What is Holy Week

What is “Holy Week”?
The majority of Christians across the globe refer to the week that begins with Palm Sunday and ends with Easter Sunday, as “Holy Week”. We follow Jesus from his triumphal entry, to his cross, death and resurrection.
During Holy Week we observe the Tenebrae Service on Maundy Thursday and our Good Friday services.
The high light is the festive celebration of the resurrection of Jesus on Resurrection (Easter) Sunday.

Because “holy” means that something is set apart for God, Holy Week belongs to the celebration of God and his Christ by remembering the central truth of the gospel that only Jesus Christ, the Son of God, saves us from our sins by his atoning death and victorious resurrection.

What is Palm Sunday?
Palm Sunday always falls on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. It remembers the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the last Sunday before his Passion.

What is Maundy Thursday and the Tenebrae service? “Maundy” describes the sad darkness of this day. It was on this Thursday night that Jesus instituted his holy Supper, washed the feet of his disciples, experienced the anguish and fear of Gethsemane and was arrested and tried by the Jewish religious leaders. It was the night that he was betrayed by Judas and denied by Peter.

Tenebrae (Latin for 'shadows' or 'darkness') is a unique ceremonial, commemorative liturgy contemplating the suffering of Christ by the gradual extinguishing of candles, a series of Scripture readings, teaching on the significance of the Passion of Christ.

FIRST READER: Luke 22: 39 – 48
First reader extinguishes 1st candle. -
SECOND READER: Luke 22: 54 - 62.
Reader extinguishes 2nd candle
THIRD READER: Matt 27: 22 – 31
Reader extinguishes 3rd candle.
FOURTH READER: Luke 23: 26 - 28.
Reader extinguishes 4th candle.
FIFTH READER: Matt 27: 33 – 40
Reader extinguishes 5th candle
SIXTH READER: Luke 23: 39 – 43 and John 19: 25 - 27.
Reader extinguishes 6th candle.
SEVENTH READER: Luke 23 : 44 – 54
Reader extinguishes last candle.

At the Tenebrae service we recreate the emotional aspects of the passion events. It is not a happy service, because the night remembered is a dark, solemn one in which we are in mourning, because our sins caused the Son of Man so much affliction and distress.
It is an incomplete service, without benediction at the end, only to be completed on Easter Sunday.

Good Friday
Good Friday is not a day of celebration but of mourning, both for the sins of the world and our personal sin, punished by the death and suffering of Jesus Christ.
Yet, although Friday is a solemn commemoration, it is not without its own joy, for while we want to contrast the joy of Resurrection to the solemn sadness of Good Friday, likewise the sombreness of Good Friday is a prophecy of the hope of Resurrection Sunday. We always observe Good Friday, well knowing that Sunday is coming! Traditionally we remember the words of Jesus on the cross on Good Friday...

Seven Words on the Cross:
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."
Luke 23:34

"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Luke 23:43

"Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son".
Then he said to the disciple: "This is your mother."
John 19:26-27

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34

"I thirst"
John 19:28

When Jesus had received the wine, he said,
"It is finished"; John 19:30

Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit":
Luke 23:46

Resurrection (Easter) Sunday is the glorious crown of all Christian worship that inspires every Sunday worship service of the year, where we are equipped to live for the glory of God every day of our lives, until the end! You could call it “the most important Sunday of the year”. We should all call it the most inspiring Sunday Worship one can celebrate! Resurrection Sunday, and therefore every Sunday, is a feast of worship and praise, because Jesus triumphed over death and all our enemies.

Pray every day of Holy Week that:
God will bless every service in your own church and amongst every Christian community in the world.
That Christ will call many to receive the Gospel.
That our love for Jesus will be enthused and that God, and worshipping him will be the priority of every Christian in the world – far beyond anything else we could plan or do this week.
That after we commemorated these blessed days, our lives will show the love and mercy of God in the work of Jesus Christ celebrated and remembered during these holy days!
That Jesus Christ, and only Jesus, will be celebrated.

Palm Sunday: A peace march according to the example of Christ!

Palm Sunday: A peace march of the Man who comes in the Name of the LORD, to bring salvation!

On the first Palm Sunday when Jesus rode on a foal, the colt of a donkey, into Jerusalem, the crowds that gathered for the Passover, sang from Ps. 118. They expected the Messiah to come and believed that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised King. When we read these words from the CEV translation, we clearly see why they chose this song of praise:

Psalm 118: 26 – 29 (CEV)
God bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD!
We praise you from here in the house of the LORD.
The LORD is our God, and he has given us light!
Start the celebration!
March with palm branches all the way to the altar. The LORD is my God!
I will praise him and tell him how thankful I am.
Tell the LORD how thankful you are, because he is kind and always merciful.

The waving of palms and laying down of clothes were signs of achievement and victory.
Jesus encouraged the honour bestowed on him. (Otherwise the stones would shout it out!) He claimed to be the One who comes in the Name of the LORD. He marched with the palm waving people to the altar in God’s temple, to cleanse it from greed and to judge those who turned it into a robbers’ den.

He deliberately came into the city in this manner, to fulfil the words written in Zechariah 9: 9 – 10:
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the revert the ends of the earth.

