Category: Bible

Where are you seated?

March 4, 2024

Where you are seated at a special ocassion often determines how important you are to the host of the function.

If you are the bridal table at a wedding reception it means you are very special to the bride and groom. If you are at the King’s or Prime Minister’s table at a special function you are held in very high regard.

The Bible tells us that when Jesus returned to heaven He was seated at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 1:18-23). That is the highest place of honour in the whole universe. There is no greater place than being seated next to the Father.

But that is not where the great news stops. You are also seated with Christ! Let’s have a look at what the Bible says in the next chapter…

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7 NIV)

If you are in Christ Jesus (that means in relationship with Him, trusting Him for your salvation, and have received Him as your King) then you are spiritually seated with Christ in the heavenly realms! You are seated with Him in the highest place in the universe!

Because of this great news you no longer have to walk around with your face pointing to the ground or your shoulders hunched over. You no longer have to feel unworthy. You have high standing and high honour with the King and Creator of the universe!

I don’t know about you, but that is great news to me! It is something that has radically changed the way I see myself and as a result it has radically changed the way I live.

Human anger versus rigtheous anger

March 3, 2024

The Bible says, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires” (James 1:19-20 NLT).

As I read this today the words “Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires” really jumped out at me.

Human anger happens when we don’t get our way or when we think people have not considered us or when we haven’t heard something correctly. We can become angry and act out as we did not get our way.

Compare this to righteous anger. Jesus was angry at the corrupt money changers in the Temple. He was not happy that God’s House was turned in to a marketplace, rather than a house of prayer and worship (John 2:13-16).

We then see that Jesus made He a whip. Bible scholars tell us this would have taken several hours, and then He went back and overturned the tables.

Human anger says I am not happy about this. I am going to get my way. I will get you back. You hurt me, I will hurt you.

Righteous anger says I am not happy about this situation and goes to God in prayer. It says, “What should I do God? How can I help this situation?” And then it acts slowly and deliberately at God’s leading.

Remember it is not wrong to get angry at human injustice or suffering. We just need to go to God first and ask how we can respond in accordance with His will and purposes. He may want us to act or He may want us just to pray.

Are our sermons too long?

February 29, 2024

Are our sermons too long? As a preacher this is something I have been thinking about for about five years. In the church traditions I have attended for most of the last 30 years, the sermon is placed towards the end of the service and it lasts from 20-30 minutes, sometimes more.

As time goes on I am starting to think that is too long for most people to listen to and take in, especially if there is no real structure to it. When I preach I always have an introduction with a title, a Bible reading, let the people know there is 3-4 points, then close with a summary and prayer.

I always use PowerPoint up on the screen with the main points and verses. Having the main points on the screen helps me to keep focussed when I am listening to others and people have said the same to me.

Something I have been doing lately is listening to a lot of shorter messages called sermonettes or Homilies. They are usually from 2-10 minutes in length and are very concise and to the point.

I am finding I am getting a lot out of these shorter messages. Mostly they share a Bible passage, or it is read by someone else before, and then one or two quick points and have a prayer that calls you to action or reflection.

I know from my website statistics that the sermons that most people download are the ones that are under 10 minutes long. People listen to the longer sermons, but the ones in the sermonettes section are downloaded five times more.

I am not really sure why this is? But I guess it is to do with people being busy and not having much time? It could also be people wanting quick encouragement? Whatever the reason it has got me thinking.

I think on my next sermon I will trim it down to be more like a sermonette or homily and see what feedback I get. I will still use my same format, but aim for ten minutes and see what feedback I get.

I will let you know how it goes.

Inviting Jesus in

February 27, 2024

As I was doing my morning devotions today I was thinking about the phrase “Inviting Jesus in”. As I dwelt on this I realised how important it is to invite Jesus in to the various areas of our lives.

1. Our life – this is the first and most important area. We need to invite Jesus in to our lives. He needs to be let in as our Lord and Saviour. This is when true life happens and He lives with us.

2. Our relationships – relationships can be hard at times with all the stresses of life. We need to invite Jesus in to them all. Our marriage, with our children, our friends, our workmates – He needs to be in them all.

3. Our work – inviting Jesus into our workplace to help us do well and serve Him. Whatever job role we have we ultimately do it for the Lord. Colossians 3:23 tells us who we really serve as we work. We are all gifted by God and we need His help to serve.

4. Our finances – many of us struggle with our finances. Inviting Jesus in to this area helps us to understand that He loves and cares for us and He is our provider. One of the names God is known by is Jehovah-Jireh which means “The Lord will provide”.

5. Our health – a lot of people I talk to have health issues that they battle with, myself included. Our battles can be very debilitating. Inviting Jesus into our health issues allows Him to provide comfort, strength and healing. Another name God is known as is Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who heals.

6. Our future – there are times in our lives where we can really worry about the future and what will happen to our families or ourselves. One thing God has been reminding me of lately is He holds our future. We may not know the future, but we can be confident God holds our future. Each of us are in the palm of His mighty hands.

Today I would encourage you to invite Jesus in to the different areas of your life. If you have never done this before, you can prayer this prayer below.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I invite you to come into my life. I want You to be my Lord and Saviour. Please come in and cleanse me from my sin. Help me to follow You with all of my heart. Lord, I also invite you into all of my relationships, my work, my finances and my health. Come in and help me in all these areas. Bring healing, provision and peace to them all. I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen

The best gift I have received

February 18, 2024

The best gift I have ever received is salvation from Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for my sin. He paid the price for it and by putting my faith and trust in Him I receive forgiveness, salvation and new life.

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT that “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. [9] Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. [10] For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

These verses give us several major truths about salvation in Christ.

1. It is by grace we are saved through faith

2. Salvation is a gift from God

3. It is not a rewards for our good works

4. We are new masterpieces in Christ

5. We are saved to go and do good works

The greatest gift we can have is salvation from Jesus. When we put our faith and trust in Him, He gives us the gift of salvation. Then we walk in new life in Him and do good works He planned long ago.

Would you like to find salvation and peace with God? Please visit our finding salvation page here.