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Asking for Help

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by Luke KincaidThe idea for today’s blog came to me while trying to purchase some of the world’s healthiest breakfast… McDonalds! It was a rainy Friday morning and I wanted something tasty to fill my stomach before I started working. After dropping Seth off at school, I realized that I had left my wallet at home and the disappointment began to set in. But then I remembered, I had some money which totaled R29.20 which I believed was enough to get something to eat.I parked my car, walked through the very cold, rainy weather, and began to investigate what my money could buy me. To my surprise I realized that I didn’t have enough to buy anything of substance with the closest meal costing R29.99. So, I stood there, trying to figure out what I could buy so I didn’t look like a strange person walking out empty handed.  While thinking this through I looked over to my left and saw a gentleman waiting for his food. So, I thought, “I can either walk out with a cup of coffee or humble myself and ask this gentleman for R1 and the worst thing he could say is no”.I asked and I was graciously handed R5. I purchased my food and enjoyed it while thinking that if I hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have got what I wanted. Now this is a small example but as brothers and sisters in Christ we are called to, “2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” – Galatians 6:2. And while it may be difficult to ask for help in whatever difficult situation we find ourselves in, we could actually be robbing someone of the blessing of helping by not asking.I love these words from a lady by the name of Aubrey Hoeppner:When you ask someone else to help you bear a burden, you are giving them an opportunity to serve God and share Christ’s love with you. We also see throughout Scripture that God has created each of us in the body of Christ with different strengths, calling to use these strengths fully to glorify him and build up others. When you find you are weak in one area and call on someone else who is strong for help, you are giving them an opportunity to exercise their God-given gifts.So while it can be difficult to reach out to those around you when you are in need, it is necessary because we can’t handle everything by ourselves. There are times when we will need to reach out to our spiritual family and when others reach out to us let’s be willing to help bear that burden.Much love,LukeP.S. If you would like to read the entire article from Aubrey Hoeppner, you can find it here:Three Reasons Why Asking for Help Is Honoring to God

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God is…

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Guest Blogby Dave GriffithsWe will never be able to grasp God in His entirety. But He wants us to know Him, and we can certainly learn about Him through His actions.The bible suggests that we love God for what He does as well as who He is (Psm 116) In fact, what He does expresses who He is. God’s two major actions in all of history are Creation and Redemption. God is the Creator who made all things by His will ex nihilo, out of nothing. (Heb.11:3) (Rev. 4:11). He is also the lamb of God slain to provide the individual Redemption of men and women. (Heb. 5:9-10)In addition to these basic truths, God’s actions in history extend in more directions. He is actively preserving and sustaining the world. He takes care of people, plants, and nature through the cycles of life.God also created two special institutions; The nation of Israel and the church. Through Israel He brought Messiah, Jesus into the world. He created the church on the day of Pentecost through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2) The church has no national boundaries. Jews and Gentiles are brought together in this one institution for the chief purpose of spreading throughout the world the good news of eternal life through faith in Christ. Christ, who is God, is actively involved in history as Head of the church, which also will enjoy God’s coming Kingdom.Two more of God’s special acts are, 1) His giving of the inspired, inerrant Scriptures, (not one jot or tittle is to be changed) (Matt. 5:18) and 2) His incarnation.The incarnation is one of God’s greatest acts when God, robed in flesh, stepped into time through the person of His Son and became the permanent God-Man Jesus. He died on a cross to take the punishment we deserve for our sins, and rose from the dead so that we could be declared righteous and saved. This great salvation is available to all who put their faith in Christ alone for deliverance.Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but though Him.Dave.

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Love the Lord

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30) The Lord's commandment is not a WHY – but a HOW to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. It essentially means love the Lord with all your being. That is the key message. But from a practical standpoint it is really helpful that Jesus points out these four areas. Sermon by Graham Mol

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Ears to Hear

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by Calven Celliers“Don’t say God is silent when your Bible is closed.”(Matt Brown)These ten words speak directly to the heart of any believer who fears that God might be inactive or uncaring in the brokenness and messiness of our lives, and reminds us that He cares, He sees, and He speaks. But too often, we’re just not listening.God is always ready to speak into our lives. We simply need to listen, tuning our ears and hearts to what He is saying in the book He inspired. When we open the Bible, we find more than 780,000 words (783 ,137 to be exact – well according to Google that is) breathed by God himself for us. In his second letter to young Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote that “16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16 & 17NIV)As part of his teaching at New Harvest last Sunday, guest preacher Arnold Groenewald (Open Doors Organisation) shared how a young man of the world confronted Christian missionary brother Andrew, and mockingly suggested that the Bible was outdated, and insignificant in todays world. Arnold shared the story about how this young man told brother Andrew that it was ‘an ancient book with little or no relevance for his life today.’ In my forty-four years, and more specifically my thirty-two years as a born-again believer, I have consistently experienced the Bible’s ability to speak the right word, at the right time. In fact, I fully relate to Charles Spurgeon’s words when he says that “No one ever outgrows the Scriptures. The Book just widens and deepens with our years.” God is always speaking to us through His Word. But numerous times in the Bible it makes reference to the fact that we need ‘ears to hear’ Him. “He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit is saying” is one of Jesus’ favourite expressions. It’s the punch line to each of the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, as well as several of His parables. In other words, He’s saying, “Don’t just hear my words; receive the Spirit of revelation.” What does that mean? It would seem that it’s possible to hear the words of Jesus and not hear what the Holy Spirit is saying. Some hear the Word, yet they do not allow it to take root; they do not open themselves to understand and accept it so that it transforms them. Those who have ‘ears to hear’ allow the Word to bear fruit in their lives for the glory of God.It’s no use complaining about God being silent when your Bible is closed. It’s like grumbling about not getting text messages or WhatsApp’s when your phone is turned off. Whilst God can, and does, speak into our lives through other people – this is the value of surrounding yourself with godly people who will speak into your life and build you up –…

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