But did the marching crowd remember that the prophet said that under this King’s rule the war horses of Ephraim (Israel) will be taken away and their bows would be broken? No, because they craved a political and military hero, they quoted the prophecy out of context. They only took from it what suited their own whims and desires.

But Jesus came to fulfil the prophecy within the framework of God’s announcement through Zechariah. That being lowly, he rode on donkey and claims victory by proclaiming peace to the nations. Through the gospel of peace and reconciliation, between God and man, and man and man, his rule through granting salvation, would extend from sea to sea!

The humble donkey became a throne for not only a King, but for the Son of God himself. Jesus used what was considered of little value, in this case a donkey, to be elevated to carry even God himself, our Lord and our Saviour. For our God saves as a peace maker and triumphs through sacrifice and suffering for our sake! The Son of God came into Jerusalem in peace and humility and he rode on a donkey to symbolise the character of his victorious kingdom.

We have to believe that evil is overcome by peace and humility. We have to believe that justice is restored through sacrificial love.

Jesus liberates from all our enemies, from the source and root of our problems: sin, evil, and death itself! This is the rule and reign Jesus Christ had in mind when he allowed the crowd to hail him as the son of David, the glorious Messiah of God and to wave their palms and throw their clothes on the road before him. He entered the city to triumph over evil by being crucified, buried, resurrected, and returned to heaven.

People of God! On Palm Sunday wave your palms! Take courage and proclaim God’s victory over sin, judgement, corruption, poverty, disease, and war. Overcome the real enemy of the people – evil, sin, death, selfishness, greed and lies, in the Name of the King of peace who rides on a donkey.

On Palm Sunday wave your palms! Remember their call to you:
Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.
He is indeed the Prince of Peace.
Can you see that he brings peace? Look! The Lord of the universe rides on a donkey!

Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday is a universal Christian feast celebrated on the Sunday before Easter, one week before the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This feast commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the Sunday before his arrest. This entry is mentioned in all four Gospels, which indicates significance ascribed to it in the church during the time when the Gospels were written. (Mark 11:1–11, Matthew 21:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, and John 12:12–19).

According to the Gospels, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, to fulfil the prophecy that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem in this manner. The celebrating people laid down their cloaks in front of him, and also laid down small branches of trees. They sang part of Psalms 118: 25–26 –“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” In Eastern tradition a donkey is an animal of peace and a horse an animal of war. The triumphant entry of Jesus on a donkey proclaims him as a King, but as the promised Prince of Peace.

Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week when we remember the last days before the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Music that hails Jesus as Saviour and King is sung and we celebrate that the perfect, unblemished Lamb of God arrived at the altar on Golgotha to be slaughtered during the Jewish Passover, to die for our sins and set us free to serve in the Kingdom of God.

Hymns for Palm Sunday.
While children carry in the palm branches, the congregation may sing the following song from Songs of Fellowship 189, while the children wave the palm fronds:

Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!
Lord, we lift up your Name,
with hearts full of praise;
be exalted o Lord our God!
Hosanna in the highest.

Glory, glory, glory to the King of kings!
Glory, glory, glory to the King of kings!
Lord, we lift up your Name,
with hearts full of praise;
be exalted o Lord our God!
Glory to the King of kings.

The following classic Palm Sunday Hymn is sung to the music of “The Church’s one foundation”:

All glory, laud, and honour
to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
Thou art the King of Israel,
thou David's royal Son,
who in the Lord's Name comest,
the King and Blessed One.

The company of angels
are praising thee on high;
and mortal men and all things
created, make reply.
The people of the Hebrews
with palms before thee went;
our praise and prayer and anthems
before thee we present.

To thee, before thy passion,
they sang their hymns of praise;
to thee, so high exalted,
our melody we raise.
Thou didst accept their praises:
accept the prayers we bring,
who in all good delightest,
thou good and gracious King.

Our closing hymn on Palm Sunday is sung to the music of “Glorious things of thee are spoken”. (My lyrics, but feel free to use them).

Jesus Christ, o Lord almighty,
David’s son, yet holy, free!
We will always praise, adore Thee,
God for all eternity.
Praise our Lord, He is our bounty,
our inheritance is He.
Sing hosanna, bring Him glory,
laud his gracious majesty!

Jesus Christ, o Lord, almighty,
reigns with God eternally.
Who forever aids and helps me,
saves His Church so graciously.
Sing hosanna, bring Him glory,
merciful and great is He!
He who leads His chosen people -
worship Him, praise ceaselessly!

The message of the kingdom of God that Jesus taught, led to his crucifixion – part 2

At the heart of the message Jesus taught while on earth, was that God’s rule and reign has come. We read in Mark 1 :14 & 15 that Jesus said: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news”. The priests murdered him for this. They wanted to hold on to their privilege and control – and Jesus led his church to become part of God’s rule and reign. Thus Jesus died as a result of announcing the Kingdom of God and then he inaugurated it through his cross and resurrection.

If Jesus came to establish the reign of God on earth, if he proclaimed this message in words and works, and if, in the end, this message led him to the cross, how does his Gospel impact on what we believe and how we follow him today?

