Connection Group -Cremorne-

Listening to God John 6:66-69

2007-07-30T10:02:00.000+10:00

John 6:66-69

".Many of [Jesus'] disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, 'You do not want to go away also, do you?' Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.'"

Many of Jesus' disciples chose to leave Him. Why? They had a hard time accepting some of the things Jesus taught.

As you grow in your faith, you may be tempted to turn away because Jesus' lessons are difficult. When that temptation comes, don't turn away from God. Think about life - there is nowhere else to go! No other way of life meets you at your point of deepest inner need. No other way of life has its foundation in truth. No other way ends in meaning and purpose.

You must learn to trust God with the great times AND the hard times, the easy lessons and the difficult lessons!

Remember, with Jesus, there is no middle ground - no grey area. Either He is Lord of your life or not!

The more that people understand the power of Jesus' message, the more they divide into two camps - honest seekers and followers who want to understand more; and those who reject Jesus because they don't like what He teaches. Simon Peter saw that Jesus' words, however challenging, led to life.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

What Worship Does

2007-07-22T22:50:00.000+10:00

What Worship Does

“You who fear the LORD, praise Him!”
Psalm 22:23 NKJV

Worship humbles the smug and lifts the deflated.

Worship adjusts us, lowering the chin of the haughty, straightening the back of the burdened.

Worship properly positions the worshiper. And oh how we need it! We walk through life so bent out of shape. Five-talent folks swaggering: “I bet God’s glad to have me.” Two-talent folks struggling: “I bet God’s sick of putting up with me.” So sold on ourselves that we think someone died and made us ruler. Or so down on ourselves that we think everyone died and just left us.

Treat both conditions with worship.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in Cure for the Common Life

Living for God

2007-07-19T11:34:00.000+10:00

Living for God

Matthew 5:13-16

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Let your light shine!

What light? The life of Jesus Christ in you! Jesus repeatedly pointed to Himself as the light of the world (Matthew 4:16; John 8:12; 9:5; 12:35). Now He says to the disciples and to us today, "You are the light of the world".

How can this be true? Because Jesus is now living in you! Jesus is still on this earth, carrying out His ministry to people. If this is true, then where is He? What is His body? We are! Believers around the world are called in Scripture: "the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12). Jesus wants to shine His light on people around you. That's why He's put you in that job, that course, that neighbourhood.

Jesus is calling you today to let Him shine through you.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and as an mp3 download in the Audio Lounge.

The Holy Spirit -Galatians 5:22-25

2007-06-29T16:49:00.000+10:00

The Holy Spirit

Galatians 5:22-25
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

The Christian life only works when we allow the Holy Spirit to live His way of life through us!
We can achieve a measure of goodness in our activities through our own strength; but it is only surface goodness. We live that way to meet up to other’s expectations, or to assuage our own conscience, or to try and live up to a moral standard; but that goodness does not flow from who we are — our inner life. We are still fallen beings, full of selfishness and pride and independence.
The restoration of our inner lives is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. His inner life overflows with goodness and the fullness of God’s character. As we say to Him, “I can’t live that way, but You can, and You are in me”, He not only changes the way we act, but changes our very inner being to be more like Christ. Then the godly life just flows from you, instead of draining you.
God wants you, rather than trying hard to live for Him, to allow Him to live supernaturally through you.

The Holy Spirit -Ephesians 1:13-14

2007-06-28T16:18:00.000+10:00

The Holy Spirit

Ephesians 1:13-14
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Our experience of the Holy Spirit here in this life is a foretaste of how wonderful heaven will be!
In today’s verses, the Lord is telling you that when you heard the message of the gospel and put your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and you were born again, something else very significant happened too. God put a seal of authenticity on your salvation, a guarantee that one day you would experience the fullness of glory in heaven. That seal, that guarantee is the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in your life.

In Romans 8:23, Paul refers to it as “the first fruits of the Spirit” which make us long for glory. Like eating the first apples of the season gives you an idea of what the season will be like, experiencing the Spirit is a little taste of what heaven will be like. The presence of God, the glory of God, the love of God, victory over sin, closeness to God — all these things the Spirit wants to fill your life with now!

Romans 8:14- The Holy Spirit

2007-06-26T08:50:00.000+10:00

Romans 8:14
"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."

Expect the Holy Spirit to lead you!

In Acts 8:29, when Philip was walking on the Gaza road and a chariot went by, it says, "Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go up and join this chariot.'" As Philip followed the leading of the Holy Spirit, it led to a wonderful opportunity to talk to one of the leading government officials of Ethiopia about Christ, and the man put his faith in Jesus!

When the great Council of Jerusalem met in Acts 15:28, James came out of the council meeting and said, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials."

The Holy Spirit wants to lead you in two ways. As you make yourself available to God for Him to use you in other people's lives in this world, the Spirit will guide you so that you are fulfilling His plan for you, just as He guided Philip. The main thing is your availability to Him.

And in your own personal spiritual life, the Spirit wants to lead you into the great life-changing truths. He wants to transform you from the inside out! God's message to you today: make your life, your mind, your heart totally available to God, and you can expect the Holy Spirit to guide you in life!

Eight Specific Reasons Why Christians Suffer

2007-06-22T12:45:00.000+10:00

Eight Specific Reasons Why Christians Suffer

by Joyce Meyer

This is a great link to aid understanding of why it is often the Hard road to travel as followers of Jesus.

I dont know about you, but i find it extremely comforting to know that there is some'one' out there that understands.

But Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you]” (John 16:33).

Isaiah 58:13-14

2007-06-19T09:31:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 58:13-14
"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honourable, and honour it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

It honours and pleases God greatly when we set aside special time just for Him and do not allow anything else to steal our attention!

"Desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word." There is no intrinsic value in self-denial. Christianity is not a religion of asceticism, but of the fullness of life that God brings us.

But there is still great value in having times where we purposely deny ourselves the normal pleasures of life for no other purpose than honouring God as more important than ourselves and our comfort. Making the Lord's day special or taking a day to fast and focus on God - these kinds of things serve notice on our flesh that it is not in control, that God is the most important thing in our lives.

How can you deny yourself in a way that honours God this week?

Isaiah 40:28-31

2007-06-08T08:04:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 40:28-31

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."

Learning to "wait for the Lord" is one of the most important patterns to establish in your life!

There is a source of inner strength that the secular world knows nothing about, and that source is God Himself. God has set up life in such a way that we are not able to face life victoriously without Him. Neither do we have the strength to minister to others in the way He desires, without His enabling.

Are you wearing out? Have you come to the end of your own strength? Are you "stumbling badly"? God wants you to learn to "wait for the Lord". He wants you to wait for His leading before moving forward, even with something good. He wants you to wait for His provision, to wait expectantly for His anointing on your ministry. Learn to pray and ask God for His enabling in your life.

Isaiah 40:15-18

2007-06-07T10:02:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 40:15-18
“Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?”

God is more significant than everything else that exists put together!
As Isaiah gropes for a way to compare all the nations of the earth to God, he keeps going to greater extremes to find a fitting comparison. Compared to God they are “like a drop from a bucket…a speck of dust on the scales…fine dust…not enough to burn…as nothing before Him…less than nothing…meaningless”.
Finally when he cannot make the comparison any more extreme, he says, “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?”
How foolish we are to ever put God on the sideline in our lives, to view Him as a convenient aspect of life. He is so much more important than anything else in our lives that there is not even any way to express it meaningfully.
Put God first, and your life will be as it should be: less stressed, more balanced, joyful and meaningful.

Isaiah 30:9-11

2007-06-05T11:18:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 30:9-11

“For this is a rebellious people, false sons, sons who refuse to listen to the instruction of the LORD; who say to the seers, ‘You must not see visions’; and to the prophets, ‘You must not prophesy to us what is right, speak to us pleasant words, prophesy illusions. Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel’.”

Not all the things you need to hear from your Bible teachers are pleasant!

The Apostle Paul tells us that in the last days, people will pursue Bible teachers who “tickle their ears”. That is, the Bible teachers who are popular will be those who simply tell you what you like to hear (2 Timothy 4:3).

But God wants you to know that what you like to hear is not always what you need to hear. When you are choosing your Bible teachers, make sure you choose those who are willing to teach what is unpopular, who don’t only teach the “feel good” truths of the Bible. It is healthy for your spiritual life to be convicted and challenged about how you live.

You need to go beyond the surface, elementary teachings of Scripture and get into the in-depth study of the Bible that will make you a mature believer, able to discern what is right and wrong, and able to teach and counsel others.

Isaiah 29:13-14

2007-06-04T12:54:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 29:13-14

"Then the Lord said, 'Because this people draw near with their words and honour Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote; therefore behold, I will once again deal marvellously with this people, wondrously marvellous; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed."

What God cares about is not your outward religious activities, but the condition of your heart towards Him!

If things are not too good in your daily inner relationship with God, you don't like for other believers to know about it; so you continue to use spiritual language that makes it seem like things are good. The danger is that it gets easy to live in this way, and we can come to convince even ourselves that this outward show is the real thing.

God is showing us today that just as He can astound us by His marvellous blessings, in the same way, He will astound us with His "marvellous" messing-up of our fake Christian life in order to let us see that it is our heart that matters.

Don't let yourself be satisfied to outwardly look like things are great between you and God. Don't settle for fake when the real thing is marvellous. Do whatever it takes to keep your heart sensitive and responsive to Him.

Isaiah 14:27

2007-05-30T16:26:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 14:27

"For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?"

God does what He plans, and nothing can keep Him from it!

Think about who God is. He's the Supreme Being of the universe, the Creator of everything besides Himself, the Author of life. He's omnipotent, all powerful. If God decides to do something, what could possibly thwart His purpose? Nothing!

Some Christians are afraid of God's power, as if it could mean disaster for them. But only those who are opposed to God's purpose need to fear His power. If you're building your life around God's purposes in this world, then you can be sure that all of God's power stands behind you, ready to support His work through you.

If you don't have a clear sense of what God's purpose is for you, then build your life around the purposes of God that are true for everyone. He wants you to honour Him with your life, to speak of Him to others, to give Him the credit for what He does in your life, and to pursue a deeper relationship with Him each day.

God is reassuring you through this verse today that He's dependable; His promises are reliable; and you don't need to be nervous about following His will in your life. If He is for you, who can be against you?

Watch and Pray

2007-05-28T17:54:00.000+10:00

Watch and Pray
Monday, May 28, 2007

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Mark 14:38 NIV

“Watch.” They don’t come any more practical than that. Watch. Stay alert. Keep your eyes open. When you see sin coming, duck. When you anticipate an awkward encounter, turn around. When you sense temptation, go the other way.

All Jesus is saying is, “Pay attention.” You know your weaknesses. You also know the situations in which your weaknesses are most vulnerable. Stay out of those situations. Back seats. Late hours. Movie theaters. Whatever it is that gives Satan a foothold in your life, stay away from it. Watch out!

“Pray.” Prayer isn’t telling God anything new. There is not a sinner nor a saint who would surprise him. What prayer does is invite God to walk the shadowy pathways of life with us. Prayer is asking God to watch ahead for falling trees and tumbling boulders and to bring up the rear, guarding our backside from the poison darts of the devil.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in No Wonder They Call Him the Savior

Perfect Love

2007-05-28T12:40:00.000+10:00

Monday, May 28, 2007

“Perfect love casts our fear.”
I John 4:18 NKJV

Have you ever gone to the grocery store on an empty stomach? You’re a sitting duck. You buy everything you don’t need. Doesn’t matter if it’s good for you—you just want to fill your tummy. When you’re lonely, you do the same in life, pulling stuff off the shelf, not because you need it, but because you are hungry for love.

Why do we do it? Because we fear facing life alone. For fear of not fitting in, we take the drugs. For fear of standing out, we wear the clothes. For fear of appealing small, we go into debt and buy the house. For fear of going unnoticed, we dress to seduce or to impress. For fear of sleeping alone, we sleep with anyone. For fear of not being loved, we search for love in all the wrong places.

But all that changes when we discover God’s perfect love. And “perfect love casts our fear.”

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in Traveling Light

Beauty for Ashes...

2007-05-26T16:59:00.000+10:00

Saturday 5/26/2007

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes....
—Isaiah 61:3 KJV

Multiplied thousands of people have been hurt severely in their lives. They come from broken relationships or abusive backgrounds that are still producing bad fruit in their personalities.

God wants to send the wind of the Holy Spirit into our lives (Acts 2:1-4), to blow away the ashes that are left from Satan's attempt to destroy us, and to replace those ashes with beauty.

The Lord has taught me that consistently bad fruit comes from a bad root. No matter how much we may try to get rid of the bad fruit, unless the root is dealt with, more bad fruit will crop up somewhere else.

God created us to be loved. He wants to love us; He wants us to love each other, and He wants us to love and accept ourselves. Without this foundation of love and acceptance, there will be no joy and peace.

Some of us need to be transplanted. If we started out in the wrong soil, Jesus will transplant us so that we can get rooted and grounded in His love, as the Bible teaches.

Know that you are valuable, unique, loved, and special. When this is your foundation and your root, you will produce good fruit.

