fear Him. May the Lord continually bless you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live. May you live to enjoy your grandchildren. May Israel have peace! This psalm gives me both great peace and great worry. On the one hand, I'm promised joy and prosperity. On the other, a fruitful wife. A couple of years ago I thought along these lines: My wife would have lots of kids, who'd grow up to be full of energy, whilst becoming wealthy and living a comfortable life. If that was what I was expecting, I'd say I was disappointed. We have not had any children biologically, yet o