1. We should live every moment realizing that he made us part of the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15). This call is still applicable today. When we accept God’s rule, we also accept his values. His priorities, so radically different from what the world aspires to, I need to make my own, because if I am in the kingdom of God, I should live accordingly.

2. Jesus came to change the world and redeem the lost. Like Jesus, we too should seek the kingdom of God. We should proclaim that when we are part of his kingdom, we are both redeemed and changed to become people under God’s reign. We then live to heal both people and our world, to love our enemies, heal the sick and rehabilitate the paradise, our planet, which God gave us to enjoy and protect. This we do by living faithfully as an active member of the community of Jesus.

3. We who live in the community of Jesus must not want to lord over others, but to serve our King in serving our fellow believers. We do not live to build our own kingdoms anymore, but we live to the glory of the great and almighty King.

4. In the kingdom of God we live in the power and hope of the resurrection. The message, miracles and cross of Jesus would have been long forgotten if he did not rise from the grave and is now alive to exercise his royal authority. We put our trust in Jesus today, and we too die at the cross, in order to live, through the Holy Spirit, in the glorious kingdom that Jesus came to announce and establish. This hope sustains us as continue to live in the “already and not yet” of the kingdom of God. And we know that one day the kingdom of God will come in full power and the victory of God will be complete.

The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. Amen!

The cross of Christ - for decoration or salvation?

The saving power of the cross of Christ
(Read Mark 15:25-39)

Religious actions and symbols sometimes become the enemy of Christianity. There obviously is a place for some of it, but too often these things hold a primary place in one’s life, instead of a secondary one. When too much emphasis is placed on the symbols of Christianity rather than on the substance of it, the symbols themselves become useless and meaningless.

Crosses are the most important examples of this. Many thousands wear crosses of gold and silver. They often are beautifully decorated – even with precious stones! But one can wear a cross, and remain completely unaware of the real meaning of the true cross, the irreplaceable cross of Jesus Christ. The cross can so easily become just another item of jewellery and decoration. It can become only be a trademark of the church, a mere symbol or logo of the Christian faith, and nothing more.

But there were no jewels in the cross where our Lord died for our sins. I am afraid that many lost the true understanding of the cross. How about you? What does the cross on which Jesus died mean to you?

You may be involved in religion, yet never come to understand the true significance of the cross on which the Saviour died. You may end up with little more than a sentimental feeling inspired by a beautiful golden ornament, rather than a rugged, cruel instrument of death and punishment that revealed the love of God. for sinners

In order to understand the real significance of the cross, we have to listen to the Word of God. There we find a radically different picture of what the cross really means. In the Bible we see a picture which, if received in faith, has the power to change your life. It is a picture that changed human history.

The true cross, a Roman instrument for executing the death penalty, on which the Saviour paid for my sins and reconciled me with God, has immeasurable faith power and immense promise.

Because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, we can have hope, faith, love and salvation. Because of the cross of Christ, we receive forgiveness. Because of the cross of Christ, our lives find purpose and meaning. Because of the cross of Christ, we are made whole. In the cross we find healing and freedom. The cross of Christ has saving power.

Paul said: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself." The cross of Jesus should make a radical difference in your life.

What does the cross of Jesus mean to you? Does it impact on your whole life and set you free from the slavery of evil?

Jesus stumbled and fell on his way to the cross. But there is no doubt that he intended to be crucified on that cross. He was born to, and lived, to die on the cross. He knew that the cross was his purpose and his calling. He knew that it was God’s will for him and that it was God’s way to redeem his people. The cross was the highest priority for Jesus Christ. It had precedence above anything else in his ministry.

What does the cross mean to you? Have you experienced its power in your life? Is the cross only a decoration to you, or have you received salvation through its saving power that would change your life? Have the old "you" died at the cross, in order to bring the new "you" who lives for God, to life?

At the foot of the cross stood a Roman officer. He had witnessed many crucifixions, but this one was completely different. The officer saw something he had never seen before. He saw how Jesus, the Christ of God, died.
When we see the death of the Saviour on the cross, we may, through his resurrection power know that he truly is the ever living Son of God!

Jesus loves me! He who died, heaven’s gate to open wide!

Jesus loves me! This I know,
for the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes! Jesus loves me (X3)
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He who died,
heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
let His little child comes in.
Yes! Jesus loves me (X3)
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He will stay
close beside me all the way;
Then His little child will take
up to heaven, for His dear sake.
Yes! Jesus loves me (X3)
The Bible tells me so.

How did the teaching and ministry of Jesus lead to his crucifixion? – part 1

What was at the heart of the message Jesus taught while on earth?
Jesus proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God. We read in Mark 1 :14 & 15 that Jesus said: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news”.

What did Jesus mean by the expression “the Kingdom of God”?
According to the form in the original language, Jesus referred to the presence and power of God’s reign, more than the place of his rule. Jesus spoke about God exercising his authority, in our lives, in heaven and in all aspects of life on earth.

How did Jesus choose to proclaim God’s rule and reign?
Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God through his teaching and parables, but also through his miracles, healings and casting out of demons. He showed in his acts, his supernatural works, that our God reigns.

