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Jesus – Our Greatest Treasure

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by Luke KincaidA few nights ago, at a petrol station, I had such an encouraging conversation with someone I have been building a friendship with. This man’s main source of income is derived from collecting recycling on a daily/weekly basis. He has had a really tough life but as we stood talking, he could not help but openly and publicly declare how amazing and powerful God is. As we chatted, he was reminded of the chorus of the song “Give Thanks” which says:And now let the weak say, "I am strong"Let the poor say, "I am richBecause of what the Lord has done for us"After quoting these words he told me to look at his friend who he was with. He pointed out how worn his clothes were and if you had to just look at his outward appearance you would conclude that he was poor. BUT when it comes to our identity in Jesus, we are not defined by what we have but rather who we have – Jesus! It was so encouraging to be reminded that Jesus is the greatest treasure we have in this life:8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. – Philippians 3:8-9 NLTWe ended this conversation by praying together and I went on my way so happy to know that disciples of all walks of life are furthering the kingdom of God in meaningful ways! Much love,Luke

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The Art of Waiting

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by Calven Celliers Not long before his death in 1996, Henri Nouwen wrote a book called Sabbatical Journeys, in which he wrote about some friends of his who were trapeze artists. They told Nouwen that there is a special relationship between the flyer and the catcher on the trapeze. This relationship is governed by important rules, such as: The flyer is the one who lets go, and the catcher is the one who catches. As the flyer swings on the trapeze high above the crowd, the moment comes when he must let go. He flings his body out in mid-air. His job is to keep flying and to wait for the strong hands of the catcher to take hold of him at just the right moment. The flyer must never try to catch the catcher.” The flyer’s job is to wait in absolute trust. The catcher will catch him, but he must wait. “Waiting is a period of learning. The longer we wait, the more we hear about Him for whom we are waiting. Waiting is not a static state, it is a time when God is working behind the scenes, and the primary focus of His work is on us.” (Henri Nouwen)  I love the way the late Eugene Petersen paraphrases the words of the apostle Paul to the Romans, in The Message saying, “24 & 25 …waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.” (Romans 8: 24 & 25TheMessage)  The hardest part of living by faith is waiting on God. We want God to act swiftly and decisively. We don’t want God to work behind the scenes; we want to see what He is doing so that we can be confident in what He is doing. Our natural human reaction when God doesn’t act according to our ideas is that we want to take matters into our own hands. As we see time ticking away, we grow more and more impatient. When time seems against us, His promises begin to look impossible. We feel like we have to act now or miss out. When people feel like they will miss out, they react and interfere with God’s intended purpose. We try to put ‘legs on our prayers’. So, what is it that God wants to do in us during these periods of waiting? The prophet Isaiah says, “31 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31NKJV) THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD WILL HAVE INWARD STRENGTH: The people in Isaiah’s day were in captivity, they needed inward strength to give them power over temptation. As Christians God wants us to rely on Him, whatever we are doing. As…

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Food for the Journey: Integrity

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The following blog post is an extract taken from our Food for the Journey booklet which covers seven disciplines for Christian living. If you would like to download a digital copy of the booklet and work through the daily devotions please click here: FOOD FOR THE JOURNEY DISCIPLINE 4 THE DISCIPLINE OF INTEGRITY HONESTY, SINCERITY, PROMISE KEEPING The word integrity means being the same through and through, “What you see is what I am”. It also means completeness, soundness, wholeness, blamelessness. As followers of Christ we are the ones who show others what Jesus is like. Therefore old habits, ways of doing things before we knew Christ, “grey areas in our lives if you like” have to be carefully looked at and adjusted to the “new life” in Christ we now have. Lying, insincerity, dishonesty, unreliability etc. cannot be a part of us anymore, otherwise we give a false impression of the Lord we serve. Things that we do and the things that happen to us that have a deep affect on us, (death of a parent, divorce, mugging, etc) shape us and our responses to life and people – “new life” in Christ can bring healing to damaged emotions, failure and hurt. Restoration and wholeness comes with knowing Christ. In Christ all our past sins are dealt with and our relationship with God restored, yet as completely as our past sins are forgiven there is still a need to allow Him to do some  overhauling” in our lives. We may have very rigid mindsets about things. He is certainly going to teach us to think differently about a lot of things and people. He will address our prejudices, resistances and weaknesses as well as our areas of compromise. The Lord will do this very lovingly but very firmly. Correction and instruction form a very necessary part of our journey. How else can we be true witnesses of Him? When we receive Christ into our lives we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit who “guides us into all truth” and very often that is the truth about ourselves and what needs changing. We cannot be any more accepted than we already are as the Father’s children, but we can become progressively purer in the practical details of living. Often our integrity gets tarnished because we speak or act too hastily. The end product is usually thoughtlessness or selfishness, giving others the wrong impression of the Lord we serve. Lip service is simply not enough. The proof of our sincerity about Christ will reflect in how we handle people around us – the care and acceptance we show them – the decisions we make regarding them – our response to their pain and need. This is a real challenge to us – but we must never think we have got to do it alone. We have the Holy Spirit to empower and enable us at every point. Businessmen and women who, as a result of giving their…

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Still Waters

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by Graham MolThe Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.     He makes me lie down in green pastures.He leads me beside still waters.     He restores my soul.He leads me in paths of righteousness    for his name's sake.(Psalm 23:1-3) We as a family have had the wonderful privilege of going away on holiday for a much needed break. On Monday morning I was able to take the above picture from the patio of the place we stayed at overnight. It was about half and hour before sunrise and the water of the dam was as still as could be. I watched in delight as some sparrows flew over the water, briefly diving down and skimming the water as they snatched a drink. One or two ducks glided past with subdued quacks. I was struck by how incredibly peaceful the scene was. A deep calming breath before the sun rose and that day began in earnest.God's beautiful creation is often punctuated by these peaceful moments. There is still the busyness of living as animals scuffle around for food and birds soar through the air, making melodies. But there are also those quiet moments, times of rest in between. How essential these are especially in a world today that never can seem to switch off for a moment.I think of David's words in Psalm 23 as he speaks of being led by still waters, having his soul quietly restored. Now I know that much of his meaning is metaphoric, but there is certainly merit in drawing peace and calm from the beauty and tranquility of one's surroundings. God truly speaks to us through His magnificent creation.I'd like to encourage you to find that secret, quiet place even if in your own garden or be it in your car as you drive to work and on the journey have opportunity to take in the scenery as you drive past. Find those still moments and allow the Lord to speak through them and be restored from the soul weariness that so often affects us during these trying times.God BlessGraham

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