graham blog

by Graham MolAbout a month ago I shared a blog post based on the song Lean On Me. Today I want to start  by looking at a verse from the same song. Here it is:Please swallow your prideIf I have things you need to borrowFor no one can fill those of your needsThat you won’t let show. This verse got me thinking about just how costly pride is - and how much it costs us to hang on to it. Instead of asking for help we try to do it ourselves and despair when we can't.In doing some reading up on the topic I came across an article that says this about the cost of pride:And we need to come to grips with this because pride always costs us way more than we realize.When we sin, the people around us suffer from our pride.And we also suffer the consequences of our own pride by loss of trust, loss of friendship, loss of reputation, ministry opportunities. We spend time out of fellowship with God, perhaps the most tragic consequence of all.(Sarah Beals, Humility and the True Cost of Pride)The Bible warns us about this last consequence of pride, that it impacts our relationship with the Lord.“God opposes the proudbut shows favour to the humble.”Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:6-10)And...All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.(1 Peter 5:5-9)From these two texts we can see that answer to the problem of pride is humility. God's grace is to the humble not the proud. We are also given a picture of what humility means in these two passages of Scripture.Humility is:Submitting yourself to God. By doing this we are declaring that Jesus is worth more than my pride.Resisting the devil. Satan's chief sin was pride, we follow him and his example when we hold onto pride in our own lives.Let us actively pray against pride forming in our hearts and lives. Let us ask the Lord to search our hearts and reveal any offensive way in us (Psalm 139:23-24). May we serve the Lord humbly and trust in His exaltation rather than our own. God BlessGraham

by Graham MolYesterday my son had to give a history speech on a great leader and speak about what makes them a great leader. He had chosen to give his speech on Jesus. As we discussed the points of the speech we looked at how Jesus was a great teacher. His "Sermon on the Mount" is one of the most famous of His teachings. Our discussion prompted me to read through Jesus' sermon in chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of Matthew. Reading through those three chapters is like listening to a "Greatest Hits" album of Christian teaching. Hits like the Beatitudes (Blessed are those...) to "You are the light of the world" to "Love your enemies" and "The Lord's Prayer". The Sermon on the Mount contains some of Jesus' most powerful and challenging teachings for us as believers to follow. It is no wonder that the people listening to Him were astonished at the authority with which he spoke (Matthew 7:28-29).There is one particular passage that I'd like to highlight today:17 “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)Those listening must have been shocked at this. How could one be more righteous than the very people who embodied righteousness, their religious leaders? The thing is, the people only saw what was on the outside, the display that the Pharisees and scribes put on. What was on the inside, going on in their hearts, was entirely another matter.Following this statement Jesus looks at laws saying, "You have heard it said..." following each one with a "But I tell you..." statement. In each he does not negate the law but rather brings into focus the principle behind that law. In doing this He highlights the state of one's heart before God. The scribes and Pharisees were very good at following the "letter" of the law and having the appearance of righteousness, the state of their hearts before God was another matter. What do you think matters more to the Lord?"People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b) God BlessGraham

by Graham Mol"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). This statement by Jesus was the focus of the sermon I preached on Sunday. Following the service I had someone asking about resources or courses they could make use of as they seek to "love Jesus with their mind". I thought that I would share some options here for the benefit of anyone reading this blog. These are just some of the resources that I have found helpful in growing my knowledge of the Lord and His word.Bible Thinker - website: https://biblethinker.org/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7u2HaYBKDaLPcWmldxgGEABible Thinker is a website and YouTube channel run by Pastor Mike Winger. I came across Mike's videos a few years ago and have found his careful study and teaching to be of great value. He has covered a wide range of topics from indepth Bible studies, tough theological debates and Q&A sessions. This is a very good place to start in growing your Biblical knowledge.Renewing Your Mind - https://renewingyourmind.org/Renewing Your Mind is "an outreach of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian discipleship organization founded in 1971 by Dr. R.C. Sproul." It comprises of a daily audio recording/podcast of about 20-30 minutes of Biblical teaching that is presented in a way that the average person can understand. Many of the teachings are by the late R.C. Sproul who had such a warm and engaging way of teaching the truth of God's word.Got Questions - https://www.gotquestions.org/Got Questions is a great quick reference resource for finding answers on Biblical questions. The content is well researched and the writers have a commitment to providing Biblically sound answers. If you are researching a particular topic this is often quite a good place to start looking.I hope that you find these resources useful as you seek to love the Lord with all your mind.God BlessGraham

by Graham MolToday I would like to use this blog to share with you a song that our Church music director, Themba, recently wrote. The past year has been a difficult time for him with many struggles and yet, through all of that the Lord has been drawing Themba into closer relationship with Him. Just under two weeks ago Themba shared this song with us that he had written based on an account in John 4. Both Candice were really moved by it as he played on our (out-of-tune) piano and sang (very much in tune). Themba went on to sing the song in the service that Sunday. He and I made a plan in the following week to do a recording of the song that Themba could put on his YouTube channel so that he could share it with others. It is this recording that I want to share with you now. May you be blessed by it, just as I have been.Grahamhttps://youtu.be/F5S7TkgjFys