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“Isaiah 53:4,5”

(by Pastor Jean)
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isa 53:4; NKJV). Isaiah 53 verses 4-5 point to Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross. In Hebrew, the word for “griefs” actually means sicknesses and diseases. The word, “borne” means carried away or taken away. The word “sorrows” refers to pains. This coupled with the last line of verse 5, “By His stripes we are healed” is definitely referring to physical healing and Matthew alludes to it in Matt 8:17 where he quotes this very portion of scripture and said that Jesus was fulfilling it. Going back to Isaiah 53:5, we read that He was “wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (NKJV). The suffering Jesus bore in His body was also for our sins. Peter confirms this in 1 Peter 2:24. It also says in Isaiah 53:4 that, “punishment for our peace was on Him” (CSB). This means that the death of Jesus on the cross not only brought forgiveness for our sins and healing for our bodies but also peace for our minds. The end of verse 4 says that Jesus was, “smitten by God and afflicted” (NKJV), which shows that the death of Jesus was all part of God’s plan. This whole passage is referring to the victory Jesus won for us at Calvary and we call it salvation. Salvation includes spiritual, physical and mental healing providing us with forgiveness, healing and peace. Complete wholeness, spirit, soul and body. This does not come to us automatically though; we have to receive it by faith. What an amazing God we serve!

The Life of a Child of God

(by pastor Norman)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold all things have become new” (2 Cor 5:17; NKJV). If you truly believe in Christ, His life and ministry here on earth, His death and resurrection, and are willing to speak it out and surrender your life to Him, you will be saved (Rom 10:9,10). To be saved means your spirit is made new, you are a new creation (John 3:3, 5-7, Eph 2:1). To believe is more than head knowledge; it is complete faith and trust in God to the point of obedience and verbal acknowledgment of Him as master of your life. As Christians, we are to walk in obedience to His commands, living a life committed to His will (John 14:15; Prov 16:3). God’s cardinal command is that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30; NKJV). We are to love others as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31) and this must have practical expression (1 John 3:16, Titus 3:8, Matt 25:35-44). We are also called to walk in humility (Phil 2:3-4) and fear God (1 Peter 2:16), the latter means to honour and respect Him. God desires to transform each one of us to be more and more like Christ, this is the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 3:18). To facilitate this growth, we need to saturate ourselves in His word (2 Tim 3:16-17) and in prayer (Phil 4:6-7), pressing into God (Phil 3:14) and allowing the Holy Spirit to develop His fruit in our lives (Gal 5:22-23). Finally, we must be part of His church (Heb 10:24-25) and His ambassadors, leading others to Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:18-20).

Blessed are the peacemakers

(by pastor Jean)
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt 5:9; NKJV). Jesus is our ultimate example of a peacemaker because He came to earth to bring peace between God and man, which He achieved through His death on the cross. He also broke down the hostility between Jews and Gentiles (Eph 2:14-18). In addition, He lived his life in peace (for example, Matt 8:23-27), which is why He is called the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6). If we are to be peacemakers too then we must have the peace of God in our hearts. If we are Christians then we know that Jesus actually bequeathed His peace to us, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Not only that, but when we became born again, we invited Jehovah Shalom (or the Lord is peace, Judges 6:24) into our hearts. As a result of that regeneration the fruit of peace will grow in our lives if we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” (Gal 5:22; NKJV). This kind of peace can be enjoyed regardless of our circumstances whether good or bad. It is because we have the peace of God in our lives that we can be peace makers. There are several scriptures that speak to this topic, for example, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Rom 12:18; NKJV). Let’s share the peace of God which we enjoy with those around us today; be a peacemaker and you will be blessed (Matt 5:9).

Righteousness

(by pastor Norman)
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21; NKJV). Christ died on a cross so that we could be forgiven. for our sins (Col 1:14) and walk by God’s grace in His righteousness (Rom 5:17). When we acknowledge our need for Him, repent of sin, ask His forgiveness and ask Him into our lives to have control (Rom 10:9,10), He comes and we receive His abundant life (John 10:10) and righteousness. God sees us as righteous (2 Cor 5:21) and justified (Rom 4:25). Righteousness is to have right standing with God, in line with His will for us, acquitted of sin. To be justified is to be made, “just as if we had never sinned!” God does not remember our sins (Heb 8:12). God blesses the righteous (Ps 5:12, Matt 5:6), brings peace, quietness and guards us (Isa 32:17, Prov 13:6). He also delivers us from evil (Ps 34:19, Prov 11:6). Our Lord hears the prayer of the righteous (1 Peter 3:12) and brings life (Prov 12:28). In the book of Proverbs, we read that, “Righteousness exalts a nation” (Prov 14:34). We are God’s righteousness but as with every aspect of our new life as Christians we need to grow in righteousness. We are exhorted to seek (Matt 6:33) and pursue righteousness (2 Tim 2:22), “hunger and thirst for it” (Matt 5:6). We grow in righteousness by allowing the Bible to instruct us (2 Tim 3:16), walking in faith (Phil 3:9) and allowing the Holy Spirit to change us (2 Cor 3:18). Remember that the righteous “are as bold as a lion” (Prov 28:1), bold to tell the world about Jesus! Merry Christmas!

At the Name of Jesus

(by pastor Jean)
I was reading through Luke’s account of the Christmas story. When the angel told Mary that she would give birth to a baby boy, he also told her the baby’s name – Jesus (Luke 1:31). The name of Jesus is so powerful; it means He shall save or Jehovah is salvation (Acts 4:12). We are told in Phil 2:9,10 that this name (Jesus) is above every other name and that, “At the name of Jesus every name should bow” (Phil 2:10; NKJV). That means that at some point in life or after death, whether willingly or not every human being will acknowledge Jesus. Isaiah the prophet foretold the birth of Jesus and said, “His name will be called,”’ “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6b; NKJV). What a name! The whole character and authority of God is summed up in this name! Not only that but Jesus gave us the authority of His name and told us to use it. In the Great Commission found at the end of Mark’s gospel, some of Jesus’ last words were, “In My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18); NKJV). That is how much power and authority there is in the name of Jesus. The disciples put this in to practice (Luke 10:17). In John 14:13,14 and John 16:23,24 Jesus told His disciples that whatever they ask in prayer using the name (and therefore the authority) of Jesus would come to pass. Use the name of Jesus today! Merry Christmas!