‘Going Deeper’. Three-part study on Discipleship by Viv Penfold starts this Weds (14th May) at 7:30pm. Why not come and join us? All are welcome.

You might have heard that the bible says faith without action is dead…

“So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead”, (James 2:17).

… and it’s true. The bible says, if you see someone without any clothes or food and say to them,  ‘Keep warm and eat well’, then what’s the point? You might have all the best wishes in the world for them but it won’t improve their situation – not physically.

So what are these physical actions that God wants us to take? Where do we even start? A good place might be in 1 Corinthians. The Apostle Paul talks about faith here too. He says you can have enough faith to move mountains but without one key ingredient it’s pointless.

“If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing”, (1 Corinthians 13:2).

The key ingredient is love. Not just love in the nice, easy, ‘here today, gone tomorrow’, worldly sense of the word – but real, biblical love: a love that works hard not to be jealous, or proud, or angry; a love that forgets any wrongdoing and stays the distance. That’s the kind of love that God wants us to have for each other… even for our enemies! Paul even ends his chapter by saying:

“…the greatest of these is love”, (1 Corinthians 13:13).

How can you make sure your faith doesn’t die? Start with the L-word! Love others, like God has loved you.

In the fourth instalment of the Armour Of God bible studies, faith is at the centre.

Eph 6:16 Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one

In the sense of spiritual warfare, Paul is telling us that, by having faith, we’re actually adopting a powerful defensive role, extinguishing flaming arrows sent by the enemy.  Let’s look at two examples, from both testaments:  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s faith when being thrown in the furnace – old testament.  This is a powerful story of how the enemy’s plan is to literally throw the three men of God into a furnace.  From the new testament, we’ll study Jesus’ disciple Peter, stepping out in faith to walk on water.

Questions

1. Daniel 3: How did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s faith impact this story – beginning, middle and end?
2. Suggest what the devil may have used as ‘flaming arrows’ in this passage?
3. Matthew 14:28-31: How did Peter have the faith that he did? Where would you suggest it came from?
4. Bonus Round: Gleaning from the previous questions and our own understanding, how can we keep our shield of faith protecting us in our day-to-day lives?

Hi from John and Christine in Romania.  The journey was good, we left the ferry in Zebrugge on Monday morning and drove until early evening when we stayed near Munich with our friends the Langer family. They had collected a lot of things for us to take to Romania, we loaded this into the van on Tuesday  morning and continued the journey  We arrived safely here in Suceava Thursday afternoon. This morning, Saturday, we have been busy sorting out the things we brought and dividing them between the different families we will be visiting.  We have just arrived back from visiting with Solomon’s family where we left clothes food, toys, and medicines for them. This afternoon we will be visiting two more families, one of them is a new family to us who have 18 children. Tiomorrow John will be preaching in two different churches, and then on Monday we will be visiting more families. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. God Bless John and Christine

The Calvary Job

It is with joy today that I can reflect on the Calvary job.  Today is Good Friday and I look back and ask myself why my saviour had to go all the way to Calvary? Did it really have to be a mountain job? Why not anywhere else? How big were my iniquities (sin) Calvary or Golgotha? Golgotha/Calvary is referred to in early writings as a hill resembling a skullcap located very near to a gate into Jerusalem, near enough to the city that those coming in and out could read the inscription ‘Jesus of Nazareth – King of the Jews` (John 19 verse 20). To the Jews, this was a place of death, but to Christ this was a place of death for his body BUT victory for the spirit and God being glorified in the Son! This was therefore a very strategic point geographically. He could be seen clearly on the cross by anyone coming in or leaving the city. He was there for all to see! A comparison comes into my mind with the Sermon on the Mount, Mathew 5 verse 14, the light of the world. How could they contain the light? He was there at Calvary to glorify God and for all to see and hence it was a mountain job. How big was my sin? The Bible describes sin as the breaking, or transgression, of God’s law (1 John 3:4). It is also defined as disobedience or rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7), as well as independence from God. Therefore there is a wide variation in sin and we have all sinned and fell short of God`s standard. Christ had to pay the price for the whole world, and indeed He did it in full. Is there a sin too big for him, the answer is No. If we humbly come before Him, at the foot of the cross, genuinely acknowledge Him as God and saviour, usher Him into your heart and life…you will be healed. It was the very reason He did the mountain job.

Have a blessed Easter all my friends.