NHCF Blog

by Graham Mol In Mark chapter 9 we find an account where Jesus comes down from the mountain where He was transfigured to find His disciples and a crowd of people gathered around them. A father had brought his son to the disciples for them to drive out a demon that had been giving the boy seizures, yet they were unable to drive it out. Jesus is able to successfully break the boy free of the demonic oppression. After this event the disciples ask Jesus privately: "Why couldn't we drive it out?" To which Jesus gives this reply: "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer." It's those final words that I'd like to focus on here: Nothing but Prayer. There are some things, some situations, some challenges that cannot be overcome or resolved by anything other than prayer. In this account of the demon possessed boy we find one situation, but there are many others. I have come to appreciate this more and more as I grow in my journey with the Lord, as I've come to see and acknowledge the limits of my own ability and knowledge as well as that of others. It is not easy to admit "defeat", that one does not have the answer to the questions being asked, or the solution to the problem that is being faced. The good news is that we are not truly defeated in such situations because, as Jesus reminds us, what is impossible with man is possible with God. Our approach to any problem should first of all involve prayer, not passive relinquishing prayer, but active prayer that leads to action, guided by the Holy Spirit. Yet there will be times where our best efforts are not and cannot be enough. The answer then is "nothing but prayer". Because God can do so much of what we cannot, for example change a person's heart, prayer remains the most potent thing we can do when we face challenges in life. One of my greatest joys is to witness how God answers prayers, even if we have to wait longer for them than we'd like as we submit to waiting on His perfect timing. There is nothing like prayer and so even when we have nothing but prayer, we have all we truly need. God Bless Graham

by Caryl Moll “God has got me through this!” Despite struggling with a topic for today, here I am… with God’s help.  It’s been a horrible year in so many ways. Over the months, I’ve seen so many people on the edge.  Some folk have battled illness and some have sadly lost this battle. Families have been devastated.  Folk have lost their livelihoods, their social structures and their work.  The hardship of people is reflected in their eyes – behind the masks. The numbers of desperate people at the traffic lights seems to have exploded. I often keep them in mind during the day – occasionally resorting to going back to the same traffic light to simply hand out some food. But for me, my personal struggle has been mainly mental. I’m trying to navigate a way through the deep changes that have happened to our world. The lack of interaction and social meetups has resulted in massive changes in our social etiquette. It’s lonely, confusing and heart-breaking. I miss my family. I miss my church. I miss the simple things that were. Indeed, my world has shrunk to the confines of my own home – no visitors and probably no prospect of visitors any time soon. Yet, both Les and I have managed to avoid the virus. We’ve discovered new things about ourselves and I’ve had the joy of having him home with me every day – slaving away at his computer, constant video calls and virtual meetings.   I have to admit that sometimes I don’t recognise this new world – let alone the people behind the masks. Each morning, I reach for my Bible and search for God’s encouragement – a means to face the new day. I’ve taken up Bible journaling now and find profound joy in being able to express myself in my various art forms; writing, drawing, painting and prayerfully meditating. It’s a new way of transforming my quiet time into something really memorable. And it usually gives me something to hold onto - knowing that God is right next to me. For the past couple of days, I’m being drawn to the whole concept of an “Ebenezer Stone” and today I’m going to paint one for myself – a reminder that, “Thus far, the Lord has helped us.”. (If you’d like to read up about the symbolism of the story of the ‘Ebenezer stone’, then check out  1 Samuel 7 – where Samuel sets up a large stone with this very reminder.) Today when I paint my own stone, I want it to remind me that trusting in anything or anyone short of Christ is a precursor to failure. I need to constantly keep Christ as the primary equation of my life. I need to recognise that anything besides him is misplaced trust; any defeat or failure in my life is a springboard for introspection and repentance. I must remember that God is always faithful – in His mercy, he forgives us and provides…

by Luke KincaidRegardless of what we are going through in this moment right now, I believe that we can be comforted and encouraged by the truth and importance of the centrality of Jesus. Take a look at what Colossians 1:15-20 has to say: 15 He is the image of the invisible God,the firstborn over all creation.16 For everything was created by him,in heaven and on earth,the visible and the invisible,whether thrones or dominionsor rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him.17 He is before all things,and by him all things hold together.18 He is also the head of the body, the church;he is the beginning,the firstborn from the dead,so that he might come to havefirst place in everything.19 For God was pleased to haveall his fullness dwell in him,20 and through him to reconcileeverything to himself,whether things on earth or things in heaven,by making peacethrough his blood, shed on the cross.Wow… I truly love what is communicated in these verses. David E. Garland summarizes them in the following way:“Christ is preeminent over natural creation. He is not simply one among a number of spiritual powers; he is supreme. Christ is also preeminent over his new moral creation, the church. In Christ, his community experiences reconciliation to God as an accomplished fact and awaits the cosmic reconciliation of all things.  Jesus is supreme. There is none greater than Him. He is preeminent over natural creation as well as His church. And in Him we see that all things are being reconciled by His precious sacrifice.Be encouraged today that this is how powerful and incredible our Saviour is and that He is available to each and every one of us. How humbling to know that we are welcome in the presence of the supreme power of Jesus and that He loves us more than we can fully comprehend. Much love,Luke

by Calven Celliers This morning a congregant called to say that he needed to make an appointment to come and see me. I responded by saying, “Sure, no problem. Quickly pop into the Church office, and come have a chat.” He then asked me, “Does it have to be quickly?” We had a good giggle, but the conversation left me thinking about one of the biggest enemies of our spirituality: hurry! We are so busy, so distracted, and so preoccupied in our fast-paced culture; never mind COVID-19, there is a pandemic of hurry sickness. One of my favourite authors, A.W.Tozer mused, “May not the inadequacy of much of our spiritual experience be traced back to our habit of skipping through the corridors of the kingdom like little children through the market place, chattering about everything but pausing to learn the true value of nothing.” Stroll down the street in any major metropolitan city and you’ll see it: stressed-out, chronically overtired business people running to the next obligation without stopping to breathe, eat, or think. It’s just as prevalent in suburbs where parents drive their kids from activity to activity without pause, and in workplaces where employees work for 70-hour weeks with just two weeks off per year. This go-go-go mentality is what researchers call “the cult of busy”. It’s pervasive, it’s unavoidable, and it’s damaging our lives. If you feel as though you are always running behind and wish that your day could be 36 hours long, you are probably suffering from hurry sickness. The results? Constant stress. Frustration. Fatigue. Strained relationships. Mixed-up priorities. And most important, neglect of time with God. That neglect can rob you of the abundant life that He wants to give you. Maybe you can relate. Maybe your life is filled with constant motion — sports, academic obligations, church, work, meetings, cleaning, keeping tiny humans alive, chauffeuring kids, or managing a home or office. Our hectic, fast-paced, ‘Energizer-Bunny’ lives of constant going and going and going can fool us into believing the lie that busyness equals productivity. Let’s hit the pause button of our lives for a few seconds, take a deep breath, and briefly reflect on these three searching questions that blogger and Bible teacher, Sophie MacDonald asks, in an article of hers that I read, with regard to evaluating our schedules: What do our schedules say about the God we claim to follow? Our activity flows directly from our view of God. Does your schedule reflect your belief that He is sovereign, omnipotent, and all-sufficient? We cannot reflect the beauty of our limitless God if we’re too busy trying to be Him, or too busy in general. Though followers of Jesus are not to be lazy, we should be the most at-rest people, as we serve the God who has complete sovereignty over every atom in the universe. Are you being faithful? There are always more committees to join, things to do, and people to meet with. But what have you been called…