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Fight the good fight

“Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.” ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ There are many battles we can engage in: a fight for justice, recognition, my rights, my share etc however, Paul is telling Timothy to fight ‘the good fight’. What is the good fight? As opposed to selfish ambitions we are to fight for the faith, fight for God’s kingdom in our own lives. We have battles enough in our flesh. It waged war against our spirit. ‘What about ME!’ It screams. Me, my, mine!!! I want, I want, I want!!! However, Jesus told His disciples, of whom we are, to take up our cross, daily, and follow Him. The self life must be put to death and kept dead! It really only cares about itself. Things of God are foreign to it. Our world is full of ‘self’.  Today I went into Brisbane’s CBD and was overcome with the crowds I found there. I was endeavouring to meet an old work colleague. My ...

Walking in rest

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Some how I think we miss the meaning of these verses. Jesus tells us His yoke is easy, Hsi burden is light. I find myself burdened with expectations of others, my own expectations, but none of them are light. Most are heavy! He said, “let me teach you! You will find rest for your souls!” Wow! Those verses are winners! Today, I sit on a mattress on the floor in an empty room. My son and his family are moving. Moving is never fun on one side but can be on the new adventurous side. The cleaning of this house will take a lot of time. My son and his wife work from home. After spending the day packing and cleaning they spend long hours on their computers at night. This m...

The rich

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This was Jesus’ response to the disciple’s question: “who in the world can be saved?” Their question was in response to His statement: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Why is it hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God? Because they are satisfied with life and can think they have all they need. However, if the Father frustrates their lives and manors them aware of their emptiness, then they can come. This whole senario came about when a rich young ruler came to Jesus asking how he could obtain eternal life. The young man asked, “what’ must I do to obtain eternal life?” Jesus told him to sell al...

Help the poor

“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you!” Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Through social media we see many poor that need help. However, this can be overwhelming.  I watched a message by Bill Johnson who was telling his people to pray and ask the Lord for a nation who they could become involved with; supporting missionaries and their work and I am sure humanitarian work as well.  I have chosen Nepal. I work there and aid refugees and the poor in Nepal. This helps me narrow my focus and stay ready for a need when it arises.  As I am back in Australia for a visit last night I was involved in a ministry to the homeless. it was fun and very encouraging. we sang worship songs and they really went all out. it was good to give my love and time to people I would not normally see. Who will I see today?

Hang on or let go?

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Why is the Lord wanting me to give up today? The right to an opinion? The right to honour? The right to place? Jesus was the firstborn to Mary and Joseph, however His siblings rejected His claim that He was the Messiah, in fact most of His home town did. They were so offended they wanted to throw Him off a cliff. Now, that is rejection! Jesus promised that we, His disciples, would be rejected by family, some given up to death by family. We see this a lot in the Muslim world and somewhat in the Hindu world. Around the above passage Jesus was teaching His disciples that they must take up their cross daily and follow Him. A person who is about to be crucified had the cross beam placed on their shoulders to carry. It was not voluntary, but rather compulsory. The people to whom Jesus spoke understood the cross. They knew the shame associated with the cr...

Freedom

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What have I been set free from? Sin! The consequences of it and the bondage to it! As much as sin wants ro entrap me to do its will, I have been set free to walk in the freedom from it, bought for me by my saviour Jesus Christ. Being set free from the trap I must now live for the one who set me free, not selfishly gratifying my fleshly nature. My sinful nature is ever screaming for satisfaction. It is wicked to the core. It would have me live in bitterness, ingratitude, selfishness, pride, arrogance and more. This is the life I must daily crucify. I have new life through Christ. I have His Holy Spirit living within to empower and guide me. I can choose the fruit of the Spirit over that of the flesh! Amen! https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=is_ccOVNOgU&si=S1xy5j2t-G7t8Y6g

A holy life

“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬   This is a scary scripture. Without holiness we do not see the Lord. Holiness is separation from the things of the world to things of God. Do we get this? Holiness is not just saying we are Christians, going to church and reading our bibles. If we do not allow the words we read to change us and draw us apart from worldly living we do not see God. Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow Him. What is our cross? Dying to selfishness, refusing to react, refusing to pay back. It is following Him and learning the ways of a disciple. If people in the world cannot see the difference between us and them, we have a problem. Our first problem is we have deceived ourselves. We are walking in darkness and not the light. Our second problem is we do not get to see God. We will hear, “begone from Me you who practice lawlessness!” (Matt 7:23). T...