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Invitation to the Thirsty

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Isaiah 55 (NIV)55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,    come to the waters;and you who have no money,    come, buy and eat!Come, buy wine and milk    without money and without cost.2 Why spend money on what is not bread,    and your labor on what does not satisfy?Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,    and you will delight in the richest of fare.3 Give ear and come to me;    listen, that you may live.I will make an everlasting covenant with you,    my faithful love promised to David.4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,    a ruler and commander of the peoples.5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,    and nations you do not know will come running to you,because of the Lord your God,    the Holy One of Israel,    for He has endowed you with splendor.”6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;    call on him while he is near.7 Let the wicked forsake their ways    and the unrighteous their thoughts.Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,    neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord.9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,    so are my ways higher than your ways    and my thoughts than your thoughts.10 As the rain and the snow    come down from heaven,and do not return to it    without watering the earthand making it bud and flourish,    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:    It will not return to me empty,but will accomplish what I desire    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.12 You will go out in joy    and be led forth in peace;the mountains and hills    will burst into song before you,and all the trees of the field    will clap their hands.13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,    and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.This will be for the Lord’s renown,    for an everlasting sign,    that will endure forever.”

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Kingdom Power

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by Graham MolThe ongoing load shedding this week caused by a  lack of power got me thinking about a different kind of power altogether. You might be familiar with the following words written by the Apostle Paul:For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power, (1 Corinthians 4:20) To gain a better understanding of what Paul means when he writes this I had a look at the context of the passage. In this part of his letter to the Church in Corinth Paul has stern words to say to those who would not listen to his instructions for them to change their attitudes and behaviour in Christ that were causing issues. Some of their arrogance stemmed from the fact that they didn't think Paul would actually come visit in person. Paul states that he will indeed come, if it is the Lord's will, and that he would not come with mere words but in the power of the Spirit, just as he had ministered before (see 1 Corinthians 2:1-5). It was up to the members of the Church to decide if Paul would have to come as disciplinarian or gentle encourager.The question is, what can we learn from what Paul is saying here? The following commentary provides a great insight:God's kingdom is not about talk, Paul declares. It is about power. That's easy for all of us to forget. So much of our practice of Christianity focuses on words being preached, read, or prayed. All that talk, though, is meaningless without the legitimate power of God behind it (James 2:26). Paul does not want the Corinthians to forget that he did not just introduce them to big ideas that can be captured and manipulated with words. He introduced them to the power of God available only through faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit. (BIBLEREF)This is such an important reminder. With all the different opinions, ideas and ideologies being thrown around these days it is vital for us to remember that only Jesus has the power to save. Only God has the power to deliver on every promise that He makes. Our faith is not based in mere talk and ideas but in the glory, power and goodness of our Lord. We believe in a Kingdom of transformed lives. Those who were lost and under oppression in the darkness being delivered into the healing light of freedom in Christ.We believe in a Kingdom of power! God BlessGraham

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Blessed Assurance

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Guest Postby John Doyle2 Timothy 1:12 "For this reason I also suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day"  During these days of COVID 19, the whole world has been thrown into confusion, panic, fear and uncertainty. Leaders, politicians, Doctors, and scientists are all struggling to find answers and develop plans, procedures, methods and medicine to combat this deadly virus and try to manage the devastating effects that it is having on millions of people and their communities across the world. It remains to be seen what the consequences of all this will be in terms of the global economic fallout and future social interaction. Barbara and I so want to be in the USA for our Granddaughters wedding and our sons birthday in August. There is so much uncertainty and yet we still have a Sovereign God who knows the beginning and the end of all things. We are Trusting Him for "His Will to be done". In these days we as Christians can take encouragement from verses like the one above and also from the fact that, we have Jesus and God's Holy Spirit with us day by day. Before Jesus went back to Heaven He said, “… And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:20. What a wonderful promise and a Word of assurance from the Lord himself to help us through these darkest of times! During times of confusion and uncertainty, it is always good to remind ourselves of Bible truths which are sure and certain and can help us keep our focus on things from a Godly, Word-based perspective. This doesn’t mean that the problems and difficulties will necessarily just disappear, but it will enable us to see them differently and help us focus on the Eternal not the Temporary. As the old chorus says, "Turn our eyes on Jesus, the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His Glory and Grace". We can find further encouragement from verses such as these: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For YOU are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me" - Psalm 23:4. "Let, I pray Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to your Word..." - Psalm 119:76. ‘The Lord is their strength and He is the saving refuge of His anointed" - Psalm 28:8. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the World you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD" John 16:33. As we take these verses, and many more like them to heart and appropriate them for ourselves, our relationship with the Lord will be enriched, our faith deepened and our assurance that His perfect Will, will be done in all things. Lets rejoicefully…

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The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven

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by Luke KincaidFor the past two weeks our children's ministry has been up and running and it has been so much fun to be interacting with the little ones again! I have been reminded that children are such an important part of church gatherings because we actually have a lot to learn from them:At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a small child and had him stand among them. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child — this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one child like this in my name welcomes me - Matthew 18:1‭-‬5 CSB I love these words from Jesus as they show us the importance of possessing a childlikeness in our everyday lives. But what does this mean practically? Got Questions puts it like this:"So, as the disciples focus on what constitutes “greatness” in heaven, Jesus provides a new perspective: the way “up” is “down.” Meekness is required (cf. Matthew 5:5). Jesus exhorts the disciples (and us) to seek to possess a childlike modesty in addition to their faith. Those who willingly take the lowest position are the greatest in heaven’s eyes. A young child is destitute of ambition, pride, and haughtiness and is therefore a good example for us. Children are characteristically humble and teachable. They aren’t prone to pride or hypocrisy. Humility is a virtue rewarded by God; as James says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10)."Wow... how amazing is it that the reminder of how we should strive to live out our daily lives as children of God can be seen around us nearly all the time. Children are the reminder that as disciples of Jesus we are called to humility - not having to worry about our pride or succumb to the temptation of self-righteous living.We can happily take the lowest place because we worship the highest King! We do nothing to earn our place in God's family and we do not have to try and do so just as little children don't try to earn the favor of their parents. So let's all try and be a little more childlike today by showing humility and by being teachable while throwing our pride aside.Much love,Luke

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