When is the Kingdom of God coming?
Jesus said that the Kingdom of God, his dominion and rule, has both come and also is coming in our lives and our world. He taught that it has come, and is still coming as well, because it is not yet fully here. Like in the case of a pregnant mother, where one may say that a new baby exists, yet it has not been born yet.
The Kingdom comes in our lives and world, yet we are not perfectly obedient yet and grows daily in obedience. The Kingdom has come on earth, yet evil still impacts vastly on our existence.

How is the Kingdom of God coming?
According to Jesus, the reign of God will come through his death on a cross and through his glorious victory over the grave. Through his sacrifice he would take God’s judgment upon himself and give himself as ransom to redeem us from the rule of sin. And through his victory he would grant us deliverance from being slaves of evil.

How did his message, teaching and ministry lead to the crucifixion of Jesus?
The priests, loyal to Rome, misunderstood the words of Jesus and feared that it would cause an uprising that threatened their privileged position within society. The priestly hierarchy in Jerusalem believed that to overthrow the rule of Rome was a threat to the fragile peace of Judea and therefore to the temple worship that the Romans freely allowed, as long as the Jews accepted Roman rule. The Jewish priests sought to crucify Jesus, to get rid of him and to warn others not to follow in his footsteps in proclaiming the rule of God as passionately as Jesus did.

In closing: Although the message, the cross and the resurrection of Jesus always impacts on society through the words and ministry of Jesus and his followers, it does not strive to replace the rule of those with earthly authority, but proclaims the rule of God over all of our lives and our institutions and governments. Jesus demands that both people, the church and governments obediently surrender to his divine heavenly authority.

(In part 2 of this devotion, next Wednesday, we will ask how we should follow Jesus who both announced the Kingdom of God and inaugurated it through his cross and victory.).

The envy of the priests

Because Pilate believed Jesus was innocent, he offered to release Jesus. The reason given was, according to Mark15: 10, "For he was aware that the chief priests had delivered him up because of envy."

The envy of the priests kept them from receiving Jesus as Christ and Saviour.

Envy is a powerful emotion. It drives a person to do terrible and ungodly things in order to pursue selfish gains and purposes. To envy is to desire to have what someone else has. Envy is an evil and resentful desire to have the blessings someone else enjoys. It leads to lies, gossip, division, anger and hatred.

This is the desire the religious officials felt towards Jesus. And just as envy kept them from Jesus, so it can keep you from him. Beware of it.

Instead of envy, we must have humility.
Instead of disappointment in God, we must replace it with surrender to his perfect, sovereign will for our lives.
Instead of cowardice, we must have boldness.
And instead of prejudice, we must have love:
The love that comes from God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

Lenten Hymn 2

To mock your reign, o dearest Lord,
they made a crown of thorns,
set you with taunts along the road
from which no one returns.

They did not know, as we do now,
that glorious is your crown,
that thorns would flower upon your brow,
your sorrows heal our own.

O gracious Lord, a scorching lake,
a symphony of pain,
when God and man you did forsake -
for love and mercy’s reign!

They did not know, as we do now,
though powers rise and fall,
your kingdom shall not cease to grow
till love embraces all!

Jesus died, that we my be truly alive – part 3 - final.

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."

Receiving a new life in Christ does not mean that I am perfect now. I still sin as a result of my weak human nature. But if my attitudes change, and my view of whom I am in Christ Jesus change, I will find that this new identity inspires me to seek to be obedient to my Lord. What changes, is that I now live by faith in the Son.

Even when a donkey lives its whole life in a stable with horses, it will not change into a horse. It is possible for a person to live a whole life in the Church and never become a Christian. And it is possible for a Christian to live a whole life with the knowledge of being a new creature in Christ and never enjoy the resurrection life.
Only those who have faith can be obedient, and only the obedient, have faith!
We need faith that what the Bible says about us becoming new people who are alive in Christ, to be true and in obedience seek to walk the talk. This is what God desires for us.

To be crucified with Christ and raised to live his life with him should have practical implications for everything we do.

If you understand what it means to be “crucified with Christ” and that you became a new person through his resurrection, you will not be able to forget this truth. Because you received salvation when you realized that Christ died for you and you acted upon it. Because you received salvation, you will never be the same person again. When we in faith begin to expect the Lord to live in us and through us, our lives will change and we will desire for ourselves what God always desired for us.

Expectations mean a lot. Children most often become the people their parents tell them they will become. Telling a child that he is naughty most probably will inspire disobedience, but making him understand his true potential will increase his performance and positive life choices.
In the same way, we all have seen that those who accepted God’s expectations for them change and give them the will and inspiration to grow spiritually in order to live the life that Jesus provided through his cross and resurrection.

What a joy it is to me that more and more members, often our younger members, come to see me to ask how they can grow spiritually and desire to become what Christ expects them to become and to sacrifice what God expects them to. Accepting in faith what the Word tells me the Lord thinks and dreams about me, is powerful. It is life changing and it is exciting.

How others see us is important for our self image. But how God sees us is essential. And how we see ourselves is vital. If we see ourselves as people whose old self, the disobedient person, died with Christ and that we are alive with Christ, we can never be the same again.

