Category: Faith & life

What do I believe?

February 24, 2024

Recently I was asked what I believe as a Christian. My response was my beliefs are similar to most people who follow Jesus all around the world.

As I reflected on this question I was reminded of some of the ancient creeds. The Apostles Creed is a great summary the early church fathers created many centuries ago.

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

This statement of faith is one that many Christians around the world today would say they believe. The same goes for many Christians down through the ages. Many churches say it out aloud together each week as a declaration of joint faith and unity.

As Christians I believe it is important to have a statement like this that unites us. We all may have slight differences depending on our church denomination we attend, but there is much more that unites our faith than separates us.

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.

A good servant of Jesus Christ

February 11, 2024

In 1 Timothy 4:6-16 we find some good advice on how to be a good servant of Jesus Christ. In this passage we see four things that will help us in service to God.

Be spiritually fit – Verses 7-8 tell us to spend our time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. It goes on to say that while physical exercise has benefits, spiritual fitness lasts into the next life. So read and study your Bible, pray continuously and interact with others who share your faith.

Be an example to others – Verse 12 tells us to be an “example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity”. Other people see that our faith is genuine by our words, our love and our actions. We need to ensure our lives match our words.

Use your spiritual gifts – Verse 14 says that we should not neglect our spiritual gifts, especially the ones recognised by our church. It goes on to say that we should throw ourselves completely into our tasks so everyone will see our progress. Finding and using our God given gifts is vital to be good servants.

Monitor your progress – The passage closes in verse 16 with a reminder to monitor ourselves and keep a check on how we are going. It warns us to watch our teaching and to stay true to what is right. It gives us a great promise that if we do the people who hear will be saved.

In this short passage of Scripture we can draw some simple things to help stay on track spiritually and to help us be good servants of Jesus Christ.

Great news?

February 10, 2024

You get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?

What is the first thing I do? Give thanks to God. He is the source of all good things including fantastic news. His blessings flow down to us. It makes sense to thank Him first.

Four verses come to mind as I type…

Psalm 136:26 NLT – Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.

Ephesians 5:20 NLT – And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 103:2 NLT – Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

James 1:17 NLT – Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.