How is Ash Wednesday and Lent observed? This year on 22 February.

Ash Wednesday, Lent and Easter!
Celebrated in 2012 on Wednesday 22 February.

Ash Wednesday is a day of humbling penitence.

Biblical perspective on the practices around Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday is a day of humbling penitence and it is the first day of the Season of Lent. Ashes were used in ancient times, according to the Bible, to express mourning. Dusting oneself with ashes was the penitent's way of expressing sorrow for loss, sins and short comings. An ancient example of one expressing one's penitence in this way is found in Job 42: 6. Job says to God: "Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

The prophet Jeremiah, for example, calls for regret this way: "O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes" (Jer 6:26).The prophet Daniel also pleaded with God: "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes." (Daniel 9:3

Other examples are found in Matt. 11: 21 and Luke 10:13, “…if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes”. Hebrews 9:13 and 14 reads: “The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God!”

Moses repented and fasted for 40 days after the Israelites made and worshipped the golden calf.
Ash Wednesday marks the start of a similar 40-day period (Sundays are not counted) which relates to Jesus praying and fasting in the dessert before starting his ministry.


How is Ash Wednesday and Lent observed?
Preaching, hymns and prayers in Church help us to remember how Jesus suffered, died and rose from the grave. Many Christians also use their private devotions during these seasons to reflect on what the gospel events teach them and what message the Lord personally has for them.

Some Christians, also in our Church, decide to “give up something for Lent”.
The original thinking behind this custom was the deepening of our faith and spirituality, not just making people uncomfortable for six weeks. The basis of observing Lent in this manner was and always should be that we through spiritual discipline grow in our faith and our relationship with God and other people.

While the giving up of coffee, sugar, chocolate, golf, TV, games and other conveniences became the principal focus to some people, physical disciplines are not an end in themselves. If it does not help us to focus on growing our relationship with God, it is a useless practice and can even be a superstitious tradition.

The challenge is this: "What, if anything, is going to move me closer to God as I prepare for Easter – remembering Christ’s resurrection, this year?"
Adding prayer and study time, time with my family and with my Church? Giving up conveniences to encourage spiritual discipline that will help me to focus on God and his calling on my life?

The “fast” or giving up something for Lent, is broken on Resurrection Sunday and adds joy to our remembering that Jesus rose from the dead, conquering our sin, our death and evil.

On what do protestant Christians focus during Lent?
There are two important aspects:
* Penitence: We realise our own brokenness and our need for Christ.
* Preparation: We strive to open our hearts wider for remembering Christ’s suffering and death and the celebration of his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

During this time people add to or subtract from their daily routines with the goal of drawing closer to God.

Keeping Perspective...
If you decide to observe these “fasts”, there must be no legalism about it. We are not trying to impress God. We're trying to prepare our hearts.

Observing Lent in these ways is no obligation! It is not a Biblical requirement! It is a good custom that helped many Christians over the centuries to, in fellowship with their fellow Christians, seek a closer walk with the Lord, that really should last all the time and during all seasons!

Lent is an opportunity to grow spiritually rather than being a burden and we pray that yours will be meaningful!

The Biblical Imperative to Praise & Worship - Part 3 (Final)

God moves amongst his people to restore both us and his church. God’s way to do this is amongst others through warm and sincere celebration of God through praise and worship. We need to worship God. And God deserves our worship, praise and thanksgiving. What does praise and worship do for us?

Firstly, God commanded it. God desires people who will praise and worship him. Praise and worship make us obedient followers of Christ.

Secondly, God is worthy of our worship. He deserves our praise and thanksgiving. Revelation 4:11 says, "Worthy are you, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things” and Revelation 5:11-12, "And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

Again in Revelation 7:11-12 we read, "And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, 'Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.'"

Thirdly, as we praise and worship God, our focus is not on ourselves, but on the Lord. As we are aware of his presence, we become conscious of his glory and greatness, his majesty and his power. Praise and worship bring us into the very presence of a holy God where we hear his message and receive the work we are to do for him.

Fourthly, praise and worship give insight into ourselves, our sin and short comings and our challenges. Looking at our lives in the light of the ability and the glory of God makes our issues solvable and bring us to a place where we know that our sins are forgiven and that nothing comes between God and us anymore. And that nothing is impossible with God.

Fifthly, worship and praise change us. It changes our attitudes and our mind. It takes away our cynical thoughts and gives us hope. It makes us people of faith. It makes us people who through faith celebrate the grace, the power and the love of God.

We are priests in the kingdom of Christ and we bring the sacrifice of praise to God. We are people of praise, because our God is worthy of our praise, and because we receive a new life and new hope and meaning through praise.
Let’s make it our priority.

Jesus touched an untouchable man

Mark 1: 40 – 41 - A man with leprosy came to Jesus and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man.“I am willing,” he said.“Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

In the case of this leper, Jesus reached out and touched him. This was unheard of when Jesus was on earth. A leper was considered horribly unclean, both religiously and physically. They suffered from a terrible, contagious decease. And they were required to walk around and cry "Unclean! Unclean! In terms of that culture it would be more than irresponsible to touch a leper. You might get leprosy. And you would be ritually unclean as well.

Well, Jesus did. He made a point of touching the sick, lonely cast out man.

Jesus could have just spoken to him and healed him but he decided to touch him.
We need to touch the untouchable too. If we do touch those who are in need, we begin to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. And God will bless us if we do.
He will bless us with the joy to make a difference in his Name. He will bless us with meaningful and Spirit filled living. God will reveal his power through our loving touch and grant us the gifts to make a God inspired difference in the world.

Jesus used his power to help others. And we should use the gifts he gives us to help others in need, too.

When Christ saves us he reconciles us with our Father in heaven

Jesus came to reconcile us with God.

There's an Irish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months, yet could not find his beloved son. Eventually , in a last effort to find him, the father put an ad in a newspaper, which read: “Dear Patrick, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.” On that Saturday 800 Patricks showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.

Forgiveness is a critical part of reconciliation. It means that our sin is not allowed to come between God and us anymore.
Painful relationships amongst ourselves are also healed when we imitate God’s forgiveness, not allowing the wrongs people did against us, to come between us and those who are significant to us.

Reconciliation is about being redeemed. The ransom has been paid and we have been set free. There is no outstanding debt. Jesus paid the fine fully and completely. Thus we can be forgiven, and be reconciled with our Father in heaven.

Reconciliation can be described as acceptance. When Jesus saves, redeems and forgives, he makes us acceptable to God. We are reconciled with God, because God accepts us.
With divine love.

The Biblical Imperative to Praise & Worship - part 2

John 4:23-24 says: "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be his worshipers. God is spirit; and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

God moves in a fresh way in his church and amongst his people and an important part of this restoration comes from warm and sincere celebration of God through praise and worship. We need to worship God. And God deserves our worship, praise and thanksgiving.

Praise and worship is essential for every Christian. It is important, because God created us to praise him. Wherever you find people, they worship something. It may look and be different from what we are used to, but even so, all peoples on earth worship a higher being. Human beings will have a god, even if it is not the true God. This is because God created us to worship.

But God desires for us to become true worshipers who worship the one and only true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. John 4:23-24 says: "…the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be his worshipers. God is spirit; and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

God has called us, his sons and daughters, to be these worshipers. “God seeks worshippers”, the Bible says in this verse. To worship God in “spirit and truth” means to worship the true God whole heartedly, honestly, earnestly and truthfully. It teaches us that our worship should come from our heart, be devoted to our God and will be experienced under inspiration of God personally, through his Spirit.

In the Old Testament, priests offered sacrifices to God. According to the New Testament, Christians are all priests who offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and love to God. 1 Peter 2:4-5 says, "And coming to him as to a living stone… you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

What are these spiritual sacrifices? Hebrews 13:15 tells us: "Through him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to his Name." We offer sacrifices of praise, the fruit of our lips.

To praise and worship the one and only true God, is a high and inspiring calling. It is a privilege, and everyone saved by the grace of God through Jesus wants to do nothing else than bring the fruit of our lips, our songs and our prayers and our witness, as sacrifices to the holy God who deserves our love, our devotion and our passion!