Ask God to give you beauty for ashes.

Say This:

I was created for love. God loves me and wants me to love Him, love others, and love and accept myself."

Isaiah 6:6-7

2007-05-23T15:36:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 6:6-7

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, `Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven’.” (please read vv. 5-7)

Brokenness and confession from me lead to forgiveness and restoration from God!

The angel touched Isaiah’s lips with a coal from the sacrificial altar. God gave the people of Israel the sacrificial system as a symbol of what Christ would do for them at the cross. Jesus had not yet come and so God gave them the symbol of the substitutionary death of an animal as payment for their sins. But really it was the great sacrifice of Jesus for us that would make a way for our sins to be “taken away” and “forgiven”.

After Isaiah’s heart cry of brokenness and despair over his own sin, “then” came God’s forgiveness.

God’s reminding you today that He doesn’t want you to downplay your sin and make it seem not so bad. What He responds to in your life is open confession and grief in your heart about your sin against Him. And He’s also assuring you that when you see your sin the way He sees it and come to Him with it, He’s so ready to restore your relationship with Him to relational closeness.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and downloadable in the Audio Lounge.

Isaiah 6:5- His personal Encounter with God!

2007-05-22T11:27:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 6:5

"Then I said, `Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.'"
(please read vv. 1-5 again)

You'll only really understand yourself when you have a personal encounter with God!

Isaiah's immediate response to his personal encounter with God wasn't great joy, excitement and vigour. No, Isaiah was devastated. He'd thought quite well of himself. He had a good self-image.

But suddenly that self-image was shattered by his exposure to God. In the face of God's presence, holiness and glory, Isaiah suddenly realised that he wasn't the centre of his own existence, that his sense of his own goodness was a delusion in the face of God's holiness. Here was this unfallen, perfect angel covering his face in the presence of God. What hope did Isaiah have?

Isaiah fell before his great God a broken man, aware of his weaknesses, failings and sins. That is just where he needed to be; it was where God wanted him. That brokenness was God's goal in Isaiah's life.

It is God's goal in your life too. Brokenness comes first; anointing comes later. Tears come first; joy comes later. Confession comes first; healing comes later. God comes first; then He makes you what you need to be. But you'll never find that brokenness until you encounter God Himself.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and downloadable in the Audio Lounge.

Inspiring Prayers

2007-05-21T14:57:00.000+10:00

I have often wondered what or how other devoted followers of God would pray to him... or say... I have found this website that is just that... their thoughts, snippets of inspirational prayers. click here for more.

Its great to know that there are those that have gone before us that are bold enough to speak out God's truth and what he has done in their lives. It is truly powerful... and a power not to be underestimated!

What you need to do, is to put your will over completely into the hands of your Lord, surrendering to Him the entire control of it. Say, "Yes, Lord, YES!" to everything, and trust Him to work in you to will, as to bring your whole wishes and affections into conformity with His own sweet, and lovable, and most lovely will. It is wonderful what miracles God works in wills that are utterly surrendered to Him. He turns hard things into easy, and bitter things into sweet. It is not that He puts easy things in the place of the hard, but He actually changes the hard thing into an easy one.

Hannah Whitall Smith

Isaiah 6:1-2

2007-05-21T09:05:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 6:1-2

"I saw the Lord.Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew." (please read vv.1-5 again)

A personal encounter with God removes all your pride!

There are many different kinds of heavenly beings, which we lump together and call "angels". The Bible talks about angels, archangels, principalities, powers, cherubim and seraphim. These that Isaiah saw were the seraphim, which means "burning ones". Their name implies that they have a brilliance and glory about them.

These are probably the same beings that appeared to the shepherds at the birth of Jesus. When the first one appeared, Luke tells us (Luke 2:9) that "an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened".

The appearance of one of these angels brought awe and fear to those who saw them, and yet the far greater brilliance and glory of God causes even these great and amazing beings to cover their faces. They also covered their feet, a sign of deep humility before God.

If you find yourself thinking that maybe your opinion is almost as significant as God's opinion, or placing a low value on God's place in your life, then you need to set aside some time simply to ask God to reveal Himself to you in a greater way.

Isaiah 6:1

2007-05-17T10:43:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 6:1

“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.” (please read vv.1-5 again)

God’s glory always accompanies His presence!

The “train” of a robe is the long part of the robe that trails behind the king. It represents the king’s glory and majesty.

When Isaiah saw the Lord in all His beauty and greatness and magnificence, the train of God’s robe filled the temple. That is, there was an overwhelming sense of the glory of God!

This is the same thing that happened when Solomon first dedicated the temple. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 tells us: “Then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.”

When you have a personal encounter with God, you too will begin to see His glory — the evidence of His presence — in everything. In the circumstances of your life, in the Bible, in your prayer life, in your worship, in your fellowship with other believers, in your ministry to others, in God’s provision of your needs.

At every turn you will find reasons to honour and praise God for His kingly presence filling every corner of your life.

Isaiah 5:20

2007-05-11T10:42:00.000+10:00

Isaiah 5:20

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

There is such a thing as absolute truth, despite how `good’ and `sweet’ popular opinion may seem!

God is not just a power that can be bent in whatever way suits us. God will not be what we want Him to be or what we think He should be. He will not behave according to our plans; nor will He adjust His morality to fit our expectations.

Remember, God was here long before humanity existed. God is who He is, not who we want Him to be.

Our job is not to decide what God is like, but to find out what He is like. He has a moral nature that defines morality in His universe. He has revealed His moral guidelines in the Bible and in His Son Jesus.

When we start redefining what God has said about morality, or sexuality, or spirituality, or marriage, or love, or any other area of right and wrong, we are setting ourselves against who God is and how He has revealed Himself.

Today the Lord is reminding us to go to His word for our guidance on the issues of life. It makes life so much simpler and ultimately sweeter when we trust God’s wisdom and obey Him.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ for FM103.2. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

who are these goofy kids? :D

2007-05-11T00:30:00.000+10:00

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
- Nelson Mandela

Forgiveness Follows Failure

2007-05-10T12:23:00.000+10:00

Forgiveness Follows Failure
Thursday, May 10, 2007

In the past God spoke... many times and in many different ways. But now... God has spoken to us through his Son.
Hebrews 1:1-2

God, motivated by love and directed by divinity, surprised everyone. He became a man. In an untouchable mystery, he disguised himself as a carpenter and lived in a dusty Judaean village. Determined to prove his love for his creation, he walked incognito through his own world. His callused hands touched wounds and his compassionate words touched hearts....

But as beautiful as this act of incarnation was, it was not the zenith. Like a master painter, God reserved his masterpiece until the end. All the earlier acts of love had been leading to this one. The angels hushed and the heavens paused to witness the finale. God unveils the canvas and the ultimate act of creative compassion is revealed.

God on a cross. The Creator being sacrificed for the creation. God convincing man once and for all that forgiveness still follows failure.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in No Wonder They Call Him the Savior

Isaiah 3:10-11

2007-05-10T12:09:00.001+10:00

Isaiah 3:10-11

"Say to the righteous that it will go well with them,
For they will eat the fruit of their actions.
Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him,
For what he deserves will be done to him."

God cares what you do!

Salvation - being forgiven for your sins and welcomed into God's family forever - is a free gift. It was purchased for you by Jesus when He went to the cross for you.

You don't earn your salvation by being good enough. You don't lose it by being bad enough. It's entirely dependent on what Jesus did, not what you do. You simply receive God's gift by faith. No wonder the Apostle Paul exclaims, "thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

But God is reminding us today that although salvation is a free gift, it does not mean that God doesn't care how we live after we're saved. Just the opposite - the terrible price Jesus had to pay for our forgiveness shows just how much God hates sin.

Today, Isaiah is telling us one of the basic truths about how God has set up this universe. Those who do what's right will ultimately be blessed for it and those who do what's wrong will experience negative consequences. Any actions that seem to have escaped their consequences in this life will find justice in the next. It's never a mistake to do what is right.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

Gratitude for Ungrateful Days

2007-05-08T11:06:00.000+10:00

Gratitude for Ungrateful Days
by Max Lucado
“Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus”
(I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NCV).

Look at the totality of those terms. Always be joyful. Pray continually. Give thanks whatever happens. Learn a lesson from Sidney Connell. When her brand-new bicycle was stolen, she called her dad with the bad news. He expected his daughter to be upset. But Sidney wasn’t crying. She was honored. “Dad,” she boasted, “out of all the bikes they could have taken, they took mine.”

Make gratitude your default emotion, and you’ll find yourself giving thanks for the problems of life. Need spice in your day? Thank God for every problem that comes down the pike. Is any situation so dire that gratitude is eliminated? Some of the ladies at the Women of Faith Conference thought it was. This great organization fills arenas with women, and women with hope. The president, Mary Graham, told me about one particular weekend in which a shortage of space tested everyone’s patience.

The floor had 150 fewer seats than needed. The arena staff tried to solve the problem by using narrow chairs. As a result, every woman had a place to sit, but everyone was crowded. Complaints contaminated like feedlot fragrance. Mary asked Joni Eareckson Tada, a speaker for the evening, if she could calm the crowd. Joni was perfectly qualified to do so. A childhood diving accident has left her wheelchair-bound. The attendants rolled her onto the platform, and Joni addressed the unhappy crowd. “I understand some of you don’t like the chair in which you are sitting. Neither do I. But I have about a thousand handicapped friends who would gladly trade places with you in an instant.”

The grumbling ceased.

Yours can too.

Impossible, you say? How do you know? How do you know until you give every day a chance?

From Every Day Deserves a Chance
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007) Max Lucado

Use doubt to Deepen your Faith

2007-05-03T09:12:00.001+10:00

Use Doubt To Deepen Your Faith

John 20:26-29

"Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing! Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!'" (vv. 27-28)

Imagine what it must have been like for the other disciples, being in that room, hearing Thomas say he wasn't going to believe something was true until he saw it for himself? And can you imagine what it must have been like seeing Jesus appear in that room eight days later, speaking directly to Thomas about his doubts?

Jesus didn't lecture Thomas for having doubts because He knew the doubts would result in a strong belief.

The Lord is reminding us through Thomas that some people need to doubt before they will believe. Doubt can be healthy if it leads to questions. Then, if questions are honestly researched they can lead to answers. If the answers are accepted, then doubt has done its work. But when doubt results in stubbornness, and stubbornness becomes a lifestyle, that doubt is useless and harms the hope for faith.

When you have doubts, that's OK. But don't let doubts grow into stubbornness. Use those doubts to deepen your faith, as you search for the truth.

And notice that Thomas never reached his hand out to touch Jesus, he accepted Jesus as Lord by faith. Have you?

living in a temporary world...

2007-05-03T02:01:00.001+10:00

Living in a Temporay World

2 Peter 3:11-12

“Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!”

One of the most foundational beliefs we hold as Christians is also one of the things we forget most easily, and that is the truth that this world is temporary!

God is allowing the fallenness of this world to continue because He is not finished with the people in the world. But one day God will come and close down this world and everything in it. Everything temporary will be destroyed. The only things that will make it out of this world are the spiritual things: people, the Word of God, the spiritual fruit of our lives, the things of God.

When that day comes, it will be so obvious to us that we have wasted so much of our lives and so much of our energy on things that really don’t matter. We will wish that we had lived full-on for God, that we had focused our lives on the things that last forever.

In today’s passage God is reminding you to live today for what will matter then! What sort of person ought you to be?

Saturated in Love

2007-05-01T23:05:00.000+10:00

Saturated in Love
Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Where God's love is there is no fear, because God's perfect love drives out fear.
1 John 4:15

We fear rejection, so we follow the crowd. We fear no fitting in, so we take the drugs. For fear of standing out, we wear what everyone else wears. For fear of blending in, we wear what no one else wears. For fear of sleeping alone, we sleep with anyone. For fear of not being loved, we search for love in all the wrong places.

But God flushes those fears. Those saturated in God's love don't sell out to win the love of others. They don't even sell out to win the love of God.

Do you think you need to? Do you think, If I cuss less, pray more, drink less, study more... if I try harder, God will love me more? Sniff and smell Satan's stench behind those words. We all need improvement, but we don't need to wood God's love. We change because we already have God's love. God's perfect love.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in Come Thirsty

A Tree in Healthy Soil

2007-05-01T22:09:00.001+10:00

A Tree in Healthy Soil

Colossians 2:6-7

"Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude."

When you receive Christ as your personal Saviour, He becomes Lord of your life. You must then choose to continue to follow His leadership through being a disciple and learner.

Jesus is not here physically, but you can still learn from Him and follow His lead in life by reading His Word and listening to wise Bible-based teachers. This helps you become firmly rooted like a tree that is planted in healthy soil.

The process continues as you need to be built up and established in your faith. You grow in your faith as you respond to what God says to you as you read and study His Word. If you reject what God is saying to you, you won’t grow. But if you respond, you will grow.

If you pursue this path of spiritual growth in your life: learning from Jesus, responding to His leading in your life, growing in your relationship with Him, learning some more, responding, etc., then God will bless you so much in your heart and your life, that you will find yourself “overflowing with gratitude”. You’ll praise Him because it feels your heart will burst if you don’t. What a great way to live!

