Power for living

2 Peter 1:3-4 says "3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires". These verses really grab me. Father God has supplied us with His power and knowledge to withstand temptation. Having been implanted with the divine nature we have been given the desire and power to do God's will.

Faith is not a wish!

I quote from Mick Turner's article on faith, "Faith isn’t so much about having a big idea. Faith isn’t about how much belief you can muster up. Faith isn’t like spiritual childbirth, where you experience the pain of labor. It is not about trying to create the future by believing it will be so. Faith is not the Christian version of a wish. It is not about speaking something into reality. Faith is different. Faith is about substance. It’s about knowing what has not happened will certainly happen. Not because you will make it happen but because God has promised it will be so. It is a conviction about things unseen. It is the promise of a better world, a better future – a better you".

Led into darkness to find the light!

Exodus 20:21 says "And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was". While the people continued to stand afar off - afraid of God's wrath, Moses drew near unto the thick darkness; he was made to draw near. Moses of himself would not have ventured into the thick darkness if God had not called him, and encouraged him, and, as some of the Rabbins suppose, sent an angel to take him by the hand, and lead him up. So it is with our Christian journey that we are sent into dark situations just to find that we have been called there to discover the light of God's amazing presence.

Faith pleases God.

Someone once said that faith is not the greatest of gifts but rather love. However Faith is the foundation for worship because you give your all to what you cannot see. Faith is why Jesus could have absolutely nothing in the eyes of the world, yet possess everything in the eyes of God. Hebrews 11:6 claims that it is faith that pleases God.

songs from the heart....

Psalm 28:7 says, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song". When your heart leaps it is because your have become excited or have received goods news for example. Does the fact that God loves us still cause our hearts to skip a beat? It is interesting to note that some people that I meet seem to sing to themselves when they are at their happiest. When the heart is glad a song gets released. Perhaps we could work on our spiritual singing even outside the church walls.

Sticking together ...

For those pondering over the thoughts of marraige or for those married for some time, then perhaps you will enjoy this quote - "You don’t marry someone you can live with – you marry the person who you cannot live without". Love is the adhesion of any strong marriage. Stick together.

Sun Shine!

"For you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings"(Mal. 4:2, NIV). I read an article that said that sunshine has so many healing properties that it is really one of God's best preventive medicines. Medical science has found it to aid in the reduction of high blood pressure, the normalization of blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and even to help in reducing obesity by stimulating the thyroid gland, which regulates the rate in which the body burns calories. Many years ago medical science discovered that the sun's healing rays helped to cure tuberculosis by destroying disease-producing bacteria. Sunshine lifts our spirits. It truly is one of our God's natural stress reducers. How fitting that the God who created the sun and gave it all its wonderful healing characteristics should Himself be called the Sun of righteousness. Bring on the Sun Shine!