Category: Bible

In awe of Jesus

November 19, 2024

I was just reading and listening to John 13. This is where Jesus washes the disciples feet.

I am in awe of Jesus even more. Not only did He humbly wash the disciples feet, but I was reminded that He washed the feet of the betrayer Judas Iscariot!

In verse 2 we see that “The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.”

In verse 4-5 “Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

Then in verse 27… “As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

Reading about Jesus washing His disciples feet gives me a clear picture of being a humble servant. It inspires me to do the same.

Jesus served Judas knowing He would betray Him unto death. Knowing that Jesus sent His betrayer away with clean feet leaves me in awe.

Our natural thought is if we know someone was going to betray us is to keep our distance, to stay away from them or not talk to them. But Jesus washed Judas’ feet!

This is why I love Jesus. This is why I serve Jesus. This is why I live for Jesus. I am in total and complete awe of Him and how He showed us to live.

(Image: freebibleimages.org)

Everyone should know…

October 30, 2024

What’s something you believe everyone should know.

Everyone should know the four things on the image above.

  1. It was prophesied for centuries that a Saviour would come. History tells us that Jesus came and was born in a manger and grew to be a man.
  2. The Bible tells us that Jesus died on the cross. He died to pay the price for our sin. He died so we can have a relationship with God for all eternity.
  3. The Bible also tells us that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and He appeared to over 500 witnesses.
  4. A great promise of the Bible is that one day Jesus is coming back for His people. He is coming back to take us to the place He has prepared for us.

These are four things I have spent more than half my life telling people about Jesus.

Jesus left the glories of heaven to come and save us. He could not stand the thought of us missing out of eternity, so He came for you and me.

If you would like to find peace with God and come in to a personal relationship with Him, you can visit the page below to find out more.

https://passionaustralia.org/salvation.html

My favourite prayer

October 27, 2024

My favourite prayer is the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus gave to His followers. It was in response to them asking Jesus to team them how to pray (Luke 11:1).

There are several version of the same text. One is in more modern language and one is in the older King James style. I find I pray the older version as that is what I learned first. It tends to just flow out.

Here is the older version taken from Matthew 6…

Our Father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen

The thing I love about this prayer is it covers all areas of life. It honours God and seeks His will, asks for provision, forgiveness and protection, and finishes with giving God His glory.

I also love that depending on how I am feeling I might focus in the one line. Sometimes I might be about worship and honouring God. At other times it might be about provision, protection or forgiveness.

I am so happy the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. It has given us a great template to follow. One that allows us to connect with in God in a way that honours Him and also asks for our needs.

God wants us to rest plan

October 24, 2024

I am doing a Bible reading plan on the Bible app at the moment. It is titled, “God wants you to rest”. I found today’s reading really good. I have copied it below…

Rest Is Celebration and Community

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. -Exodus 20:9–10 

Anyone who works hard labor throughout the week needs a day of physical rest. Most of my work life is spent sitting in a chair. So, my best Sabbath rests include some physical exercise. That refreshes me. A Sabbath rest is a break from what we have been doing all week long. Therefore, some things about the day of rest may look differently for different people. 

The commandment calls us to stop doing what we have been doing all week. God wants us to dedicate this day to enjoying His community. He wants us to bring our family with us. This is resting in God. 

There are two different Hebrew words for work. One of the words is‘abad used in Genesis 2:15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it.” The Bible never prohibits this kind of work. In fact, this word also means “worship.” 

The other Hebrew word is mela’khah, which is creative work (see Exodus 20:10). The commandment prohibits this kind of work on the Sabbath. One day of the week, God wants His people to stop forging forward or building new enterprises and rest. 

Sabbath rest is a day to spend time with our family and with the family of God. I think God would prefer that we spend this day gathering with family around the pool rather than building a new pool. God wants us to include Him in this time. Sabbath rest is a time to find rest by enjoying God and His people. 

Greg Stone 

What hinders you from setting aside a day to rest each week? How can you make a plan to set aside one day every week to worship and rest?

Holy God, thank You for the gift of rest. Please help me to rest in You and enjoy all You’ve given me.

If you are interested, you can find it here.

What makes a good neighbour?

October 15, 2024

What makes a good neighbor?

What makes a good neighbour? It depends on your definition of neighbour. If you mean some who lives in your street, then some who is kind, considerate and quiet at night time.

But if you use the biblical definition, a neighbour is someone we share close proximity too. In my case it would be people in my small country town or people who pass through. If I am travelling it would be people on the road.

In Luke 10:30 NLT Jesus tells the parable of the good Samaritan…

Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

Jesus goes on to say that a number of people walked by. Some even crossed the road to walk around the man in need. Then comes along a good Samaritan…

[34] Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. [35] The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

The context of this story is found in Luke 10:25-29. A religious scholar asked Jesus a question about eternal life and then asks Jesus who is his neighbour. Jesus responded with this story.

From this we can see our neighbours are both those near us and those we come in to contact with. The Bible has a broader definition of neighbour than general society has and even calls us to love our neighbour as ourself (Mark 12:30-31).

So what is a good neighbour? Someone who looks out for those around them!