Have you been in the wilderness long enough?

2007-04-28T11:24:00.000+10:00

Friday 4/27/2007

The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have dwelt long enough on this mountain. Turn and take up your journey....
—Deuteronomy 1:6,7

As long as we have wilderness attitudes, we will continue living in the wilderness. Jesus died so we could live in the Promised Land the land of abundance.

It was only an eleven-day journey to the Promised Land, yet the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years murmuring, grumbling, complaining, and blaming Moses and God for their troubles. (Deuteronomy 1:1-7). Their lack of progress was due to their attitude.

Having a good attitude in a trying situation is at least 90 percent of the battle. We can win over anything as long as we have a godly attitude. There will always be trials in life, but as we trust God and continue doing what He shows us to do, we always come out victorious.

Don't be afraid to walk in the light. As God brings your faults into the light to expose and remove them, it may be uncomfortable. This kind of discomfort, however, is temporary.

God loves you very much, and He has an excellent plan for your life. Follow the Holy Spirit, and He will lead you swiftly through the wilderness into the Promised Land.

Take the shortcut through the wilderness don't go the long way around!

Do This:

Ask the Holy Spirit to start convicting you of any wrong attitudes that are not pleasing to God so that with His help you can change them immediately.

Think of Home

2007-04-27T09:20:00.000+10:00

Think of Home
Friday, April 27, 2007

“When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.”
James 1:2

God didn’t say, “If you have many kinds of troubles”...he said “When you have many kinds of troubles…” Troubles are part of the package. Betrayals are part of our troubles. Don’t be surprised when betrayals come. Don’t look for fairness here—look instead where Jesus looked.

While going through hell, Jesus kept his eyes on heaven. While surrounded by enemies he kept his mind on his father. While abandoned on earth, he kept his heart on home. “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky.” (Matt. 26:64)

When all of earth turns against you, all of heaven turns toward you. To keep your balance in a crooked world... think of home.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in And the Angels Were Silent

The Little things... #4

2007-04-27T07:54:00.000+10:00

The Little Things

Colossians 1:28-29

“We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labour, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

The relationships you have with the people around you are a huge part of God’s plan for your life. God has placed you among the people around you so that He can work through you in their lives!

Sometimes we treat our relationships lightly, as though they were a “little thing”, but we should be constantly giving every relationship we have to God and inviting Him to work through us in those people’s lives. Don’t think that God only wants to work through you in your pleasant relationships; He also wants to work through you in those relationships that are tough.

Like the Apostle Paul in the passage above, work hard to impact every life you touch for God. When you encounter a person, always think, “How can I encourage this person spiritually? How can I turn their thoughts to the Lord? How can I pray for them?” Trust God to guide you as you speak with them.

Treat no conversation lightly, but look for ways to be used by God. How might God be able to use you today if you approach your relationships like this? The little word, the little time you give can have eternal impact.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

The Wandering, Wondering Mind

2007-04-25T15:15:00.000+10:00

Wednesday 4/25/2007

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
—2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV

Do you ever have any difficulty with wandering thoughts? The harnessing of the human mind is often like trying to train a wild animal. Don't be discouraged. With enough diligence and lots of grace from God, you can win control of your mind.

The key to casting down thoughts and not allowing them to return is to replace wrong thinking with right thinking. Fix your mind on good things. (Philippians 4:8.) Start to think good thoughts on purpose, and you will train yourself to think God-like thoughts.

Wondering about things by turning them over and over in our minds without being able to arrive at a solution leads us into confusion. The Holy Spirit quickened to me that I cannot get confused unless I am trying to figure out something that I need to leave in God's capable hands.

Negative thinking leads to trouble. Proverbs 23:7 says that as a person thinks in his heart, so is he. I believe our thoughts draw a border for our life, and we must live within that border.

Do This:

Choose your thoughts carefully. Meditate only on good (positive) things. Don't allow your mind to become preoccupied with wandering, wondering thoughts, or being negative.

The Little things... #3

2007-04-25T12:42:00.000+10:00

The Little Things

Luke 16:10-11

"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true [spiritual] riches to you?"

In God's eyes, the way you spend your money is a "little thing" that reveals very important things about your spiritual life!

The reality is that everything we have is God's, and that includes all of our money. God, living in us, wants to spend His money, which He has entrusted to us, in His way, for His purposes. When we move with Him, using His money for His purposes, then God knows that He can trust us with bigger things.

Have you been holding back from giving generously to the work of God in this world, waiting for your business to get bigger and more successful so that you can give more later? In truth, if you do not give generously when your business is small, neither will you when your business is bigger.

How you use the Lord's money has a huge impact on your spiritual life. Jesus is inviting you to make Him the leader of your whole life, even your finances. If you do, you will find that God's blessings in your life far outweigh your giving.

You'll experience His "true riches".

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

The Little things...

2007-04-24T10:24:00.001+10:00

The Little Things

Psalm 134

"Behold, bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord, who serve by night in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands to the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth."

This is the last in a group of psalms called Psalms of Ascents. These psalms were used in the daily ceremonies of the Temple in Jerusalem. As the final psalm in the group, this would have been sung to the "night shift" Levites, who were coming on duty as the temple was closing down.

God challenges them not to waste their idle moments during the night shift, but to use that time to "bless the Lord!"

What idle moments are there in your life? Those are the times that often lead to real spiritual struggles. Idle moments are when anxiety can fill our minds, when lustful thoughts can invade, when bitterness and anger can rise to the surface, when fear can paralyse us.

Those very moments that lead to the greatest struggles in our spiritual lives can be turned into one of the greatest sources of spiritual growth as we begin to give those idle moments to God.

The time in the car, or lying awake in bed, or in between classes, or waiting in the doctor's office, or watching TV.

Ask yourself, "How could I bless God with these spare moments?"

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

We Are Family

2007-04-23T20:03:00.000+10:00

We Are Family
Monday, April 23, 2007

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Romans 12:10 NIV

Common belief identifies members of God’s family. And common affection unites them. Paul gives this relationship rule for the church: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” The apostle plays the wordsmith here, bookending the verse with fraternal-twin terms. He begins with philostorgos (philos means friendly; storgos mean family love) and concludes with philadelphia (phileo means tender affection; adelphia means brethren). An awkward but accurate translation of the verse might be “Have a friend/family devotion to each other in a friend/family sort of way.” If Paul doesn’t get us with the first adjective, he catches us with the second. In both he reminds us: the church is God’s family.

You didn’t pick me. I didn’t pick you. You may not like me. I may not like you. But since God picked and likes us both, we are family.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in Cure for the Common Life

Its the Little Things...

2007-04-23T07:21:00.000+10:00

The Little Things

Luke 16:10

"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much."

It is the little things that make any relationship extra good, extra meaningful!

The little love note you find tucked into your clothes when you are away on a trip, put there by your spouse. The little words spoken in kindness.

And also, when you find that a person is honest about little things that don't matter very much, you trust their honesty when a big thing comes up.

We sometimes say to our children, "If we find that we can trust you in this, then maybe we will talk about letting you do that."

It is a principle of life, isn't it? The way you handle the little things says a lot about how you handle the big things. Because this is true, we need to pay much closer attention to the "little things" in life. In reality, they are not little things at all.

I remember a man from India saying to me once, "Little tigers grow into big tigers, and big tigers kill." Sometimes we find it easier to commit the big things of our life to God than the little things. Our sin nature wants to hang on to those little things. What little things are holding you back? It's time to give them to God.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

Time Management & Priorities

2007-04-19T15:13:00.000+10:00

Thursday 4/19/2007

Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately,...as wise (sensible, intelligent people), making the very most of the time....
—Ephesians 5:15,16

We are the generation God has set apart to participate in the end-time harvest that is prophesied in His Word. God is searching for people He can trust to be accountable for the anointing, power, and authority that will be evident in these last days.

Learning to walk in obedience where we are prepares us for the next level into which God wants to take us. Obedience prepares us for promotion. We cannot wait until the "glory days" hit and then get prepared. Preparation precedes promotion.

God is speaking to His people today saying, "Get your house in order." What does this mean in a practical way? I believe it means that we are not to live fragmented, useless lives with no purpose and direction. We must be accountable and responsible for the abilities God has given each of us. We must make a firm decision to stop wasting our time, because time is a gift from God.

Time management is vital to preparation and equipping. Funnel your time into your purpose. Don't look at your time as your own, but see it as God's something He has entrusted to you to use wisely.

Say This:

"I will no longer procrastinate or be slow of heart to believe. I will move when the Lord says, 'Move!'"

A Clear Vision of the Cross

2007-04-06T06:32:00.000+10:00

A Clear Vision of the Cross
Friday, April 06, 2007

Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
I Peter 3:18 NIV

One of the reference points of London is the Charing Cross. It is near the geographical center of the city and serves as a navigational tool for those confused by the streets.

A little girl was lost in the great city. A policeman found her. Between sobs and tears, she explained she didn’t know her way home. He asked her if she knew her address. She didn’t. He asked her phone number; she didn’t know that either. But when he asked her what she knew, suddenly her face lit up.

“I know the Cross,” she said. “Show me the Cross and I can find my way home from there.”

So can you. Keep a clear vision of the cross on your horizon and you can find your way home.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in And the Angels Were Silent

He died on our behalf...

2007-04-05T09:26:00.000+10:00

Easter

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."

The reason Jesus died and rose again for you, was so that your life-focus would shift from yourself to His purposes in this world!

You were created for His purposes (see Ephesians 2:10), but your fallen, sinful, self-focused life was preventing you from living out your reason for existing. So Jesus "died.on [your] behalf". He died in your place, taking the sin and guilt you had built up, and experiencing God's judgment for you.

And He also "rose again on [your] behalf". His resurrection life in you enables you to live in a way that brings God glory.

Do you see what the Lord is saying to you today? You do not "live for [yourself]" anymore. Now you live for Him! Your life purpose is no longer to get as much, do as much, travel as much for yourself as you can. Now your purpose is to honour Him, love Him, and point people to Him as much as you can.

Replace "all" with your name: "He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

Love is...

2007-04-04T16:08:00.001+10:00

Wednesday 4/4/2007

"A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
—John 13:34 NIV

Love is the new commandment Jesus gave under the New Covenant. The love walk is a liberating lifestyle because it sets us free from self.

Love is a sacrifice—it costs. Every time we love someone, it costs us something. Time, talent, money, or pride may be the cost.

Forgiveness is love; it costs pride to forgive. The flesh is basically lazy and passive; it always wants effortless benefits. Love is effort.

There seems to be a lack of joy among God's people; one of the major reasons is that we often become passive, looking for an effortless lifestyle.

Love is involvement. It is impossible to have true relationship without involvement. Involvement requires commitment; commitment requires work; work is effort.

Love is an effort; it is an effort to walk in love.

Love is involvement, not isolation. Love requires reaching out. Love says, "I'm sorry," first and initiates the move that can bring restoration and understanding.

Love involves sacrificial giving. Love doesn't do the right thing to get something; love does the right thing because it is right. Love is healing; love restores.

Say This:

"Love is the new commandment Jesus gave. I walk in love, and it sets me free from self. Forgiveness is love, so I forgive."

Easter...

2007-04-04T15:36:00.001+10:00

Easter

Hebrews 2:9-11

“But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren”

Jesus’ suffering and death on our behalf only increased His resurrection glory in heaven!

Jesus was always perfect. He existed forever as God the Son, in perfect fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. All the attributes of God were His in perfection. When He became a man, He lived without any sin. So how was He “perfected…through sufferings”?

His perfections became even greater! It is one thing to have a nature that would sacrifice out of love for others. But that aspect of a person becomes even more glorious when they are put in a situation where they actually have to make an inconceivable sacrifice to save others.

Today God the Father wants you to see the glory of the resurrected Jesus Christ. Get on your knees before the cross and glorify Him who suffered for you.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

God's Name

2007-04-02T21:01:00.000+10:00

God’s Name
Monday, April 02, 2007

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need." Psalm 23:1

“You want to know who God really is?” David asks. “Then read this.” And he writes the name Yahweh. “Yahweh is my shepherd.”

Though foreign to us, the name was rich to David. So rich, in fact, that David chose Yahweh over El Shaddai (God Almighty), El Elyon (God Most High), and El Olam (God the Everlasting). These and many other titles for God were at David’s disposal. But when he considered all the options, David chose Yahweh.

Why Yahweh? Because Yahweh is God’s name. You can call me preacher or writer or half-baked golfer- these are accurate descriptions, but these aren’t my names. I might call you dad, mom, doctor, or student, and those terms may describe you, but they aren’t your name. If you want to call me by my name, say Max. If I call you by your name, I say it. And if you want to call God by his name, say Yahweh.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in Traveling Light

Countdown to Easter Celebrations!

2007-04-02T08:28:00.000+10:00

Easter

Romans 5:10

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Jesus’ resurrection means that He’s alive here today to live through you!