The Fruit of Discipleship

John 15: 8 - This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Our relationship with Jesus bears fruit that reveals the Father’s glory. Through living as his disciple, a lost and seeking world can see God’s magnificence and find comfort and salvation.

A disciple of Jesus is someone who became a learner or apprentice of Christ, the teacher. Jesus shows us how to live for God’s glory by imitating Christ and submitting to his teaching.
The fruit of our relationship with Christ is Christ like living and the fruit of Christ like living is that we reveal God’s glory. The fruit of revealing the glory of God is that the light of God again shines in a dark world and the lost can find their way back to the Father.

May we bear much fruit as we show ourselves to be the disciples of Jesus this week.

The Biblical Imperative to Praise & Worship - part 1

John 4:24: God is spirit; and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

Many Christians today believe that God moves in a fresh way in his church and amongst his people and that an important part of this restoration comes from warm and sincere celebration of God through praise and worship.

We want to ask and answer some questions about this during the next three weeks. Is it a Biblical imperative (or commandment) to praise and worship? Is it really important for the believer? Should we emphasise this part of our Sunday Service?

I believe the answer to all the questions above, is a stern “YES!” And the most important reason for this, is that celebratory Sunday Worship where we heartily praise the Lord, is not the invention of man, or of the gospel music industry or any church renewal movement, but it is God’s idea. From the beginning, since the days of the Old Testament, it was God’s idea that his people should meet regularly and continuously, to worship him and to celebrate our relationship with him.

If we study the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments, we will find without any shadow of a doubt that God commanded us to thank, acclaim, praise and worship him with hearts, and minds and voices. Just listen to Psalm 150, and see how we are taught to "praise the Lord!"

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary;
Praise him in his mighty expanse.
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
Praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Praise him with trumpet sound;
Praise him with harp and lyre.
Praise him with timbrel and dancing.
Praise him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise him with loud cymbals;
Praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!

God is still saying to his church, as he commanded so often during all the ages: "Praise Me!"

Why is this so important to the Lord? Does he need our praise? The answer to this question is “NO!” People need praise to feel better about themselves and to develop a good self image.
God has no such need.
The reason for the biblical imperative to worship and praise lies not with God, but with me. The reason is that WE need what praise and worship can do in our lives. God doesn't need our praise, but we have a deeply rooted need to celebrate him.
Praise and worship change and inspire us! The living of a purposeful and content life, begins with celebrating God.

Urgency and passion.

Mark’s Gospel is written with urgency. The first verses tell that Jesus is the fulfillment of OT prophecy. Within the first four verses John the Baptist appears in the wilderness to announce the Messiah’s coming. Only seven verses later Jesus emerges from the river Jordan’s waters after his baptism. After that, the story of the life of Jesus’ is told with super fast pace. Before the end of chapter one Jesus has been tempted in the wilderness, the first disciples have been called and a man, a mother-in-law, and a leper have been healed.

Mark moves rapidly from scène to scène, creating a narrative that speaks of urgency and passion. It seems as if the author came across the story of Jesus and it was such a powerful and life changing experience that he cannot help to share the good news as quickly as he can. He cannot hide his excitement.

You have heard the story. You know how Jesus healed, cured and delivered. You encountered the Messiah’s ministry, death, resurrection and exultation in Scripture.
How did this life changing experience transform your faith and life? Did it kindle a passionate flame and inspired you to be on fire for Christ?

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
No merit of my own I claim,
but wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand –
all other ground, is sinking sand.

When weary in this earthly race,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every wild and stormy gale
my anchor holds and will not fail.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand –
all other ground, is sinking sand.

When the last trumpet’s voice shall sound,
O may I then in Him be found!
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before His throne.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand –
all other ground, is sinking sand.

What does the Bible say about the Church? Part 3. final

1 Timothy 3:15: . . . I write (to you) so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is.... the pillar and support of the truth.

Being part of the local church is not optional. It is the household of God and if I am one of God’s children I belong where the Lord’s family meets and is edified.

The church is also called the pillar and support of the truth. In the Church God’s truth is discovered, taught and learned.

There is something special about knowing the truth in the context of the community of Christ’s household. Firstly, learning in the community of faith safeguards the truth. Anyone can go off track. Anyone can misinterpret God’s Word and individuals are prone to over emphasising one teaching of the Bible to the detriment of others. Within the community of faith we find the help and support to uphold the full counsel of God. This is why the Church is the pillar and support of the truth.

Secondly, the church is a pillar and support of God’s truth, because of the biblical promise that God’s Spirit will be present within this community and will guide his people. Although we know that the Spirit dwells in every individual follower of Jesus, God’s promise to reveal and uphold the truth that has to be taught and learned, is given to the community of Christ, as a body.

In church we are not merely expressing our personal opinions or share our private experiences of God’s guidance and help, but we in faith expect God to address his people on the universal, Christian and apostolic truth as revealed in Christ and testified to in the Scriptures. God calls men and women to preach and teach in his Name by the authority given to them to do so by Christ, who guides his Church in calling his servants to do his work.

God confirms the Gospel truth to his people and applies it to our lives today! This how we become disciples and it simulates the journey that the disciples of Jesus had when he was on earth.

The church provides the context where we challenge one another to fully live for the Lord on the basis of the truth God has revealed to us in Christ and through the Scriptures. We do this as a family in the household of God, the community of the King, the church of the Living God.

Remember what we said three weeks ago. The church is composed of people redeemed by the Son of God, brought together by the will of God to live together as the family of God, in order to do the work of God.
This is possible when we share the truth of God, through the guidance of the Spirit of God, because we desire to know the full counsel of God, as the church of God.

The full armour of God: Each piece put on with prayer!

Ephesians 6: 11 "Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes".
But how do we do that? How does God's armour become our defence against evil and temptation? Paul tells us in verse 18: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. “

The answer to how we put on the full armour of God, is, through prayer. We are equipped for our spiritual challenges, through prayer. There is a hymn we often sing which speaks to this:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Stand in his strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you,
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armour,
Each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls, or danger,
Be never wanting there.

The secret to endure in living for the Lord, to persevere in worshipping and conducting one well in God’s household , is in and through prayer. Then God's strength becomes our strength and his power our power.

Everyone knows that we should put on the full armour of God to take our stand against the schemes of evil. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness to announce the Good News of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
And we put on each piece with prayer.

Our prayer would be:
Almighty God. Rule us. Keep your church strong. Destroy evil’s work and kingdom. Let us obey you Lord, rather than our own weak flesh. Uphold us and make us strong so that we may never be defeated by our weakness or by the temptations of the world!

What does the Bible say about the Church? Part 2.

1 Timothy 3:15: . . . I write (to you) so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God...

The decline in participation in local churches is the result of a lack of Biblical teaching by the church and about the church. Last week we learned that being part of the Lord’s church is not optional. This is true, because being part of the local church is to experience being part of the household of God.

Many metaphors are used to describe the Church in the Bible: a temple, a body, a community and a family, amongst others. When the Church is referred to as a household or family, the emphasis is on the essential need for believers who wish to have a healthy relationship with the Lord, to be supported and encouraged through relationships with other Christians.

When we think about Christ’s community as a household, we emphasise that our union is created by sharing a relationship with God and with one another. We are interconnected to the extent that the Bible says that we are brothers and sisters, because God is our Father, because we have one Saviour and because one Holy Spirit lives in us.

Do you live as part of this family of God? Do you experience this connectedness with the people worshipping with you? Remember, if someone is God’s son or daughter, he or she is your brother and sister.

This has implications for how one “ought to conduct himself in the household of God.” It means that we are to care for each other, to share God’s love and to help those who need support or are hurting. We call this “ministry”. And when we pray and learn together to be equipped for Christian living, we call it “discipleship”. We are not so much prepared and equipped by programs for the challenge to consistently live as God’s family, but by fellow pilgrims on this journey – the household of God.

We all need encouragement and we all need to grow in faith and in the knowledge of Christ. We all need to grow in love for the Lord. This happens within the family of God. Being part of the family is therefore not optional. It is essential and the Bible says the local Church is where you will experience this.

