Sun, 27 September 2009
“A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul” Proverbs 13:19. Achieving your goals is pleasing and enjoyable. But notice, there must be desire present before this can come about. In Matthew 15:28,
Jesus links desire to great faith, “O woman, great is your faith! Let
it be as you desire.” The Greek word literally means, “to will” or “to
wish.” But it implies a deep human determination. Therefore, any form
of personal accomplishment takes resolve - the willpower to succeed.
And this is the universal Law of Desire at work.
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Sun, 27 September 2009
God
wants us to come of age. He wants sons and daughters who can take hold
of their inheritance, and He has provided a sound process for achieving
this. As the gifts that God has placed in the church equip the saints
(that’s you), and as you enlarge through active and energetic service,
you grow up and increase in all matters of life. Resulting in you being
transformed into the image of Christ and becoming a true joint-heir
with Him - ruling and reigning here on earth! However, growing up into
maturity is a definite process (a journey), and it requires thought and
determination.
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Sun, 20 September 2009
In
this story, it would seem as if Jesus could not look upon grief,
without that grief becoming His own. In the similar case of Lazarus, it
was the bitter thought of a lost and departed friend which opened the
fountain of the Lord’s own tears. At Bethany (as with here at Nain),
it was simply the spectacle of human suffering that made its
irresistible appeal to the emotional side of the Jesus’ nature. The
anguish of human compassion moved the Rock of Ages, and streams of
tenderness gushed forth. "When Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jews
weeping which came with her …Jesus wept." Likewise, when the Lord saw
this poor widow who had lost her only son, "He had compassion on her."
Jesus had probably heard her bitter, heart-rending sobbing in the midst
of the mourners, and this quickly drew His attention. So He uttered a
soothing sympathetic word before He uttered the divine instruction that
brought forth this astounding miracle – “I command you young man to get
up!”
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Sun, 20 September 2009
The
word ‘compassion’ comes from two Latin words - ‘suffer’ and ‘with’.
Therefore, to show compassion means to suffer with someone, to enter
into a person’s negative situation and become involved in that person’s
distress. Compassion is not a theoretical attitude, put a practical
involvement. It involves doing, not just thinking or saying! ‘A
compassionate response to suffering requires that (a) one be moved by
the suffering of the other; (b) act to remove the immediate effects of
the suffering; and (c) respond to correct the circumstances which may
have given rise to the suffering itself.’ (New Dictionary of Christian
Ethics)
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Sun, 13 September 2009
Canon Andrew bring out the true meaning of Psalm 23.
Direct download: the_good_the_bad_and_the_very_good_-_psalm_23.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:00pm EDT |
Sun, 13 September 2009
If
your thoughts are all negative so too will your confession be; and
consequently your whole life. Perhaps you're like that. You're avoiding
hope to protect yourself against being hurt. This type of behaviour
sets up a negative lifestyle. Everything becomes negative because your
thoughts are negative. God’s word does not promote negativism. The
longer you serve God, and study his word, the more you will realise the
tremendous power in being positive - in thought and word. Your actions
are a direct result of your thoughts. A negative mind will result in a
negative life, and a negative life is an unhappy life. But if you renew
your mind according to God's Word, you will, as Romans 12:2 promises, prove (in your experiences) “the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” It is a vital necessity that we line up our thoughts with God's thoughts. But this is a process that will take time and effort.
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Sun, 13 September 2009
Winston Churchill said, “The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” God’s word says, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7). Therefore, the pessimist thinks and sees only difficulties, and the optimist thinks and sees only opportunities. Which one are you? Many people’s philosophy in life is: “If I don't expect anything good to happen, then I won't be disappointed when it doesn't.” If your thoughts are all negative so too will your confession be; and consequently your whole life. Perhaps you're like that. You're avoiding hope to protect yourself against being hurt. This type of behaviour sets up a negative lifestyle. Everything becomes negative because your thoughts are negative. God’s word does not promote negativism. The longer you serve God, and study his word, the more you will realise the tremendous power in being positive - in thought and word. Your actions are a direct result of your thoughts. A negative mind will result in a negative life, and a negative life is an unhappy life. But if you renew your mind according to God's Word, you will, as Romans 12:2 promises, prove (in your experiences) “the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” It is a vital necessity that we line up our thoughts with God's thoughts. But this is a process that will take time and effort. |
Sun, 6 September 2009
Proverbs 10:26 says, “The prospect (hope) of the righteous is joy.”
In other words, when you connect to your future (in God) you connect to
happiness! However, we often neglect this truth. Have your hopes and
dreams ever kept you awake at night? Do you ever wonder how all the
pieces are going to come together to unleash all you are wishing for?
Trusting God with your future is as simple as understanding that your
future is God's History. Psalm 139:16 says that every moment of every day was recorded in His book before a single day had passed.This means that when you place your hope in God you actually connect to your future. In Genesis 17, God appeared to Abram and made a covenant with him, guaranteeing he would become a mighty nation. He changed his name to Abraham, because he would be known as the father of many nations - even though Sarah was old and had not been able to have children. Can you imagine living with a promise like that? Everyday when Abraham looked to the heavens he was reminded that his descendants would be as innumerable as the stars. If any man had a right to be stressed and give up hope it was Abraham. The biological clock had certainly stopped ticking yet there was a promise of God hanging over His life. God's promises do not exist to frustrate our lives but rather to direct our hope and increase our faith. |
Sun, 6 September 2009
We
all need to laugh more – we need to have a “happy heart.” Throughout
the Bible we are encouraged to “rejoice,” to “be joyful,” and to “be
glad;” and you will find over 50 direct references to happiness. Being
happy has great benefits. Not only does it strengthen you, it can
completely change your attitude and outlook on life. Someone once said,
“What everyone wants from life is continuous and genuine happiness.” |
Sun, 6 September 2009
Proverbs 17:22, “A happy heart is good medicine” (Amp).We all need to laugh more – we need to have a “happy heart.” Throughout the Bible we are encouraged to “rejoice,” to “be joyful,” and to “be glad;” and you will find over 50 direct references to happiness. Being happy has great benefits. Not only does it strengthen you, it can completely change your attitude and outlook on life. Someone once said, “What everyone wants from life is continuous and genuine happiness.” The truth is… If you’re happy, you will know it. And if you know it you will show it! Research has shown that laughter actually releases tension, anxiety, anger, fear, shame and guilt. Laughter also increases antibodies and is believed to have a protective capacity against viruses, bacteria and other micro-organisms. Both science and the Bible agree that laughter is like a medicine. Studies have shown that laughter releases endorphins into the body. These substances help relieve pain and create a sense of well being within us. They also reduce stress, enhance circulation, boost the immune system, and strengthen the heart. Like a good massage, a hearty belly laugh can stimulate all the major organs in your body. Some say it’s like an internal aerobic exercise! |
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Life Matters
Life Matters, with Pastor Chris Demetriou. Recorded live @ Cornerstone the Church, Esher, Surrey.
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