Tag: life

Believing that Christ is Alive

Romans 9 New International Version

Israel’s Unbelief

³⁰What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness,have not attained their goal. ³²Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.³³As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”^[m]

Our Father everlasting
The all creating One
God Almighty

Through Your Holy Spirit
Conceiving Christ the Son
Jesus our Savior

I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in one
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the name of Jesus

Our Judge and our Defender
Suffered and crucified
Forgiveness is in You

Descended into darkness
You rose in glorious life
Forever seated high

I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in one
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the name of Jesus

I believe in You
I believe You rose again
I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord
I believe

And I believe in You
I believe You rose again
I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord

I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in one
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the name of Jesus

For I believe in the name of Jesus
For I believe in the name of Jesus

We believe in love, Jesus

I believe in life eternal
I believe in the virgin birth
I believe in the saints’ communion
And in Your holy Church
I believe in the resurrection
When Jesus comes again
For I believe, in the name of Jesus

Come on!

I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in one
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the name of Jesus

I believe in God our Father
I believe in Christ the Son
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Our God is three in one
I believe in the resurrection
That we will rise again
For I believe in the name of Jesus
For I believe in the name of Jesus

Benefits of Wisdom

Proverbs 2 New International Version

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

2 My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
²turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
³indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
⁶For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

⁹Then you will understand what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.

Proclaiming the Gospel

Revelation 5 New International Version

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ²And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits^[a] of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. ⁸And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. ⁹And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign^[b] on the earth.”

¹¹Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹²In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honour and glory and praise!”

¹³Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honour and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

¹⁴The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshipped.

Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and king,
The triumphs of His grace!
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad,
The honours of Thy name.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease—
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the pow’r of cancelled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

The Future

James 4 13-17

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

I,m sure you’ve heard of the saying ‘ Don’t worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself’ because as it implies we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

What does the future hold for you this year? I look forward with anticipation in what the future has in store for me both in my spiritual life and family life.

Finally let us not forget that Jesus is our ‘Future and our Past’

Little Children

Ephesians 6:1-4

1Children, obey your parents in the LORD, for this is right. 2″Honor your father and mother”-which is the first commandment with a promise- 3″so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the LORD.

Matthew 19:14

14Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Many moons ago ( I say many moons as I am 60) having being brought up in The Salvation Army I decided to get saved on what is known in the Army as commitment Sunday at the very young age of 7yrs and I have committed my life to Christ ever since.

I have had my up and down’s in my Christian life since then but who doesn’t? The main thing is I have kept my faith and still attend The Salvation Army as my church. In fact with the various things that have happened in my life health wise or other, if anything it has been my faith that has kept me going.

Bread of Life

John 6 New International Version

Jesus the Bread of Life

²⁵When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. ²⁷Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

²⁸Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

³⁰So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? ³¹Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’^[c]”

³²Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Image result for Jesus the bread of life - free pics

³⁴“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

³⁵Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.³⁶But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me,but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

⁴¹At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴²They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

⁴³“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. ⁴⁴“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’^[d] Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. ⁴⁶No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. ⁵⁰But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

⁵²Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.⁵⁶Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

My life must be Christ’s broken bread,

My love his out poured wine,

A cup o’erfilled, a table spread,

Beneath his name and sign,

That other souls refreshed and fed,

May share his life through mine.

My all is in the masters hands,

For him to bless and break;

Beyond the brook his wine

press stands,

And thence my way I take,

Resolved the whole of love’s demands,

To give, for his dear sake.

Lord, let me share that grace of thine,

Wherewith thou didst sustain,

The burden of the fruitful vine,

The gift of buried grain.

Who dies with thee, O word divine,

Shall rise and live again.

The Good Shepherd

Ezekiel 34:7-16 New International Version

⁷“‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals,and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, ⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

¹¹“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹²As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁶I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

The Future

James 4 13-17

I,m sure you’ve heard of the saying ‘ Don’t worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself’ because as it implies we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Related image

What does the future hold for you next year? I know what the immediate future holds for me because i’m about to become a grandparent in January something i’m quite looking forward too (especially the part where you can hand baby back to parents.)

On a different note it’s our Corps (Salvation Army church’s) 25th anniversary in 2018 and we have a series of events going on throughout the year which will take us through to next December when we will have our big Celebration.

Finally let us not forget that Jesus is our ‘Future and our Past’

All we can be

Mark 12:38-44 New International Version

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

³⁸As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. ⁴⁰They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

The Widow’s Offering

⁴¹Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴²But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Godly Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 2:26

26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

There is a story in the Bible that speaks of Solomon, a young man who, after God offered him anything his heart desired, he requested wisdom. In response to his humble wish, God said to Solomon: … The Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines wisdom as “knowledge, and the capacity to make due use of it.”

Godly Wisdom For Our Decisions

When we’re facing a decision
And we’re feeling so unsure,
We need to pray for godly guidance
And the wisdom of the Lord

We need to wait with confidence
That God will show the way
And open doors we must go through, Image result for god's wisdom
Giving peace when we pray

Show us your ways, O Lord,
And where we need to walk
Guide us to where you want us,
Help us pray as we ought

Equip us with power and strength
To tread upon new ground,
To go where we’ve not been before
Where your blessings shall abound

For we shall never know how much
You long to bless our lives
Unless we take that step of faith
And follow the steps of Christ

To be where we can grow in you
And become more mature in faith,
To live in the wisdom that you’ve given,
To be immersed in your saving grace

To know your will for our lives,
We but only need to ask
You long to show us what to do,
All we need is obedient hearts