By faith in Jesus we see that by the grace of God the old self has been put to death. This is my daily inspiration to seek obedience to my Lord. It inspires selfless prayers to discover God’s plan for my life. It arouses a need to learn more and more about Jesus. It makes me thirsty for being truly alive in terms of God’s definition and in terms of Christ’s expectation for me. This is why we say with Paul "the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered himself up for me."

This is truly who we are - crucified with Christ and raised up to live and do as those who contain the living Lord, who is our life. May we discover this Lenten Season why Jesus died for us. And how we may live for him. And may we be truly ready to celebrate the Eastertide!

During Lent: remember that Jesus prayed for the Church.

John 17:15-19: My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

We need to pray for the church. We need to pray with the same heart that Jesus did when he prayed for his Church in his darkest hour, as he prayed on the way of suffering.

Jesus prayed for his Church in Gethsemane and his prayer had an urgent intensity about it. Here in the garden he reached the difficult place of choosing God's will and not his own. The way of suffering, the cross and death were before him, and yet his prayer was for the Church.

What did Jesus pray for?
1. Not for the absence of suffering, but for protection from the evil one.
Jesus did not pray for the Church to have an easy or prosperous life, but for the safety of those who follow him. Therefore, we as the church may be in the wrong place if we only experience peace and serenity. We are not of the world, because we are sanctified by the Truth. We are sent into a world where the Truth has many enemies and Jesus prayed that we may be protected as we spread the Word about him.

2. Jesus did not want to see the church become like the world. No, we are to become more like Jesus. Our sanctification is a process where we become more Christ-like, in spite of the resistance of the evil world around us.

3. Jesus prayed that his Church will go into the world, in spite of the dangers that want to rob us from the Truth of Christ. We need to, like Christ, serve the world as the humble servants of God and of the needs of the world, as Jesus did! We are changed into the likeness of Christ as we give ourselves for the salvation of the world.

4. As Christ sends us to work for him for the sake of a lost world, we are always under the cover of his prayer that we may be protected!

Jesus died that I may be truly alive - part 2

Devotions during Lent
Jesus died that I may be truly alive - part 2

Galatians 2: 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

All of us want to be alive. More than that, we want to know that we are really living and enjoying the complete joy of those who truly live. Here in Galatians 2:20 we find the secret of how to really live. We find here that only by being dead can we become truly alive.

Christians everywhere struggle with the challenge to be alive with Jesus. The struggle comes from having a sincere desire to belong to Jesus, yet realizing that we are, in our own strength, powerless to live for him. The good news is that God does not only know this need and struggle, but also provided for our struggle. He made a plan, and according to Gal 2: 20 the plan is that true life only comes out of death.

If I have been “crucified with Christ”, my old self with all its limitations has been put to death. This helps our understanding of who we really are, now that we are in Christ. It releases us from the struggle to live the Christian life in our own strength.

The solution is not to be found in the renovation of the old self. You can clean up the old self, change it, and in every way seek to improve it, but it remains the old self! We need to become a new person. The way God has chosen to deal with the old person, is not to improve it, but to remove it. This is what it means to be “crucified with Christ.” We have been set free from the old self and Satan no longer has any right to claim us as his own. We received a new identity, because we are crucified with Christ, and a new person rose with Jesus from the grave when we received him as our Saviour.

It is like a glove. A glove cannot do anything by itself. It needs a hand to fill it. When the glove has a hand inside, it is able to do all sorts of things. We are like that glove. What we need is the Lord to fill us with his presence, and therefore with his power. Jesus fills us with his presence through the Holy Spirit that gives us the faith through which we accept Jesus and the power through we live for the Lord.

The first step is to receive Jesus in faith. The second step is to live in and for Jesus through faith in him.

And the good news is that, as God’s children, we have Christ living within us through his Spirit. The old person, who deserves only judgment, has died – has been crucified with Christ. I am now a new person, in Christ.

(In part 3, next week, we ask the practical question – if this is so – why do I still sin?)

Judas!

Luke 22:47-48: While Jesus was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, "Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?"

It was the custom that a student would greet his teacher with a kiss in Biblical times – to show respect and to show submission. It would be similar to the kiss of a son given to a father today! Judas chose to use this sign of respect, to betray the Lord
How many times did we reverently confess Jesus as Lord, yet we are continuously reinforcing ourselves as the real lord of our lives? How many times have we worshiped Jesus, saying and singing that we are in awe of his sacrifice - with our mouths - not with a kiss but with words, only to again abandon him in our souls and in our works?

Prayer:
“O Lord, as much as I hate to confess it, there is a bit of Judas in me. Forgive me for the times when I pledged allegiance to you, made promises to you, (even in church with the congregation as witnesses) only to discard you in the way that I live. Help me to see where my message to you is a mixed one, where worship and praise and betrayal and deceit live in the very same heart. Deliver me oh Lord, for what I do, is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing!
Through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen."

Lenten Hymn

Jesus, who this our Lententide,
of abstinence hast sanctified,
be with Thy church in saving power,
in this her penitential hour!