What we do in and about the Church of our Lord really matters. Our behaviours and choices impact on our brothers and sisters who need us. Someone may say, I do not need these relationships – but God needs you to make a difference in the lives of his children, and your fellow Christians need you to encourage and build them up. When we are willing to be open to share in the family of God, we will find that we need their love, friendship and encouragement too. When this penny drops in the local church, the whole church is built up and functions according to God’s will.

Lets be very clear about this: If we do not see the church as the household of God and ourselves as brothers and sisters to every other believer, we do not listen to what the Bible says about the church. But if we do, we will begin to experience the abundance that Christian living is intended to be.

Epiphany 2. "Come and see"

John 1: 43 – 46. The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip then found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote.”
Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” Philip said.

To be a Christian starts with the invitation of Jesus who says “follow me”. The essence about being a follower of Jesus, is to hear his kind invitation - and accept it.

In this passage Jesus called Philip. What makes his story speak to me, is that Philip really was a very ordinary guy! He did not become a Bible writer or a well known preacher. But he listened to the Lord’s call and had the amazing privilege to spend the next 3 years in the Lord’s company and then became a founding member of the Church.

Responding to the Saviour’s call was a life changing day in his life! And he knew it. “We have found the promised Messiah” he told the first person he found, a man called Nathanael. And when it turned out that Nathanael was a sceptic, Philip invited him to meet Jesus too. “Come and see” he said.

Jesus calls ordinary people, and if they hear his voice and are saved, they can make a difference to God’s work by simply inviting those who cross their path to “come and see”.
Who are you going to invite to share your life changing experience with Jesus this week? Is there anyone you should invite to “come and see”?

May the Lord bless you and use you to reveal his glory today.

Jesus must become more

A music professor with a well-trained voice usually sang the major male solo parts in the choir of a large church. A young man named Bob who had no training sometimes took a few shorter solos. As the choir director prepared for the Christmas cantata, she felt that Bob’s voice and style made him a natural for the lead role. However, she didn’t know how she could give it to him without offending the older man.

Her anxiety was unnecessary. The professor had the same thoughts as she did, and he told her that Bob should take the part. He continued to sing faithfully in the chorus and was a source of much encouragement to Bob.

People who can humbly set aside selfish ambition and genuinely seek the good of others, have an attitude that pleases God. This is how John the Baptist reacted when the crowds left him and began following Jesus. John said, “Jesus must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:22 – 30NIV).

What did John the Baptist and the music professor have in common? They were happy to see others elevated above themselves where the purpose is to serve God in the best possible way.

Do we understand what this humility is that enables us to bow humble hearts before the Lord and enter his service unconditionally? To let him be everything and we simply being his servants! To truly live our confession of faith that says that Jesus is King and Head of his church, which means that he must become more, greater! He must increase, always! All we do is to serve him, obey him, be the church he wants us to be and be the Christians he wants us to be!

When we can forget about ourselves, we can do things others will remember.

What does the Bible say about the Church? Part 1.

1 Timothy 3:15: . . . I write (to you) so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)

Could it be true that we live during an age where people do not need the church anymore? This is what more and more people say.

The decline in participation in local churches is the result of a lack of Biblical teaching by the church and about the church. It seems that less people know what biblical teaching about the church is. Many think the church is optional for believers and even redundant in our generation. For the next few Wednesdays, let’s consider this.

The short verse quoted above already says a lot about the church, according to the Bible. Paul speaks about “the church of the living God”, about the “household of God” and about the church as the “pillar of truth”. We need to carefully examine what the Bible says to remain within God’s will when it comes to being part of and maintaining God’s work through his Church.

In our current society we live with a multitude of organizations. Political, civic, social, environmental, sport and business organisations have increased in numbers. Unfortunately, many started to see the church as only another one of these many organisations. As simply another option to choose from. So the thinking is that if you are interested in a good spiritual cause, you may choose to participate and maintain the church. If it doesn’t interest you, join something else, or just live selfishly, seeking self-gratification without “making a difference”.

Our text, however, indicates that the church is much more than simply another good cause. Paul, in writing to Timothy, is instructing him in how one should conduct oneself in relation to the church. As he gives this teaching, he calls the church “the household of God” and the “pillar of the truth”. In saying this, he already indicates that the church has a special importance in God’s plan for our lives and if we want to serve and worship God, we need instruction on how we are to relate to this plan of God.

The church is not optional. Yes, the church needs reformation. And the leaders and members of the church make mistakes. And the church sometimes communicates in a way that feels not relevant, and we need to repent of that and fix this with God’s help. But the church is not optional!

Jesus established the church. He did not merely establish individual Christian living, but he established a community, the church. Jesus announced that he would build a community on the confession that he is Lord, Saviour and the Son of God. This community the New Testament calls the Church of Christ.

The New Testament simply assumes that people who are believers are part of a local church where they live out their confession about Jesus. The church is not man’s invention, but God’s. Because Christ instituted the church, we should know what it is according to the Bible, and how we should function as a member of it. And the church should figure out how to teach, function and organise herself that her members understand God’s plan for the Church well.

The church is composed of people redeemed by the Son of God, brought together by the will of God to live together as the family of God, in order to do the work of God! (David J Hokes)
(Next week more about the Church as “the household of God”.)

If we love as Jesus loved, those who live, work and play with us will have an epiphany of the glory of Christ

John 13: 34, 35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The “old commandment” was to love your neighbour as yourself. (See Lev. 19) God expected his people to live as moral people that
do not steal, lie or deceive;
that do not profane his Name;
that do not defraud, or rob;
that do not oppress the vulnerable, do not pervert justice, do not slander, do not endanger another’s life, do not hate and do not bear a grudge!
God still expects Christians to live moral lives.

But Jesus gave us a new commandment. Jesus expects more than living moral lives. He expects sacrificial love and a life modeled on his own example. He gave his life for his friends.
If we love as Jesus loved, those who live, work and play with us will have an epiphany of the glory of Christ through our living testimony.

“Lord, through your Spirit, equip us to serve and love you and our neighbour as Jesus loved, Amen.”

Epiphany

Many millions of Christians call today, 6 January, the Feast of Epiphany.

In tradition, where the birth of Christ is celebrated on December 25, the arrival of the Magi is celebrated on January 6, called the Feast of Epiphany. This feast is in Eastern Christianity celebrated with more magnificent festivities and church services than Christmas. It was originally within Christianity the day of the giving of presents, following the example of the Magi. This tradition is specifically observed in Spanish speaking countries and in the Eastern Church. It is only in recent years that the Epiphany was again included in the celebrations of some branches of the Western Church, including some of the Protestant churches.

Epiphany considers that the Messiah was revealed to the Gentiles, while Christmas, the birthday, is celebrated as the day when Jewish believers, such as the shepherds, worshipped the new born King. This is why amongst Gentiles in the East, where the Magi came from, it became an important day of remembrance and celebration of an “epiphany” of the meaning of the light and love of Christ for the gentile nations. They also emphasize the revelation of Christ by the Father at Jesus’ baptism with the words: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matt 3:17.) They remind each other also of the first miracle, when Jesus turned water into wine, and the Bible says, this was to reveal the “glory of Jesus”.

For many in the west it is the day when Christmas decorations are packed away and when we “leave” the contemplation of the meaning of the birthday of Christ, expecting an epiphany of the glory of the Son of God, as it was revealed to his followers through his miracles, parables and teachings! The real, complete and final epiphany of the glory of Christ can only be understood when we remember his suffering, and his glorious resurrection, contemplated during Lent and Easter.

It is a day when we may pray that Jesus will not leave us, but show us the fullness of his glory, through his kindness and his victory!

This song and prayer may guide our minds and hearts to desire a personal epiphany of Jesus – the light of the world!

Lord, the light of Your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness shining;
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us,
Set us free by the truth You now bring us,
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine Jesus shine,
Fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze Spirit blaze, set our hearts on fire!
Flow river flow,
Flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your Word, Lord –
And let there be light.

Lord, I come to Your awesome presence,
From the shadows into Your radiance;
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness.
Shine on me, shine on me!

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness,
So our faces display Your likeness,
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirrored here may our lives tell Your story.
Shine on me! Shine on me!

Shine Jesus shine,
Fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze Spirit blaze, set our hearts on fire!
Flow river flow,
Flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your Word, Lord –
And let there be light.

