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The Sabbath

““Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”  Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ There are some Christians who believe they should respect the Sabbath, while others do not. What is the truth? When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He replied: ‘to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul and mind, and there was another like it, love your neighbour as yourself’.  He was often accused of breaking the Savbath, according to religious traditions. What did the apostles teach? Hebrews talks about another rest, that rest is found in Christ (Hebrews 4:9-10). Paul admonished the Galatians for trying to earn points by observing special days (Gal 4:9-11) and he also dealt with this in his epistle to the Colossians 2:16-17. So what should we do on Sunday? Remember the Lord and gather to celebrate Him. Christ is our rest! Amen! Sunday is a day when I go to church and spend time with friends to eat and relax. 

Like Jesus

“This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.” 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬ I have to remind myself, always, to live in God’s love for me. As I abide in Him I love. If I am not abiding I do not love, I tolerate. Toleration comes to an end and then I become nasty. I speak unkindly. I am not representing Jesus but rather my flesh. I, daily read an excerpt from Watchman Née, a Chinese minister who spent most of his life in prison. He had a deep understanding of the scripture and what it meant to be a Christian. He talked about living out of the light inside. I liken this to having the Lord’s compassion and loving from that. The light he talked about was the illumination that the Lord gives. We are called to be lights. However, if we do not abide in Him our flesh is in control and there is not light within us. As I fellowship with the Holy Spirit within He shows me the Way of Jesus, as I allow Him to pray thr...

Waging war

“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”  2 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I have been presented with a problem. Unknown to me my colleague invited along his father to Sindhulpalchok. His father has a drinking problem. The area we are in has a problem with alcoholism. I am seeking to minister into that problem and have been, it seems, compromised. If that was not bad enough my colleague took his father with him to the school we are running a program on trafficking. When he showed me the vidoe of the classroom and I saw his father sitting in the classroom I was horrified.  It seems I have a decision to make. I spoke to my colleague in private and told him it was never to happen again. He agreed! However...

Be the blessing!

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Paul is writing this to the Philippians who had given to him generously. They were already givers. He was responding to their generousity.  Imagine someone gives you a generous gift, right out of left field. It is way beyond anything you could imagine. You were in need and they were promoted by God to send it to you. How grateful would you be? This was how Paul was. I want to be the recipients of God’s promptings to give because He then blesses ‘preseed down and shaken together will be poured onto my lap!’ I want to experience His abundance. On Monday I went under prompting from the Lord to a Methodist Seminary School to sponsor a young man from an area called a Mugu, which is in the North West of Nepal. This young man was from a Tibetan tribe here in Nepal called Karmarong. He had never met me before and he wondered...

Guard your heart

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Do we really take this verse seriously? Are we too easily angered? Are we too easily wasted by popular opinion? Are we more responsive to negative comments from others or do we relish the positive? I am on the bright side of the fence. Even when bad things happen I look for the seed of change. I might be laid out for a short while but pull back and seek my God in what is next. I read a Napoleon Hill book over the past few days and he was much like me in attitude. It was written in the mid 1900’s but is very relevant to attitudes of success. A positive mental attitude is one of the attributes he speaks about. My heart is really the dwelling place of my God and I must see things from His perspective. I cannot allow bitterness, resentment, self-pity etc to dwell there. He is none of those things. As you read the Old Testament and in particular the book of Kings you see the kings who wer...

Holy Spirit power

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Imagine the great power exerted to raise a man who had been brutalised and drained of blood. Jesus Himself, raised a young man, a young girl and Lazarus from the dead. They died of natural causes. However, Jesus, the Son of God, was whipped, crowned with thorns and crucified. Yet, the Holy Spirit, entered Him and raised Him from the dead. Nothing is beyond our God’s power to reverse! No sickness or disease can destroy what is filled with His power. He is great and there is none like Him! We can take this scripture as medicine. It is full of life! As often as we would take medicine take this verse and speak it over your life (I am talking to me also).

Listening and understanding

“Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This verse comes after the parable of the seed and the sower. We have heard it many times but do we fully understand? We can apply this to sharing the gospel with unsaved people, but we can also apply it to ourselves. How many times have we been at church, heard a message and gone out and forgot what it was all about? This testimony indicates the condition of the soil in our hearts. The condition of the soil is our responsibility. How do we keep it receptive to good seed? We keep it fertile by keeping watch over what we allow our hearts to engage with. Do we spend our time watching movies, playing games, or reading novels? Where does the word of God fit in our lives? Are we engaged in the ministry God has given us? Do we know what that is? Sharing the gospel! No you do not need to be an evangelist to share the gospel! What authority do we accept? Is the Lord Lord of our lives or are we? Are we ...