And as thou dost, forgive the past,
Thy sheltering arms around us cast
that we may in Thy grace remain,
and fall not back to sins again.

Make, Lord, this Lenten discipline,
a penitence for all our sin,
and through these days,
ourselves prepare,
the joys of Eastertide to share.

or

Make Lord your death remembrance day
a penitence for all our sins.
And through this day
ourselves prepare
the joys of Eastertide to share.

Harvard University Hymn Book 146

Jesus died that I may be truly alive - part 1

Devotions during Lent...
Jesus died that I may be truly alive - part 1
Galatians 2: 19 21: For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

There is a song based on Gal 2: 20 that we love to sing:

It is no longer I that liveth
But Christ that liveth in me.
He lives, He lives,
Jesus is alive in me.
It is no longer I that liveth
But Christ that liveth in me.

The life that I live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son.
He loves, He loves,
Jesus gave Himself to me.
The life that I live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son.

All of us want to be alive. More than that, we want to know that we are really living and enjoying the complete joy of those who truly live.

We need to learn what real living is. We need to be taught what really brings joy, contentment and satisfaction. Many are convinced that to truly live, you need to be wealthy, so they give up time, energy, relationships and worship - and probably a lot more - to acquire wealth. Others think they will be truly alive when their lives are lived for the sake of pleasure, so they live to indulge themselves. Then we find people who believe their lives would be meaningful as a result of successful career, or if they improve their social standing, but this sadly often results in becoming slaves of their jobs, or of greed and arrogance.

One thing that all these philosophies lead to is a relentless, desperate and anxious pursuit of things. Sadly, all the effort, even when much of this is achieved, often leads to disappointment, depression, burn out, anger and the frustration of the unfulfilled.

Christians know what it means to be alive and fulfilled. Being Christians, we have answered the question about the meaning of life, at least intellectually. We know that the meaning of life centres around Jesus, our love for him and our commitment to him. Do we only know how to exist in Christ, or do we know the abundance when we really live as disciples of Jesus and as children of our heavenly Father?

In Galatians 2:20 we find the secret of how to really be alive. We find that only by dying, can we become alive. In order to be truly alive, we have to understand that, as people who belong to Jesus, we are truly dead. This Scripture says, "I have been crucified with Christ." This is one of the greatest paradoxes of Scripture and the mystery of God’s Kingdom: In order to truly live, the old person that we were, need to die.

The Bible says that the old me, with all my limitations and problems, and disastrous goals and desires, has been put to death. This Scripture says, "I have been crucified with Christ."

This is the key to understanding who we really are, now that we are in Christ. It is key to releasing us from the struggle of trying to live the Christian life by our own strength and power. To come to true life by ourselves, our old selves, is more than we can do, and it is more than God asked us to do. When the old “me” has been crucified with Christ, the new “me” will come alive in the risen Lord.
(In part 2 and 3 of this devotion, during the next 2 weeks, we will learn the “How to become alive by being crucified with Christ”).

During Lent, learn about love's abundance...

Mark 14:1-9
Those who love Jesus and are overflowing with gratitude to him, sometimes do some extraordinary things. At least outwardly they may appear eccentric.

Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, loved the Lord. Jesus had been a real friend to her. He had filled her life with hope and showed her the God of love.
He had been there during some of the most difficult times of her life. Certainly one was when her brother Lazarus died. But Jesus had come, and her brother Lazarus was miraculously raised from the dead and given back to her.

Mary had tasted of the love of Jesus. He was not like any other man she had ever known. He was a powerful man who had the authority to cause the storms to cease, demons to flee, and the dead to be raised.
Yet, he was gentle, and he had reached out to her. How could she ever thank him?

Now they were having one last meal together. She thought this might be her last chance to do something special for her Lord. So she seized the opportunity and took an alabaster jar of extremely costly perfumed oil, broke it, and anointed him with it. This was true extravagance.

Mary's love moved her. Nothing was too precious for her to give to Jesus. And what she gave was worth more than one year's wages. So, some complained that she was wasting money that could have been used “better”.

Reacting to the complainers, Jesus gives us the answer for the question: "What is a true good work?" He says in verse 6 that Mary, "has done a beautiful thing to me."
Christian service that is not done because of our love for Jesus is not truly Christian. But service offered, even imperfect service, because we love Jesus and want to truly do his will, will always be beautiful to the Lord and bring him joy.

Now notice what else Jesus said, in verse 8, "She has done what she could." Mary did what she could. She did the best she could, because of an abundance of love for Jesus.

Respond to Jesus today by offering yourself as a sacrifice to God. Then offer gifts of as much as you can do in his the service. As you do, you will find that he will not only accept your gifts, but that he will rejoice over them.
And into your life will come the joy that belongs to those who are in his service and in his will, because of love.

Should Reformed / Presbyterian Christians observe Lent and the rest of the Christian Calendar?

Should Reformed / Presbyterian Christians observe the Christian Calendar?
Although the Christian calendar is deeply rooted in many centuries of Church history, most reformed Christians, including Presbyterians, do not seem to be good enough at explaining and celebrating them. If we do, we often copy other traditions – and not critically enough, I’m afraid.