Complete Order for Sunday worship in Afrikaans, with Communion

A complete Order for Sunday worship in Afrikaans, with Communion, in the UPCSA, with rubrics in English. Based on an order of the UPCSA, but with many added Afrikaans resources incorporated to simplify and enrich leading an UPCSA worship service in Afrikaans.

To down load, click this link:
http://www.cpk.co.za/formuliere.htm

Advent 2011 - part 5: LOVE

Fourth (last) Advent Sunday – 18 December.
Theme: Love

Advent considered hope, peace and joy. On the last Advent Sunday, 18 December, it contemplates love. Christ coming to us reveals Gods love for his people and for all of his creation.

1 John 4:9-10 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

The most important idea in these verses is that God showed his love. The Biblical understanding of love is that it is shown in actions. It is not so much what we feel, as what we do that is important when we try to understand this word “love” so often used in the Scriptures.

We know God loves us, because we know what he did for us. He created us to have fellowship with him, and when we strayed, he saved us and when we lost the battle against evil, he conquered for our sake.
We know we love God when we worship, serve, praise and want to obey God and when we live in awe of our Lord, because we know that he loved us first. Our actions in reaction to his love, show that we love him too.
We love our fellow Christians when we act as brothers and sisters towards one another and we know we love our neighbour when we act towards them in the way that we expect others to treat us as well.

Jesus is the demonstration of the love God has for us. He lived and ministered to reveal who God truly is. Jesus lived and acted in a way that showed us how God loves us: Jesus touched the “unclean”, he respected the rejected, he delivered the captives, he saved the lost and he healed the sick. Jesus showed the mercy, grace, love, compassion, patience and kindness of God.

This is the love we, as his children and witnesses, should show the world.
We hear a lot about the Christmas spirit and that this is a season for giving. We are more patient and show more compassion than we usually do. This is a good thing and it makes the season of Advent and the celebration of Christmas a most special time for many who are in ominous need to be loved.

But, as we await the complete and final coming of the Kingdom of Christ – we should prepare the way for the King by making practical, Christian love much more than a seasonal thing. It is supposed to be the Christian lifestyle displayed always and it shows God’s love all the time.

God loved us in sending his Son for our redemption. Now we should show his love that others may know his salvation and care. True Christian love is when we show through every aspect of our lives that God loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. In sacrificial living, we do!

Advent Hymn

Comfort, comfort ye my people,
speak ye peace, thus saith our God.
comfort those who sit in darkness,
mourning neath their sorrow’s load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
of the peace that waits for them;
tell het that her sins I cover,
and her warfare is now is over.

Hark, the voice of one that crieth
in the desert far and near.
calling us to new repentance
since the Kingdom now is here.
Oh, that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way;
let the valleys rise to meet him
and the hills bow down to greet him.

Make ye straight what long was crooked,
make the rougher places plain
let your hearts be true and humble,
as befits his holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
now o’er earth is shed abroad;
and all flesh shall see the token
that his Word is never broken!

Music: Harvard University Hymn Book 94, (Genevan 42) Olearius 1671. for Advent

Advent part 4: JOY

Third Advent Sunday: 11 December 2011.
The theme is Joy!
When we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we may expect to be happy during the festive season, all the time. But happiness is not joy. One can experience the joy of the Lord even when circumstances are not particularly “happy”.

We may rejoice in all situations. Even when we are under threat, we are concerned or we are dissatisfied. Because Joy comes from the knowledge that we are within the will of God and it comes from the certain faith knowledge that God cares about us and takes care of us.
During this season we remember that God gave his only Son – because he cares and that he will never leave or forsake us. We know that when Jesus returns, he will be with us for all eternity.

When Mary was told that she expected the Saviour, she feared. She was afraid of the holy angel that came to see her. And she was afraid of the message: To be pregnant and not married carried the death penalty for a girl in those days. She could at least lose her fiancé who knew he was not the dad of the Baby! She ran the risk of rejection by family and of the community.

This is not a particular happy picture.
And yet – there is all the indications that the young virgin Mary rejoiced and was filled with joy. She was to be within the will of God! She was to do the most important work one can do for God. She also believed that nothing is impossible with God!

This is why, in spite of everything risky and dangerous her calling to carry the Christ child entailed, she could break out in song and dance to express a deep felt joy!

According to Luke, this is what she sang as she rejoiced:
Luke 1: 46 - 55:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour
for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation....

May God grant you this joy. Whatever your circumstances! May you find God’s will for your life and assurance of his protection and love.

Advent – part 3: PEACE

The theme for the Second Sunday of Advent is Peace. The first Advent Sunday focused on hope and that we bear the responsibility to live as agents of hope in a world plagued by despondency. As we consider peace this Sunday, 4 December, we see that we can bring hope into the world by being peacemakers.

We sing a lot about peace in our Christmas carols. It was after all the core message of the angel choir on the night that Jesus was born: “Peace on earth and goodwill towards men on whom God’s favour rests.”

Yet, how often do we do everything within our power to bring peace where it is direly needed.
Are we peacemakers within our own families?
Do we work to heal our marriages and family bonds or do we let our prejudices or anger bring discord?
Do we work towards unity within our congregation or are we the instigators of divisive gossip and lead deconstructive cliques, sowing conflict with no desire to bring about the peace amongst his people Christ lived and died for?
Do we refer to people that look and act differently than ourselves with disrespect, contempt and ridicule and stereotype them?

Peace on earth starts with us and our attitudes towards others. If we hold people, and especially other Christians and fellow church members and family members, dear to our heart, our words and actions will mirror this love and respect. There really is no point in speaking about peace on national and global levels as long as we in our personal sphere of influence are agents of war, hurt and conflict.

Let’s remember the definition Jesus gave to love: “Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.” Let’s stop singing about peace until we made peace and became peacemakers.
“Peace” is no true and sincere Christmas card decoration or Christmas carol when it does not come from a changed heart and compassionate soul.

The Season of Advent teaches us to be peace makers as it will restore the hope on Christ, the King. As we expect the coming of the Kingdom of the Prince of Peace born to be our Redeemer and as we make straight the road for the Second Coming, let’s live as true ambassadors of the Peace Kingdom the Messiah came to establish.

Yes, we must be the peacemakers. We who are followers of Christ and we who love Jesus! But we will not be until peace conquered our hearts. This always means that we make peace with ourselves first, with whom we are and what our calling in God’s work is. It then also means making peace with those closest to us. It means that we do earnestly mean it when we call our fellow Christians “brothers and sisters”.

God’s children can bring about peace on earth if we are filled with the Holy Spirit and if we received the peace of God through the Spirit in prayer and reflection of God’s Word.

A good place to start may be to pray the popular prayer of the 13th century St Francis of Assisi and mean every word that we say:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

The Advent Wreath

The symbolism of the Advent wreath (on the Table) is beautiful.

The wreath is made of various evergreens, signifying continuous life.
It signifies victory over persecution and suffering. The prickly leaves remind us of the crown of thorns.
Any pine cones or seeds symbolize life and resurrection.
The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ.
All together, the wreath of evergreens depicts our immortality and the new, everlasting life promised to us through Christ, the eternal Word of the Father, who entered our world becoming true man and who was victorious over sin and death through His own passion, death, and resurrection.

The four candles represent the four Sundays of Advent. The progressive lighting of the candles every Advent Sunday symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord’s first coming into the world and the short time we have left to prepare for his second coming to judge the living and the dead.
The light of the candles signifies Christ, the Light of the world.

In family practice, the Advent wreath is most appropriately lit at dinner time on the four Sundays, after the blessing of the food.

Advent 2011 - part 2: HOPE

Mark 13: 26 27 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens"..

We live in the in-between times, between the first and second coming of Jesus. We are waiting upon the Lord in hope of his great power and glory that will completely change our existence. Christ will and can establish his Kingdom. We are the agents of change to bring about faith in the truth that Jesus reigns and will come to effect, in the smallest detail, the wonders of his merciful and loving reign.
This hope should transform our lives!

