Category: Prayer

Do not miss Jesus

August 17, 2022

John 5:39-40 says, “These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”

Jesus said these words to the religious teachers of His day. They claimed to know all about faith and the Scriptures, but did not recognise Jesus as the Messiah that they were waiting for.

They had knowledge of the Scriptures, but missed the main person – Jesus.

Over the years I have known some very religious people who have studied the Bible, but they missed Jesus too.

So what are some keys we have to understand about Jesus?

  1. He is eternal (John 1:1-3)
  2. He is the Son of God (Luke 1:35)
  3. He is the Messiah (John 4:25-26)
  4. He died on the cross to pay the price for our sin (Romans 3:23-24)
  5. He was raised back to life and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Romans 8:34)
  6. He is coming back for those who trust in Him as their Lord and Saviour (Hebrews 9:28)
  7. He is the only way to salvation (John 14:6)

These are seven things that are key about Jesus. It is just so important to understand who Jesus is and what He has done.

Two things you can do right now is trust Jesus for your salvation and find peace with God. You can do this by visiting this page.

Then you can download our free discipleship booklet to help you understand more about Christ and His will for your life. You can find our free booklet here.

It is my hope and prayer that you will do these two things and you will go on to follow Jesus all the days of your life.

God Bless,
Dave

My solitary place

August 9, 2022

A number of places in the Bible we see that Jesus went off to a solitary place to pray. Mark 1:35 says He did it early in the morning. His desire was to go and be alone with His Father in heaven.

I have a few solitary places I go to be alone with God in prayer. The photo above is one of the places. It is up on a Peak that overlooks our town. Depending on which way I go to get there, it can take 15 minutes or 45 minutes to walk to it. One is steep and quick and the other one is slow and winding.

Sometimes I go to this place once a week and spend some time in prayer. This is usually in the cooler months of the year. At other times it is less often, but I go up there when I need space to hear from God, especially when I need wisdom (see James 1:5).

As it is up high I can see most of my town, farming land or a forrest depending on which way I look. Not only does it get me away from work, but it slows me down. It has a way of calming me and centring my mind on God. I find it easy to hear from Him in a solitary place like this.

Every time I go up the Peak I can see why Jesus did it. It has a way of stripping the external noise away and just making it about me and God, Him and me. Sometimes I pray. Sometimes I am quiet. Sometimes I just listen for an answer.

How about you? Have you got a solitary place you go to be with God? Do you have a Peak you go to? Or another place? If not, I wonder if that will help you to draw aside like Jesus did. For me, it really calms my mind and helps me to draw near to God.

Blessings,
Dave

The need for workers

August 5, 2022

In Matthew 9 Jesus tells His disciples about the need for workers to go out in to the harvest field. It says…

Matthew 9:35-38 NLT – Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. [38] So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

In this passage three things jump out at me as I read it.

1. Jesus modelled what His workers should do

We see that Jesus travelled around the region preaching, teaching and healing. He went to where the people were and met their needs, He even healed their diseases. This echoes Matthew 4:23-25. For me this shows me that we need to be out in our towns and regions doing the work that Jesus did. Jesus gave us a great example.

2. Jesus had compassion on the crowds

We see in the Gospels that Jesus always had compassion for the people where He saw large crowds. I verse 36 He likened them to sheep without a shepherd. We see in the Bible (see Ezekiel 34) God describes His people as sheep and that He wants to be their Shepherd. For us today we need to introduce people to our Shepherd Jesus. The one who cares for us, feeds us and binds up our wounds.

3. Jesus asks us to pray for workers

Jesus finishes the passage with a need and a request. He says the harvest of people is huge, but there are not many workers to bring it in. He then asks us to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers. Many times when we pray for a need we find that God softens our hearts and then calls us to help. So when you pray, be prepared that God may call you.

Reading this passage afresh today has reminded me of the great harvest of people out there who need to meet Jesus. It also reminded me of what we need to do. We need to follow Jesus’ example and be out there preaching, teaching and healing. We also have to pray for workers to bring in the harvest with the compassion of Jesus.

Blessings,
Dave

Good and helpful words

April 1, 2022

Ephesians 4:29 NLT – Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

One thing that should distinguish a follower of Jesus, from someone who doesn’t follow Him, is their language. Someone who is a follower of Jesus should speak words of life, wisdom and encouragement. They should aim to build everyone up that they speak to. Jesus tells us that our words are a reflection of our hearts. So, it is important to let our words be full of Jesus and His Kingdom. Words that build up and not tear down.

Prayer

Dear God, please help me with the words I speak each day. I pray they will be good and helpful. Help me not to use foul and abusive words. I pray that I will be the type of person whose words will be an encouragement to all those who hear them. I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.