Usually when we talk about the life of Jesus, we mean His life on earth, which revealed to us what God was like in all His purity, power, grace and love. And we think of His teaching, which amazed the crowds with its simple, clear, unavoidable truth. Or we talk about the death of Christ, by which “we were reconciled to God”.

But what God’s saying to us here is that the resurrection life of Jesus will revolutionise our lives. Our soul is saved by Jesus’ death, but our life is saved by His life! That is, Jesus is ready, willing and able to live through you today.

Are you frustrated by your inability to live the way you ought to, need to, and want to? Don’t you know that it is impossible for us to live the victorious Christian life in our own strength? Only Jesus Christ has ever been able to live God’s way in total victory. Today Jesus wants to live that victorious life in you. Think about what you’ve been struggling with, and say to the Lord, “I can’t, but You can, and You are in me. I invite You to live Your life through me today.”

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

Jesus is Fa Rizzle...

2007-03-31T07:12:00.000+10:00

Team PresBaps!

I think its time we stepped up to the plate and did something about some sort of 'Team Uniform'... now, im not into becoming all utilitarian (or communist, despite my country of origin! Ha!) However...

Who is in on wearing one of these?

I've been 'encouraging' our favourite Pastor this side of the SHB (Sydney Harbour Bridge)...
Of course being G.A. (The man himself, Graham Agnew)...

He made a reference to wearing the shirt if we were to raise a certain amount for the church 'coffers'...

now... since we all know God's provision on this one... GA has actually been avoiding me on the subject...

So.... in order to get him on to this (and wear it to church or something.... something...)

I think we need to seriously consider if our Team PresBaps are willing to all purchase a t-shirt EACH... and chip in to buy G.A. one himself?!!

What are your thoughts? Any consensus?

We shall discuss at our next Presbaps (connection group) meeting!!

Cheers :D

xo Van

Cheesy Lucado... When God signed on...

2007-03-31T06:29:00.000+10:00

“You Are Mine”

Saturday, March 31, 2007

“Our lives are in the True One and in his Son, Jesus Christ.” I John 5:20

God knows your entire story, from first word to final breath, and with clear assessment declares, “You are mine.”

My publisher made a similar decision with this book. Before agreeing to publish it, they read it—every single word. Multiple sets of editorial eyes scoured the manuscript, moaning at my bad jokes, grading my word crafting, suggesting a tune-up here and a tone-down there. We volleyed pages back and forth, writer to editor to writer, until finally we all agreed—this is it. It’s time to publish or pass. The publisher could pass, mind you. Sometimes they do. But in this case, obviously they didn’t. With perfect knowledge of this imperfect product, they signed on. What you read may surprise you, but not them.

What you do may stun you, but not God. With perfect knowledge of your imperfect life, God signed on.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in Come Thirsty

Loved by God

2007-03-30T08:35:00.000+10:00

Loved by God
Friday, March 30, 2007

“The LORD loves you.”
Deuteronomy 7:8 NLT

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. Always. No matter what.

This is his sentiment: “I’ll call the nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved” (Rom. 9:25 MSG).

This is his promise: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself” (Jer. 31:3 NLT).

Do you know what else that means? You have a deep aquifer of love from which to draw. When you find it hard to love, then you need a drink! Drink deeply! Drink daily!

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in A Love Worth Giving

God's infinite love

2007-03-30T08:22:00.000+10:00

FM 103.2

God's Love For You

Ephesians 3:17-19

".So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God."

There are two different kinds of knowledge mentioned in the last lines of this passage. If we write those two different meanings into the translation it would go like this: ".to know-by-experience the love of Christ which surpasses intellectual-knowledge."!

When you think about all the amazing things God does for us and you ask, "Why would God do that for me?", so often the answer is simply, "Because He loves you!"

But when you go back one step further and ask, "But why does He love me?", our minds are left groping for an answer. King David put it this way in Psalm 139 - "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it."

God has revealed so much of Himself to us in His Word. But He is infinite in all His ways, and there is so much beauty in what goes on in the mind and heart of God that we have not seen yet.

Take a moment to respond to the immeasurable love of God today.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

God's Love is dependable!

2007-03-29T09:49:00.000+10:00

FM 103.2 Devotional

God's Love For You

Romans 8:35-39

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God’s love is dependable!

If you have begun a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then you have an anchor for your soul that will hold you steady no matter what you face in life.

No matter what person on earth rejects you, there is One who will “never leave you, nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). No matter what things crumble away beneath your feet, you will find that “underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). No matter how many of the things you once found security in suddenly disappear into clouds and darkness, the lighthouse of God’s Word will always shine this message into your heart— “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you” (John 14:18).

Even if you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, He will be with you every step of the way. This makes you different from every person who does not have Jesus Christ.

The love of God. You can depend on it.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

Amazing Grace?

2007-03-26T09:46:00.000+10:00

What Is Grace?
Monday, March 26, 2007

“My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you.”
2 Corinthians 12:9

What is grace? It’s what someone gives us out of the goodness of his heart, not out of the perfection of ours. The story of grace is the good news that says that when we come, he gives. That’s what grace is…

Grace is something you did not expect. It is something you certainly could never earn. But grace is something you’d never turn down.

You know what happens when someone sees the grace of God? When someone really tastes the forgiving and liberating grace of God? Some one who tastes God’s grace is the hardest worker, the most morally pure individual, and the person most willing to forgive.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in The Inspirational Study Bible

www.maxlucado.com

Lent Calendar Week #6 Last WEEK!

2007-03-25T23:47:00.000+10:00

Monday, March 26

Read: Matthew 18:1-4 At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, "Who gets the highest rank in God's kingdom?" For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom.

Consider: A two-year-old squeals with delight and leaps from the sofa into the waiting arms of his father. A young girl grins as she drops an egg into the mixing bowl, shell and all, believing in the end, there will be a cake. A child laughs over the beauty of a rainbow. It is enough that it hangs in the sky. Can you be a child? Can you be a child who believes in the impossible, knowing that because you believe, it will be true? Will you believe that transformation is possible, in your life, by your life? Will you believe in love, and make it so?

Pray: For the children at Vacation Bible School who collected pennies to feed their hungry neighbors.

Tuesday, March 27

Read: Matthew 18:5-7 What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. "But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don't have to make it worse--and it's doomsday to you if you do.

Consider: Children are always the most vulnerable. Throughout the world, they bear the sins of the angry, the powerful, the proud. Everyday they suffer the horrors of war, famine, homelessness, abuse, and neglect. They are the recipients of untold violations. Here, in the wealthiest nation on earth, hungry children pay the cost of our apathy. In our midst, their hunger is an indictment on our obedience and confronts the authenticity of our faith. The church is called to respond, and so is our government. What can you do to make your laws more responsive to hungry children? What can you do to make your church more responsive?

Pray: For those under 18 who make up 50% of the people served by the food bank network.

Wednesday, March 28

Read: Deuteronomy 15:10-11 Give freely and spontaneously. Don't have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers GOD, your God's, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors.

Consider: Hands are unique. In them there lies violence or generosity, hatred or love, a giving over or a taking away. Hands are the extension of our hearts, conveying into the world that which is of our deepest nature. What will be the work of your hands? Will they be open to your poor neighbor, the one who remains all around you, or will your hands construct walls around your life in order to keep the other out … out there, apart from your existence? In a congruent life, the hands that fold in prayer are also the hands that embrace the pain of the world. What can your hands do to embrace this one named Jesus?

Pray: For Teresa who would choose something to eat over a new toy because she is hungry.

Thursday, March 29

Read: Psalms 119:4-7 You, GOD, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I'd never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.

Consider: In our walk, we are a witness to God’s love. Yet, so many around us never hear this word of truth, never learn of the transforming love of God for them. It is easy to point to them as if it is their sin, their failure, their refusal to hear. Yet for many, and maybe most, they do not hear because our words seem so empty. God’s church speaks of love and nations march to war. God’s church speaks of love and governments do not respond to the most vulnerable. God’s church speaks of love and the elderly die alone. God’s church speaks of love and children go hungry. Perhaps, they don’t fully hear, because we don’t fully love. How will you convey God’s love into the world, in words, yes, but also, and more importantly, in actions?

Pray: For Rashed who has a hard time concentrating at school because he has not had breakfast.

Friday, March 30

Read: Isaiah 58:1-12 "Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back--a trumpet-blast shout! Tell my people what's wrong with their lives, face my family Jacob with their sins! They're busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me. To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people-- law-abiding, God-honoring. They ask me, 'What's the right thing to do?' and love having me on their side. But they also complain, 'Why do we fast and you don't look our way? Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?' "Well, here's why: "The bottom line on your 'fast days' is profit. You drive your employees much too hard. You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight. You fast, but you swing a mean fist. The kind of fasting you do won't get your prayers off the ground. Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after: a day to show off humility? To put on a pious long face and parade around solemnly in black? Do you call that fasting, a fast day that I, GOD, would like? "This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The GOD of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, GOD will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' "If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places-- firm muscles, strong bones. You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.

Consider: How often we play at religion. How seldom we live at our faith. How will your worship convey the love of God? How will you make the community livable again?

Pray: For Suzanne who pretends she is on a diet because she is too embarrassed to let her high school friends know she has no money for lunch.

Saturday, March 31

Read: Micah 6:6-8 How can I stand up before GOD and show proper respect to the high God? Should I bring an armload of offerings topped off with yearling calves? Would GOD be impressed with thousands of rams, with buckets and barrels of olive oil? Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child, my precious baby, to cancel my sin? But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what GOD is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously-- take God seriously.

Consider: It is easy to believe that our songs, our liturgy, our communal prayers, and our gathering together as a connected people somehow favor God, somehow do something that in someway builds the Kingdom. We are never really sure how that might be, but we do it anyway, as much out of habit as any other motivator. And it is good! It is a critical way that our faith is informed as a people of God, this gathering together in the temple, in here … BUT ONLY if our gathering, our songs, our prayers are connected with our response into the world, out there. If this thing that we do on Sundays has no connection with the way we pour our collective lives onto and through the pain of the world, then our act of gathering only becomes another way we barricade ourselves away from Jesus who comes to us in the lives of the least. What can you do so that your gatherings, your worship, touches the face of God “in here and out there?”

Pray: For churches that have programs in place to help feed the hungry.

God’s Family of Friends

2007-03-24T19:29:00.001+11:00

God’s Family of Friends
Saturday, March 24, 2007

“His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:5 NLT

God offers you a family of friends and friends who are family—his church. When you transfer your trust into Christ, he not only pardons you; he places you in his family of friends.

“Family” far and away outpaces any other biblical term to describe the church. “Brothers” or “brothers and sisters” appears a whopping 148 times between the book of Acts and the book of Revelation.

God heals his family through his family. In the church we use our gifts to love each other, honor one another, keep any eye on troublemakers, and carry each other’s burdens.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in Cure for the Common Life

www.maxlucado.com

Come Follow me...

2007-03-23T09:13:00.000+11:00

Relationship with God

Matthew 4:19-20

"And He said to them, `Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men'. Immediately they left their nets, and followed Him."

If you want to get to know God more, you must learn to respond immediately to God's leading in your life!

When Jesus called the disciples, they immediately left everything and followed Him. That response was the beginning of such a wonderful journey of growing relationally close to Jesus.

Matthew also tells the story (Matthew 19:21-22) of another young man Jesus invited to leave everything and follow Him. The next verse says, "But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property." He valued the comfort of keeping things the way they were more than he valued responding to Jesus' invitation.

The way to increase your sensitivity to what God is saying into your life is to respond to what God is already making clear to you. If God is speaking to you about something in your life right now, and you ignore it, your heart becomes hardened toward Him and your relationship with Him suffers. But if you learn to respond immediately to God's leading, your relationship with Him soars.

In faith, the fishermen left their nets. The rich young man also had a net. A safety net. But he couldn't give it up.

What do you need to respond to God about today?

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

While it was still dark...

2007-03-22T10:37:00.000+11:00

fm 103.2 devotional

Relationship with God

Mark 1:35-37

"In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, `Everyone is looking for You'."

Jesus' relationship with His Father, while Jesus was walking the earth as a man, shows us what our relationship with God can be like!

Jesus certainly had an ongoing conversation with God taking place behind the scenes at all times. But even when you have learned to speak with God throughout the day, you still need to set aside special time that is for nothing else than communication with God - speaking to Him, listening to Him, and just being quiet in His presence.

Jesus' relationship with His Father needed these "quiet times" and so does ours! These verses describe one of the busiest times in Jesus' ministry. The only time He could find to spend with God was "in the early morning, while it was still dark". You may choose a different time of day, but do not neglect this crucial part of a growing relationship with God.

It is true of every relationship in life. The only way to get closer to someone is to spend focused time with them. Find a "secluded place" and a quiet time and get alone with God today. You need it, and He deserves it.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

a little love please!

2007-03-21T13:36:00.000+11:00

Love Makes the Difference
Wednesday, March 21, 2007

“The person who is forgiven only a little will love only a little.” Luke 7:47

We can replace the word forgiven with accepted and maintain the integrity of the passage. “He who is accepted little loves little.” If we think God is harsh and unfair, guess how we’ll treat people. Harshly and unfairly. But if we discover that God has doused us with unconditional love, would that make a difference?