1. We have the privilege of Christ’s presence through the Holy Spirit living and working in us. He is Emmanuel, that is, God with us. As we prepare to remember the first coming of Jesus at his birth, advent brings us hope. Through the work of the Spirit this hope should transform our lives, even though we are often confronted by hopelessness.
2. We can look at life in a new way: We need to see the real world with its pain and shocking sadness, and choose to be messengers of hope for those in need. We can help them to expect more of Jesus and his love.
3. We wait upon the Lord, serving him.. While we wait for Jesus to return, we serve him as we worship him in all we do, and we serve in his Name in serving those who need the good news of his glorious coming into our lives, our church and our society.
The Lord is coming and it is a message of hope!

Advent 2011 – Part 1

The Season of Advent – the four Sundays before Christmas, starts on 27 November 2011. The word “advent” basically means “coming”.

o It is a time to be filled with joy, because God became a man and was born as a baby to become our Redeemer and King!
o During this season we also remember that Jesus wants to enter our lives today, here and now, and through his Spirit’s work in us become part of our reaching out to a lost world in pain.
o We also remember that Jesus Christ promised to physically come again, to create a new heaven and earth in which we will live for all eternity!

The 4 Advent candles in church represent a “countdown” of the Sundays before Christmas - but it also reminds us that we have but a short time to prepare, before Jesus returns!

Advent reminds us that God gave his Son
During this Advent Season we will once again remember that Christ took on our weak, human nature and became one of us. We prepare for a “Merry Christmas”. To believers this has nothing to do with a politically correct “Happy Holiday”. Our cheer comes from the “mass”, or celebration, of Christ who came to save his people and will come again to make their salvation complete! He wants to change our lives into Christ’s mass: Christmas!!

The Apostle Paul explains it in 2 Cor 5: 21: God made him who had no sin, to be sin for us so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.

This is what Christ came to do when taking on our “weak human flesh”. He showed his compassion with our dilemma which is the result of our imperfections, mistakes, disobedience and sin. He came to live the life that God requires and we cannot accomplish, and to live it perfectly, holy and without sin, in our place! The Son of God became our brother and he never leaves nor forsakes us.

During this Season of Advent we want to celebrate that when God gave the gift of salvation, he did not send a handbook with complicated instructions to figure out how to be saved. He did not send us laws and procedures that are beyond us and which will lead to even more failure to please our holy God. Instead, he sent his Son to save us.

Jesus came to show us how salvation works. Jesus came to become our salvation, our joy and our security. Jesus came to give us everlasting life. Jesus came to live a life that pleases God in our place. He came to pay the penalty for what we cannot and did not do.

Even today Jesus wants to come into your life through the work of his Spirit, to through faith in him, ensure that we work out his salvation in our day to day lives and challenges and in our work for the Lord.
And one day he will come again on the clouds to make our salvation complete.

The Advent message always remains that (John 3:16) God so much loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Let’s trust in the directions of the Son. Let’s rejoice because he did everything we could not do, to save us! Lets pray that he will come again soon to dry all our tears.

May you experience a blessed and a merry Advent Season.

There is no laity!

At the planning meeting of our congregation it was decided to develop our Sunday Worship services in order to more often include the participation of members, other than the minister or duty elder of the month.

The elements that the preaching minister of the day will sometimes ask members to do, will include:
o Call to worship
o Various prayers
o Receiving and blessing the offerings
o Readings

This decision was not taken lightly, but biblical principles were considered.
The purpose of this process is to ensure that Sunday Worship is not seen as “the minister’s territory only” but to adapt to the approach widely practiced, where both elders and other members lead some of the elements of the Order for Sunday Worship. It enforces the principle that in Sunday worship members are not mere bystanders and that not only the minister, but the congregation is filled with the Holy Spirit and may therefore lead the congregation in worship.

It reiterates the emancipation of members within the Reformed tradition as all belonging to the priesthood of the believers, instead of being spectators only. This is an age old principle within Protestant worship, that we lost when a popular view developed in the mid 20th century that Sunday Worship is the territory of the “professional prayers” and the members are “only laity” and therefore not worthy to take a leading role. This is not the view of most Protestants and it is particularly not a Reformed / Presbyterian view and we wish to correct it.

The resistance we see to implementing this principle, is the result of a misunderstanding that differentiates strictly between “ordained ministers” and “”laity”, a view which we do not find in the New Testament. In the Church in the New Testament believers are not only called priests, but even “royal priests” and “prophets”.

The Minister of Word and Sacrament is usually responsible for preaching and always for dispensing the sacraments, as this is what he has been set apart / ordained for.
But any other element could frequently be led by other members too.
Asking members to participate / lead liturgical elements is at the discretion of the preaching minister on the day, who probably will invite members on a week to week basis to do this most Sundays.

Christ the King separates the sheep and the goats!

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matt. 25:31 - 32

People ask, if Jesus is the King on the glorious throne of God, why are so many things wrong, impure and painful in this world? If the promised Messianic Kingdom of the Prince of Peace came when Jesus went to heaven to be crowned King of all, how must we understand that so much of our experience in life is still about injustice, sadness, sin and death?

The answer simply is: Until Jesus comes again there are both goats and sheep in the world. He reigns and cares for his sheep amidst the reality that the sheep and goats have not yet been separated. Jesus tends his sheep and leads them to his new heaven and earth and glorious dominion, in spite of the fact that his sheep follow him while goats are all around, often being influential and seemingly winning most the time.

The truth about sheep and goats is that one day judgment will be handed down on the basis of whether we are sheep or goats. The King will say, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.” And on the other hand he will say, “I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,” It will be our living or not living according to the standard of love and mercy of the Kingdom of Christ the King that will be the standard for judgment.

Yet everyone knows that it is faith that saves by grace. Following Christ the King and accepting him as Lord of our lives, turns our lives around and the evidence about our lives is that we have been turned around form being goats to being sheep. And this miracle of our metamorphosis from goats to sheep, is a free gift! It is pure grace!

And this all happens because your Judge is also your Saviour!

This is how we glorify Christ the King! We live for him. We live out his heart within the needs around us. Jesus said, whatever you did for the least of his brothers and sisters, you did for him! We make his will visible, we show his heart and we allow the light of his dominion to become visible in this dark world. Then more people can believe that Christ the King, the Messiah, indeed reigns and that they too may believe in him and be saved through faith in him. People will begin to believe in Christ the King, when we act out our status as the sheep in the flock of Jesus

Prayer on the Feast of Christ the King!

Almighty Christ, King of all!
Today, Lord, we celebrate your glorious victory. We gladly bring honour to you, Lord Jesus who has not only saved us from our sins by your cross and resurrection, but also ascended to the right hand of God. We rejoice that your Kingdom has come on earth, just as it is in heaven.

We bring honour to you, our Redeemer, whom we call Christ the King, who victoriously reigns now, and reigns forever. You, Lord, dealt with our every need, delivered us from every enemy, healed us from all sin, harm and injury and you are worshipped when heaven and earth bow down before you as Lord of all.

Yet, Lord everything promised has not happened on our earth yet! You are the King, and yet, your dominion is also still coming to us and to the world. We live in hope, and in faith that we truly heard the Word of God, that testifies that you will come again in glory to effect in the smallest detail, your glorious reign.

King Jesus, thank you that you not only bring salvation to us, but through your work through the ministry of your Church, also to the whole world, yes, to the ends of the earth. Your people accept the grace that you brings, and commit their lives to the power of the Holy Spirit who empowers your children and your Church to fulfil your commission to preach the gospel to everyone, now bring justice wherever we serve you and bring hope and light where darkness still hides your glorious reign and redemption.

Help us to live only for your honour, glory and reign. Help us to be obedient, by the power of your resurrection and of your Spirit. We know that nothing will separate us from the love of God that we received in Christ the King, our Lord and our Saviour!

We pray for all your servants, glorious Lord! For those who preach your word and for those who listen. Protect and guide all the missionaries sent to the ends of the earth to proclaim salvation in you. Guide them and bless their work for you. Call many more to do your work and make us obedient to your call.

In your mercy, heal the sick and comfort those who are weeping because they are sad. Set the captives free and grant relief to the poor. Sanctify those who are powerful and influential and humble those who are proud.
Bring to an end the kingdom of darkness and let your majesty shine as the light of the world. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us your peace.
And now, great King of kings and Lord of lords –
have mercy on us, and on all your people.
In your Name, Lord Jesus, we pray!
Amen.