Looking for a Reformed approach
The purpose of the Christian calendar is to remember the main historic gospel events that the good news is based on. The birth, the ministry, the suffering, death and the resurrection of Christ, his ascension and the outpouring of the Spirit on the first Pentecost Sunday are recalled.
If we do this in remembrance of him, we find a point of reference and a principle on which we can base, explain and defend these celebrations.

Is the basic point of departure of any New Testament worship not the words “Do this in remembrance of me” of Jesus when he had instituted his holy Supper? Proclaiming the gospel “in and out of season” and breaking bread in remembrance of our Saviour certainly forms the foundation of Christian worship and it therefore is the place to start looking for a Reformed / Presbyterian approach when observing these days of commemoration.

I suggest that the benchmark for a Presbyterian celebration of the Christian calendar is: “Is this done in remembrance of Jesus and in fellowship with him?”

Remembering is rooted in Old Testament worship.
“Remembering” was not strange to Old Testament worship. To the contrary, it is clear that devotional life in the Old Testament was based on remembering the great deeds of salvation and liberation by the God of Israel. Each one of the feasts prescribed in the Law, remembered, celebrated and taught what God did in the history of his people, creating and strengthening the belief that he will continue to keep his grace covenant and be their God and the God of their children, encouraging them to seek obedience to the Lord as the people of God.

It was at such a feast of remembrance, the Passover, that Jesus instituted his Supper. It seems to me that in the mind of Jesus, faith would still be sown and grown through “remembering” as part of the New Covenant. We would seek and find Christ’s church, when we remember what Jesus has done to set us free and make us his own.

The Lord’s Supper is a unique celebration.
The Lord’s Supper is irreplaceable and unique. But it does refer us to the principle that remembering God’s gospel events has great value. Proclaiming the Scriptures, faithfully preaching what the Gospel during these Days of Remembrance can, to say the least, not be wrong. The calendar can be a disciplined and structured way of teaching and preaching the full Counsel of God, a task our reformed fathers showed us to do. If this is done according to our confessions of faith, and the means through which we accomplish this, is the preaching of the Word and celebration of the Supper, it does not have to be considered “unreformed”, “unpresbyterian” or “romish”.

The Days of Remembrance are rooted in Church History.
All the commemorative days on the Christian calendar go back far beyond the days of the Reformation, before the ages when the truth within the Western Church became corrupted to the extent that the Reformation was required. To ignore these Days of Remembrance that constitute the Christian calendar, could amount to an arrogance that ignores the wisdom of the ancient church. We should be open to learn about the original intentions and meanings of these days and why and how they came into the life of the church. With the Word of God and our Confessions of Faith as guidelines, it should not be too difficult to discern what would be God honouring and would build up the people of God.

“Remembrance”, the key to understanding reformed worship, should also be the key to unlocking a Presbyterian identity and order of celebration for these commemorative days and seasons.

The Days and Seasons of the Christian Calendar:
The following seasons and days of Remembrance emerged from church history:

Advent Season– four Sundays before Christmas – remembering that Jesus came, is coming and will return to our world.
Christmas - Christmas day and the following eleven days – remembering that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit – our only Mediator between man and God.
Season of Epiphany – remembering, amongst others, the teachings, parables and miracles of Christ.
Lent – the 40 weekdays before Resurrection Sunday, not counting the Sundays, remembering the suffering and death of our Lord.
Palm Sunday – remembering that the followers of Jesus wanted to make him an earthly king, but that according to prophecy, this event confirmed that he indeed is the promised Messiah, the King that sits on the throne of David forever.
Tenebrae / Maundy Thursday – remembering that the Lord, on the night of his arrest, instituted his Holy Supper and serves his disciples, even washing their feet.
Good Friday – remembering that Jesus was crucified, that he died and was buried, as the complete, final and only sacrifice for all our sins.
Still Saturday – that Jesus was laid in the tomb and truly died.
Resurrection Sunday – remembering that Jesus indeed rose from the dead and lives for evermore, conqueror of death, sin and hell.
Season of the Resurrection (or Easter Season) – remembering the power of the risen, conquering Christ in our lives and in the life of the Church.
Ascension Day – remembering that Jesus was enthroned in heaven, ruling at the right hand of the Father, where he intercedes for us and reigns as the conquering Head and King of the Church, from where he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Pentecost Sunday – remembering that we are not alone, but that Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to guide us in the understanding of the full Counsel of God and to empower us with his gifts so that we can proclaim it.
Trinity Sunday – remembering and celebrating the gracious blessing that we know the one and only true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Holy Days not rooted in gospel events.
I doubt that the many other holy days that are observed by some Christians can pass the test of assisting us in worshipping in the spirit of “remembrance of Jesus”, because they are not rooted in gospel events witnessed to by Scripture. A clear case will have to be made as to how these commemorative days can enhance our understanding of the gospel truth.

Historic Background of the Lenten and Resurrection Seasons.
Resurrection Sunday is the oldest commemorative day. The resurrection was remembered every week since the very beginning and Resurrection Sunday since the first century as a result of the influence of the Jewish Passover. It certainly must have been the result of the fact that Christians remembered the resurrection every week, by celebrating the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of him.