The apostle Paul would say so! Talk about a turnaround. He went from bully to teddy bear. Paul B.C. (Before Christ) sizzled with anger. He “made havoc of the church” (Acts 8:3 NKJV). Paul A.D. (After Discovery) brimmed with love…

His accusers beat him, stoned him, jailed him, mocked him. But can you find one occasion where he responded in kind? One temper tantrum? One angry outburst? This is a different man. His anger is gone. His passion in strong. His devotion is unquestioned. But rash outbursts of anger? A thing of the past.

What made the difference? He encountered Christ.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in A Love Worth Giving

www.maxlucado.com

Resting in Heavenly Places...

2007-03-20T10:03:00.000+11:00

www.joycemeyer.org
Monday 3/19/2007

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
—Ephesians 2:6 KJV

What does it mean to be seated in heavenly places? It means that we are now able to enter into God's rest.

To be seated means to rest. When we sit in a chair, we rest our physical body. To be seated in heavenly places with Christ is to enter an "inner rest." Our spirit and soul can be at rest because of what Christ has done for us, and because of the good plan God has for us.

One definition of rest is "to be at peace or ease"; "free from anxiety or distress." Rest is freedom from worry and frustration which develop because of our works in trying to do what only God can do. It is freedom from excessive reasoning, struggle, fear, and inner turmoil.

We are to abide in the Lord. The word abide means to "dwell," "to remain in a place." When we abide in Him, we can rest, trust, lean, and rely on Him in this place of protection. The promise of God's peace is not made to those who work and struggle in their own strength but to those who sit, rest, and abide in Christ.

There are those who have learned the blessing of entering God's rest. They are seated with Him, and they have learned to abide in their place.

If you are struggling, take a seat and rest. Your place has been there waiting for you to occupy it all along.

Do This:

You are seated in heavenly places in Christ. Stay in your seat. Stop jumping up every few minutes and getting out of rest!

Sweeter than Honey...

2007-03-20T09:58:00.000+11:00

FM 103.2 devotional
Relationship with God

Psalm 119:103

"How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me." (John 5:39)

He said these words to people who searched the Scriptures for the wrong reasons. But for those of us who have a living relationship with Jesus, these words of His draw us to search the Scriptures for the right reason!

Because we love Jesus, we love the Bible. We want to get to know Jesus more, and so we soak our lives in the Word of God.

If you have a relationship with another person, and you want to get to know them better, you have a conversation with them. You listen carefully to what they share with you about themselves. You focus on them.

It is the same with your walk with God. God is speaking to you; but as long as your Bible is closed, you miss out on so much of what God wants to say and do in your life. The Bible can be dry if you approach it academically. But if you approach it with an open heart, listening for the voice of God in your heart, it will be "sweeter than honey to your mouth". No one can taste it for you. You must open your Bible and savour its sweetness for yourself.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

God's Testimony

2007-03-19T12:38:00.000+11:00

God’s Testimony
Monday, March 19, 2007

“The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”
Psalm 19:7 NKJV

A small seed becoming a towering tree. A thin stalk pushing back the earth. A rainbow arching in the midst of the thundercloud…

“God’s testimony,” wrote David, “makes wise the simple.”

God’s testimony. When was the last time you witnessed it? A stroll through knee-high grass in a green meadow. An hour listening to seagulls or looking at seashells on the beach. Or witnessing the shafts of sunlight brighten the snow on a crisp winter dawn…

There comes a time when we should lay down our pens and commentaries and step out of our offices and libraries. To really understand and believe in the miracle on the cross, we’d do well to witness God’s miracles every day.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in No Wonder They Call Him the Savior

www.maxlucado.com

The Pursuit of God

2007-03-19T07:53:00.000+11:00

Fm 103.2 Devotional

Relationship with God

John 1:1,14

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory"

Why was Jesus referred to as "the Word"? Because God wants you to know Him!
Jesus expressed in word and action what God is really like.

The whole Bible is about God revealing Himself to people. Even in your own life, God is constantly reaching out to you, inviting you every day to live your life in close relationship with Him.

That's why He has given us the Bible, which is also called "the Word". God wants to be totally involved in your life today. He doesn't just want you to be a "committed Christian"; He wants to walk with you through your day on a relational level.

I encourage you to make your life a pursuit of God! When the Bible talks about "seeking God", this is what it means. It means that you look for any way, any opportunity to get to know God better on the personal level.

As you read this devotional and think about this day, ask yourself how you personally can get to know God better? God is inviting you to a closer walk with Him. He wants to dwell with you. Use the space to the side of this devotional to journal your own response back to God.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

Lent Calendar Week #5

2007-03-19T07:51:00.000+11:00

Monday, March 19

Read: John 14:15 "If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you.

Consider: Jesus demonstrates his love for us with his life, and he calls us to do the same, to open ourselves to the other, to live in such a way that others might live as well. This is what it means to love -- reaching out, weeping over, lifting up, struggling for, being with, caring, bearing, holding, suffering, loving. Jesus loves you, will you love him to? How?

Pray: For those who have helped the food bank network here distribute over 22 million pounds of food to feed the hungry.

Tuesday, March 20

Read: John 15:12-15 This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father.

Consider: In the scheme of things, Jesus journeys with those who are of low account, the fishermen, the tax-collector, the zealot, those on the fringes of society, those whom the world dismisses, or overlooks, or simply takes for granted. They are the ones who do the menial jobs of our culture, the cooks, cleaning women, the janitors and garbage collectors. Jesus travels with them, gives his life for them, and then, calls them friend. Who are your friends? How might you be a friend to Jesus?

Pray: For Mr. Almeida who shares his only sandwich with a friend waiting in line with him to find work.

Wednesday, March 21

Read: Psalms 126:1-6 A pilgrim song. It seemed like a dream, too good to be true, when GOD returned Zion's exiles. We laughed, we sang, we couldn't believe our good fortune. We were the talk of the nations-- "GOD was wonderful to them!" GOD was wonderful to us; we are one happy people. And now, GOD, do it again-- bring rains to our drought-stricken lives So those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

Consider: For so many of our poor neighbors, drought is not a passing season, drought is a life circumstance, a constant reality that always makes life a struggle. Drought is the reality of education systems which relegate the poor to the bottom line. Drought is a place where lives become a statistic. Drought is another empty promise. Drought is never having enough of anything but heartache and more poverty. How can we be the rain? How do we help God to do it again?

Pray: For those who walk in CROP Walks each year so that others may eat.

Thursday, March 22

Read: Luke 2:5-7 He went with Mary, his fiancé, who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

Consider: A poor infant lying in a food trough, born to peasant parents in a place they did not call home. The savior of the world comes as powerlessness. Aside from our accomplishments, aside from how we have “made it,” there in the darkness of night when we know the truth, when we know our own mortality, we too might find that little powerless Jesus that dwells in each of us. It is that Jesus, who connects us with the brokenness of the world, with those who stand in lines, with those for whom there is no bed, with those who are handed life with few options, few choices. How will you love this infant, how will you love those who stand in line? Can you embrace that powerless little Christ in you?

Pray: For those who stand in line to receive food baskets to feed their families during the holiday seasons.

Friday, March 23

Read: 1 Peter 1:17 You call out to God for help and he helps--he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God.

Consider: The journey of the poor is often a journey of feet on dirt. Even here in this nation of abundance, in a place where almost everyone rides, the poor continue to walk. Broken cars, too expensive insurance, high fuel prices. The poor know what it means to be constantly connected with the mud and the muck, the filth of the gutter, and the refuse of the street. Jesus walked too and he continues to call us to this walk of incarnation, proclaiming life on earth as it is in heaven. What journey do we choose? How can we walk with those who have no choice but to walk?

Pray: For Miss Emily who walks to the grocery each afternoon to see which perishables have been marked down.

Saturday, March 24

Read: Job 24:2-7, 22-24 There are people out there getting by with murder-- stealing and lying and cheating. They rip off the poor and exploit the unfortunate, Push the helpless into the ditch, bully the weak so that they fear for their lives. The poor, like stray dogs and cats, scavenge for food in back alleys. They sort through the garbage of the rich, eke out survival on handouts. Homeless, they shiver through cold nights on the street; they've no place to lay their heads.

However much they strut and flex their muscles, there's nothing to them. They're hollow. They may have an illusion of security, but God has his eye on them. They may get their brief successes, but then it's over, nothing to show for it. Like yesterday's newspaper, they're used to wrap up the garbage.

Consider: Free enterprise, the right to make money, the ability to offer almost any product if there are those willing enough, or ignorant enough, or desperate enough to buy it, make all you can – buyer beware – this is the mantra of a market system that does not consider Kingdom economics. In our society there is a whole industry that preys on the poor, the desperate, and the disenfranchised. The market for auto loans to high-risk borrowers have become crowded with Wall Street companies eager to reap profits from loans with interest rates of 25% or more. Rent-to-own stores sell TVs and furniture on weekly and monthly installment plans at prices that equal interest rates of 100, 200, even 300 percent. Trade schools and banks have earned billions by peddling the dream of good jobs to high-school dropouts. They take advantage of easy access to federal student-loan money by running or financing sham schools that do little to educate and leave students with ruined credit and big loan debt. Banks have left poor and struggling neighborhoods mirroring the actions of main-line religious denominations. As the adage goes, it’s costly to be poor. Yet, in God’s realm, in the really-real, justice IS. The question is this, where do we align ourselves? What can you and your church do to work for justice?

Pray: For Mr. Harris who goes to bed very early to keep warm. No bank would loan him funds to repair his home but a credit company would. His roof doesn’t leak, but now he pays excessive interest rates leaving him no funds for heat.

2007-03-16T06:45:00.001+11:00

FM 103.2 Devotionals

Your Mind

Hebrews 3:12-15

"Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called `Today', so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."

Fellowship is one of the tools God has given us to transform our lives!

Do you see in your own life the danger that this passage warns us about? Do you feel your heart growing hard toward God in some area? The best way to avoid a hardened heart is to get close to other people who have a real love for God. Really get into each other's spiritual lives.

Don't just hang out together. Rather, share with each other what is happening in your spiritual lives. Talk about what God is teaching you. Pray together. Study the Bible together.

If you can't find a group like that, then start one, even if you are not a leader or a strong Christian. Find someone else and just start making your spiritual lives the centre of your conversation. At the end of your time together, suggest that you each pray together for each other's spiritual life.

You will find that this keeps your heart soft toward God and you will be growing spiritually as you "encourage one another".

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

YA Propel Night Tuesday 20 March 07

2007-03-16T06:02:00.000+11:00

Hi Team Presbaps!
Oh what a WEEK!
Time sure flies when you're having fun... or getting killed in the battlefield-- or on the dancefloor with bad flares!!!

Just a reminder that we are at the church from 7:30pm on next Tuesday 20th March for our Young Adult Community 'Propel Night'... As long as we are not whisked away by the temptations of possible ' Pearl Jam' or even 'Westlife' concerts... I think there is no reason why all of us cant be enjoying the fellowship of all our other fellow YA northsiders without tickets to something better (jokes!!).

I thought this passage would sum up what God calls us to do in times of hardship... When one brother falls... not only does Jesus carries us... He brings fellowmen(and women) to walk the long road with us... So.... I hope you find this passage encouraging.

Have a great weekend folks!
xo Van

Colossians 3:16 (The Message)

15-17Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

Transformed by the renewing of your mind...

2007-03-15T06:54:00.000+11:00

103.2 Devotional

Your Mind

Matthew 26:40-41

“And Jesus came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, `So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’"

Your spirit is willing; it wants to do what is right, to be pleasing to God. But your flesh is weak; you often find yourself unable to resist temptation, to live God’s way!

In order to be able to live the godly life you desire, you must be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” You must use the tools God has given you to renew your mind. As Jesus says to Peter, one of the most significant tools He has given us is the tool of prayer.

As you begin spending time talking to God, focusing on your relationship with Him, taking the issues of life to Him, things begin to change. You find yourself more concerned with the things of God; you start placing more value on spiritual things; you find yourself caring less about the temptations of this world.

Don’t sit around moping because you can’t seem to change; and don’t sit around waiting for God to change you some day. Pick up the tool of prayer that God has given you and start renewing your mind. The next thing you know, you will be experiencing “transformation”!

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

God's Surprises

2007-03-14T23:08:00.000+11:00

God Loves to Surprise Us
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

“People receive God’s promises by having faith. This happens so the promise can be a free gift.” Romans 4:16

Our problem is not so much that God doesn’t give us what we hope for as it is that we don’t know the right thing for which to hope. (You may want to read that sentence again.)

Hope is not what you expect; it is what you would never dream. It is a wild, improbable tale with a pinch-me-I’m-dreaming ending. It’s Abraham adjusting his bifocals so he can see not his grandson, but his son. It’s Moses standing in the promised land not with Aaron or Miriam at his side, but with Elijah and the transfigured Christ…

Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; no, it is far greater than that. It is a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in God Came Near

To Him are all things...