Feast of Christ the King

Feast of Christ the King

On Sunday 20 November 2011 the universal Church once again celebrates the Feast of Christ the King. It is the last Sunday of the Christian calendar or Christian year, as Sunday, 27 November 2011, marks the first Sunday of the new Christian year, when we observe First Advent Sunday, when amongst other things, we start the countdown to Christmas, then only 4 weeks away.

The Christian year ends celebrating Christ the King, in victory. We gladly bring honour to Jesus who has not only saved us from our sins by his cross and resurrection, but also ascended to the right hand of God. Our celebration of the glorious work of Jesus culminates in the great finale of the Celebration of Christ the King. We rejoice that his Kingdom has come on earth, just as it is in heaven.

Yes, we know that everything promised about the Kingdom of the Messiah has not yet happened on our earth. Yes, his Kingdom has come and, yes, he is the King and Head of the Church and, yes, he reigns in glory.

And yet, his dominion is also still coming to us and to the world. We still live in hope, and in faith that we truly heard the Word of God that testifies that he will also come again in glory to effect in the smallest detail, his glorious reign. But until he comes again, we celebrate his heavenly rule, and the coming of his dominion over everything and everyone and everywhere with great expectation, in faith and in the certain knowledge that even now he is the King of our hearts, of his Church and of every aspect of our lives.

On Sunday, 20 November 2011, this coming Sunday, we celebrate that Jesus of Nazareth, the eternal Son of God, has taken his place as King of kings and Lord of lords in our lives, our faith and our certain knowledge that he will bring justice and righteousness to us, to his people and to the whole world.

Christ’s people accept the grace that he brings, and commit their lives to the power of the Holy Spirit who empowers his children, and his Church, to fulfil the commission of Christ the King to preach the gospel to everyone, bring justice wherever we serve him and bring hope and light where darkness still hides the glorious reign and redemption of our Lord.

Doxology Hymn

Doxology Hymn: Romans 11: 33 - 36

Oh depth of the riches - the wisdom of God;
How unsearchable is Gods judgments and paths.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, Amen.

Oh who has known the mind of our glorious God?
Or who has been his counsellor, yes, who is that wise?
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, Amen.

Does God owe anyone that it should be repaid?
For from Him and through Him, and to Him all things!
To Him be the glory for ever! Amen.

Celebrate Jesus – part 2 - final

We believe that the Lord Jesus, anointed as God’s Messiah, came to us to set up, proclaim and make us one with the Kingdom of God. He is the Son of God, born as a man and now exalted in heaven as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Jesus is worth celebrating, simply because of who he is.

But we also celebrate Jesus for what he does for us and in our lives. What does he do?
1) Jesus loves us just as we are. “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his son, his one and only son. And this is why: So that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” John 3:16(The Message) Jesus loved us even before we loved him. Paul writes in Rom 5: 8:“But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.” (CEV)

2) Jesus forgives the wickedness of our past.
We read about a woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ … When they kept on questioning him, he said to them, ‘If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ … Jesus asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.” While others condemned the guilty woman, Jesus restored her. What Jesus does is to restore condemned sinners and give them the right to be called children of God.

3) Jesus also makes our lives new.
We believe that Jesus Christ, being for our offences crucified, dead, and buried, his body never saw corruption, but he was raised again on the third day. In his risen life, we live anew, and receive the fruit of his resurrection. In heaven he continually intercedes for us as the Head of the Church, where he is honoured as Lord over all.

Paul writes: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) Jesus makes us new, even if we broke and destroyed ourselves.

It is time to celebrate Jesus for what he does for us! And the best way to celebrate him is to turn from our world conforming lives and embrace the new life he gives as a result of his cross and his victory.
Our transformation into his image celebrates Jesus for what he does and for who he is!

How can we honour one another?

Romans 12: 10: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.”

How to honour one another.
Firstly we must honour God. He is worthy of our highest praise and deserves all honour. Listen to what the angels of heaven say and sing:
(Rev 5:12) "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!"

When we honour God in the way we speak to him and about him, we will find it easier to honour one another, made in the image of God.

How can we honour one another? First of all by recognising and encouraging one another for efforts or achievements. This means we are to give personal compliments face-to-face. This means we are to go out of our way to thank and praise each other.

Secondly we also honour others by associating with them, by spending time with them. Paul writes:
(Rom 12:16) Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
It is important that the church stands in sharp contrast to the world's values that usually honour the rich, the successful, the famous, and the beautiful.

Jesus showed this kind of honour to those of low position, even outcasts. Whom did Jesus spend time with while on this earth? Yes, he did eat fancy dinners at the homes of the rich and the powerful. But he also associated with tax collectors and sinners. He wasn't ashamed to be seen talking with a Samaritan woman. He allowed a prostitute to anoint his feet with perfume and to dry them with her hair. He honoured these people with his presence and company.

At stake here is spiritual maturity. At stake here is the depth of our conformity to Christ. At stake here is whether or not we live as one of God's children.

What is true worship?

Worship in Truth and Spirit.
John 4:24: God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

What is true worship? The many churches around us do many different things, and they all are calling it worship.
Some churches observe a great deal of formality and ritual. Things are always done exactly the same way without any deviation.
Other churches have no printed order, although everyone has unwritten orders or practices. When informal and unexpected things happen, they are not considered disruptions in “informal” churches.

There are many styles and customs. Are some right and others wrong? The truth is that any style or tradition or custom or order can be done rightly or wrongly, because the customs we observe are but outwardly practices that either help us to worship God, or distract our minds from God. To worship God in truth and Sprit has nothing to do with style, yet it has everything to do with the worshipper.

Because praise, worship and the communion of believers are all God’s idea and should not in the first place be about our preferences. We need to seek what the Lord says about worship and seek to understand what God expects.

When reading the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments, we see that God commands praise and worship, created us to worship him and that praise and worship are not two separate acts, but one act that brings praise to the Lord as grateful believers who worship because we received God’s grace and mercy. For example, in Psalm 150 we hear over and over the command to "praise the Lord!"
Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Praise the Lord!

As God did since the beginning of mankind, he still commands us to praise him. God is saying to us as his Church today: Honour and praise me, by worshipping me!

And Gods does not command this because of himself or any need he may have for our worship. He commands it, because we need to worship him. We cannot be changed, restored, equipped or empowered without worshipping our Maker, our Saviour, our Redeemer!

God commands us to worship, because our worship does something for us.
Without fellowship with God we are on our own – and we need God to have a life filled with meaning, purpose and joy.
Through worship we are healed and encouraged to live for the Lord.
Worship turns our hearts of stone into hearts filled with love and compassion for our neighbour.
Worship binds us with our Church family and turns a lonely journey into a life supported by love, empathy and recognition as someone who lives in God’s community.

Style, custom and tradition has very little to do with worshipping in truth and in Spirit. These may sometimes even distract us from focusing on God, if it becomes self-gratifying and people pleasing instead of focused on our God whom we worship. But if we come as needy people to be received by the King of all, and as we worship him, our broken relationships with the Lord, his community and our friends in Christ are reinstated. This glorifies God and testifies about our complete dependence on him. And it keeps us in the fold, and responds to our need for God and his church!

This we will get right when we remember that all the cultural, material actions we use to accomplish it, are mere aids to do the right thing. We will really only get it right when we worship in Spirit and truth, because God is Spirit! And we need God, who comes to us in Christ Jesus, to live and to die comforted and with true joy.

Celebrate Jesus – part 1

Celebrate Jesus simply for who he is.
During this short series of Midweek Devotions we will also learn to celebrate Jesus for what he does, for changing our lives, and for his exaltation at God’s right hand.

But, let’s start at the beginning. We first of all should celebrate Jesus just because of who he is. Do we really realise who Jesus is? And if we do, is it not enough reason to spend all of our days celebrating him? Jesus is God, and we should celebrate that.

1) He is an earthly picture of our heavenly Father.
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.”Colossians 1:15 (New Living Translation)
Jesus came to show us what God is like, to learn about the love, grace, mercy, kindness, holiness, justice and many other attributes of God. Jesus said “To see me is to see the Father.” John 14:9 (The Message). Jesus acted out, as a human being, who God truly is, that we may know, enjoy and glorify God always.