During the second century it became customary to baptise converts on Resurrection Sunday. They had to be prepared for the confession of their faith and for their challenging walk with the Lord during those ages of persecution and martyrdom. These preparations lasted 40 days – not counting Sundays. It most probably related to the fact that Jesus was prepared for 40 days in the desert before his ministry started, and even related to the 40 days that Jesus was “prepared” for his enthronement before the ascension.

Whatever the motivation was, the church fathers in the second century required these forty days of preparation for baptism. Apart from teaching the gospel truth, fasting and prayer played an important role during this time. Those who taught the candidates in preparation of baptism, shared in observing this time of spiritual discipline. After some time, other Church members felt the need to “do the course again”, although they would not be baptised on Resurrection Sunday. This season, always during the European Spring, very early on became the Lenten Season of the Church, originally meant as a preparation for celebrating Resurrection Sunday.

It is easy to see how the other gospel truths, such as the institution of the Supper, the suffering and death of Jesus, the Palm Sunday history, Ascension and Pentecost events followed and claimed their place in the Christian calendar.

The Resurrection of Jesus is the culmination, the peak, of the Christian Calendar.
The shortest version of the gospel truth is to say that Jesus has risen - that he has risen indeed. Our Reformed tradition emphasises that all worship, including the Supper, creates fellowship with the living Christ. A celebration of the Lord’s Supper that begins and ends on Golgotha reminds us more of a funeral than of our joyous and intimate fellowship with the risen Saviour, our host at his Table. Is it not Jesus who through the signs and seals of bread and wine ensures us of our salvation and inclusion into the covenant of grace? Is it not our living Lord who nourishes and feeds us with himself through the work of his Holy Spirit?

Christian Calendar, reformed and Presbyterian or romish?
Observing the Christian calendar can be considered reformed and Presbyterian, if we never fall short of continuously worshipping, praising and having fellowship with our risen Lord.
It can be considered Reformed and Presbyterian if we can steer clear of legalistic prescriptions and inflexible observances of culturally based customs, particularly those that encourage ritualistic worship that is neither sincere nor authentic.

It can be considered Reformed if we rely on the Word to reveal the gospel truth, if we preach only Christ, the crucified, risen Saviour and if we are careful to require nothing more from worshippers than to rely on and celebrate God’s sovereign grace revealed in Christ, when we observe these age old commemorative days and seasons.

It can be considered Reformed if it grows the faith of the believers and brings all who participate to a place where they through faith alone receive the gracious salvation through Jesus Christ.

Although rooted in Christian history much older than the reformation, observing the Christian calendar can therefore be considered Reformed and Presbyterian, once we ascertained that our festive days and seasons are celebrated only to the glory of God - the one and only God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and in remembrance of Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Today is Ash Wednesday. How is Ash Wednesday observed? - part 2

May the Lord bless you today, Ash Wednesday, with love and forgiveness and have mercy on you!

Mark 2: 17 "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Ash Wednesday is about entering a season of focussed spiritual growth and of a time of preparation that will lead to victory, which is essential to everyone who desires to grow in the Lord. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, and everything we do during Lent prepares us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, and for the rest of our lives.

Ash Wednesday is the day when the journey towards Easter begins. Ash Wednesday is, in the words of Mark 2: 17, the realization that we “need a doctor” and coming to Jesus to be healed.
You do not seek healing, without admitting that you are sick. You do not repent humbly, without admitting that sin has a corrupting impact on your life and your relationship with God. And you will hardly understand the full depth of the joy about Jesus who rose and was victorious, without calculating the cost in terms of his suffering, death and burial.

Ash Wednesday is helpful in preparing for Easter, because it encourages mourning our weakness of the past, accepting the challenge of living for God today, and finding hope in Christ for tomorrow.

Mourning our weakness
To mark his sadness, Job covered himself in ashes. Jesus reminds us that true regret includes sackcloth and ashes. Psalm 51 reminds us that all our sins are committed against God! We need to get right with God, to live contently in a relationship with him. We need to come before God in sackcloth and ashes!

Accepting the challenge to live for God today.
When Jesus challenged his listeners to consider the truth that those who are healthy do not need a doctor, he was asking each one of them to examine themselves and stop denying that they suffer from the “sin-illness”. Only when we acknowledge our sin can we receive forgiveness. And only through forgiveness do we make our peace with the Lord.
Ash Wednesday is an opportunity to examine our need for Jesus anew and to start living as people who are always dependent on their Redeemer.

Finding hope for a new future
Ash Wednesday begins a journey called Lent and our destination is Easter Sunday. And Easter Sunday is all about hope for the future. The message of Easter is that Jesus is risen! And it means that we can live a new life after rising from the grave of sin. And it means that even when we die, we will live in Christ forever. I Corinthians 15: 20 says, "Christ has indeed risen from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." This is an assurance that we too will be resurrected. His eternal life promises ours and that we may live of the fruit of his life, even now. We find hope to overcome the burden, spiritual death, which is the result of sin.

Come and celebrate “forgiveness” with God’s people today! Stop denying that you have the “sin-illness” and come to the Doctor for help and healing!

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