2007-03-13T10:58:00.000+11:00

FM103.2

Your Mind

Romans 11:36 - 12:2

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

"To him are all things." We know that is true, and we want to live our lives for God. And so we sometimes get so very frustrated with ourselves when we seem unable to change and live the way we want to live!

But notice that Paul tells us how to be changed, how we will be able to live the way we want to. He says that we can be "transformed". That means "changed from the inside out" - like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. The change taking place inside results in an outward change. And how do we experience that inward change? "By the renewing of your mind!"

The fact is, the spiritual battle for your life will be won or lost on the battlefield of your mind. If you are fighting a losing spiritual battle, the way to victory is not your willpower, it is your mind. Renew how you think.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

Never will I leave you, nor forsake you...

2007-03-12T07:32:00.000+11:00

www.joycemeyer.org
Sunday 3/11/2007

...God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you...."
—Hebrews 13:5 MESSAGE

Many people are lonely, often even those who have others around them. The death of a loved one can leave a person lonely and confused as well as feeling abandoned.

Your circumstances do not have to be quite so severe to put you into the category of loneliness. Perhaps you have moved to a new neighborhood, have begun attending a new school, or have just started a new job, and you just don't seem to fit in yet.

I know what it is like to be lonely. "Social poverty" is under the curse. Learning to like myself and learning to pray for favor have changed my social status, and it will change yours too.

I encourage you to pray for favor. I also encourage you to be friendly. Don't just wait for someone to fall into your life before you are willing to have fellowship. Beware of being passive. Get involved. Giving always brings joy.

Remember Jesus as He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. All of His friends had disappointed Him. He needed them for only one hour, and they had let Him down by falling asleep. (Matthew 26:36-43.)

The Lord does indeed know how you feel, and He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), so that you will be strengthened to press on.

Do This:

If you are lonely, begin to reach out to others. As you reach out, you are sowing seed for your own loneliness to be overcome.

Lent Calendar Week #4

2007-03-12T05:52:00.000+11:00

Monday, March 12

Read: Ruth 2:7 She asked permission. 'Let me glean,' she said, 'and gather among the sheaves following after your harvesters.' She's been at it steady ever since, from early morning until now, without so much as a break."

Consider: Ruth was able to eat because of the generosity of Boaz. All of us are not farmers, yet we still have fields that we can offer to others for gleaning. Where are those places in our lives where our hungry neighbors may glean?

Pray: For the volunteers of the Society of Saint Andrew (The Potato Project) who have gleaned over 40 million pounds of food in this state to feed the hungry.

Tuesday, March 13

Read: Exodus 18:9-12 Jethro was delighted in all the good that GOD had done for Israel in delivering them from Egyptian oppression. Jethro said, "Blessed be GOD who has delivered you from the power of Egypt and Pharaoh, who has delivered his people from the oppression of Egypt. Now I know that GOD is greater than all gods because he's done this to all those who treated Israel arrogantly." Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a Whole-Burnt-Offering and sacrifices to God. And Aaron, along with all the elders of Israel, came and ate the meal with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God.

Consider: Oppression comes in many guises. When bills are due, when one is barely making it, leaving a job to find a job is almost impossible. What do you do when the bills don’t stop and the pay check does? What do you say to your hungry child? For God, deliverance into a more humane existence, an existence where one’s energy, one’s spiritual wholeness is not consumed by fear for one’s children, is always a central issue. God places great importance on abundant life. What steps might your congregation take to bring about a more abundant life for the other?

Pray: For Olivia who has worked for 9 years at her current job and still only makes $5.15 per hour.

Wednesday, March 14

Read: Luke 4:18-19 God's Spirit is on me; he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, "This is God's year to act!"

Consider: The coming of love is always good news. The hope of liberty and the breaking in of the Acceptable Year, the year of Jubilee, is hope to those for whom hope seems a bitter mirage. This Sabbath economy of Jesus is always seeking to bring together those who are socio-economically alienated. As he calls to a tax-collector, an agent of the occupying government, to leave his tables, he also appeals Zacchaeus to love through sharing his resource. How can you practice such Jubilee economics? How can your congregation bring about good news?

Pray: For Mr. and Mrs. Smith, an elderly couple, who eat canned soup as their main meal each day because that is all they can afford.

Thursday, March 15

Read: John 13:12-17 After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table. Then he said, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as 'Teacher' and 'Master,' and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it--and live a blessed life.

Consider: Jesus connects us in the actions of his life and calls us to do the same -- to connect with his life through the gift of ourselves to the other. More, it is here, he says, where we will “live a blessed life.” How is your blessing tied to the other? In what ways do you “wash each other’s feet?”

Pray: For those folks who bring canned goods and cereal to their church each week to supply food for the hungry.

Friday, March 16

Read: Leviticus 23:22 "When you reap the harvest of your land, don't reap the corners of your field or gather the gleanings. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners. I am GOD, your God."

Consider: We are no longer an agrarian society. The poor today are usually unwelcome among our metaphorical fields. Space is rarely given to those who have none of their own. So then, if the poor cannot afford to purchase space, and if society refuses them space, where do they find space to live? How can your congregation be about providing space for the other? What can you do to ease the struggle of those who can’t “make the month.”

Pray: For Joseph who goes from agency to agency as each month nears its end in search of food for his family.

Saturday, March 17

Read: Luke 6:20-26 Then he spoke: You're blessed when you've lost it all. God's kingdom is there for the finding. You're blessed when you're ravenously hungry. Then you're ready for the Messianic meal. You're blessed when the tears flow freely. Joy comes with the morning.

"Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable.

You can be glad when that happens--skip like a lamb, if you like!--for even though they don't like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.

But it's trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you'll ever get. And it's trouble ahead if you're satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long. And it's trouble ahead if you think life's all fun and games. There's suffering to be met, and you're going to meet it.

"There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests--look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

Consider: In God’s upside-down kingdom, it seems that what would appear to be so, isn’t so. It is the poor who are blessed, the hungry, the weak, those who cannot fend for themselves. It is the wealthy, the strong, the one’s who know they can make it on their own, they are the ones to whom Jesus shouts, “Watch out!” As Christians, we are called to live out the reality of the Kingdom, aligning ourselves with those who are blessed, giving of our resource, freely and fully, becoming poor ourselves for the sake of the gospel. What will you do to live into this, the really-real?

Pray: For Amanda who watches others eat candy bars as a part of their lunch at school.

Who do you say Jesus was?

2007-03-09T14:16:00.000+11:00

Hi Guys,

Some interesting insights... (Thanks Esther for fwding this through to me!)

Goes to show... dont believe everything you read huh??

Enjoy! :D

Theological Theories

My Cajun friend's theory is that Jesus was a Cajun:

He liked to serve fish to his friends.
He could make his own wine.
And he wasn't afraid of water.

My black friend believed that Jesus was Black:

He called everyone "brother".
He liked Gospel.
He couldn't get a fair trial.

My Jewish friend had 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:

He went into His Father's business.
He lived at home until he was 33.
He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his mother was sure he was God.

My Italian friend gave his 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:

He talked with his hands.
He had wine with every meal.
He used olive oil.

My California friends also had 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:

He never cut his hair.
He walked around barefoot all the time.
He started a new religion.

My Irish friend then gave his 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:

He never got married.
He was always telling stories.
He loved green pastures.

But my wife had the most compelling evidence of all that Jesus was a woman:

He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food.
He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
And even when he was dead, he had to get up because there was more work to do.

Praying everyday...

2007-03-08T00:44:00.000+11:00

Redefining Prayer
Thursday, March 08, 2007

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.”
Colossians 4:2 NKJV

Early Christians were urged to

“pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5:17 NASB);
“always be prayerful” (Rom. 12:12 NLT);
“pray at all times and on every occasion” (Eph. 6:18 NLT).

Sound burdensome? Are you wondering, My business needs attention, my children need dinner, my bills need paying. How can I stay in a place of prayer?

Do this. Change your definition of prayer. Think of prayer less as an activity for God and more as an awareness of God. Seek to live in uninterrupted awareness. Acknowledge his presence everywhere you go. As you stand in line to register your car, think, Thank you, Lord, for being here. In the grocery as you shop, Your presence, my King, I welcome. As you wash the dishes, worship your Maker.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in Come Thirsty

www.maxlucado.com

Who has a Thirsty Heart?

2007-03-07T11:57:00.000+11:00

FM103.2

Kingdom Values

John 4:28-35

"So the woman [to whom Jesus had been witnessing] left her waterpot and went into the city. Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about. My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest."

God's work is more important than my work!

Jesus' life was a powerful example of this value. The disciples had no sense of urgency about God's work. "There is plenty of time to get busy with that in the future," they said. But Jesus said, "Look around you! Can't you see how many people need the work of God in their lives? Get busy with God's work!"

Putting God's work first doesn't mean that you quit your job or change your profession. It means that whatever you are doing, you are looking for ways to minister spiritually into the lives of the people around you.

God wants to reach into the lives of people you know today. Are you available for Him to use you in those people's lives?

Who like this woman is `sitting by the well' in your life? Who has a thirsty heart?

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

“Love suffers long and is kind.” ...

2007-03-06T14:45:00.000+11:00

Kind Hearts
Tuesday, March 06, 2007

“Love suffers long and is kind.”
I Corinthians 13:4 NIV

What is your kindness quotient? When was the last time you did something kind for someone in your family—e.g., got a blanket, cleaned off the table, prepared the coffee—without being asked?

Think about your school or workplace. Which person is the most overlooked or avoided? A shy student? A grumpy employee? Maybe he doesn’t fit in. Are you kind to this person?

Kind hearts are quietly kind. They let the car cut into traffic and the young mom with three kids move up in the checkout line. They pick up the neighbor’s trash can that rolled into the street. And they are especially kind at church. They understand that perhaps the neediest person they’ll meet all week is the one standing in the foyer or sitting on the row behind them in worship. Paul writes: “When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers” (Gal. 6:10).

www.maxlucado.com

Monday Blues.. Why we NEED to rest!

2007-03-05T08:32:00.000+11:00

Work and Worship
Monday, March 05, 2007

“Work and get everything done during six days each week, but the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the LORD.” Exodus 20:9-19

We need one day in which work comes to a screeching halt. We need one twenty four hour period in which the wheels stop grinding and the motor stops turning. We need to stop.

There is a verse that summarizes many lives: “Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it” (Ps. 39:6 NIV).

Does that sound like your life? Are you so seldom in one place that your friends regard you as a phantom? Are you so constantly on the move that your family is beginning to question your existence? Do you take pride in your frenzy at the expense of your faith?

Slow down. If God commanded it, you need it. If Jesus modeled it, you need it… Take a day to say no to work and yes to worship.

www.maxlucado.com

Lent Devotions Week #3

2007-03-04T22:13:00.000+11:00

Monday, March 5

Read: Psalms 71:17-21 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. Your power and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?

You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again.

Consider: The psalmist proclaims that for God, the old among us continue to hold a special place in God’s Kingdom, continue to be of value to the gathered community. Many of our elder neighbors, some who sit in the pews with us, are suffering from lack of proper nutrition and are unable to provide food for themselves. Most often, they suffer in silence. How much thought do you give their plight? What are some concrete steps that your congregation might do to address this reality?

Pray: For the 11% of the people served by the food bank network who are elderly.

Tuesday, March 6

Read: Leviticus 19:34 Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am GOD, your God.

Consider: In God’s Kingdom we are all brothers and sisters, aliens on a journey together. We claim this truth, yet so often, turn away from those who look different, speak in a language unlike our own, or eat foods other than the foods we eat. How does God see our journey? How might we better embrace those whom we name “stranger?”

Pray: For Manuel whose family shares an apartment with another family to save money.

Wednesday, March 7

Read: Psalms 140:12-13 I know that you, GOD, are on the side of victims, that you care for the rights of the poor. And I know that the righteous personally thank you, that good people are secure in your presence.

Consider: Often, in our American culture, the worth of a person is valued by how well we pay our bills. Thus, many who struggle mightily, working two and sometimes three jobs, are held in contempt because they lack the financial means to “make it.” As Christians, what can we do to change this reality? What can you do personally?

Pray: For Marie who works two jobs in order to have enough money to purchase food for her family.

Thursday, March 8

Read: John 10:9-10 I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for--will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

Consider: Jesus claims that he comes in order that the world might have life, and have it more abundantly. Jesus was not simply talking about life in the sweet by and by. Abundant life, life that is more and better than they ever dreamed, begins here, on earth as it is in heaven. What can we do today so that a child will have a more abundant life?

Pray: For the child who is 1 out of every 4 children at your local elementary school living in poverty.

Friday, March 9

Read: Psalms 72:1-4 A Solomon psalm. Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God, the gift of just rule to the crown prince. May he judge your people rightly, be honorable to your meek and lowly. Let the mountains give exuberant witness; shape the hills with the contours of right living. Please stand up for the poor, help the children of the needy, come down hard on the cruel tyrants.

Consider: How hard it is to live the life of a statistic. How can you humanize those little suffering ones around you?