2)Jesus is the path to God.
Jesus is the only way for human beings to connect with God. “Jesus said, ‘I am the road, also the truth, also the life. No one gets to the Father apart from me.” John 14:6 (The Message) When we get lost, Jesus is the road to the Father, when we are confused, Jesus is the truth that shows us what really makes sense in life. He shows us how to get a life. The unbelieving world has a completely different way of understanding how to get a life.
Yet, when we come to Jesus we are set free from our wickedness and we can get a life, and one that never ends, not even after we died!

3) Jesus is the friend of those who follow him.
“Greater love has no one that this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves…… But I have called you friends.” John 15:13-15

We believe that the Lord, anointed as God’s Messiah because he is one with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, came to us to set up and proclaim the Kingdom of God amongst us. He did this by his perfect life, through words and deeds of grace, and ultimately by his death on the cross. He rose triumphantly in order to save us. He sacrificed himself, perfect and unblemished, to be our Saviour, Redeemer and Mediator!
Jesus is worth celebrating, simply because of who he is.

Doxology

Romans 11: 33- 36
Doxology
(or Song of Praise to glorify God)

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

We need to change - part 3 - last part

We believe that we have to change to be happy. The Bible, specifically in Rom 12: 1 and 2, urges us to change our minds in order to become what God desires us to be.

There is a process by which we are changed to become more like Christ. It is the process of being transformed. What we are taught in Rom 12, is a change of our minds that changes our nature. It is much more than an outward change. It is so radical that people would not be able to tell that we actually are the same people we used to be.

As my mind is renewed, my inner self changes. It is the person inside me that becomes more like Christ, because our thinking is trained to think along the lines of God’s ideas. We are told in Philippians: 4 to think about such things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

These we can only do by studying and contemplating the Word of God. We must seek out every opportunity to read and hear God’s Word. As we read and hear it taught, we are to respond to the challenge of being changed to the ways God thinks about life and by being obedient to that Word.

Rom 12: 1 & 2 says that the test whether we are changed by God Word, is that we come to a place where we not only know the will of God, but begin to live according to it. Paul says: “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom12: 2c)

A renewed person delights in knowing and doing the Word of God. Only a transformed mind can test the will of God, to prove that it is good, pleasing, and perfect.

The will of God is good. God only asks us to do that which is good for us.
The will of God is pleasing. It pleases God and will in the end please us. This is because it will result in a relationship with God which secures his blessing of us.
The will of God is perfect. God wants the best for us. His will is completely what we need in order walk with the Lord, work for the Lord and make a difference in the world for the Lord.

If you are a Christian, are you completely his? Have you surrendered to his will and Word?
Someone wrote that we must be careful not to develop the kind of Church we are the home of the 1% tithe and the thirty minute service with sermonettes for Christianettes. Or where our commitment is that instead of "Standing on the Promises" we are merely “sitting on the premises”.
This is not what God has in mind for me and you.

God wants everything. He wants our lives, our time, our abilities and resources, our jobs, our leisure, our families and marriages, our homes and our hobbies! Because God wants to change our minds and transforms us till we think like him and live for him in imitation of him in every aspect of life.

Do not be conformed — be transformed.
Come to Christ for a change.

What if you were as small as an insect?

If you were as small as an insect, it would give you a different view of everything in the world. A field of grass would turn into an extraordinarily tall forest and a stone or brick would be a soaring steeple. It would certainly be your reality, but, and this is important, only a reality from your perspective as being one of the smallest creatures around. The lion would have a totally different view of the grass and the brick! Your reality is not always real – it is not always the true reality.

Our perception of reality changes, because it is based on our subjective perspective. Our reality often is nothing more than our personal view. But it may not be the whole truth. There is a difference between wat is true for me, and what is The Truth!

It is, for example, my perspective that I am a sinner. But The Truth is that I am a sinner saved by grace. I know that my best works are nothing but filthy rags before God. But The Truth is that I am clothed in Christ's righteousness. Christ is my righteousness, and I stand complete in Him.

It know that I am defeated from time to time and I know that I fall short of a victorious life. But, although this is true, The Truth is that I overcome in Christ and am able to do everything in and through Christ who gives me strength.

It is true that at times I do not feel saved. But The Truth is that my salvation is not dependent on my feelings. While it is true that I do not feel saved, The Truth is that I am saved in and through Christ Jesus.

A special Christian friend is a God-given treasure

Christian friends are closely supportive of one another on a spiritual, emotional and practical level. Both giving and receiving in a fair and balanced way, between genuine Christian friends, makes it a most special and even godly relationship.

Christian friendships between equals are quite different from friendships where one of the friends is a mentor of a brand new or young Christian. It is a mutually beneficent relationship within Christ’s community on earth.

Christian friendship between equals do not come about in an instant or happen overnight. They develop over a long period of time as trust grows, sensitive matters are shared and prayed about together. It develops while both friends progress in knowledge of Christ and in spiritual understanding. A strong Christian friendship flourishes of course when two friends grow together in faith, goodness, knowledge, and other saintly gifts and experiences.

A good Christian friend is a treasure to be grateful for, one could even say, it is a special gift from the Lord. Care for your Christian friend, pray for him/her, and most of all, in being a saintly friend, you cultivate and secure lifelong support and joy!

We need to change - part 2

We believe that we have to change to be happy. But then we are afraid of change, because it brings uncertainty. The Bible, specifically in Rom 12, urges us to change our minds in order to become what God desires us to be.

Rom 12: 1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy… We are sinners both by nature and choice. In spite of this God loves us and sent Jesus to die for us to set us free from sin and its consequences. By great mercy the Lord saved us through the gift of faith. So we cannot take God’s mercy and saving grace for granted. We must allow God’s work in us to change us according to God’s will. The awesome mercy we received in salvation should urge us to remember our real priorities in life.

Rom 12: 1 –“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” We are urged to present the lives lived in this body not to the desires within us, which wage war against the life of the Spirit. No, we need to offer our regular daily lives to God as sacrifices of thanksgiving for his mercy. In doing so, we commit our bodies to God and yield them into his control.

God wants our lives. He has said that it is pleasing to him if we live our lives in his honour. God calls it a holy sacrifice to him.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "When Christ calls someone, he bids him/her to come and die." You cannot experience resurrection life until you experienced the death of having your own mind about everything. We cannot cultivate the Christian life before we sanctified our thinking and living. This is called our spiritual act of worship. It is true worship. It implies radical change that impacts on everything we do! It changes our minds not only about the priorities in daily living, but also about the very things we choose to do.

According to our nature, you may not know or want to study the Bible. And knowing truth does not always change our minds to godly thinking and doing! Thoughts of Jesus and his sacrifice may bring tears to your eyes, or you may be brought to tears by Christian songs. Yet, tears do not change our minds or lives. God’s Word does! The Spirit does.

To sacrifice your life to God, you have to let go of control of your life to the Holy Spirit. And the only way we can tell if we do this, is to be examined in the light of the Word of God. Our challenge is to yield to God and allow him to live in and through us and to change our minds and in this manner, to change our lives to living sacrifices that brings glory and honour to God.

May God bless, protect and preserve us until his Kingdom comes in perfect glory.

True, lasting friendship

John 15: 13 "Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends”, Jesus said.
A true friend is someone with whom we enjoy mutual affection, interests and respect. The best friends are those who help when we are in trouble and who are our advocates when we need that someone gives more than expected and does not insist on receiving.

Jesus said: "Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” Christ’s friendship is based on his sacrificial love on the cross and giving holy direction through the complete revelation of his will for our lives.

All important love relationships find their model and standard from the friendship Jesus offers us. Joyful marriages, healthy families and successful congregations are founded on the love that friends share with each other. This love is expressed in noble sacrificial giving and helpfulness that overcomes adversary. Such a friendship leads to open communication, complete truthfulness and faithfulness, kind and unselfish counsel without a hidden agenda, and a great union of minds, ideas, dreams and goals of which brave men and women are capable.

