(by pastor Norman)
When asked what was the greatest of God’s commandments Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first commandment” (Matt 22:37; NKJV). In Exodus 20:3 we are exhorted by God to have no other gods but Him. Now that’s putting God first! King David’s desire was for a constant intimate relationship with God (Ps 27:4) and the author of 1 Chron 16:11 encourages us to seek God always. Jesus sought only to do God’s will in His life, not His own, even to the point of dying on a cross (John 5:30, Matt 26:42) and the apostle Paul tells us of the great beneficence of the Christians in Macedonia, noting that they sought God first before making decisions, such as giving (2 Cor 8:5). Paul writes further that we should offer our whole being as a sacrifice to God (Rom 12:1) and be focused on the heavenly things of God not the worldly distractions around us (Col 3:2). We are to be selfless in following Jesus, prepared for opposition and persecution, embracing the heavenly life He has for us (Matt 16:24-25) and worshipping and serving only Him (Matt 4:10). Putting God first means our relationship with Him comes ahead of all other relationships (Luke 14:26). We are blessed when we put God first. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt 6:33; NKJV). “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:4; NKJV). What an amazing God we serve! Enough said.
(by pastor Jean)
“Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Prov 24:3,4; NKJV). The word “house” in that verse can also be translated as life, home or family. It seems that 3 major things are needed to be successful in family life – wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Knowledge does not just mean knowing about someone or something but actually receiving revelation of who they are. Understanding enables us to live life according to God’s priorities and it comes from being in close contact with God. Wisdom is actually putting into practice understanding and knowledge, so they all 3 work together. “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Prov 2:6; NKJV) (see also Proverbs 2:1-10). Of course, all 3 of these qualities come from the word of God so the more time we spend in the word the more the more understanding and knowledge we will experience and the more wisdom we will be able to put into practice. A good life or a good family doesn’t just happen, no, wisdom is needed at all stages of family life. The end result as we see from Proverbs chapter 24 verse 4 is that we will experience precious and pleasant riches. What are these riches? Love, joy, peace, harmony, thoughtfulness, security and so much more. These pleasant riches are precious indeed!
(by pastor Norman)
In the New Testament of the Bible, John the Baptist said, “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matt 3:8, Luke 3:8; NKJV). Repentance is to change our mind from the carnal, evil worldly life and commit to lead the Godkind of life. This is a step we all have to make as we ask Jesus into our life to be our Lord and Saviour, and to have control of our lives (Rom 10:9,10). The apostle Paul teaches us that we should, “repent, turn to God and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:20; NKJV). In other words, our lives should be different, they should reflect Jesus. There should be outward evidence of an inward change (Luke 6:45). When people asked John the Baptist what fruits they should show in their repentant lives he listed being a blessing to others who needed clothing and food, he also talked about integrity, fairness and mercy (Luke 3:10-14). Paul encourages us to do good to everyone, especially those in our church (Gal 6:10). The apostle John exhorted us to bear good fruit (John 15:16) and this should surely be reflected in our words (Matt 12:34b). If we allow, the Holy Spirit will develop good fruit in our lives, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23; NKJV), transforming us into the likeness of Jesus (2 Cor 3:18). People should see Jesus in us as we go about as His ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20) sharing Him with others and seeing the fruit of people coming into God’s kingdom, the church (Mark 16:15-17)!
(by pastor Jean)
We read about Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19:1-10. Zacchaeus was a tax collector and one that cheated the people so we can assume he wasn’t a very popular person! However, that didn’t seem to bother Jesus because He decided to pay Zaccheus a visit. Whatever happened during that visit caused a complete transformation in Zaccheus because as a result he offered to give away half his possessions to the poor and he also offered to pay back those he had cheated four times as much. As a result of this Jesus declared salvation over Zaccheus and his whole household. That time spent with Jesus had a powerful effect on Zaccheus and he became a cheerful giver (see 2 Cor 9:7). It seems that money lost its hold on him and he was able to release it liberally and, “abound to every good work” (2 Cor 9:8,9). The Bible teaches us that when we give God gives back to us, “For whatever a man sows, that will he also reap (Gal 6:7) (See also Luke 6:38). Proverbs 11:24 tells us, “Give freely and become more wealthy” (NLT). We serve a giving God and the theme of giving runs through the whole Bible, God loves us so much that he gave us His only Son (John 3:16). Let’s be open-handed with our money and possessions, let’s be doers of the word and in the process, we will be blessed!
(by pastor Norman)
Scripture is very clear that faith is a key element in our Christian Walk. Our lives need to be wholly based on faith in God (Rom 1:17, Heb 10:38). The author of the book of Hebrews makes it very clear, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: (Heb 11:6; NKJV) and in fact the apostle Paul tells us that if what we do or say is not faith-based it is sin (Rom 14:23). We are called to be an example of faith (1 Tim 4:12) So, what is faith? My favourite definition is in 2 Timothy 3:15, Amplified version, “Faith in Christ Jesus (through the leaning of the entire human personality on God in Christ Jesus is absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness)” or as I like to say, knowing that you know that you know that you know. Jesus said that we should believe that we receive the answer to our prayers when we pray, even though we may not see the physical manifestation at that moment. This faith-filled prayer will result in our receiving the complete manifestation of our request maybe not immediately but in time (Heb 11:1, Mark 11:24). “Faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb 6:12b; NKJV). God has given all of us a “measure of faith” (Rom 12:3b; NKJV) and we can grow our faith by hearing and studying the word of God (Rom 12:17) and “praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:12; NKJV). “And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1 John 5:4b; NKJV). By faith in God, we can live an amazing life serving Him.