Pray: For Mack, who is one of the over 1 million people in North Carolina living below the poverty level.

Saturday, March 10

Read: Num 15:15-16 The community has the same rules for you and the foreigner living among you. This is the regular rule for future generations. You and the foreigner are the same before GOD. The same laws and regulations apply to both you and the foreigner who lives with you.

Consider: Citizenship in God’s Kingdom is not restricted to one’s birth, one’s national perspective, or from which family one was born. God continually makes claim on the life of the foreigner. This is grace, for we are all foreigners. Who in your community does not embrace the hungry foreigner? How might you stand with the hungry foreigner? How can you bring others to do the same?

Pray: For Saled who works at a fast food restaurant after school every day to help feed his younger brothers and sisters, serving food which he cannot afford to buy.

Love the Lord your God

2007-03-02T11:04:00.000+11:00

FM103.2

Reasons For Total Commitment

John 6:67-69

“Jesus said to the twelve disciples, `You do not want to go away also, do you?’ Simon Peter answered Him, `Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God’.”

Compared to having a total personal commitment of love for God, everything else is insignificant!

Jesus once made an incredible statement. He said that you can summarise the entire teaching of the Bible in just two commands. The most significant of all directions ever given to man, said Jesus, was “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” The second most significant? “Love people.” (Matthew 22:37-39)

All your heart. All your soul. All your mind. Just stop and think about those words for a minute.

Jesus is saying to you that the whole Bible was written to teach you to love God so completely that, compared with that love, everything else in your life is insignificant. How much people like you, how wealthy you are, what car you will drive, how big your TV is — all those things matter zero compared to loving God.

So. How is your love life? What could you do to increase your love for the Lord? Do Jesus’ “words of eternal life” grip your heart as they did Peter’s? Journal your response to God.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

Come Thirsty

2007-03-01T10:59:00.001+11:00

Team Presbaps!
A quick email to say... that yes, it is time... we have HOMEWORK!
WHAT? you say! (dont jump the gun team...):P

Its probably something that you have eagerly completed already...

We are prepping to read the first chapter of Come Thirsty... by Max Lucado (if you have no idea what im talking about, please come ask me! We still have some spare books that Annie is happy to flog to you for 3 for 2 price! Bargain!)

So come Prepared... to Chat... to cry... to laugh... to eat (no sweets for those that are fasting)... and be entertained and inspired by the first chapter's discussion of Come Thirsty next Tuesday!!

Think Samuel Haddon will be making a guest appearance instead of Max himself ...

So... Hope to see you there!

Keep praying for our sick and weary... (Esther!) and also for those that chose Westlife over time with JC... we need to talk Liz! (haha, jokes!-- thats great-- next time you have a spare ticket, i'll come! :P)...

Enjoy the rest of your week :D

xo Van

cgcremorne.blogspot.com

Walking by the Spirit

2007-03-01T08:38:00.000+11:00

Hi Guys,
Hope you are all recovering/ getting some healing prayer in regards to your ailments of late!

How funny that sometimes that we only pray when things go wrong? Dont mistake me, I am all for praying for the sick... but its funny that when things are going well or we are just 'cruising' along through life... that we forget to stop. look.listen. pray. and be Thankful for just 'being'.

Often when things dont go the way we want it to... we freak out... decide oh dear... we need to get on our knees to pray! Sometimes this is necessary, and God desires to hear our prayers... because if we dont ask... we dont receive!

But i must say that the devotion for today from 103.2 sums up what i was trying to say a couple of days ago... walking in the spirit... it is a life of freedom, it is a life that considers Christ and his promptings (through the Holy Spirit)... in the everyday... and also to see beyond your circumstances... and to walk in all the FRUITS!! I love Fruit! love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...

Have a great day!

xo Van

FM103.2
Reasons For Total Commitment

Galatians 5:16-25

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh… The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

How can you live the life of total commitment to God? “By the Spirit!”

Notice in this passage that the beautiful life described here — the life with God in control — is not described as the fruit of “trying harder”; it is not the fruit of church attendance; it is not the fruit of a guilt trip; it is not the fruit of self-discipline. It is the fruit of the Spirit!

How is your relationship with the Holy Spirit today? Have you spoken with Him yet? Are you listening for His voice in your heart as you read the Bible, making it real and personal for you? Are following His leading throughout the day as He convicts you of sin or moves you to pray or suggests that you speak to someone about Christ? Are you trying to live in a way that brings joy to the heart of the Holy Spirit, or is your life grieving Him?

When you have a healthy relationship with the Spirit, “you will not carry out the desire of the flesh”. Take a moment to listen and respond to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you right now.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

Reasons for Total Commitment #2

2007-02-27T09:36:00.000+11:00

fm 103.2

Reasons For Total Commitment

John 13:1

“Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”

I should be totally committed to God because He is totally committed to me!
Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

Sometimes we think that total commitment is for those few people who rise above the crowd and become missionaries. We think of it as an optional extra for extreme Christians. But actually, it isn’t just an option for me to choose; it is what I owe to the One who laid down His life for me.

Jesus didn’t just say to us, “I like you and I hope you like me back.” Before we ever showed any interest in Him, when there was nothing in us that was seeking for God, Jesus became a man, was ridiculed and rejected, savagely hurt and killed. He laid His life down for us, and He wants us to love Him back with that same kind of commitment.

Jesus is not asking you to do what He has not done. He wants your commitment to be your personal response to Him, the One who is totally committed to you. Who loved you “to the end”

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

Freedom to Choose

2007-02-26T16:54:00.001+11:00

Greetings to my favourite Connection Group this side of the universe! :P

I have posted numerous devotions over the past few days... feel free to try to keep up with my keen-ness to get the word out!

I personally never grow tired of hearing God's promises and his majesty... amongst the thickness of our world... with its suffering, its problems... so amongst it all... even on Mondays... we can choose NOT to have Monday-itis... we can... through God's freedom of Choice... decide to live out in the world, all the fruits of his Spirit. Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Humility, ... (i've missed a few...)...

May we remember this as we live out each day, for the One who ultimately knows our most intimate of needs... before we even ask!!

Im really looking forward to seeing you all Tuesday nite!
Till then, keep it real!

xo Van

Freedom to Choose
Sunday, February 11, 2007

"We are people who have faith and are saved."
Hebrews 10:39

God honors us with the freedom to choose where we spend eternity.

And what an honor it is! In so many areas of life we have no choice. Think about it. You didn't choose your gender. You didn't choose your siblings. You didn't choose your race or place of birth.

Sometimes our lack of choices angers us. "It's not fair," we say. It's not fair that I was born in poverty or that I sing so poorly or that I run so slowly. But the scales of life were forever tipped on the side of fairness when God planted a tree in the Garden of Eden. All complaints were silenced when Adam and his descendants were given free will, the freedom to make whatever eternal choice we desire. Any injustice in this like offset by the honor of choosing our destiny in the next.

www.maxlucado.com

Love the Lord God with All your Heart, Your Mind, Your Soul, and Strength

2007-02-26T09:21:00.000+11:00

Reasons For Total Commitment

John 14:15,21,23,24; 15:10

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me,. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. He who does not love Me does not keep My words. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love."

Commitment to God is the natural expression of my love for Him!

You would almost think that Jesus thought we were hard of hearing when you read this passage and see how often He makes this point. He knows how easily we miss it!

Jesus is saying to us that if you are struggling with your obedience to Him, you should not look for the solution in your willpower - look for a solution in your love-relationship with Jesus. The whole point of your Christian life is walking close to Jesus, not straining to meet a standard, or following Christian rules, or not doing certain things that you struggle with. Those issues matter, but they are not the heart of the Christian life.

The core of Christianity is for you to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. When that happens, obedience and commitment will not be something you have to force out; they will overflow as the natural result of your love. Jesus is inviting you to love Him!

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

mail@fm1032.com.au

Spiritual Warfare

2007-02-26T01:09:00.000+11:00

www.joycemeyer.org
Sunday 2/25/2007

For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against... the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.
—Ephesians 6:12

The attacks of Satan against the Church are of a different nature than those in the past days different in that they are more intense than ever before. The enemy will not continuously use the same tactics over and over, because once his method of attack is discovered, it is no longer effective.

More people than ever are experiencing tremendous attacks against their minds. Many of God's people are being attacked with sickness. Some of them are experiencing great financial trauma. People are enduring great attacks of fear.

How can you fight the devil who is the source of these attacks?

1. Praise is one way. Praise is a garment that will protect you from defeat. Put on the garment of praise.

2. Abiding in Christ and fellowshipping with Him is one of the best ways of engaging in spiritual warfare. Hide yourself in God, and His presence will protect you.

3. The Word of God is a two-edged sword. Your mind is the battlefield. When Satan says something to you, speak the Word back.

4. Walking in love is another form of spiritual warfare. Love gives: it is impossible to defeat Satan while leading a selfish lifestyle.

Use your spiritual weapons!

Do This:

Praise the Lord. Speak the Word of God. Abide in Christ. Walk in love. Use these weapons and begin to fight in a new way.

http://www.joycemeyer.org/OurMinistries/EverydayAnswers/DailyWord/spiritualwarfareephesians612.htm

A call for the forgotten...

2007-02-26T01:07:00.000+11:00

To See God
Monday, February 26, 2007

“Anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.”
Matthew 25:40

When Francis of Asissi turned his back on wealth to seek God in simplicity, he stripped naked and walked out of the city. He soon encountered a leper on the side of the road. He passed him, then stopped and went back and embraced the diseased man. Francis then continued on his journey. After a few steps he turned to look again at the leper, but no one was there.

For the rest of his life, he believed the leper was Jesus Christ. He may have been right.

Jesus lives in the forgotten. He has taken up residence in the ignored. He has made a mansion amid the ill. If we want to see God, we must go among the broken and beaten and there we will see him.

http://www.maxlucado.com/

Lent Calendar Week 2

2007-02-26T01:03:00.000+11:00

Monday, February 26

Read: Psalms 107:6-9 Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to GOD. He got you out in the nick of time; He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you straight to a good place to live. So thank GOD for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves. He poured great draughts of water down parched throats; the starved and hungry got plenty to eat.

Consider : God models for us how we are to act in the world. “Be ye perfect,” Jesus says. What are the roads in your life which will lead you to acts of compassion?

Pray: For the 1 in 3 adults working full-time in NC who make less than poverty wages.

Tuesday, February 27

Read: Isaiah 49:9-11 I tell prisoners, 'Come on out. You're free!' and those huddled in fear, 'It's all right. It's safe now.' There'll be foodstands along all the roads, picnics on all the hills -- Nobody hungry, nobody thirsty, shade from the sun, shelter from the wind, For the Compassionate One guides them, takes them to the best springs. I'll make all my mountains into roads, turn them into a superhighway.

Consider : It is not God’s will that there be hunger in our world; and yet, here in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, there are those who are food insecure. If God desires that there be nobody hungry or thirsty, and if it is true that we are incredibly wealthy, what does that mean to us?

Pray: For Juwan who hates snow days because they mean no lunch at school.

Wednesday, February 28

Read: 1 John 2:3-7 Here's how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments. If someone claims, "I know him well!" but doesn't keep his commandments, he's obviously a liar. His life doesn't match his words. But the one who keeps God's word is the person in whom we see God's mature love. This is the only way to be sure we're in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.

My dear friends, I'm not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and you've known it from day one. It's always been implicit in the Message you've heard.

Consider : It is a rare mother who is not willing to suffer for the good of her children. This is a portrait of pure love, this willingness to sacrifice for the life of the other. Jesus sacrificed all for us. What are we willing to sacrifice for the poor among us?

Pray: For Mary who skips supper so her children can have enough to eat.

Thursday, March 1

Read: John 12:8 You always have the poor with you. You don't always have me."

Consider : Often we believe that poverty is an inevitable consequence of life, that even Jesus understands that there is nothing we can do in the face of certain circumstance. And yet, because Jesus walked among us and showed us how to love, that same love is required from us as we embrace the poor among us. How might you anoint Jesus with oil?

Pray: For Harvey who buys groceries instead of visiting the dentist with a bad toothache.

Friday, March 2

Read: Luke 10:6-9 If your greeting is received, then it's a good place to stay. But if it's not received, take it back and get out. Don't impose yourself. "Stay at one home, taking your meals there, for a worker deserves three square meals. Don't move from house to house, looking for the best cook in town. "When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before you, heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, 'God's kingdom is right on your doorstep!'”

Consider: God has much to say about the value and necessity of honorable work done rightly, about work that brings life and uplifts the soul, about work that in some way builds God’s Kingdom. When work is denied, when there is no way to make one’s way, the spirit suffers, mental health suffers, the whole of one’s being suffers. Society suffers. The community suffers. God’s intention, God’s justice, God’s will is that there be justice, a livable wage, a life-giving work place, and three squares each day. This is important to God, and God chooses that it also be important to us. In the Kingdom, love demands justice. In the Kingdom, when one suffers, so do we all. What can you do to advocate for livable wage jobs? What can you do in your daily life, your economic choices, and your daily purchases to bring about justice and claim the Kingdom?