Jesus knew that the best kind of friendships would evolve between friends who share the gift of friendship with him, as Jesus shares a divine friendship with his Father. Nothing is more exciting than when we share the satisfaction that I and my friend both are in close communication with the Lord Jesus. Friendship is enhanced when we share mutual activities that contribute to the expansion of the kingdom of God and the revelation of his holiness and love. Without Jesus at the centre of friendship, it either will fail, or cause us to put people above our devotion to God which both lead to hurt and emotional pain.

A friend is someone who multiplies joys, divides grief, and whose honesty is sacred. It is one who understands our silences and gives lot of sympathy and empathy without giving judgment - and whose closeness provides true joy.

Your real friend is the one who comes to you, when the rest of the world leaves you.
Such a Friend Jesus is to those who love and follow him.

We need to change

We need to change.
The media put a message out that if we do not change, we will not be happy and will miss out on lots of fun and happiness. So we desire to change, because we are told that if we are slimmer, tanner, fashionably dressed, stylish, better looking, go to a different bank, have more debt, support another chain store or are better perfumed, we will be happier and more satisfied. The propaganda is put out, and we often believe it. To change our situation for the better is a desire we all have. So we desire change that will satisfy our needs.

But then we are also afraid of change. The uncertainties that change may bring, let us hold onto the status quo, not because it gives us what we desire, but because it makes us feel safe and secure. Perhaps we fear that change will make us even more unhappy than the status quo.

But we live in a dynamic world which requires us to change in order to survive and keep up with the demands made to us. We cannot keep making the same mistakes and we cannot continue with behaviour that causes us and others to suffer or be hurt.

The Gospel is all about our need to change. But the change God requires is much more than a miracle cream or perfect product or a new car or lifestyle. The Bible gives us a recipe for change that will surprise us, because it tells us that only if the very way we think and the way we are willing to sacrifice our own ideas and desires, will bring us to a place where we will be able to test what the will of God is, and that having our minds thus changed about life, and death, will bring us to a good and pleasing place.

Carefully read what Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed (changed) by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Over the next 2 or three weeks we will consider this teaching in Romans 12.
But lets say it upfront: The most important change we need is to stop conforming to the ideas and propaganda of the world, to change our mind, and seek to have a mind that thinks like God thinks about our lives.

What’s in a name, Christian?

And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. (Acts 11:26c).
So, what’s in a name?

We are Christians because we belong to Christ and therefore we are named after him. We are members of his party. We are his followers. We love the Lord Jesus Christ. So, we are called Christians. We are called Christians because we are called to take after Christ, to show his character and to make him known by the words we speak and the lives we live.

Who is Christ? He has many names in Scripture. And all these names reflect his character, his nature and his calling.

In Isaiah 9: 6 it says of the Messiah (Hebrew for Christ) that "His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." The names of our Lord, the Christ of God, abound in Scripture.
He is called the Second Adam, the Alpha and Omega, the Ancient of Days, the Amen, the Author and Finisher of our Faith, the Blessed and Only Emperor, the Captain of our Salvation, the Chief Shepherd, the Cornerstone. He is the Dayspring, the Desire of the Nations, the Faithful Witness, the First and the Last. He is our Great High Priest, the Holy One of God. He is the Great I Am, the Judge of Israel, the King of the Jews, the King of Saints, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the Lord of Glory and he is the Light of the World. He is the Messiah, the Mediator between God and Man, the Man of sorrows, yet, the Mighty God. He is the Prince of Peace, the Resurrection and the Life, the Rock of our Salvation, the Root of David, the Saviour of the World. He is the Great Shepherd, the Son of Righteousness, the Son of man, and the Son of God. He is the True Vine, the Truth, the Witness, and the Word of God. He is the Lamb of God, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
This is who Christ is. What’s in a name? There is much in a name. These names in the Scriptures were symbolic. It spoke about the character, nature and calling of Christ.

And the name “Christian” speaks of the character and calling of his followers!

Might the Lord by revealing all of this, be saying to us, "Christian, change your life or change your name?"

TO FAST OR NOT TO FAST

TO FAST OR NOT TO FAST
or, do not decide to fast, too fast…

Do we or do we not have to fast? Jesus never commanded fasting, but he did speak of it as an existing custom. He approved of it, although his disciples did not fast during his stay on earth. But they fasted after he left them to go to heaven. Fasting usually is combined with prayer.

What is Fasting?
To put it simply, fasting is abstinence from anything legitimate for the sake of some special spiritual purpose. Normally, fasting is an abstinence from food, but it could be any other useful activity. Remember what young Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar? Daniel and his three friends abstained from the royal food and wine and limited themselves to vegetables and water (Dan 1:8-14).

Jesus never commanded fasting, but he did approve of it. Jesus fasted for 40 days before he entered his ministry. He found it important in order to prepare for God’s work he would do. Should we then not benefit from it as well?

But if we do it, we never do it out of a sense of duty or obligation. It is not something we do because someone tells us to do it. It is something we want to do, freely, of our own will. It should be spontaneous, something that arises from our heart.

An example of fasting.
I have to mention Nineveh. A reluctant Jonah announced that Nineveh had forty days to repent or it would be destroyed. Remember what happened? The result was nothing short of amazing:

(Jonah 3:5-9) The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. (6) When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. (7) Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. (8) But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. (9) Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."

I am having an awfully hard time trying to imagine this kind of response in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban. But we most probably need it as desperately as Nineveh did.

Purpose of Fasting
Fasting comes under the general heading of discipline. Are we able to discipline ourselves to the point where we can say "No" to bodily appetites and desires? Is our stomach our God? Or, is our God the Lord almighty? That's the question. Are we able to control our cravings or do they control us? Remember what Jesus said: (Mt 16:24) "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Fasting in the Bible was always combined with prayer. What it comes down to is that fasting aids or helps or assists our prayer life. It seems that when the stomach is full, the body and mind are less able to concentrate on spiritual things. Fasting actually expresses a hunger for God. We abstain from food and other things so we can better concentrate on God and the things of God.

Fasting is also an expression of sorrow for sin. That was certainly the case with Nineveh, David, and others. Those who sin want to fast as a sign of their repentance. They want to show outwardly the inner sorrow and grief that they feel.

Fasting is also a sign of our unworthiness. It is a sign that we deserve nothing, not even the food we eat, the water we drink, or the air we breathe. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God that made us! It suits us then to humble ourselves before God to confess our national sins, and to pray for mercy and forgiveness.

Fasting may sometimes be the vehicle to express our emotional pain to God. (Think of Job – for example chapter 42) It is to wrestle with God, because we have unanswered questions about our life and the pain that is part of it.

The Manner of Fasting
The Pharisees boasted that they fasted twice a week. And, so that all would know they were fasting, they would wear old clothes and wouldn't wash their face or anoint themselves with oil or perfume. Jesus advised: Don't be like the Pharisees when you fast. Act natural. It is a very personal matter between you and God and should come from your heart, your soul, your spirit. It must be personal, sincere and authentic.

Fasting is about something between you and God. He who sees the heart will bless you and answer you!!

Living in the Body of Christ – part 5 - Our goal

Living in the Body of Christ – part 5 - Our goal
...causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Ephes. 4:16c)
The common goal in the Body of Christ is the growth of the body. As each one does his individual part, it causes the growth of the body as a whole. The Body is responsible for the building up of itself in love as it ministers to each member.

God has decided that this growth occurs as a result of living in community. He put us together in a spiritual body of believers where we learn to be more like him every day. He has given leaders, servants of the Head, to equip us for ministry. He has called us to be one in the faith and to mature to be like Christ. He has called us to work together in community in order to be his Body.

Do you understand the implication of being in the Body? We are a community of God's people who have been brought into a living union with God and with one another. We need one another in order to grow and to help the Body to grow.

Watchman Nee said, “Yet just what kind of a man is he who perceives the Body? He is a person who seeks for fellowship, who fears that he himself may be wrong, and who dare not work independently. Such is the person who has discerned the Body.”

We work together, to grow together, to love Jesus and bear the fruit of the Spirit for every one’s benefit. That is what Body Life is all about. Have you started to live the Body Life yet?

Prayer: O Lord, through your grace and mercy I see not only the Body – but that I am part of this glorious plan to do your work. Make me diligent, loving and serving as I experience the Body Life, depending only on you. Amen.