Slip Sliding Away….

At one time or another, we may have an encountered someone who has backslided. While the common thing to do is to leave them to their own devices and hope they return in one piece. But we have to remind ourselves that the kind of love we profess in our Church should be inclusive – even of those who have strayed away.

Instead of judging, we should look at why people tend to backslide and what the Bible says about it..

In the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), we see that sometimes people may go astray because of rebellion and or arrogance. Yet the Father waits for patiently for their return, and even throws a feast when they do. Can we be instrumental in helping them to return?

Some people may also backslide due to our failure and neglect as a church. In the parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10), we see that “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The backslider may have sinned, but have we been responsible for not bringing them to repentance?

We have all made mistakes, and may have been responsible directly or indirectly for the increasing number of backsliders around. We can learn from the parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7), that it may be a good thing to leave those who are right on track where they are, and then shift our focus to look for those outside who may need help, because

“ there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7)

There’s something about Mary…

There are probably as many views about Mary as there are Christian denominations around. Denominations are man-made, and so are their views. Let’s see what the word of God has to say about her.

A few words come to mind – namely “blessed” and “full of grace”. Although there are a few women mentioned in the Bible, Mary is the only who was able to make the claim “All generations to come shall call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). That in itself is a very strong statement, and hard to imagine coming from one who is “full of grace”. But it will be worth looking deeper into it and trying to understand correctly the concept of “grace”.

Mary was not only present at the 1^st miracle that Jesus performed, at the wedding at Cana, but had an important role to play. As a mother, she wasn’t just there to cheer her son on as a mother would at her son’s achievements. She was very instrumental in getting Jesus started in His ministry. She may not have said much, but the little she said carries a lot of weight.

As Mary was obedient to her call, she too instructed the servants at the wedding feast to “do as Jesus tells you”. This simple statement was to instil obedience in the servants – a good lesson for all of us, in fact. Obedience is also linked to trust as many times we have to obey even when we don’t understand. But that was the beauty of Mary who could do it from a young age.

We may not pray “to” Mary, but if we honour her as the mother of our Lord and call her blessed, we can show our honour and respect by taking our cue from her to “do as He tells us”.

What foundation is your house built on?

In building a house, much time and money is spent on layout, décor, landscape, colour, etc….all the visible factors. The foundation of the house is something not visible, but it’s importance cannot be undermined.

There are many types of foundations as there are buildings. But any building without a proper foundation will not stand the test of time. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus gives a parable of two different foundations:

Luk 6:47 Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:

Luk 6:48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

Luk 6:49 But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."

So what kind of a foundation are we built on?

For those of us who attend Church regularly and have the opportunity to “hear” the word, what we do after we hear will give us an indication of the kind of foundation we are built on.

The hearers and doers (v 47 – v 48) are those with solid foundations that will stand the test of time. But if we choose to hear only as part of a “Sunday obligation”, the elements out there can easily make us crumble…as a building with a weak foundation that can get washed away by a flood or earthquake.

The choice is ours….are we going to spend time worrying about the external factors – e.g do our handbags, shoes & ear-rings match, or will be spend time getting rooted in the Word?

1Co 3:11 For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Do we see what He sees?

Matt 9:36: “And seeing the multitude, He felt compassion for them because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd.”

When we see the distressed and downcast, we tend to identify their situation in a physical sense – their hunger, poverty and or lack. This approach leads us to assist them in the physical only, by giving them clothes, food, etc.

But Jesus tends to see more than that. He saw the spiritual need as the reason for being distressed and downcast – similar to that of sheep without a shepherd. It’s not that physical hunger is not an issue, but what is more important is that we identify the spiritual need and deal with it accordingly.

This is re-enforced in Mark 14:7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me

We pray that the eyes of our heart will be enlightened so that we may see with our spiritual eyes, and not just our physical eyes…in Jesus’ name, Amen!

A “new” way of being Church?

Almost every church we go to these days is either busy constructing a new building, upgrading it’s present facilities, or raising funds to do either one or the other. Is this the “new” way of being Church?

The early Church as we know it had no buildings but they appeared to be more effective than we are today. It is time for us to make a difference and prove that there is more to beautiful doctrines and constructing more buildings. In the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus instructs us to “Go” not to stay where we are and make ourselves more comfortable by renovating and upgrading our buildings. We may be a few hundred years too late, but we still can make up for lost time by waking up and finding practical ways to bring the life-giving message of Jesus to those around us.

Attending church regularly, paying tithes and listening to interesting sermons without acting on them, are all very religious in appearance, but we have to realize that all these have nothing to do with Christianity. In John 17:18, we see that not only was Jesus sent into the world to save, but He also sent us out to bring others to Him to be saved.

What's love got to do with it?

Everything!!!

For God so loved the world that He sent down a team of angels to assess the situation, prepare a report, and present it at a meeting He chaired with the leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel - where they debated on what's going on, and thought it may be a good idea to just leave the people to rot since they asked for it & brought on themselves whatever was going on. Plus, if they (the "Council of Elders") decided to help out, they'll need to call for another meeting, and probably have to form another sub-committee to decide on what to do...to find the path of least hassle, lest they come up with the difficult decision of whose son should go down & deal with the situation.

Now...for those who are familiar with John 3:16 (For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life), we know that the above paragraph is not what happened then...but it's unfortunately what we're doing now.

Love is something that should prompt us into action...and it may sometimes call for sacrifice. It's so easy to say "I love you Lord..." What does this "love" require us to do?

"If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15)

Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. (John 14:23)

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love" (John 15:10)

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love (2 John 1:6)

Now we may ask, "what is this great command that we should obey"? The answer to that can be found in Matthew 22:36-40

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 'This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Mind your language

Do we really have power over our lives and control over circumstances?

“You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways” (Job 22:28).

God spoke the whole universe into existence with His Word. We have been created in the image of God, we too can speak things into existence.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7)

To sow good seeds, we must always speak good words.

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29)

The Bible tells us that the enemy is the father of lies. When we speak negative things, we are agreeing with the greatest liar of all times.

“Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you’” (Numbers 14:28)

God wants to bless us in all areas of our life, but as we speak negatively we only limit what God can do for us.

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2)

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue...” Proverbs 18:21a.