Pray: For Charles who lost his job when his factory shut down.

Saturday, March 3

Read: Lam 4:3-6 Even wild jackals nurture their babies, give them their breasts to suckle. But my people have turned cruel to their babies, like an ostrich in the wilderness. Babies have nothing to drink. Their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths. Little children ask for bread but no one gives them so much as a crust. People used to the finest cuisine forage for food in the streets. People used to the latest in fashions pick through the trash for something to wear. The evil guilt of my dear people was worse than the sin of Sodom-- The city was destroyed in a flash, and no one around to help.

Consider : The measure of the people’s adherence to God’s justice always seems tied to the manner in which God’s people respond to those who can least fend for themselves. In what ways does our nation fail to embrace the justice of God? In what ways do we proclaim such justice?

Pray: For Amy Sue who is one of the over 28% of the children and youth in Robeson County living in poverty.

Action: Offer a gift to God of 28 cents, one penny for each percentage point of the poor children in Robeson County. (What is the percentage of children and youth living in poverty in your county?)

Work... Rest... Play!?

2007-02-24T15:25:00.000+11:00

Hiyas,
Happy Weekend!
Max has done it again... Reminding us of the balance and command of God to Work... and Rest... :D (See devotion below)

Thats why we work?! Because God calls us to...

Also read 2 Thessalonians 3: 6- 16 (NLT) Which is Paul's instruction to the Thessalonians to work hard... otherwise... you wont eat!? Its really that simple isnt it? A Call to Work! :D

An Exhortation to Proper Living

6 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. 7 For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. 8 We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”

11 Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. 12 We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. 13 As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

14 Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. 15 Don’t think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister. 16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.

http://www.maxlucado.com/
Working Well
Saturday, February 24, 2007

“My Father never stops working, and so I keep working, too.”
John 5:17

God views work worthy of its own engraved commandment: “You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest” (Exod. 34:21 NASB). We like the second half of that verse. But emphasis on the day of rest might cause us to miss the command to work: “You shall work six days.” Whether you work at home or in the marketplace, your work matters to God.

And your work matters to society. We need you! Cities need plumbers. Nations need soldiers. Stoplights break. Bones break. We need people to repair the first and set the second. Someone has to raise kids, raise cane, and manage the kids who raise Cain.

Whether you log on or lace up for the day, you imitate God. Jehovah himself worked for the first six days of creation. Jesus said, “My Father never stops working, and so I keep working, too.”

Lent Calendar & FM 103.2 Devotionals

2007-02-23T09:05:00.000+11:00

Hi Guys,
There are a lot of great things happening within our connection group! Thanks Whitney for sending through the Lent Calendar. I have posted the past couple of days and today and tomorrow's reading for the first few days of Lent. I will continue to post them up as they come, so that you guys can come to the blog to refer to the readings :D

Also have included another devotional that i get sent each morning... again, i recommend subscribing! Its from the Christian Radio Station, FM 103.2. They're 'pearlas' :D! (For the Americans in the group-- ask us on Tuesday what that means!)

Have a great day!
xo Van

Fm103.2 Devotional for today:

Spiritual Growth

Psalm 1:3

“And in whatever he does, he prospers”

What a promise God has made to us! Be careful not to make the promise say what you want it to say. It doesn’t mean that if a 50-year old man tries out for a professional basketball team, he will be one of its top players!

It doesn’t say whatever he does prospers, but rather that he himself prospers, no matter what he does. You may have thought that being blessed by God means that you are making top marks at school, or that your business is booming, or that the person you are interested in is also crazy about you. And those are great blessings.

But what this Psalm is telling us is that even when your business is not prospering, you can be prospering — in your inner life! Even when your heart-throb doesn’t love you back, you can still be finding joy in your relationship with God.

Do you see God’s invitation to you in this Psalm? He is inviting you to go deeper than surface Christianity. He is inviting you to walk close to him, to measure your Christianity by more than your bank balance. To find out that life’s greatest blessing happens inside you, not outside. To know that the richest person is the person whose inner life is in tune with God. Are you prospering on the inside?

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

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LENT PRAYER CALENDAR

Wednesday, February 21

Read: Deuteronomy 24:19 When you harvest your grain and forget a sheaf back in the field, don't go back and get it; leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that GOD, your God, will bless you in all your work.

Consider: For God, the widow and the orphan are always paramount, always a central place in our claims of love. Almost 19% of our children and youth live in poverty, not in some far away place, but right here. What does that mean in your life?

Pray: For the 19 % of children and youth who live in poverty in North Carolina.

Thursday, February 22

Read: Deuteronomy 8:9 It's a land where you'll never go hungry--always food on the table and a roof over your head. It's a land where you'll get iron out of rocks and mine copper from the hills.

Consider: Most of us have never known what it is to be really hungry. Most of us will not get wet when it rains, will not be chilled when it is cold, and will be fairly secure in our ability to garner the resources we need to survive and thrive. Yet, there are many among us who will not. What will be your response for them?

Pray: For Jose, whose lunch at school is the only food he gets all day.

Friday, February 23

Read: Isaiah 10:1-3 Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims-- Laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, Exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children. What will you have to say on Judgment Day, when Doomsday arrives out of the blue? Who will you get to help you? What good will your money do you?

Consider : We live in a world where the weak among us suffer the most. As people of God, we are a community who live out of a history of concern for the most vulnerable. We worship a God who equates justice with compassion and mercy. God is always concerned when social systems aren’t well structured to care for the least. Are we? How might we demonstrate such concern?

Pray: For 73 year old Anne, who must choose often between buying medicine and buying food.

Saturday, February 24

Read: Leviticus 19:10 Don't strip your vineyard bare or go back and pick up the fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am GOD, your God.

Consider : To share one’s resource with the least, this is one measure of our walk with God. God offers God’s abundance, not so that we can claim it for ourselves, but so that we might know the joy of sharing with one another. Who have you shared with today?

Pray: For Henry and Sally who never have a chance to eat pizza, because it costs too much.

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Lent-- Ash Wednesday

2007-02-22T07:40:00.000+11:00

Hi Guys,
Its been a couple of days since we last met for Team Baps/Presbys... some members have commented that perhaps our 'name' Baps perhaps does not summarise the brevity/ depth of denominations our group entails... however... like most 'nicknames' that we get coined from time to time... i think the name personally... is just an endearing term that shows our versatility!
Any thoughts on new names? Suggestions Welcome!!

Also... Chad & Whitney have inspired us to take seriously... or reflect at least on Ash Wednesday (Yesterday) for those that were looking into it... C& W regularly (annually) fast from Ash Wednesday until Easter (over 46 days?).... and what do they 'give up'?... its 'Sweet Things/ aka Desserts!' :D

All of us were challenged at the thought of having to 'give something' up that we love to eat/ indulge in... What has God challenged you lately with giving up? Are we relying solely on Him and Him alone? With/without chocolate? :P

I gave up chocolate and icecream (2 of my most favouritest things in the whole wide world) for a period of time...

In the end, fasting isnt about 'giving up'.... its more like 'giving to God'..... everything... your most 'basic' of needs... often that means something like food-- something we know that 'we cant live without'... or can we? Didnt God feed his people for 40 years in the desert? (or was it dessert? :P).

For some, it may be not listening to music in the car... not watching Tv for a period of time... it could be anything!! Its very personal, and its a conscious choice...

I've got quite a few passages in the Bible related to Fasting that I will post up soon... in the meantime... a couple of today's devotions from our dear friends Joyce (Meyer) and Max (Lucado!)... well only Sam can actually call Max 'a friend' methinks!

Have a great day team :D

(If you're trying to figure out how to leave a comment... scroll to the bottom of this entry and click on the 'word _ comments'.... and a pop-up box will appear for you to enter in thoughts!)

Thanks :D
xo Van

Joyce Meyer

Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.
—Romans 8:1

Guilt and condemnation are major problems for many believers.

It is Satan's greatest delight to make us feel bad about ourselves. He never tells us how far we have come, but rather, he constantly reminds us of how far we still have to go.

When the enemy attacks me, I say, "I'm not where I need to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be. I'm okay, and I'm on my way."

Like David, we must learn to keep ourselves encouraged in the Lord. (1 Samuel 30:6.) None of us has arrived at the state of perfection. We cannot perfect ourselves: sanctification (holiness) is the job of the Holy Spirit, and it is worked out in our lives as a process.

The Bible teaches that we can have complete forgiveness of our sins (total freedom from condemnation) through the blood of Jesus Christ. We must decide if Jesus did a complete job or if He didn't. We don't need to add our guilt to His sacrifice. He is more than enough.

Let Jesus do His job. He wants to forgive you. All you have to do is receive His forgiveness. Complete forgiveness is completely free!

Say This:

"I'm not where I need to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be. I'm okay, and I'm on my way."

Let Jesus do His job. He wants to forgive you. All you have to do is receive His forgiveness. Complete forgiveness is completely free!

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www.maxlucado.com

Don’t Forget

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself…encourage you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16

Are you still in love with Jesus? Before you remember anything, remember him. If you forget anything, don’t forget him.

Oh, how quickly we forget. So much happens through the years. So many changes within. So many alterations without. And, somewhere, back there, we leave him. We don’t turn away from him…we just don’t take him with us. Assignments come. Promotions come. Budgets are made. Kids are born, and the Christ…the Christ is forgotten.

Has it been a while since you stared at the heavens in speechless amazement? Has it been a while since you realized God’s divinity and your carnality?

If it has, then you need to know something. He is still there. He hasn’t left.

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Max Lucado

2007-02-20T08:02:00.000+11:00

Hi Guys,

Reasons for Joy

Again-- these daily devotions by Max Lucado (i reccommend bookmarking!) Are updated daily... They always have pearls of wisdom, which i think is almost impossible to live without! God's word is relevant for yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Im really looking forward to Team Baps/Presby's tonite. Hope you guys can all make it!! (Pls bring $ for Annie for the Max Lucado Book 'Come Thirsty'... if you ordered a copy!) :D thanks

xo Van

Reasons for Joy
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 NKJV

“How’s life?” someone asks. And we who’ve been resurrected from the dead sat, “Well, things could be better.” Or “Couldn’t get a parking place.” Or “My parents won’t let me move to Hawaii.” Or “People won’t leave me alone so I can finish my sermon on selfishness.”…

Are you so focused on what you don’t have that you are blind to what you do?

You have a ticket to heaven no thief can take, an eternal home no divorce can break. Every sin of your life has been cast to the sea. Every mistake you’ve made is nailed to the tree. You’re blood-bought and heaven-made. A child of God—forever saved. So be grateful, joyful—for isn’t it true? What you don’t have is much less than what you do.

www.maxlucado.com

Resting in God!

2007-02-16T10:51:00.000+11:00

Hi Guys... This is the first official information blog/ post!
I have often thought that when God is trying to show us something in our lives... he brings about places/ things/ articles/ people/ all sorts of things to reiterate his purpose for us.. and his grace!

I often read Joyce Meyer's daily devotions found here: (i reccomend bookmarking it :D)
http://www.joycemeyer.org/OurMinistries/EverydayAnswers/DailyWord/

I thought i would share the copy of today's passage/ devotion... (see below) i thought it was very apt!... Which is springboarding from what we were touching on Tuesday... How do we find rest? Where do we find rest? Where CAN we find rest? Always... in God.

You are welcome to leave your thoughts guys... in the 'comments' section. And you dont have to be a blogger member to just leave your thoughts!

Have a great day
xo Van

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Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
—Matthew 11:28

When we become so burned out, heavy-laden, and overburdened that we feel we are unable to take it anymore, what are we to do? Jesus said, Come to Me.... But what are we to do when we come to Him? We are to come to Him to receive!

If we ask and ask and keep on asking and never receive, then we become frustrated. Jesus wants us to have joy.

One of the major reasons we do not receive is that what has been provided for us is free, and we keep trying to do something to earn it. Jesus has already paid the price.

The New Covenant is according to grace. It is based on the goodness of God and the work Jesus has already accomplished—not on our merit or works.

To get is "to acquire as a result of action or effort." To receive is "to acquire or take (something given, offered, or transmitted)...." When we get something, we obtain it by struggle or effort. When we receive something, we obtain it by acting as a receptacle and taking in what someone else is offering.

Receive what Jesus is pouring out. Come into His presence and drink of His forgiveness, His love, His mercy and grace.

Everything you need is available—start receiving!

Do This:

Enter into God's rest and receive what has already been poured out. You will be rested, refreshed, revived, restored, and refilled.

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WELCOME to 2007!

2007-01-31T08:56:00.000+11:00

Hi Dudes,
I have succomed to the techno world of creating a BLOG for our Connection Group- Cremorne!

How exciting!

This will be used to post up latest details of what's happening, where we meet (will be subtle for privacy issues as we are on the www!) and as a discussion forum on different issues! You can leave comments by clicking on the 'comments' field'... and well... its whatever we choose to make it!

This will also minimise EMAIL traffic... especially if there are changes of plans etc etc... Just head to this blog! http://cgcremorne.blogspot.com/ For the latest!!